Rip off? I don't think so ........

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Haha, Jersey being a small place, that sounds epic!

[Guest]

BANG.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

SPLASH!!

[Felly Magic]

I would have put in huge bold letters on the invoice PROP JOINT NEEDS URGENT ATTENTION, and would love to see him wriggle out of that when it does give up

[gtd2000]

Funnily enough this thread (care of Luxo) may have inadvertently given me more ammunition to use against KIA UK.

 

The KIA dealer had the car in for suspected crankshaft pully bolt failure. Dealer inspected the car and advised that the spark plugs were slightly worn and there wasn't a problem with the crankshaft pulley bolt. Assured me it wasn't possible that the crankshaft pulley bolt would/could not be a problem etc.

 

No change to car issues - a week later, after not giving up, I went back to the dealer and you could say I coerced the service manager into physically checking the crankshaft pulley bolt again...(something they didn't actually do when the car was in for inspection previously).

 

Crankshaft pulley bolt was found to be the problem and the engine required to be rebuilt to fit new crankshaft etc., etc.

 

They expected me to pay for the labour (£660) but they provided the parts.

 

It took 6 weeks for this to be completed....

[Rocket88]

I would have put in huge bold letters on the invoice PROP JOINT NEEDS URGENT ATTENTION, and would love to see him wriggle out of that when it does give up

 

 

Funnily enough, that's pretty much the exact wording we did use............I also pointed out that a new joint is about £60, which is pretty much what the breakdown recovery is going to cost him when it goes south......

[Felly Magic]

Unless it fails and wedges in the tarmac, with serious consequences. Tight arsed git this bloke is. Values his life so little.

[Albert Ross]

Because all main Dealers are composed of faceless, heartless individuals who just rip you off, therefore are fair game.

 

You may as well demand money with menaces by that yardstick.

 

If, and it's a big if, it is an item the tech has failed to check properly, most dealers/repairers will honour a repair/come to a agreement. If it's not then I'd have refunded your costs and advised you to seek alternative repair arrangements as we 'can't meet your needs, Sir'.

 

I work at a large main dealers..... I am the MOT Quality Controller. I run a tight ship. I resent the fact you tar us all with the same brush. I/my underlings check everything the say they do. I am a professional through and through. We are a business like all others, and losing money to tight fisted wankers like you is not part of our business model. Yes, main Dealers have had poor reputations in the past.... try us now....... I overheard a conversation at the desk the other day. Someone had tyres worn down, and accused us of not being interested. Turns out he does 20k a year. There's the reason his tyres wear out...... he thought it was our job to stop his tyres wearing out. We deal with idiots and luddites, most of whom have no right to be behind a wheel.

[red5]

Because all main Dealers are composed of faceless, heartless individuals who just rip you off, therefore are fair game.

 

You may as well demand money with menaces by that yardstick.

 

If, and it's a big if, it is an item the tech has failed to check properly, most dealers/repairers will honour a repair/come to a agreement. If it's not then I'd have refunded your costs and advised you to seek alternative repair arrangements as we 'can't meet your needs, Sir'.

 

I work at a large main dealers..... I am the MOT Quality Controller. I run a tight ship. I resent the fact you tar us all with the same brush. I/my underlings check everything the say they do. I am a professional through and through. We are a business like all others, and losing money to tight fisted wankers like you is not part of our business model. Yes, main Dealers have had poor reputations in the past.... try us now....... I overheard a conversation at the desk the other day. Someone had tyres worn down, and accused us of not being interested. Turns out he does 20k a year. There's the reason his tyres wear out...... he thought it was our job to stop his tyres wearing out. We deal with idiots and luddites, most of whom have no right to be behind a wheel.

 

 

Read it again. You Sir, have the wrong end of that stick.

 

I have spent the last 23 years as a apprentice, mechanic, MOT tester/ Foreman/QC, Service Advisor, Workshop Controller to Service manager. And seen the general standard of customers knowledge and behaviour deteriorate pretty much year on year. I never knowlingly skimped, mis-informed or downright lied to any customer, no matter how vile their behaviour (some of which you couldn't make up).

 

Sam.

[chaseracer]

When the Blingo needs work - which is not very often - sometimes it goes to an independent on an industrial estate in Cannock, sometimes it goes to the main dealer in Stafford, time and convenience being the deciding factor.

