John Saunders

I was surprised a local family-owned dealership would gouge its customers. No wonder it is not mentioned for mechanical repair in the local Best of business survey voted by the local people. They charg gouge its customers. No wonder it is not mentioned for mechanical repair in the local Best of business survey voted by the local people. They charged $195 diagnostic fee after I told them what was wrong. This was disclosed up front and shame on me for not realizing that it would just be the beginning of getting gouged, but I had already had my vehicle towed and dropped off at the dealership (which is not open either Sat. or Sun.). The diag. fee is not waived if you get the repair done there, like so many other places do. My vehicle did not even get looked at on the first day. The second day I was told they would have to order the part. I heard nothing back from the advisor about the vehicle status on the 3rd day. The vehicle was done on the 4th day. This was my only vehicle, and I was stranded at home, so was anxious to have it back. Many dealerships provide a Free rental vehicle for repairs over $250 if the repair is expected to take more than a day. That was not offered here. They also charged 25.6% more for the exact same part # that I could get on-line, when ordering from Auto Star Chev. in Waynesville. When I pointed this out to the parts person, they refused to do anything about it. The service advisor appeared to have no authority to do anything. Mechanically, the issue appears to be fixed with little disruption to my vehicle. When you check out to pay Auto Star charges another 3% fee for using a credit card. Using a credit card for a $929 repair is a standard way of doing business and for most consumers to absorb a large bill. The 3% on TOP of the outrageous diag. fee is an additional gouge on the local customers. A merchant credit card fee charge is a standard cost of doing business for all the dealerships I have dealt with and is obviously reflected in the large diag. fee and charges by Auto Star. I did not bring my checkbook because the advisor had not mentioned the credit card fee when I was told on the 4th day that the vehicle was done. I also showed the advisor that the dealerships in Tampa, FL offer an advertised service discount that is tiered on the amount of your repair. It amounts to about 10%. For this repair it would have been a $70 discount. Obviously, without any dealer competition, Auto Star Waynesville does not offer that benefit to any of its local customers. Most dealership service centers offer a courteous free car wash to its customers. Not at Auto Star. Although I did have my windshield washer fluid topped off for FREE. Obviously, this is a hugely profitable dealership for the local owners, at the expense of its local customers. I have already taken the time to find a local auto repair faculty that is not so greedy and egregious, for my future repairs. More

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