Active Green and Ross - my experience

[qqq17]

I went there today and found the service to be good but I went in there for a simply oil change and almost came out with a whopping bill. My car has 160k km on it and I was gonna get the 24.95 oil change but was up sold to 29.95 oil change, the eco power oil. So they changed the oil and gave me a list of stuff that needs to be done.

Oil pan leaking
engine shampoo
brake service
coolant flush - coolant too acidic
tie rod ends
shocks

So I didn't really believe I needed all of this so I brought it back to the dealership and they would look at it for free. Oil pan clean, coolant just right, tie rod ends good. The shocks were actually leaking and I got a better price at the dealership lol. The brakes were good since I just got them checked else where. I would always get a second opinion when going there. Maybe its just the technicians judgment.

[BluePhirePB]

AG&R are crooks. Totally dishonest and up sell on everything. They even go as far as recommending or actually replacing parts that are fine just to drive up the bill. Avoid at all cost.

[HotYaris]

I was gonna get the 24.95 oil change but was up sold to 29.95 oil

How does it feel to be suckered into unnecessarily paying more than you intended?

[Winkle]

They used to be Speedy's before they got bought out and changed names, they were crooks back then too. Took my car in once, they tried to rip me off, didn't buy into it, had to argue with them to even get my car back because they kept saying they shouldn't even let me drive my car off their property it was so unsafe (lol).

[AnotherCanuck]

Why do people still go to AG+R?!?

Isn't it universally known that they are complete and utter crooks and scumbags?

[chickenbones]

Why do people still go to AG+R?!?

Isn't it universally known that they are complete and utter crooks and scumbags?

Because people are cheap. They see $24.99 oil change and they go for a "deal". It's unrealistic to think mechanic shops can survive on $24.99 oil changes. Of course they up sell on everything just to make some real money. The independant shops that aren't crooked probably can't survive long anyway unless they really made a good name for themselves.

By the way, your $29.99 "eco oil" is most likely from the same barrel as the $24.99 oil. In fact your $80 synthetic oil is probably the same as the $24.99 oil too hahaha.

Some people deserve to get scammed. like that one guy on this forum who complained about Chi's 360 auto. He tried to save this guy money by changing 1 ball joint, and a few months later another one broke. So this guy complained. He deserves to have all 8 (wink wink) of ball joints changed every 20,000kms.

[Marx0r]

Lmao @ engine shampoo.. wow. That must be a $100 fix. Then you'll have to come back because water will get in where it's not supposed to, and/or they will break a gasket.

[yao416]

Because people are cheap. They see $24.99 oil change and they go for a "deal". It's unrealistic to think mechanic shops can survive on $24.99 oil changes. Of course they up sell on everything just to make some real money. The independant shops that aren't crooked probably can't survive long anyway unless they really made a good name for themselves.

By the way, your $29.99 "eco oil" is most likely from the same barrel as the $24.99 oil. In fact your $80 synthetic oil is probably the same as the $24.99 oil too hahaha.

Some people deserve to get scammed. like that one guy on this forum who complained about Chi's 360 auto. He tried to save this guy money by changing 1 ball joint, and a few months later another one broke. So this guy complained. He deserves to have all 8 (wink wink) of ball joints changed every 20,000kms.

Lol. So that was that complaint about.

[Mistro]

Which one was it? I used to go to the one at Kennedy and Steeles when I had my mazda 3 and they seemed pretty nice. Then again I just went to swap my winter wheels on since it was free for life if you bought them there.

[qqq17]

kitchener

I found that the tires there are at a pretty good price, but they still can mess up on those. I bought tires and they way over inflated them.

They told me that the oil pan was leaking and wait till next time I get an oil change to replace it since they have to drain all the oil. I asked them if it is leaking why didn't they repair it before they changed the oil. I got no response. The coolant flush, they told a person before me about it and they decline and then they told me I needed it. They want to shampoo the engine to get it cleaned to check for any other leaks. That would cost 50 bucks. tie rod ends 500 bucks, shocks/pair 420 bucks, oil pan 300 bucks, coolant flush 100 bucks, brake service 200 bucks.


Which one was it? I used to go to the one at Kennedy and Steeles when I had my mazda 3 and they seemed pretty nice. Then again I just went to swap my winter wheels on since it was free for life if you bought them there.

[chickenbones]

All these are pretty standard up sells. The pay scale of these places encourage mechanics to upsell in order to make commissions. They make pretty much minimium base pay plus commissions they get from up selling.



kitchener

I found that the tires there are at a pretty good price, but they still can mess up on those. I bought tires and they way over inflated them.

They told me that the oil pan was leaking and wait till next time I get an oil change to replace it since they have to drain all the oil. I asked them if it is leaking why didn't they repair it before they changed the oil. I got no response. The coolant flush, they told a person before me about it and they decline and then they told me I needed it. They want to shampoo the engine to get it cleaned to check for any other leaks. That would cost 50 bucks. tie rod ends 500 bucks, shocks/pair 420 bucks, oil pan 300 bucks, coolant flush 100 bucks, brake service 200 bucks.

