Hi,
Would anyone like to share any reviews or recommendations about the cheap car service coupons on Groupon?
Some of the mechanics are part of reputed nationwide chain.
Seems to be too good to be true.
Any hidden costs?
Do you get what you pay for or is it a real bargain?
Cheers.
Agreed, tired of the cheap treatment.
This. Paid for a car wash some time last year. Got turned away and told to come back another day at a time that was really early or late in the evening.
Decided to rock up another day and get my wash without specifying that I paid via Groupon until mid wash when they asked for payment. They proceeded to tell me off and wanted to stop my wash for other customers (only 2 at the time who arrived after me). I lost my shit at them and made them finish the job.
Similar things have happened to me. It really defeats the purpose of groupon, to help promote their business and secure returning customers.
But issue with groupon is that groupon take a massive cut, so when a lot of groupon customers (due to 15-30% off sales) come in at once it puts a lot of pressure on the business, and even though they are busier they may not be making any more money than usual.
I would definitely advise against groupon or similar car services if your car is at least half decent. If it is already trashed, you have nothing to lose!
My experience was not the best too.
Aren't they supposed to provide a good service so that you become a repeat-full-paying-customer?
Don't forget they usually have a clause saying "if your car requires synthetic oil…"
That DOES NOT MEAN fully-synthetic oil. It means if you need even semi-synthetic you will pay about $50 extra.
Basically, if you buy one of those things, expect to pay more when you bring the car in for all sorts of stuff.
they will try to go for extras such as…
drive belt worn and cracked.
air filter very dirty.
brake fluid flush needed.
sump plug needs replacing.
minor timing case oil leak.
that was my first and only major car service experience bought on Groupon. has since gone to 2 other mechanics who didnt notice those above.
Brake fluid is recommended to be flushed every 2 years. Usually it is not a problem if you don't, but it may cause a safety issue as water gets absorbed in there (water>boils>creates gas>brakes fail). I admit I don't change it every 2 years.
Use this information as you wish.
Still not necessary to be flushed.
The issue with these services is they add fancy names to things so they can charge you more. For example where a brake fluid flush would be $75-$100 anywhere else it will be $150-250 at these add-on mechanics.
If you are a male that is savvy about cars, and too busy to do the work yourself, then you will often walk out not being told anything needs replaced. When I get work done on my cars they usually joke around with the items that need replacing because they know I'm not giving them another penny.
Kind of unreleated but I worked at a restaurant many moons ago that did the vouchers…we had to prioritise full paying customers and introduce terms and conditions and the like, not worth it
I literally did this yesterday didnt have an issue but it was a 40000km service so it isnt like the car has any issues because it is still pretty new.
I always find with services and Groupon you'll always be treated as a second class citizen.