Morries Subaru Unscrupulous???

Called them up for a timing belt job. Was quoted $360 parts and $380 labor including ALL parts(timing belt, pulley wheels, bearings, water pump, gasket), you know the full kit =$741. So when I get there(and take a day off work) the guy starts ringing me up $$$$$, we get to $960 without the pump. Then he goes on the tell me that the water pump costs like $170 plus another $120 installation!!!! So we are getting around the $1200 range for a timing belt job. He then goes on to tell me that the pulley wheels are not necessary to do the job and neither is the water pump, he states this very matter-of-fact right to my face. WT h.e. double hockysticks are they pulling here! They give false quotes to get you in, then just start adding up the dollars once you get there.
Buyer beware, be very beware!!!! Don't be a victim of this very unscrupulous business, very shady.
So for me, Morries gets a huge thumbs down.

And to top it off the guy tries to get me for an oil job at $49.99 on special! I would assume that shop fees are not included in that price either. I was soooo ticked off. Cost me a half-day of work too.

 

Next time just hit up @NF Performance and save your wallet some green backs.

 

That sucks, Morries has a very good reputation here...who did you work with if you remember?

 

also, which location. i know many of them are privately owned and not all a franchise i believe.

 

Morries on 394. I originally dealt with Eric the parts guy, everything seemed to be in order with him- did not seem shady at all. I was then passed on to Ben(sales guy) who gave me the final quote, everything was still kosher. When I showed up this morning I dealt with a guy around 5'6" and maybe 220lbs, I should have gotten his name but I was outa' there! I asked if I should be dealing with Ben and he told me flat out "no, why would you need to talk to him" something like that. You could see the $$$ signs go off in this guys eyes...talk about ruining a morning.

Thanks for the heads up on NF Performance. Now in the works with them, I spoke with Nuke on the phone and they seem to be the real deal...ie actual business that knows what they are talking about and straight shooters. They are overnighting parts and a fair price too, what's not to like!

 

Sounds like you made a good choice. NF has done quite a bit of work on my car and I have nothing but good things to say.
Prices are reasonable and hours are very flexible so hopefully you shouldn't even have to take off work!

 

I went to the morries on 394 and didnt have to pay for the oem water pump. They said there was a core return that made it pretty much free. Guess it depends on the dealership.

 

I called Morries a while back and got a similar quote (a little over $1,000) for a timing belt job, including all parts (the whole kit you speak of). They said that they don't always do the full "kit" and when I challenged them on that, they indicated that the tech does an inspection on the parts and replaces only the worn parts necessary.

I can't blame Morries for that strategy because they probably have a lot of people that scoff at prices and only want to do the minimum necessary. I believe the SOA service manual has the same guidance (inspect and replace worn parts).

For most people that don't beat the piss out of their car, this tactic is probably fine in most cases. Personally, I wanted to have everything replaced regardless of the condition and expense.

As for the actual quote? That's in the correct ballpark, esp for the dealer. For the inexperienced mechanic, there are a lot of steps and this might not be the first job that a shade tree mechanic wants to tackle. You can save a lot of money by taking your parts to the good people at NF, RS, etc.

Personally, I've had a very good experience with the folks at Morries, but I mainly deal with the parts department. Morries does a lot to support this forum and the enthusiast group (discounted pricing, member appreciate events, free give-aways for our events, etc) so I cannot speak poorly of them.

 

Thanks for the reply TMF. The only 'problem" is that every good mechanic knows that you can not "visually" inspect a bearing as far as wear is concerned. If you have to take the engine apart you may as well replace all the secondary parts too. That is common sense and may save thousands of $$$ later. We know that Subaru's are interference engines and if a single bearing fails, the engine will be toast. Morries sales guys know this as well and probably bank on it. If they don't know that Subbies are interference engines then they should be sweeping floors or just hanging out in their Mom's basements. No offense to Mom's : )

 

Not worth it! Why go to a place that has sales working on commission trying to pry every last dollar out of your pocket while recommending half-fixing something in the hopes that they get to fix it again later? Deceptive business practices, wildly differing prices for parts, $50 oil changes? I think I'll pass and so should you.

I would like to state that this may not be the norm for them, maybe I just found the single "less than full disclosure employee" in the joint... these are just my experiences and may not reflect the majority. That's why there are forums like this, to post individual experiences so that others may compare/learn. YMMV.

 

I found the site while actually looking for subaruforester.org
Figured I'd try a local forum.
I am already going with another repair shop. After being lied to and mis-guided on the repair I figure I'll cut my losses and save others from the hardship of dealing with an unscrupulous business. I mean the guy quotes me $170 for the water pump without labor? It's a $70 part. That's just plain old fashioned price gouging. No thanks, I'll skip these jokers. There's a reason this business sponsors and that's to get people into the service area.