 

I've developed good working relationships with both over many years (Ian the indy has been working on, and good-naturedly taking the piss out of, my Dyane for 20 years now) and have never been let down by either of them. Both the Blingo and Domestic Management's C3 were bought from the dealer. Any issues have been sorted with great professionalism. When the Blingo needed tyres recently, the dealer quote for two Michelins was keener than any local tyre places so it got the business.

 

As mentioned already, it's all about relationships and expectations, and the reasonable management of both...

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Albert, I do appreciate what you say and I do know there are honest people working at dealers, and a few really good dealerships.

 

However, my experience has been negative 90% of the time. The latest one was only last week, and it probably was with people that you are familiar with- I did the MOT at the local Vauxhall/Saab dealer (Pentagon Sheffield) because they had a 25 quid offer on (to begin with, that's a bad omen on its own- doing something clearly at a loss in order to attract more business. As I want to keep an 'arm's length' relationship with the MOT and never do it through my usual mechanics, I go to the cheapest one and just keep a keen eye on them). I had booked it 3 weeks beforehand, turned up 15 minutes before the 13:00 appointment- "they are on the lunch break- come back in 15". So I come back in 17 minutes and they say "they are testing another car and we only have one bay, so you'll have to wait for another hour". So I wait for about 90 minutes instead, then the test is done, the car fails. "Do I need to book a specific time for a retest?" "No, you just turn up and we check it on the spot". Fast forward a week, "hello, I need this to be looked at so that I can get my MOT sorted". "Sorry, Sir, we are busy and we can't do it today [not like I went at closing time- it was barely 14:15], come back tomorrow". "Alright, what time shall I come tomorrow?" "Can you do 8:30?" "No, but I can do 11". "That's great, just bring it at 11". So I bring it at 11 and the receptionist says "leave it with me". At 11:30 she goes on her lunchbreak, and 10 mins later, having seen no progress, I ask what's going on. Their reply "we can't stop whatever we are doing in order to look at your car". Cue a very angry response on my part - I don't know how I managed to keep it reasonably civil.

 

To be fair to them, the bloke carrying out the actual test was really honest (though he was not very experienced and had to check manuals on a couple of items, but that's fine by me). Still, if they don't respect me, there is no way that I can be convinced to respect them.

 

Edited to add: During the hours I spent waiting, there was a veritable parade of pissed off customers ("bought a car 6 months ago and you still haven't managed to get me the correct spare key", "what do you mean I have to go to the other branch to get this warrant y repair done?", "why haven't you registered me for the lifetime warranty" and so on and on and on and on) that suggested that I was far from alone...

[Cavcraft]

My local Vauxhall dealers are ace but I only use them for parts. They're fiendly and helpful plus don't try and rip you off for anything you don't need. I expect a lot of small garages are far worse than dealers to be quite honest.

Also main dealers will have set prices (and times) for repairing stuff and with their overheads being far higher than some back street bodge artist they won't be cheap BUT you'll have a lot more redress if they do try and rip you off.

Going into a garage and ask them to service your car plus fix anything that needs doing without asking how much it will cost or for a quote first is just plain daft imho whether a main dealer or a small garage.

[dieselnutjob]

I fix my cars myself as running three old French cars would just not be viable otherwise. I have my own diagnostic kit and can do things like programming in my tyre pressure sensors which most garages can't do.

 

However sometimes I get stuck or need an MOT or can't be arsed in which case I have an excellent independant who charges £60 hour and who I totally trust. However I never just leave them the car without asking him how long he thinks it will take/what it will cost. He always calls me if there is a problem and it will take longer and clearly explains what the problem is and what my options are etc. I've even had the odd disagreement with the guy but I always always pay the bill no questions asked.

 

Lastly I avoid the main dealers due to the £100 hour labour and because I jsut don't know them but just occasionally there is no choice. When I got my 806 it only had one key and only main dealers can code them. Even then I had a nice surprise. I asked the manager how long it would take and what it would cost and he says 1/2 an hour. When I came to pick it up he said "we managed to do it in 15 minutes so that's what we will charge you".

 

So hats off to Waters Peugeot main dealer in Hatfield (or whatever they are called now) for 100% honesty.

