Dishonesty Really Annoys Me

Dishonesty really annoys me.

The mortgage industry, along with many other industries, is rife with liars, cheaters and stealers; of course, there are also the professional, well-meaning and honest folks in all of these industries as well, but you need to be sure you are watching out for the first group so that you are not "taken to the bank."

This morning, I went to my auto dealer's service department to get the oil in my car changed and I was reminded of this loud and clear.

I get the oil changed at the dealership because I have to - none of the convenient oil change locations carry the oil filter because the maker of my vehicle thought that it would be a great way to keep business in-house by giving my auto-engine a special oil filter that no one else will carry in stock - it worked!

When I called to make the appointment and when I arrived this morning, the service writer, who we will call "Patrick," was adamant that I get the 60,000 mile service done because it was not done at my last visit; I asked him what type of work this service included. He explained to me that the coolant would be flushed, the transmission fluid would be replaced, the air & pollen filters would be replaced, tires rotated, etc.

Where am I going with this? Read the rest of the story here....

I asked Patrick what the cost would be and he told me it would normally be $529 but that he would give it to me for $429 today; regardless of what price I would pay, both were a far cry from the ~$30 I was planning to pay for the oil change this morning.

I told him I was not interested in this service because (1) the coolant had already been flushed from a prior mistake I had made in the parking lot of a small, locally owned auto shop - which is a whole other story - (2) I have a manual transmission and (3) I can change the air filters myself.

He then fired back telling me that it didn't matter whether the transmission was automatic or manual and that I should still get it done anyway because they will not only service the transmission, but also blow out my fuel injectors to make the car more fuel efficient - talk about changing the subject!

The one thing that Patrick didn't know is that, while I was waiting at Starbucks down the street for his doors to be unlocked at 8:00 AM, I perused the service portion of my car's owner's manual and I remembered specifically reading that automatic transmissions need to be flushed/serviced at 60,000 miles and that manual transmissions only need to have their oil replaced every 100,000 miles. In other words, I caught him in a blatant lie. Being that I was feeling oddly non-confrontational this morning, I simply made a mental note of this, smiled and told him that all I wanted done was the oil change - final answer.

Of course, I would like to end the story here but there is more.

It is "common knowledge" that we should all get our oil changed every 3,000 miles but it is not so commonly known that many manufactures recommend having the oil changed every 5,000 miles - the manufactures of both my and my wife's vehicles (different makes) recommend in the owner's manual that we change the oil at 5,000 miles unless the auto's use falls under their definition of "heavy use." Neither of our vehicles fall under this category except on very rare occasions and we service them accordingly.

That in itself is what I would consider generally accepted dishonesty but my story goes further. The same dealership that wanted to sell me a service that I clearly did not need, also put on the window sticker of my car - the reminder that I need another oil change - that I should have my oil changed again at 69,800 miles; I looked down at my odometer as I was driving away and it said 67,802 - that's not 5,000 miles, nor is it 3,000 miles...it's 1,998 miles! Had I not noticed this right then and there, I would have probably brought the car in for an oil change much sooner than I really needed to; wasting my money & my time. As I was writing this blog entry, I remembered the same thing happened at this same dealership on a different oil change visit when my wife brought the car in; that time, I gave them the benefit of the doubt...this time, no way, I will never do business with them again.

Clearly, I do not like dishonesty (generally accepted or otherwise) and I am a firm believer in doing unto others what you would have done unto yourself; keep this in mind when you are ready for a home loan and give me a call!

Michael Creed - Senior Mortgage Banker & Production Manager - First Omni Mortgage Lending

800-627-1925 x1923