Long time dealership employee (since 1985, service advisor and service manager). For every story like this where someone claims to have gotten screwed by a dealership, there's 10 where the opposite has happened.
I am not going to read that thread either, just pass on what we do: unless it's an express lube oil change, EVERY CAR gets road tested after completion. There have been a few memorable 'catches' from doing that. We service advisors will randomly pick cars to road test from the completed but not picked up cars. Yes, there have been accidents but since 1985 I can count them on the fingers of one hand. In every case the customer made out like a bandit. Just recently we had a car broken into on the lot, the guy claimed he had two pair of $300 Beats by Dr. Dre headphones (there's another ripoff; $15 headphones for $300 because it's got some asshole's signature on it) in the car. We could not prove or disprove, even though it was an event completely beyond our control (security camera footage showed it happening at 5AM, it was non employees) we paid for the repairs and $600 worth of invisible headphones.
Then there was the time I came into work and a 300 Touring (bottom feeder 2.7 V6 and automatic, as cheap a 300 as you'll ever see) was sitting on concrete blocks, the 22" wheels were gone. (Glad I'm no longer a service manager.) The service manager called the police, filed a report, then called the customer who of course started screaming that we WOULD replace his wheels and tires or he would sue us to breakfast and back. Service manager got a phone call a few minutes later from the 'wheel rental company' advising him the wheels had been repossessed, not stolen.
G60Corrado is right about one thing: it does not matter how conscientious or honest we are, everyone calls us thieves but of course THEIR profession is PERFECT. One of the funniest conversations I have ever had with a customer was a LAWYER telling me he thought the flat rate system was dishonest. It rocked him back when I asked him how HE got paid; he said 'But that's different'. Oh, really? How? (crickets)
Or the time I broke my leg, I walked into the doctor's office (no it wasn't easy) they put my leg in a temporary splint which I wore to the orthopedic surgeon's office (all of 10 minutes) and was billed $375.00 for it. It couldn't be more than $20 worth of cheap steel bar and Velcro. Best part: once I had worn it, it was not supposed to ever be worn by anybody else.
