Worst Main Dealer Stories, get it off your chest!

[Albert Ross]

I resent the suggestion that we, as mechanics in Main Dealers are clueless... We get customer owned vehicles in for a routine Service and MOT. Naturally we test first. The outcome is recorded on our own computer systems, as well as the DVSA central records. We do a VISUAL condition report of all safety items. (Note: Not ancillary equipment) We report the remaining depth of brake linings and tyre tread depths. We report on age/condition of brake fluid and coolant strength. We report issues with driveability. However. The customer is paying the bill. We might well tell them on the VCR, and on MOT advice, that it has passed, BUT it has 4 tyres on 2mm, and the brake pads all round are 85% worn, the brake fluid is black and has a greater water content than recommended by the manufacturer. The brake pipes may be corroded, and require cleaning and protecting.... shocks could be damp..... BUT.... the customer has to say YES PLEASE, do all the work to make my car up to manufacturer's recommended standard, to keep it safe and reliable. If they say no, out goes another vehicle that will have illegal tyres within a month, and iffy brakes within 2. Not my problem. Except it might be following me when I drive somewhere. My arse is covered by the paper and computer trail. As long as I report all my findings at the time of service, it is date stamped evidence that the customer is a cheapskate. I have had VOSA and The Police all on me to enquire about my personal service records relative to an RTA where the owner rear ended a stationary School Minibus,  sliding into it sideways from about 40 on a wet road..... Of course it wasn't his fault, why? "I've just had the MOT and Service done at XXXXXXX dealers" Cue the visit...... they left, thanking us for our co-operation, and prosecuted the chap for failing to maintain his vehicle to a roadworthy condition. The personal injury claim was a biggie.....!!!  We have to work to a "Duty of Care" method of operation. That way I keep my job and stay out of prison.

[Rusty_Rocket]

The difference, Mr Ross, is that you are an honest individual.  Most experiences I have had with main dealers have been quite the opposite- they have quoted me for work that is unnecessary and not replaced parts they say they have during a service.

 

Just two of the many reasons why I drive old cars out of choice and avoid the robbing bastards that use this 'duty of care' to their own advantage.

[Pillock]

I've not had a problem with main dealer servicing, but I've never had a nice surprise either. I used to give them the car, get it back with the exact parts replaced that the Ford service schedule said would be replaced (available at the etis website) and occasionally a phone call to ask if I wanted extra work. It was always ready the hour they said it would.

 

Their profit is cars per mechanic per day so naturally they're not going to polish the gear linkage and clean inside the rear lamps. Oil, filters, visual check, get it out. If I wanted the personal touch I'd use the garage at the top of the road who charge a bit less, but are so lackadaisical the car may or may not be ready the day they say. And he's terrified of modern sensor-laden cars, outright refused to have anything to do with my DPF problems.

[twosmoke300]

^^^ he isn't gonna be trading much longer then . As a small garage owner I must admit im not keen on some diagnostic work but like it or not you have to do it these days .You just need to bite the bullet and get the kit/ do the training . Unfortunatly it will be the customer that pays for it in the long run but its not the garages fault , blame Europe and the manufacturers .

[messerschmitt owner]

Sytner Mercedes Bristol crashed a mercedes into my smart roadster in their car park, then gave me a BMW 1 Series with enough fuel for ten miles as a courtesy car! Then they took fourteen weeks to replace a panel. It sat outside at the back of their yard and the pads seized to the discs in the meantime. Got a 'free' service for which they just did an oil and filter change and no other work.

[Pillock]

^^^ he isn't gonna be trading much longer then . As a small garage owner I must admit im not keen on some diagnostic work but like it or not you have to do it these days .You just need to bite the bullet and get the kit/ do the training . Unfortunatly it will be the customer that pays for it in the long run but its not the garages fault , blame Europe and the manufacturers .

He won't be, but he's the son of the original owner whose name is above the door and has no kids himself so in the next few years it'll probably shut up shop.