[litebrite]

I go to AG&R cuz they're relatively convenient to me and they're always courteous, friendly and provide quick service. The last few times they gave me a list of things that need to be done. No big pressure to get it done with them. I simply went to my own mechanic, gave him the list and asked what needed to be done. Turns out it was only the brakes that needed replacing. :p

[XtremeModder]

They tried charging my Gfs mom $85 for an air filter change on her mazda6... Thankfully she didn't do it with them, I did it for her the same day I just told her over the phone what to ask for at parts source.

[poedua]

All these are pretty standard up sells. The pay scale of these places encourage mechanics to upsell in order to make commissions. They make pretty much minimium base pay plus commissions they get from up selling.

Take away message ?

Don't get your car serviced at a shop where part of the mechanic's compensation is based on parts and services that trigger commissions.

For example, my shops mechanic's are salaried - no commissions.

[bas00m]

why pay $24 for an oil change when you can go to Pennzoil 10 min quick oil change and pay $19 dollars for it ....

or you can buy your oil and just take it to any mechanic and they will do it for $20

[poedua]

why pay $24 for an oil change when you can go to Pennzoil 10 min quick oil change and pay $19 dollars for it ....

or you can buy your oil and just take it to any mechanic and they will do it for $20

+1

[yao416]

Take away message ?

Don't get your car serviced at a shop where part of the mechanic's compensation is based on parts and services that trigger commissions.

For example, my shops mechanic's are salaried - no commissions.

Yeah. Your mechanic will tell you how much they make :rolleyes:

[poedua]

Yeah. Your mechanic will tell you how much they make :rolleyes:

That's an achingly naive and simplistic - and dead wrong - interpretation of what I said......... hardly a surprise.:rolleyes:

I don't expect any shop to tell me how much the shop and or their staff earns per annum......but, a reputable shop will tell you if their techs are remunerated based on a fixed salary or based on a variable basis - i.e hourly rate plus commission.

[yao416]

That's an achingly naive and simplistic - and dead wrong - interpretation of what I said......... hardly a surprise.:rolleyes:

I don't expect any shop to tell me how much the shop and or their staff earns per annum......but, a reputable shop will tell you if their techs are remunerated based on a fixed salary or based on a variable basis - i.e hourly rate plus commission.

Stop being naive

[AARON_R/C]

yep we quite going to AG&R too even the shop is 2mins away from my house.
Bunch of crooks, got so pissed that my mom fell for a "maintenance tune up" ,charged $64 on 4 regular spark plugs alone !!!!!!!!! WTF :cry:
now i won't ever let my mom take her car to AG&G for maintenance... save BIG $$

[Avatar]

Active green and rose... Do they have fertilizers and seed patch for my lawn?

[jason9945]

AG&R are crooks. Totally dishonest and up sell on everything. They even go as far as recommending or actually replacing parts that are fine just to drive up the bill. Avoid at all cost.

+1

After replacing my front struts they phoned me and said that my rear ones need to be replaced.... Their exact words "They actually need to be replaced". I brought the car in for a weird noise in the front end, which was caused by a brake rotor. They replaced the front struts because "after 80,000KM we just replace them if you say you have a front end problem" and didn't investigate the cause of the problem at all.

[poedua]

Active green and rose... Do they have fertilizers and seed patch for my lawn?

Yes....they shovel BS all day long. ;)

[Geodude19]

Sounds like AG&R stands for Active, Grab and Run. :D

[AV-Fishing]

Not a surprise at all.

Do a search on RFD for Active Green and Ross ... you'd find plenty of people ranting because these guys are real scammers!

[hightech]

Because people are cheap. They see $24.99 oil change and they go for a "deal". It's unrealistic to think mechanic shops can survive on $24.99 oil changes. Of course they up sell on everything just to make some real money. The independant shops that aren't crooked probably can't survive long anyway unless they really made a good name for themselves.

By the way, your $29.99 "eco oil" is most likely from the same barrel as the $24.99 oil. In fact your $80 synthetic oil is probably the same as the $24.99 oil too hahaha.

Some people deserve to get scammed. like that one guy on this forum who complained about Chi's 360 auto. He tried to save this guy money by changing 1 ball joint, and a few months later another one broke. So this guy complained. He deserves to have all 8 (wink wink) of ball joints changed every 20,000kms.

I remember that thread. I have been to Chi and he is pretty good and reasonably priced. It is a situation where if he tells him to change both they customer would say he is ripping him off. To be a nice guy, he changed one and then tried to get the other one fixed for free :facepalm: It is guys like that who ruin it for the rest who want an honest mechanic.