 

I would say to anyone running a garage that you would be wise to always set an expection (of how much it will cost) with a customer before you start, and call them if something changes, especially if you don't know the customer. Some people are just stupid and it's better to find out before you start the job than afterwards.

[ashmicro]

The punter sounds like a cockend. The oil change on an Audi S5 is £367.28. Yes, JUST an oil change.

 

Anyone who doesn't service their car for 5 years should have their licence taken off them.

[Albert Ross]

Luxo, I hear your pain.

I am not in control of the bookings, but I AM in charge of MOT matters. We have "half past" bookings for the mornings, a lunch break, and "on the hour" bookings for the afternoons. If a customer turns up more than 10 minutes late, the receptionists come to see me and find out if we can still deal. Normally yes, but we have tight bookings on the testing ramp. If someone leaves a car with us, and we have a gap, it gets tested asap.... That way if it fails, we have more time to fix it. If it's booked for service also, we test it first. Then if it's a proper nail, we ring the customer to give them a choice of repair, repair and service, or scrap/trade in! Only recently I did this for a 9 year old Vectra, and the customer did the bare minimum to make it legal, and traded it in. Thus taking the onus off him to keep it together. Through regular meetings and consultations between us workshop staff and the "white shirts" we make the place work. It's good that we get involved, as it means they care about us, and we care about the business. There are 5 testers on site, and there will always be someone free within 15 minutes. If a vehicle requires more than a quick retest, it needs to be booked onto the testing ramp. We do not do quick "just pop down" type retests. Even traders bring their cars for test. We are to the book, and NO swaying from that. If there are any issues regarding testing, the tester consults me...... and we make the decision that is the correct one for the vehicle concerned. I have no qualms whatsoever in failing a fault, even if "we'll get it done when we get back"....... It's right, or it's wrong. End of on that one.

Red5, sorry for misunderstanding.... difficult to get the gist when written, not spoken.

[RobT]

The punter sounds like a cockend. The oil change on an Audi S5 is £367.28. Yes, JUST an oil change.

 

 

Why so costly, does the engine have to be removed?

[ashmicro]

The punter sounds like a cockend. The oil change on an Audi S5 is £367.28. Yes, JUST an oil change.

 

 

Why so costly, does the engine have to be removed?

 

Labour is well over a ton, the filter must be made of solid gold and I think it uses single-malt Scotch as lubricant. I really don't know why it's so dear Rob, but my mate who own the car paid it without demur. However, I told him that if he goes to the dealer for the next oil change I'll punch him in the eye for being a twat.

[garethj]

Because all main Dealers are composed of faceless, heartless individuals who just rip you off, therefore are fair game.

 

You may as well demand money with menaces by that yardstick.

 

Read it again. You Sir, have the wrong end of that stick.

Yep, easy mistake with the quoting things.

 

To echo Bo11ox's point again - I wouldn't work in the motor trade dealing with the public. You're on to a loser whichever way it goes.

 

Full marks to anyone who does it well

[red5]

I left in the end - a mixture of wanting to try teaching (a desire held for a long time) and sheer exhaustion/weariness with the Motoring Publicâ„¢

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now I teach automotive engineering.....oh, wait....bugger.

[woolleyiain]

That guy's a tool. That seems reasonable for the work carried out, especially when you take the loaner into account. I bet he brought the thing back dirty and with no petrol in it either...

 

I work for a main dealer also. We do a full 28 point inspection on everything that comes in, unless the customer declines it. It takes about twenty minutes. It's visual, I'll inspect a lot of the cars myself with a tech and I'll tell you about everything wrong at the time of inspection. You'll even get a nice color coded sheet with all the quotes written down for you. However, if you come in for an oil change, we find nothing else required and a week later your check engine light comes on because your EGR valve has failed (Albert, you might feel my pain if you work for Vauxhall), we're not responsible for that. If we missed something, however, I'll fix it, often for a reduced rate.

[Albert Ross]

Iain, I do indeed work for a Vauxhall dealer. But although I care not a jot for anything made after the Astra F (Except the Agila!) I care about the service I give, as I base my earnings upon it.

[woolleyiain]

Exactly. Bad service = no customers. No customers = no money. If I don't take good care of the people that come to see me, I'm sunk.