 

It's pretty much an MOT station and does welding, brakes, services on all the old cars in the village but you rarely see anything newer than 2004 or so in there. He knows it's all going computery but if he's looking to wind down in 5 years, is there much point spunking £20k on the kit? Might as well just keep at it with the spanners and hammer.

[twosmoke300]

Tis a shame that , there are a couple of places like that down near me too . I suppose im the new generation that grew up with the tech . Im gonna get myself tooled/ trained on hybrid stuff this year I think

[srad34]

Spanners and Hammers, the fodder of a real mechanic, none of this fandangled Atari Spectrum shite.....

[Mr Lobster]

 

I can't imagine uncle Arinie etc being set up with the tools or experience / knowledge to do jobs such as head gaskets piston rings etc. I think they base their workshop business model on a posh quick fit and the fact that modern cars rarely go wrong*

 

 

 

You'd be surprised actually. One of the last things I did in my time at Arnies was to take over a closed showroom and workshop in which they closed the place on the Friday and my branch got control on the Monday.  We sorted through everything in the workshop and skipped / redistributed everything as appropriate but the place was fully equipped for pretty much anything.

 

Things is, whilst main dealers will still do head gaskets and the like in addition to servicing they'll never get involved in big engine rebuilds or gearbox rebuilds more because the type of car needing that money spending won't be the type that goes to main dealers anyway and even if they did it just wouldn't be cost effective when the labour rate is £70/hour or whatever they charge these days.  

 

I found that the techs that worked in the branches I was involved with generally knew their stuff and could do pretty much whatever but seldom needed or were required to do any in depth jobs as the sales cars never had more than routine stuff and the customers would have a fit and go for p/xing their broken heap rather than spend large on repairs.

[twosmoke300]

Still got a good selection of those. 5 years as an agri engineer really honed my hammering skils

[Albert Ross]

"Don't do gearbox and engine rebuilds"  Where do you people get your information from? Gearboxes are our staple fodder, we must have 6 a week in, and engines in bits all over the place. Mind, that said, it IS a Vauxhall dealer, and we all know how shit they are. We do a lit of Police vehicles as part of our contract. Even I, in the specific department I work in, due to my rickety age, has gearboxes in bits. People forget that us old gits HAVE done it all in the past.

[Angrydicky]

He won't be, but he's the son of the original owner whose name is above the door and has no kids himself so in the next few years it'll probably shut up shop.

 

It's pretty much an MOT station and does welding, brakes, services on all the old cars in the village but you rarely see anything newer than 2004 or so in there. He knows it's all going computery but if he's looking to wind down in 5 years, is there much point spunking £20k on the kit? Might as well just keep at it with the spanners and hammer.

Sounds like a bit of a legend. I can't imagine he's short of work, old car owners are always looking for old school sympathetic garages with mechanics who understand things like kingpins and carburettors, rather than ones who just ask where to plug the laptop in.

[Vince70]

Sytner Mercedes Bristol crashed a mercedes into my smart roadster in their car park, then gave me a BMW 1 Series with enough fuel for ten miles as a courtesy car! Then they took fourteen weeks to replace a panel. It sat outside at the back of their yard and the pads seized to the discs in the meantime. Got a 'free' service for which they just did an oil and filter change and no other work.

Sytner Mercedes Bristol crashed a mercedes into my smart roadster in their car park, then gave me a BMW 1 Series with enough fuel for ten miles as a courtesy car! Then they took fourteen weeks to replace a panel. It sat outside at the back of their yard and the pads seized to the discs in the meantime. Got a 'free' service for which they just did an oil and filter change and no other work.

Wow it must be a smart roadster thing my one got damaged by Mercedes Tonbridge when it went in for its first service and it took them no joke 10 times it put right what was only small dink..

 

I had colour mismatch, paint peeling orange peel and one time it even came back with a metallic black door on a straight (jack) Black car because it looked like someone had forgot to clean their spray gun out. I'm not joking when I say I could of repaired it with a rattle can and no prep while blindfolded better.