 

Should of slapped him with a quote you got.

 

How is this nonsense?
I think I already showed the work. I was quoted $361 for all the parts by Eric in parts- does that sound honest so far???
Then I was transferred to Ben in Service- are we following- still sound honest and not like a troll??? Ben quotes me $380 in labor to do the whole job. So we are now at $741 as quoted for the whole timing belt service including water pump. Sound kosher so far?
Then, when I get in there, the service guy quotes me $960 without the water pump and then adds $300 approx more with the water pump? Sound like I am lying yet?

If you read my post I did "slap em" with the original quote and also told them about MNSubaru. He then backpedals and says " woah, that's gonna make a big difference" and dropped the price down to the upper $900's with water pump. That's after the $49.99 oil change, just two doors down at Midas oil changes are $19.99, I mean it's just ridiculous.

"Something in this thread stinks and it isn't the pricing..."
Shorty, how is that a constructive post? Do you have any insight as to proper pricing for this job? If so please share.
I also fail to understand how price switching does not stink? The pricing smells like rotting feet. Maybe even White Castle farts. Blechhh!

readymix...it looks like you may work at Morries? If so, you can validate my experience exactly as it happened this morning. Please report back your findings.
"spouting off nonsense like this"
is that directed at the original posters experience or at Shorty? Because I assure you this actually did happen.

 

Okay, here we go: this is how the story goes from my side, gentleman calls me up and asks for a quote on parts (mnsubaru ) of "everything we would do for a timing belt job", I explain to him that not every car needs the same things, so I quote him the general, belt, tensioner, all pulleys, $377 or so before tax, he asks if "that includes water pump", I say no, that would be around another $100, as we don't always replace water pumps. All is well and good, I think he then asked to be transferred to service and that day is done. Fast forward to this morning, I get a call from mike in service, asking for a quote on everything to do a t belt job (worst case) on an 05 forester with water pump. I pull up the old quote, I add a water pump to it, $477 before tax, hang up the phone, and I don't hear another thing about it. I guess I don't see where we went wrong, or where things are so shady? If you don't mention mnsubaru to the service writer you talk to, or tell them every single thing you want, you're not gonna get the answers you're looking for. We aren't mind readers. The quote on parts I gave you is 100% accurate. If you didn't voice your concerns to whomever you were talking to either on the phone or in person we're never gonna know whats going on. I'm always happy to budge a bit on things to get where we need to be, but if you just stomp away we're never gonna know!

 

Well, I would say that Erik's memory may be just a bit off, he probably does many quotes. My quote should be "everything needed for a timing belt job""timing belt, idler, bearings, water pump, gasket". Actually he quoted me $361 as I have written down and that included the water pump. Then I was transferred to service and received the $380 quote for labor(also quoted $129 for core exchange alternator). Fast forward to the day of service, I DID ask for the MNSubaru discount after the service gentleman quoted me the "regular" pricing.
I mean c'mon, I set up an appointment WITH the service guy(Ben) the week before and received the MNSubaru.com quote from him at the time of setting my appointment, the quote did not get written down for the customer and we have to go through a dog and pony show to get back to square one? Sounds shady to me... is that common practice(not writing down the quote)? Erik admits to giving me a quote. Should not the quote be written down with my information? A mistake? Maybe. It cost them a customer.
I did voice my concern and actually asked if I should be speaking with Ben directly, I was scoffed at and told "no, this is the right price" and "did you need and oil change today?"

That's my side of it. What is the saying..."the customer is always right".

Looks like there is some "damage control" being done on this forum now. The alarm has been raised!

I am just reporting my bad experience with a business. I hope that the business can learn from my poor experience and maybe improve themselves. Yes, it is a black mark for them but at least it has been brought up. I have done my part and made others aware of a potentially bad experience.

 

Petulant child? I explained everything to the service guy, MNSubaru price, phone quote, everything. I did not "storm" out of anywhere. Yes, I was perturbed and very disappointed. Who wouldn't be. Erik actually phone transferred me to a service writer (Ben) and I did actually get the whole, correct, quote for parts and labor. It was not a ballpark estimate, Ben actually tapped keys and gave me the MNSubaru quote for the job. Why is this so hard to understand? It happened, it's true, correct your business practices and move on...

 

I guess what everyone has a problem with here is more the why has this never been heard of happening before and why would you join a forum and this be your 1st post. Its happened before your not the 1st person to"claim" you have been wronged by such and such a business. We are a tight knit group and when we hear bad things we all like to do our due diligence before accepting what a new member is saying that's all.

 

Yup, I get it.
Sux for this to be a first post. I was genuinely excited to get the job done at a dealership only to be let down. Why didn't they write down the quote with my appointment? Why the drastic price variances? Who was that guy up front? It was so disappointing. I should have filmed it, wait I probably was on film at the dealership. Run the tape!

