When I took delivery of my truck last month, the sales manager gave me this "special" card. He told me this card is good for $15.95 oil changes for as long as I own my truck.

All the card says on it is the name of the dealership and "This card entitles the card holder to $15.95 oil changes"
There is no fine print on the back, or any *** type of bs.

I was happy with the card, seemed like a nice touch for the dealership to do, and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

So, I go get my first oil change at around 1,000 miles, and am presented with the invoice "$18.95" + 15% taxes.

Of course I pull out my special card, and I'm pointing at the "$15.95" like the smart consumer that I am.

This is their reply:

"Yes sir, we only charged you $15.95 for the oil change, but an additional $3.00 is required as a "disposal" fee. Hence the $18.95"

At this point I'm starting to become an ahole (I can't help myself sometimes) but they won't budge. I pay the bill and I leave.

Am I being a jerk? Yeah, it's 3 bucks, but that's not what bothers me, it's the wholy sneaky, misleading way they handled it. Tell me oil changes are $18.95 up front, and that's the end of it. I just hate when business try these "slippery" tactics to try to chisal an extra few bucks from you when it's time to pay.

I was thinking for my next oil change to tell them to give me my old oil back and I will dispose it of myself. Can they say no?

If I'm wrong, don't hesitate to blast me, I can take it!

Footnote - this same dealership tried to slip an additional $1,299. into the invoice for rustproofing module. At time of order they offered me a choice of module, or spray for free. So when it came time to pay, they tell me it was a mistake by the salesman, and it wasnt free, I told them too bad for them.. I offered them the option of removing it, but they didnt. ( got the module for free) So this is why I don't trust them and am always on edge when I'm dealing with them. ** Good bunch of guys, but you have to watch em like a hawk. (kinda like the guys I play poker with)

Habibi

 

You should have said, "Ohhh, just give me the oil and I'll dispose of it"

 

inform them when you get there that you wish to dispose of your own oil. i don't believe they can turn you down. if it is a service you don't wish to pay for with a separate cost, i think they have to give you the option of disposing of your own.
best one i've had was a bike shop that did a service for $120 plus parts. i knew about the "plus parts" part of the deal. usually it's $20-40 depending on oil type etc. this guy hit me for 4 sprk plugs $10 each, 6 shims $4 each and 3 qts of oil at $12 a quart. wanna see someone steaming mad. nothing i could do because the parts were in the bike and i signed the deal "plus parts" needless to say i've never been back nor have my friends.
oh and the bike ran like crap after they tuned it, so i had it redone 2 mo. later by a better shop that i usually use. i would have gone to him in the first place but he was really backed up at the time and the bike needed to be done before i took a long ride that was coming up. live and learn.

 

That is kinda sneaky, they should have had fine print that said + disposal fees. I say call the service manager, they always give away free stuff when you complain. Maybe you can get a few completely free oil changes.

-Jon

 

Well, I don't think your wrong. I just don't think it's that big of a deal, afterall it's only $3...Canadian.

That's only like 63 cents to me...

 

Our doller is getting worse every day - if this keeps up, 1 Canadian will be = to 1 Turkish Lira.

Good deal for Mercans though - you guys can sneak over here and get truck stuff for cheaper than dirt.

Regards
Habibi

 

I got all kinds ah fine print crap foe ya. The Ford dealer here that we used to buy from all the time lost our business do to that crap, they would add Documentation fees, rust proofing, undercoating--all kinds of BS. The tire shop I use charges for a disposal fee on Tires-$2.50 a piece so I take them myself. The best rip-off I have seen was one of our local NAPA service centers that wanted to pull my engine and charge me $400 to change my spark plugs--I bought a Haynes book and did it myself in an hour by only pulling the fuel rail.

 

I thought the disposal fee was already reflected in the price. I dont think that its right to throw on all the fees on top of what you were offered on the card.

 

a lot of places charge you a disposal fee, after the final price. It's just a way to sneak it in there i guess.

 

I don't remember ever being charged for a disposal fee on oil. It can be sent to a refinery and recycled! They SELL your oil to some guy who comes by and takes it to get recycled.

At least that is what I thought. Maybe only in Texas where refineries are every other county, or so...

 

I change my own oil most of the time and save it in 5 galllon lacquer thinner cans. When I get about 30 gallons or so, I take it to a Jiffy lube and they dump it in their trough...no charge! I understand it's up to the shop's manager if they will do this. In the Chicago area there was this guy who would gladly take it and burn it in some kind of heater he had in his shop. Maybe you could find a guy like this. I think if I were you, I'd have the saleman deal with it. Maybe he could have them eat the three bucks.