I received a letter about a recall on a vehicle I ...

I received a letter about a recall on a vehicle I own. I called them and made an appointment to get it fixed. They had the info on the car because it was there previously. I got there, and checked in, and the nice man behind the counter told me that my vehicle was not able to take advantage of the recall. I can understand that, but why didn't they tell me this before I drove down there with another person following me (ride back)? They wasted 1.5 hours of my time.