 

I had to threaten them to go through my insurance to claim off them in the end before it was back looking as good as new..

 

I was really lucky with mine as it didn't suffer the dreaded leak issues but when I first bought it merc Tonbridge fitted a new steering rack, column and wheel under warranty but to be honest I believe it only needed the locknut on the wheel to be tightened but I wasn't paying so it didn't worry me.

 

It kept having to go back for repairs that were done though them but I gave up in the end and would repair it myself rather than going through the warrenty as one time I took it back in 3 times as the heater would pack up and it was only the wire that went on the selector switch and their idea of a repair was to pour glue on it when all it needed was the wire crimped onto the mechanism which took me all of 10 minutes so the only time it saw the dealer was when it had to be plugged into the star machine as it would normally come back worse than it went in.

 

Also another time I wanted the brabus clocks installed and was told the parts were £250 for the clocks plus the car needed rewiring to take then so was going to cost a kings ransom to do the job.

 

I found out on the net it was a 15 minute job and the clocks and wiring adaptor was bought for £56 cash on delivery from a Merc dealer in Germany so that saved me a fortune.

 

I think a lot of the problem with the car is that the Merc dealers didn't want them on the forecourt in the first place so it was the papercup treatment rather than the best bone china when having your expensive espresso at the dealership.

 

So the poor lad that was on the bottom run of the ladder got told to work on the smart cars without proper training while all the nice SLKs got worked on by the senior technicians.

 

And also what I couldn't work out was every time it went back to a pre booked appointment to the dealer for any work or servicing I would be fobbed off with the parts have been delayed etc so you will have to bring it back another time after leaving it with them all day and it was getting a right pain as the company didn't want to give you a courtesy car without a fight.

 

It was lucky I had my old trusty Peugeot 306 to fall back on.

[Parky]

I don't think I have any positive main dealer stories.

 

Renault Romford - such a pigs ear of a heater matrix replacement, tried to convince me that the wipers and indicators weren't working when it arrived, and two of the centre console switches were a different colour to the others when it came in. Destroyed a long standing relationship with Renault for our entire family which must have lost them countless thousands in sales and maintenance work over the years.

 

KIA Romford. Had to fight tooth and nail with them after the first service. Why have I been billed for 5 litres of oil, the engine holds half of that. "Oh we always put extra in as a safeguard, it'll be fine" it was only when the MD wouldn't agree to clean my drive in case all the oil seals blow out did they reluctantly remove the additional 2.5 litres from the engine and then still wanted to charge me for the full 5 litres as they couldn't use the stuff they had drained out.

 

Fiat Romford and Welling. Poor quality work, billed for things that hadn't been done, invoice wrong (you won't see the oil on the receipt as we don't change it at the second service) despite oil and filter change being listed in labour costs. Mechanic unsure if he changed it or not, black oil on stick suggesting he hadn't yet was told that Selenia oil is black to start with. Rear wheels rusted on despite them apparently having been removed to service rear brakes, I could go on. Needless to say this is our first and last Fiat.

 

About the only agent who actually does a reasonable job is Miller and Middleton Seat in Colchester. And that's why I have stuck with my Leon so long.

[barefoot]

I have never been to a main dealer.

[Andrew353w]

I bought several new Skodas (a Favorit, 3 Felicias & a Fun) from our local Skoda dealer, Welham Green Motors, who were always EXCELLENT in both the sales & servicing departments. BUT they lost their Skoda franchise after more than 25 years (yes, they were selling the old Estelles when they were around!) because they wouldn't modernise their facilities (coffee machine, chrome & black plastic chairs in the showroom, magazines in the reception etc. etc.) as they said it was unnecessary; all their customers wanted to see the mechanic who had actually fixed their car, and they allowed you into the workshop, so you understood the problem with your car & appreciated why something was being done to it. I always found them to be brilliant, but of course, they're no longer main dealers any more... 