[red5]

Astra F = win. Although I am warming to the Astra G and Vectra C now, slowly....

[retrogeezer]

I've not read all of this thread but 2 of my 'main dealer' experiences spring to mind. First one was a service on a ZX Volcane that we had, the invoice had a charge of £50 odd quid for a 'full brake fluid change'. On the sundries part of the invoice was a charge for .25 of a litre of brake fluid. I questioned how they managed to do a full change with only a quarter of a litre of fluid........sorry Mr Avery, that must be a mistake, £50 removed from the bill.

They also had a sign on the counter 'front brake pads changed on a ZX for only £220, I bought some ferodo ones from Halfords for £20 and fitted them myself in 30 minutes!

 

We then had a Picasso HDi a few years later and in the mistaken idea that it needed a service at a Citroen garage to keep the warranty up I rang around for some quotes. One service adviser said something like 'oh, the 30,000 mile service is a big one where they change the filters too so it's £300 odd quid!! I asked what on earth they did on a normal service if no filters were changed!

[ashmicro]

The airflow meter failed on my C200 Kompressor, and the dealer wanted £400 to fit a new one. My motor factor mate got me one, and a proper OE one at that, for £80. Considering it fits between two halves of a plastic pipe and is held on by 2 jubilee clips, the dealer was fucked off at the high port and I have never went near them again. £320 for labour!

[autofive]

8 pages of maindealer bashing

 

luxo: its your attitude that forces everyone who uses a maindealer to pay more

 

everyone else: keep up the good work

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I know. Blame me for the £367.28 Audi oilchange.

[CIH]

To me, it's not autoshite if the dealer will even entertain servicing your car.....

[dieselnutjob]

The main dealer is only allowed to fit genuine parts. You might be able to get pads for £20 but a main dealer isn't allowed to fit them. I don't think he gets to choose the price of the parts either because surely that's down to the importer/manufacturer.

 

You could even get your brake pads changed elsewhere or change them yourself and still get the "full service history" and "warranty" and all that provided that the main dealer does the oil changes and other bits that are required to get the stamp in the book.

 

The main dealers can't sell me parts for my 604 because they threw the microfiche parts slides away years ago and it isn't on the computer.

[autofive]

last time i needed obscure cortina parts from Jennings (local ford main dealer) i took my own microfisch slides in, the staff were very impressed

[Albert Ross]

Well, we have to have so many policies in place to deal with knobhead customers..... and they DEMAND seats to sit on, fish to look at, newspapers to read, a courtesy lift servic,. loan cars, no grease on the steering wheels, no footprints on the carpets, good honest staff that DON'T steal change or sweeties from the car. I could go on. I even get pissed of with Junior Staff (those younger than me, who although do the same job, are considered Junior by the Management) for changing radio stations etc..... we do have to move seats to get in cars driven by little old ladies, but always make a note and be ready to assist with repositioning afterwards. I am known as a Senior Technician, yet am unqualified... I prefer the term "Mechanic" but we cannot use that name anymore. I have been working at this place for 9 years, having started as a sweeper-upper and petrol pump attendant at a Yugo/Dacia Garage in Wiltshire. I have also worked running a "build shop" in an Engine reconditioning centre. I know all the dodges about that..... Then I qualified as a Tester, and have never looked back. Honesty and total clarity are my watchwords. I have already received a Christmas tip from a happy customer. He came in specially to give it to me, and did it in full view of the desk staff. Saying "This is for you personally". A bottle of Chardonnay and a tin of Fox's choccy biccies. Nom nom. We can't accept gratuities normally, but in the case of a long term customer, who asks for me to do his car, it's permitted. I am one of the only mechanics who gets asked for... I work on cars belonging to children/grandchildren of customers. New drivers are introduced to me, as Family members, and are told to ask for me by name. We value good service where I work. Good reputations come from good service, and word of mouth recommendations. Remember, if a customer is unhappy, he WILL tell his friends. If happy, there's no need to sing about it, as it's what is expected..

And DNJ, we absolutely CAN fit pattern parts, but not to vehicles still under warranty.

CIH, only the other day, I serviced a K plated Astra F "Belmont" 1.7TD..... and all genuine parts were used.