Left feeling uneasy by McGrath Acura Westmont and McGrath Acura of Morton Grove

[H-carWizKid]

So, my wife and I are getting ready for a big old roadtrip in the 2004 TL. Since Shannon is 8.5 months pregnant and all, we are driving to Denver instead of flying out.
I decided to get the oil changed, tires rotated before leaving because the oil was close enough, and it is a long drive. I made an Appointment @ McGrath of Morton Grove to carry out the work.

I should also give a little back story here- I just bought the TL in May. It had 16400 miles on the clock, and has the full bumper to bumper certification. A big deal was made about the "150 point inspection, and peace of mind" I should have stepping into this car. I DID have peace of mind. Until Saturday.

Car goes into shop, I go into waiting room. An hour goes by and my service writer comes to pay me a visit. I have a nail in my left front sidewall (can't plug that) and they want to sell me a new tire. I have Falkens on the car- McGrath doesn't sell Falken, so I veto the tire with the idea I would go to Discount tire and take care of it.

Next up- Every air filter in the car is "bad". At this point i mention the car was just certified by McGrath Westmont @ 16000 miles. He then drops that my trans fluid "looks dirty". I ask point blank if this is part of the inspection process, and he tells me "no". So I ok the trans fluid. Car has 24k on the clock, and is 4 years old so I am close to the recomended interval of 30k miles, and past the 3 year interval (per the service writer you are supposed to change the trans fluid every 3 years, or 30k miles). Trans service is $96.

Then I get to thinking- this doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't they service the transmission during certification? This is a major component of the car.

I call McGrath Westmont- "Hey, I bought my car Certified last May, did you all service my trans fluid, because I got a guy here telling me I need new."
Service writer from Westmont: "oh yes, absolutely! You could do that service yourself, then drive to any jiffylube or whatnot, and they would tell you that you need new. I wouldn't believe them"
Me: "Well that is all well, and good except I am standing here at McGrath Acura".
Service writer from Westmont: "what is your name and number I will have someone call you back".

So now, I am pissed. I just got told (incorrectly I might add- but that comes later) that I have clean trans fluid, and now it appears that I am having clean trans fluid flushed for no reason. At about this time my car is done. I bring my concern to the service writer- who was patient, and stuck to his guns- fluid was needed. So here i am thinking, ok one of two things has happened.
A. They skipped my trans fluid "point" on my 150 point inspection.
or
B. I just got hosed for new trans fluid when i didn't need it.

Either way- McGrath is responsible right?

So I go talk to Patrick Law in the sales management dept. I must admit, I do not have a problem with Patrick, he was patient and listened to my situation as I laid out the facts. I was a little pissed, but I think I was composed. The conversation was civil. He picked up my displeasure, but then made the ill advised move of stating that these two Mcgrath Acura's are owned by "different McGraths". An excuse. OK, I am asking for something- advocacy- Hey man CALL WESTMONT, tell them the situation lets work this out, but no it appeared we were all done.
If you have met me, then you know I don't throw big tantrums. I picked up my bill from the desk and told him the truth- "I will never be back" then I turned on my heel and went over to pay the bill. I paid my bill and walked out to my car which had recieved a half assed wash (there were still leaves under my wipers from when I had parked at my Aunt in laws that morning). Patrick approached my car and advised that he was sorry, and that he would "look into this" and try to make me whole. I was put off, but whatever- he was being nice, and I am not an a$$hole so I shook his hand and left.

At the very least, I know I have fresh trans fluid in the car now right?

So then I get the call back from "Kathy" @ Westmont- I am driving, so she gets my voicemail. The voice message states that my trans fluid "checked out" in May when they certified the car, so unless I have driven a whole bunch of miles since then it shouldn't need the service.

Again, I am at 24k- so I am close, and this whole thing seems like it is a wash. But then something I was told by the Service writer starts messing with me. 3 years, or 30k miles... My car is 4.5 years old...

Doesn't it stand to reason that they would flush the trans at inspection?

I pull out my owners manual and start reading pg 199

Driving in mountainous areas at very low vehicle speeds results in higher transmission temperatures. this requires transmission fluid changes more frequesntly than recomended by the maintainence minder. If you regularly drive your vehicle under these conditions, have transmission fluid changed at 60,000 miles (100,000 km) , then every 30,000 miles (48,000 km)

I live in Illinois- it isn't "mountainous" here. The last 8k miles on the car have been primarily highway back and forth to Northern Michigan, NW Pennsylvania, ect usually running about 70mph with the cruise control set.

So first trans fluid change is at 60k if I am stressing the car? How many years?

Pg 209 in my owners manual

"The transmission should be drained and refilled with new fluid when this service is shown on the maintenance message in the Multi-information display"

No mention of a time, or milage limit...