 

Is this the way of all things???

[michael1703]

I've never used a main dealer for anything other than buying genuine parts at the parts counter when you can't get them from a motor factor.

 

I've been surprised how good they've been for some parts,actually cheaper than euros when I was desperate for something on a weekend.

 

They are booked up to the tits though, my fault code reader wouldn't read something on a new renault once so tried them for a plug in, I was on the impression they would walk out and plug in to the car and they were under the impression I'd leave it with them for a day, so I went to an independent and they had the right scanner ( £8k plus updates)

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I bought a 12 month old Ullysee in 2002, when the cambelt fell off at 11,000 miles ,it was recovered to my local Fiat place. After an hour or so arguing with them ,they reluctantly lent me a Seicento and said it would be about a week.

Two weeks later I'm told to come and get it, arrive at showroom ,to be told it's not ready,not even there. I question the black Ulysee on the ramp through the window and I'm told iits not mine.

Another week goes by and I finally get it back, looking all shiny and valeted, so far so good.

The next time I wash it ,I notice overspray on the front door and evidence of filler on the sliding door. I went straight down to dealer , ranting and raving at everyone from service receptionist to dealer principal.

They said they noticed rust bubbling on the door so fixed it under warranty. I couldn't prove anything so accepted their offer of a free service .

Fast forward a year or so and at a friend's barbecue I bumped into an old mate who runs a recovery business. On seeing my Fiat. He laughs and tells me how he got a call to Fiat dealer after they locked the keys in one of those ,gouged the door trying to break into it,then called him to open it. Apparently they didn't want to call the owner for the spare key because he was ' A big angry fucker and we don't want to look like idiots'

[hennabm]

I worked at a Ford main dealer many years ago and I have used a number of main dealers of the years - Fiat, Ford and BMW in particular, so have seen both sides.

 

 

The general experience of using Fiat dealers has been of lies and incompetence. Stoneacre are tops for this in my list.

The sales people I have encountered have no idea whether it's a Fiat or a tin of beans they are selling.

My Tjet was allegedly stuck at the docks during the delivery process - wrong they had ordered the wrong car and had to wait for the proper one to arrive. 3 years 0% was no longer available so would I take 4 years? - No you lying b****d as every other Stoneacre was offering 3 years. Confronted with this they soon changed it back to the 3 year deal.

 

Wrong number plates on my current Punto but I was told there were a number going out on the day so it probably wasn't mine - except mine had an unusual factory option so I knew it was mine. Again the lying t**t should have just fessed up and said sorry but didn't.

 

Needless to say I have not had the car serviced there even under warranty and I have done it myself. The dealer wouldn't have greased the brake pipes or removed the wheels to check brakes and lube the alloy interface.

 

BMW dealers are generally good but need caution.

One tried to do me twice for the same job. I had to have the sump gasket changed on an E30 and in doing so, it was pointed out to me that it needed a new fanbelt. When I received the bill, there was the labour for removing sump etc but also a separate labour rate for changing the fanbelt. This is despite the fact that the belt has to come off to get the sump off.

Only because I knew what was needed, was I able to protest and have the second labour rate removed. If I had been the "usual" BMW owner ie company chod - then the dealer would have benefitted from a deception.

 

Good dealers have been Sopers, Dunedin, Calterdon.

 

Having been on the other side I am sorry to say I do not trust the majority of dealers as I have seen what happens to customers vehicles when left etc.

[nacho man]

You get bad eggs everywhere, in every line of everything. You can get a local garage that will still swizzle you out of cash monies. The first few cars I took to a new mot place I had never used before but was local to my new gaff failed two cars on wiper blades, rang me up first time saying your car has failed only on wipers luckily we have some in stock for a crazy price like £27 for boggo standard things, first time I was a bit confused as for every car I get I service it and bang new wipers on, just a habit.

