Do shops still sabotage cars for profit?

FASTBACK340 said
Wow..... Talk about a different approach! So what your saying is if a customer came into your shop for an oil change and two days later his brake sensor started touching the rotor, I'm sure he's going to return and ask: What did you do to my car?

He got the oil changed and now it's making a noise. Remember, the average consumer doesn't know much about cars and will suspect the shop did something wrong, and in the example you gave, you did. We go over EVERY CAR that comes into our shop. If I see drive belts starting to crack, I report it. If I see brake pads worn to within touching the sensor, I report on it. Even if the customer declines the repair, when that brake pad sensor starts squawking the next day, we can pull the file and remind the customer they were advised of the condition. Would you want a contractor coming to your house to hang sheet rock on rotting beams? Or would that be considered ripping off the customer too?

There's a difference between fixing cars and performing maintenance. Maintenance is being made aware you will need brakes within the next month as opposed to just bringing the car in for an oil change and having the "technican" miss the bad brakes. That's the QUICKEST way to loose a customer! That's when you have to "fix" the car with an angry and un-trusting consumer at your shop. IF they come back to your shop.

And as for a seasoned diag. tech swinging engines, well.... shop policy varies from place to place, as you pointed out.

Actually, John, what I was pointing out was the idea that the store was doing a complete brake inspection with every oil change. Not a visual, through the wheels, through the backing plate inspection, but a pull the wheels off, measure the rotors, take the calipers off, check the pins, push the pistons back, beat the drums off, look at the shoes and wheel cylinders brake inspection done on an oil change. I've been able to take a look through the dust shields on most cars and seen how close the squealer is and then talk to the customer about checking the brakes. Or seen that the rotor is rusting because the inside pad is stuck. Haven't you? That's one of the reasons the little "windows" exist in the dust shields. Tire rotations are even better. These guys were pullling brakes apart on every oil change. Customers were getting frustrated that it was taking 45 minutes to do an oil change while the mechanic was looking for bad brakes and started going to the ten minute oil change places. So guess who started loosing business on even oil changes? It didn't increase business for them, it actually hurt them.

Now, to the flip side, yeah, you've got the hood open on a brake job to check the brake fluid level. Bad brakes. Did the customer fill the master? Are you going to have to suction some of the access fluid out or just let it puke all over the floor when you push the pistons back and have an over full master when you're done or is the level where it should be and you're comfortable going on with the job? You notice a belt that's worn. I'll give you that. You just made your customer aware of a potential problem. On the other hand a customer comes in for four tires. That's it. No other services. What are you doing under his hood? Five miles down the road his engine pops. Guess who was the last person under his hood? Did you touch anything that would blow up his engine? Can you prove it?