Oh and Erik did his job completely. He did NOT give me a quote for labor, that was Ben. The quote that was quoted was not written down either by fault or on purpose. Choose what you like. I choose that it was a mistake, That is why I had the Service Writer double check the price and added that it was for MNSubaru. The Service Writer was going for top dollar is all that is happening here. It is a problem nationwide with dealerships.

 

I've been doing this for 13 years and this is the first black mark on us that I can remember. Hey, you've made up your mind, and that's fine. Have a good one.

 

Same thing happened to my gf when I told her to call Morries. They quoted her some low number (don't remember the price), then when she went there they tried to add a couple hundred. She called me and wasn't thrilled at all. I told her to mention MNSubaru and all was good. I've picked up parts from Morries, price was fair and reasonable as far as dealerships go.

 

Holy smokes. Here's the opinion of an outsider. I will say this forum is a tight knit group. And I'm definitely considered a new guy here, but I'm learning. One thing I've learned the most is no matter the situation, be open, level headed, I bought my 09 in 2012 and have done every single thing of maintenance at a dealer, down to re-doing the side skirts, or vise versa over 8500 in damage from hitting a deer. But that's all because I choose to. I live south of Rochester and Rochester Subaru is the closest and most convenient. If I were more north, RS and NF it would be. Yes I probably pay way more on maintenance than I need to by using a dealer, But like I said "convenience". Yes it sucks you had a crappy experience, but that does not mean they don't do their job. Heck be happy you woulda got the mnsubaru discount at a dealer, I don't. Case in point it's over and done with. I think maybe the correct way of starting this out may have been to state concern and ask others of their experience, not express it as baiting to screw over customers. I use this forum everyday to learn new things. I've made mistakes posting on here, and probably asked the wrong questions therefor got the wrong answers. So don't be jumpy and surprised when the title sets the tone.

 

I'm not sure what you were hoping to achieve by posting this thread. To me, it just sounds like there was a miscommunication somewhere. My hunch is that it happened when you said you wanted "all parts for a timing belt"...as far as I know the water pump, thermostat, and pullies are not needed to do the timing belt. Yes, they are typically done with the timing belt, but when you go in what vague requests then you're going to get vague answers. As was mentioned above, you can't expect anyone to read your mind.

With that behind us, you're not going to get many people on your side or even to believe you when you come in ranting like a 13 year old who just got their video games taken away. Here's a fun little piece of advice, accidents happen sometimes and when you're understanding about it then typically a better resolution can be had.

I am well aware that dealerships tend to charge a bit more than other shops, that's no secret. I find it very hard to believe that they quoted you two drastically different prices unless you were requesting two different things. I personally had a great experience with Morries Minnetonka about a month ago when my thermostat went out.

You catch more flies with honey...

 

Lol, new guy expects everyone with a great morries experience to all of a sudden change their minds because he's to ****ing stupid to realize that he got two quotes from two departments, and didn't communicate that fact.

Good luck, new guy. Morries will continue to have my business despite your self-induced bad experience, and your half-assed attempt to badmouth an establishment that has done right by so many people for years upon years.

 

Look, I gave Morries every opportunity to explain the situation to me at the dealership. The Service Writer showed complete indifference. He asked if I was still going to have the service done and I replied "no". He then just shrugged it off as if it didn't matter. I then stated "what a waste of my time"and then asked"should I back the car out or what". He shrugged again and "just pull it around and go out there" and pointed around his back. I don't even think he turned his head. It was just an off-handed gesture and aloof. He really didn't care. Maybe someone else at Morries handles these situations in a more professional matter. That could be the whole of the matter, disgruntled employee perhaps? Perhaps.

"You catch more flies with honey..."
I wish there were flies to be caught, all there is to catch is indifference. It is strange though, Morries' employee response to this is to call the customer a liar and resort to name calling. I would have thought they would PM me to ask me investigatory questions(who said what, to whom, and when). The Service Writer had every chance to get to the bottom of it all at the initial customer contact(the most important meeting for any company). Instead they refute any possibility that something unfortunate might have happened and point the finger at the accuser (WITCH!). I believe, this at it's core, is referred to as blame shifting, misdirection, which all leads to an invalid argument on their behalf...at any rate they point to a spotless record of performance and all one has to do is a Yelp or Google search. Many one-star reviews to be found, not just mine.

 

Our spotless record is here, you know, where you acquired the knowledge to know of a discount, even after being a member since only last thursday, and still get the discount. What name calling are you referring to? I'm the only active employee of Morries on this site at the moment, and I'm trying to see where I called you anything?

 

derp, I didn't expect anyone to change their mind. I am alerting others to a very wrong situation. If you have any comprehension you can read the posts and realize that, in fact, Morries was well aware of the full quote at the time we made the appointment. The Service Writer at the initial call actually reiterated the prices and then we set the date to have service. derp, if you are drunk I understand that you may be feeling a little hurt, your champion has possibly made a mistake. It's no fun when a hero messes up.