The only time limit I can find is for brake fluid @ 3years- did they change THAT out during my inspection?

Did they even really do a thorough 150 point inspection?

Who knows...

Where is my "peace of mind" now?

Not at either McGrath, that is for certain.

So I guess I told Patrick the truth- I will never be back to either place because now I feel like I can't trust either of them.

I am not really mad per se. It is only $100- and like I said, I now know for certain the trans service has been done- I am just bummed that now I don't know about the rest of my "certified" car, and my peace of mind has left me, so I felt like I ought to share that with all of you.

I am guessing new, and used vehicle sales are probably down in our struggling economy so the service departments are being pressured to make up for lost revenue and my "advisor" figured he could get a few add ons out of me. This is only a guess. For all I know McGrath is selling themselves out of the new TL (I sat in a tech package, it ain't that bad- they had a nice silver/ebony in the showroom, I liked the interior and even the buck-tooth grill seemed tolerable when being viewed in person.)

BTW- I went to discount tire and replaced my nailed left front, and my right front with two brand new Falkens of the same size, and model as the rest of my tires. (I have a thing about symetrical wear) I have the old right front in case I run into a problem like that again.

P

 

[nsx2tall]

Honestly I've never found anybody that I could trust 100% with my car. Cather Kacor at McGrath Westmont is a pretty dependable service rep. But I could complain about requesting a brake flush and having them do a brake bleed and overfilling the reservoir. I even just had service at Acura of Brookfield and I found sizable scratches on the side of my car by the engine bay (the kind you get when you lean over the side to look in but haven't covered up the car to keep you belt or button from scratching).

McGrath should really refund the amount for the service at this point, but they really might be seperate business entities. You might try asking Cathy to discount some services just for goodwill.

 

[CL65 Captain]

That is why the call them the "Stealerships". This was in STL, but they are all the same! I have had a service manager tell me that I needed new brake pads and that it's dangerous to run the car much longer. I made him go in the back with me and pull the pads (I just put them in 2 weeks prior myself). So here we are looking at pads that have 3/4" of material left - BRAND NEW. His response, well we were basing it off the mileage of the car. The car had like 12,000 miles. I changed the pads because I was tracking the car. So finally, I told him that he is f_ing lying and it's time to fess up - he's busted. So he flat out told me that 1.) they make bonus on service sales for the month and 2.) they have been told by the GM to pump up the consumable services. So how many people do they tell need new brakes? Well, he says they alternate between brake pads, air filters and trans fluid. Pretty much everyone that brings a car in for something ends up being told they need something.

I went with my Mom to Plaza Lexus in STL to trade her car for a new one - same model, same color. The check engine light came on and something else cant remember. This was a 6 year old RX300 with 14k miles. The service dept told her the rear main seal was leaking and it was going to cost $1500. So here we sit with the New Car Manager (the owner of the dealership is a friend of the family and we buys lots of cars from them - my grandpa used to buy 10 at a time for his business). He tells us that the service dept says it's only going to be $1500 but once they get it apart they are going to call and say its more like $3k. If she says no, they will tell her to come tow the car where ever she wants they aren't going to put it back together. So I say, so what you are saying is that your service dept is unethical and extorts money out of their customers? Yep he says, I see it all the time. So I pick up my cell and call the owner of the dealership and relay the story. I ask him whether his service dept is unethical or his sales manager is unethical because someone is lying to me. We ended up leaving and going to the other Lexus dealer where we bought a new car in about 1/2 hr and they gave $4k more on trade for the car.

 

[H-carWizKid]

Honestly I've never found anybody that I could trust 100% with my car. Cather Kacor at McGrath Westmont is a pretty dependable service rep. But I could complain about requesting a brake flush and having them do a brake bleed and overfilling the reservoir. I even just had service at Acura of Brookfield and I found sizable scratches on the side of my car by the engine bay (the kind you get when you lean over the side to look in but haven't covered up the car to keep you belt or button from scratching).

McGrath should really refund the amount for the service at this point, but they really might be seperate business entities. You might try asking Cathy to discount some services just for goodwill.

Cathy called, and left me the voicemail from Westmont, to her credit she was forthcoming that my trans fluid "checked out" and that they had not replaced it.

I guess what really puts me out is that all the back and forth regarding this issue has led to my faith being shaken regarding the certification process. We were shopping between a new TSX (08) or a certified used TL. We bought the TL because (a.) I really love the TL, and prefer the V6 to a 4 banger, and (B.) with the bumper to bumper certified warrenty it was totally practical to buy the less expensive used TL that had only 16,400 miles on the clock.

When I left the car business in 2001 Certified Used Hondas were a pretty new thing. I recall the standards being high, so I took the sales pitch pretty easily. Plus, how much could be wrong in only 16400 miles?