 

I said I will bring some up and fit them there and then and he huffed and puffed but gave in, when I got there I noticed a massive range of cheap wiper blades in a massive display in the back.

 

Second car pre mot checked it, near enough new blades all round. Phone call your cars passed but just needs both front wipers, so it proper pissed me off I went down with the invoice for the weeks old wipers, and I asked for him to show me the wipers that weren't upto scratch. He wouldn't and just passed it saying the other mechanic must of made a mistake.

 

So there is a back street mot place who does them for £35 and probably fails every car on wipers and charges people £20-30 quid for a pair of say max £10 pair of wipers.

[nacho man]

For some reason new tappacrap cut me off,

 

So continued from above we bought a brand new yaris last year for my missus on 0% finance, the salesman was Polish and couldn't of been nicer/knowledgeable/helpful he advised us that the day after they was starting a new promotion same deal but 3 free services, so we came back the next day and signed, he let us know when it was in when it was being inspected etc etc etc he knew about it having electronic power steering, told us about running it in and that, the sort of stuff I reckoned sales staff wouldn't have a clue about.

 

My missus does about 20k a year and it needs doing every 10k it was the first time I had ever took a car to get serviced somewhere else apart from me doing it. I know it only had a oil change but I noticed the fresh grease on the hinges and they told me that the wheels wouldn't come off till the next service so I was happy, plus they asked if there was anything they wanted me to look at, and I said I thought the box was a bit notchy, when we went to pick it up they said it's how they was but they did change the g box oil and grease the linkages for free and asked me if I wanted to drive another new one to compare. So inchape derby, so far so good.

[xtriple]

Years ago I had a new XJS. Yup, V12 HE. Bought from HA Fox in Plymouth who were the main dealers. Yeah man, I was fookin' minted! Wife had a new Granada 2.0 (hatch shape).... we were living the life.

 

Okay, I was an arsehole with an attitude and thought I was it but that's beside the point.

 

The Jag was never right from day one. I'd had a couple of XJS's before (both used) and knew what the felt like and my new one, was gutless and thirsty, it also leaked like a sieve (rear screen of course, only found out when all the nappies on the rear seat were soaked!). Anyway, it got recalled for a cruise control malfunction (possibly NOT switching off when you touched the brakes) and needed to be in for half a day.... three days later it came back without cruise at all and a chronic misfire. Fox refused to accept that there was anything wrong with it.

 

had a complete electrical failure at home, Fox wouldn't even send a recovery vehicle and suggested I join the AA.

 

Started throwing fan belts. There are loads of fan belts on the V12 and when the back one comes off, it can be a bloody nightmare as it can do the others damage, Fox changed one belt then when it did it again, said it was the way I drove it!

 

Starter motor packed up. Took them a week to come and recover it and another couple to fix the car. Bonnet was completely on the piss afterwards. TADTS.

 

Serviced it, and charged me twenty quid(ish - it was a long time ago) per plug and 7 hours labour to fit them. Of course, the air con was now inoperative! But apparently, it didn't work when it arrived with them.

 

Final straw was when the rear calipers partially siezed and the back of the car caught fire! Sounds dramatic but it was just the oil seals on the diff had melted and the oil was burning.

 

I handed it back to HA Fox very calmly and told them to stuff it up their arses. Loads of shit ensued with finance co' the dealer and even Jaguar getting involved but I wasn't having that car back or talking to Foxs ever again.

 

After a legal friend got involved, I got every penny I'd paid out on the car returned (including servicing and repairs).

 

Meanwhile, the wifes new Grannie soldiered on being neglected and abused by her and her 'horsey' friends and apart from an earth strap on the exhaust(?) breaking, never gave a moments worry. The local Ford dealer used to come and collect it, leave her a courtesy car, take it away and service it and shovel out the three tons of shit and mud and return it looking like new.