Erik, I probably wrongly assumed that readymix was an employee. He references that "we have two employees on this board 24/7". Now I see that he was referring to the "board" as his possession not "Morries". And...Erik, you should not feel bad or attacked, you did nothing wrong in my book, nor did Ben(besides not writing down the quote in the work order). Who was the impetus of this rant was the Service Writer of this morning. He just couldn't have cared less. Seems like everyone on this board cares but not the representative/spokesperson I interfaced with this morning. What an ugly experience.

Also, it looks like someone "unliked" my post. Probably to ward off the barbaric horde. It's tough to stand up for oneself.

 

1. derp is always drunk
2. i don't see anywhere in here that morries ever said you were wrong...all they said was there side of the story. This forum carries a strong relationship with morries subaru, and fore that the moderators will take the time to get to the bottom of a negative issue or experience that may have come up with said vendor. Morries rely's on us as much as we rely on them, we have to maintain a professional relationship with them, as they keep a professional relationship with us. When posts like this come up it sets up red flags...when over 10 years goes by and all of a sudden someone had a bad experience and blows up its going to get looked into...you have to understand that.

 

Well, since I had to find out about this on facebook, I'm probably as off-put as you are. If you're looking for further resolution, I'd be happy to get you in the right direction via a PM.

 

"Our spotless record is here, you know, where you acquired the knowledge to know of a discount, even after being a member since last thursday, and still get the discount."

I mean...c'mon man...that is just poor. So if I get information here and you offer a discount I should not post a bad experience? Is this "get a discount and keep quiet"?

Plus there is another person who had this exact same experience except the price was changed to the original quote. How many people has this happened to and they just go along with, possibly thinking they were wrong? Bestbuy does this exact same thing only they take it a step further, they actually have "instore world wide web" that you price check on, try for yourself, get a price from home at your own computer, then go into the store and find the price is higher, the Bestbuy employee then brings up the "instore" website and "see, you're wrong, the price is that high", just whip out your smartphone and bring up the "external www" and show them the real price.

Back to Morries, it's not the parts department, it's the Sales Department...unscrupulous. Why can't anyone's word mean anything anymore...Americans screwing Americans seems to be the norm these days. There are two people with the same experience here, what gives?

Erik, you can PM me, however, I don't think I will be frequenting Morries any time in the near future. The experience totally sucked with the person I interfaced with. They just didn't give a sh*t.

I'm gonna watch me some Olympics, watch some ski jumper fly farther than a football field withsome whippy pieces of wall paneling stolen from the basement strapped to his feet.

 

So if you were so upset with how your writer this morning treated you why didn't you take it upon yourself to talk to manger? Or even go talk to another writer? You as the customer are just as responsible for how you are treated at a business as much as the person helping you. That's my .02 I'm out.
Ps... I have no vested interest in any of this im just an outsider.

 

Oh the best buy defense...

 

Thanks for the interest Ryan.
As stated above I did request to speak with my original Service Writer, Ben, and was denied that request by my Service Writer stating that it wouldn't matter. I protested and was then met with indifference. I took my responsibility as far as one would deem fit in these circumstances. The Service Writer held his ground for the much higher prices, thereby playing the game of "will the customer leave"? and if so "did I loose anything more than zero personally"? The answer was a resounding "NO". I think the Service Writer saw no potential for personal gain(profit/commission) so... better to gamble and loose a customer that will get him personally no profit. I believe that my "up-charge" was the Service Writers commission.

@ Mike. Not a Best Buy defense. Just another example of "get them in the store" that not many people know about. I have saved myself and others literally a few thousand dollars(collectively) by bringing their own "advertisement" to them. Actually Mike, try it and save $50-60 on your first trip the store, thank me later.

 

I'm here for the gang bang?

 

Well all is done I'd suggest as a fellow newish member to just quit with all this, because like the others are saying you are the apparent minority with the mories issue. You will be treated well by the NF crew.

 

hi5

 

Not a valid argument...and has no relevance to this issue. You are comparing retail to a service....not to mention two completely separate industries...if you said geek squad you might have an arguement...go watch you Olympics...you've pissed in everyone's fruit loops including your own...

 

It is a Comparative Analysis based on Process, not based on Product. So a very valid argument and a sound one at that. It is based on the premise of a price quote, hopefully only stored to recent memory, and then challenge that memory with a different(and most likely higher) price. We know that short term memory can be convinced "otherwise".
Police change peoples memories all the time as in the case coerced false confessions. The Police also use the same treatment to get accusations from "witnesses" to gang up on an innocent person. It's a gang mentality and we can see that exact thing happening here, on this very forum.
I got a big ol' bowl of cereal to munch on.