I was told the car was gone over with a fine tooth comb- "better than new" was applied more than once regarding condition. I left a happy guy, and to be honest, I STILL love the car, but now I am left with doubts as to how fine that comb was- and that is a bummer.

I read the 150 point checklist (available @ acura.com) and found the mention of transfluid to be the following "Minimum replacement items" Automatic transmission fluid (if discolored or at service interval). Per Cathy's message- fluid checked out.

It also mentions air filters to be replaced if at service interval..

It also says something about floormats being replaced- but my car came without floormats (It has them now- Thanks Tim P @ HondaAcuraWorld!)

See the list HERE

It seems to me that a 4.5 year old car should have had all fluids, and filters replaced regardless of the milage- but that is just my opinion. the facts state otherwise.

Oh well.

P


The car has been great. No problems at all. I think I'll just hang on to that thought, and look for a dealer I feel better about. My "Blink" reaction to McGrath Morton Grove was not favorable. Something didn't feel right from the get-go. but I let them dig into my car anyway. Lesson learned- I'll go with my gut next time.

 

[amengineering]

Don't even get me started about McGrath of Morton Grove. I would not ever recommend anyone to go there for anything.

 

[NSX 3.0]

Honestly I've never found anybody that I could trust 100% with my car. Cather Kacor at McGrath Westmont is a pretty dependable service rep. But I could complain about requesting a brake flush and having them do a brake bleed and overfilling the reservoir. I even just had service at Acura of Brookfield and I found sizable scratches on the side of my car by the engine bay (the kind you get when you lean over the side to look in but haven't covered up the car to keep you belt or button from scratching).

McGrath should really refund the amount for the service at this point, but they really might be seperate business entities. You might try asking Cathy to discount some services just for goodwill.

I kind of feel the same way about AoB...after spending nearly 12k or more over the last 6 years I was sick of getting treated like shit from the so called service manager who we all know here.

 

[nsx2tall]

Don't get me wrong about AoB. I feel like I've gotten very good service there and I've recommended going there to many other owners. Both John (and Cathy at Acura Westmont) do a great job in my opinion. My point was that even at respected locations it's still tough to get 100% satisfaction all the time.

I've found the exact same to be true in the Subaru world too. If you visit enough times, even the best mechanic will disappoint you in some way.

 

[Cairo94507]

I do not trust anyone when it comes to my cars. When I bought my Acura Certified 2001 NSX in 2004 with just 11K miles on it as it as it came home it went to the dealership where I hung out by the service bay where it was being completely serviced- all fluids and filters changes, valves adjusted, etc. That way I knew it was all done. I was not worried about the expense, I just wanted to be sure the car was completely done front to rear so I could feel confident the car was perfect from that point forward. Just my thoughts.

 

[NSX 3.0]

Don't get me wrong about AoB. I feel like I've gotten very good service there and I've recommended going there to many other owners. Both John (and Cathy at Acura Westmont) do a great job in my opinion. My point was that even at respected locations it's still tough to get 100% satisfaction all the time.

I've found the exact same to be true in the Subaru world too. If you visit enough times, even the best mechanic will disappoint you in some way.

And don't get me wrong... I also have had great mechanical service there for 6 years Bill was awesome built my motor and just about everything else on the car. It was the personality of you know who that got to be old hat nice one day and a prick the next so I moved on.

 

[mickeylex]

Both dealerships and independent shops can be shady.

Good for you for picking up on their buzz words - "is bad"; "looks dirty". I've been told those things before (at a dealership) so I asked how it "looks dirty" if it's a closed system? How did "dirt" get in there? How did it go "bad". That's about when I tell them to button up my car. Complete any services that were started and get my bill. And like you, I NEVER go back and tell people I know to NEVER go there either.

 

[rasir_x]

I don't trust the Dealers in Kansas (Superior Acura) anymore either. I brought in my Supercharged NSX and they said i needed a new Comptech ESM which the person i purchased the NSX paid for it. Then the same problem happened again and i took it in and they said i needed a new supercharger and it would cost $3,500. I called comptech and they told me to go to Jay Wolfe Acura as the supercharge doesn't even cost that much alone. It was only a Dirty Throttle body that cost me 1hr of labor time. Problem solved. Currently, I found a mechanic which is one of the top tunners in town and he and i both work on the vehical and i know he can be trusted.

 

[Briank]

I have had issues with a couple of the service writers at AOB, but it's expected since they really don't know much and they are there to sell services. I tell them what I want done and say no to everything else but issues still come up. It can be very irritating to do all the trouble shooting and tell them exactly what needs to be done and not get it done.

 

[Hard2find]

a bad transmission can cause discoloration in short miles too....learned this before.


but yea, i got a TL now and McGrath MG has always been good to me.