 

Years later when I was a pauper again (the 80's were fooking awesome!) and worked for a local Mazda main dealer (not the current one or even the one before that!) I saw the other side of the coin. Cars would arrive for service and be driven round the back and stay there for days before they were even looked at - always delays getting parts  but in reality, to many jobs booked in/the boss was an arse and insisted that sold cars bumped service customers cars out of the queue. Trying to get anything done on warranty on your new Mazda was never gonna happen - Mazda didn't pay our labour rates (much lower rates from Mazda) so we weren't doing warranty work- company policy! Our two service reception men, were the nastiest, rudest bastards on the planet and could lie with straight faces and total plausability. There was ALWAYS a reason it wasn'tcovered under warranty.

 

Oh, and they did the key thing as well, there was boxes of keys out in stores for all the used cars we'd sold while the customer had to buy new ones.

[fairkens]

I had a seat Ibiza with my work car allowance. Took it for a service, told that the manufacturer recommended a brake fluid change ( was only 18 months old) I asked if it needed changing, was told the manufacturer recommended it. But does it need changing, I asked again, have you tested it? No, we don't test it.

 

Left with a choice of paying through the nose for a brake fluid change I probably didn't need, or driving around with brake fluid that was passed it's best. I left it, was fine but I still don't understand why they wouldn't test it, my independent tests it as part of a service and then recommends accordingly.

 

My main beef with the dealer was that between purchase and me collecting the car someone did more than 600 miles in it. They were unable/unwilling to explain how - got £250 off the car and a free service as a result

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I bought several new Skodas (a Favorit, 3 Felicias & a Fun) from our local Skoda dealer, Welham Green Motors, who were always EXCELLENT in both the sales & servicing departments. BUT they lost their Skoda franchise after more than 25 years (yes, they were selling the old Estelles when they were around!) because they wouldn't modernise their facilities (coffee machine, chrome & black plastic chairs in the showroom, magazines in the reception etc. etc.) as they said it was unnecessary; all their customers wanted to see the mechanic who had actually fixed their car, and they allowed you into the workshop, so you understood the problem with your car & appreciated why something was being done to it. I always found them to be brilliant, but of course, they're no longer main dealers any more... 

 

Is this the way of all things???

 

Now, if they're really clever they fuck VAG off and become an independent Skoda specialist. They've got the mechanics, the diagnostics, cheaper parts from ECP/Pages and they'd probably make more money.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Years ago I had a new XJS. Yup, V12 HE. Bought from HA Fox in Plymouth who were the main dealers. Yeah man, I was fookin' minted! Wife had a new Granada 2.0 (hatch shape).... we were living the life.

 

Okay, I was an arsehole with an attitude and thought I was it but that's beside the point.

 

The Jag was never right from day one. I'd had a couple of XJS's before (both used) and knew what the felt like and my new one, was gutless and thirsty, it also leaked like a sieve (rear screen of course, only found out when all the nappies on the rear seat were soaked!). Anyway, it got recalled for a cruise control malfunction (possibly NOT switching off when you touched the brakes) and needed to be in for half a day.... three days later it came back without cruise at all and a chronic misfire. Fox refused to accept that there was anything wrong with it.

 

had a complete electrical failure at home, Fox wouldn't even send a recovery vehicle and suggested I join the AA.

 

Started throwing fan belts. There are loads of fan belts on the V12 and when the back one comes off, it can be a bloody nightmare as it can do the others damage, Fox changed one belt then when it did it again, said it was the way I drove it!

 

Starter motor packed up. Took them a week to come and recover it and another couple to fix the car. Bonnet was completely on the piss afterwards. TADTS.

 

Serviced it, and charged me twenty quid(ish - it was a long time ago) per plug and 7 hours labour to fit them. Of course, the air con was now inoperative! But apparently, it didn't work when it arrived with them.

 

Final straw was when the rear calipers partially siezed and the back of the car caught fire! Sounds dramatic but it was just the oil seals on the diff had melted and the oil was burning.

 

I handed it back to HA Fox very calmly and told them to stuff it up their arses. Loads of shit ensued with finance co' the dealer and even Jaguar getting involved but I wasn't having that car back or talking to Foxs ever again.

 

After a legal friend got involved, I got every penny I'd paid out on the car returned (including servicing and repairs).

 

Meanwhile, the wifes new Grannie soldiered on being neglected and abused by her and her 'horsey' friends and apart from an earth strap on the exhaust(?) breaking, never gave a moments worry. The local Ford dealer used to come and collect it, leave her a courtesy car, take it away and service it and shovel out the three tons of shit and mud and return it looking like new.

 

Years later when I was a pauper again (the 80's were fooking awesome!) and worked for a local Mazda main dealer (not the current one or even the one before that!) I saw the other side of the coin. Cars would arrive for service and be driven round the back and stay there for days before they were even looked at - always delays getting parts  but in reality, to many jobs booked in/the boss was an arse and insisted that sold cars bumped service customers cars out of the queue. Trying to get anything done on warranty on your new Mazda was never gonna happen - Mazda didn't pay our labour rates (much lower rates from Mazda) so we weren't doing warranty work- company policy! Our two service reception men, were the nastiest, rudest bastards on the planet and could lie with straight faces and total plausability. There was ALWAYS a reason it wasn'tcovered under warranty.

 

Oh, and they did the key thing as well, there was boxes of keys out in stores for all the used cars we'd sold while the customer had to buy new ones.

 

Just shows. I had an XJS back in 1989-90, a 1978 S plate auto that I'd spending a sodding fortune on - new sills, wings, arches etc etc etc. Anyway, it developed a leak from the rear diff oil seal and the AC stopped working - a typical XJS then. All the specialists were oily rags and I didn't want them near it. I was flush so I took it to Hartwells Jaguar on Botley road in Oxford. Got a call the next day - the AC fault was a blocked filter and a slightly loose union - all corrected, gassed up and holding a vacuum fine. They took the diff flange out to change the oil seal and found it had some serious pock marks. "we've got a few of these in parts gathering dust, you can have one half price to get rid of one but I wouldn't recommend refitting the old one'. So I gave the go ahead and they did the job. Picked it up, paid the bill and the workshop foreman showed me the old diff flange that was indeed buggered. I wafted home in fully air conned glory, no oil leak. Opened the bonnet and someone had replaced both shitty flaking Jaguar emblems on the cam covers with new ones - not invoiced, FOC. The car was cleaned, service reception on the ball and polite and the bill was about £350 all in. 

 

Hartwells have long gone now, but if every dealer was like that............

 

 

I did write to Jaguar at Browns Lane to express my satisfaction and had a nice letter back that I still have somewhere. A deal;reship staffed by folks who knew Jags and how to treat wage paying customers.

[EssDeeWon]

Us Rover owners never have to worry about main dealers anymore.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Unless U OWN A LAND ROVER M8.

 

Some bloke was in the pub last week banging on about how Rover was dead and gone. It isn't. Land Rover (clue's in the second word) is still very much with us. Even the old Solihull factory is still going. All that happened with Rover is that the shit unprofitable/hopeless stuff was binned off and the good bits kept. In FAKT the best bits of the old BL empire are healthier than they've ever been.

[Jim Bell]

I don't have much experience in this area. I have been to parts counters at a few main dealers and have to say that every one of the parts goblins I have interacted with have been helpful, proffesional and curtious. If expensive. But that's to be expected.

 

I would rather eat my money (including coins), shit it out a day later and then rub it in my eyes than pay a dealer for a full car or labour.

That's just me though.

[Mr Lobster]

"Don't do gearbox and engine rebuilds"  Where do you people get your information from? Gearboxes are our staple fodder, we must have 6 a week in, and engines in bits all over .

I spent years working in and around franchises and in my experience it was very rare for a gearbox to be rebuilt. Not saying it never happens but most if the time they just fitted new. I know there's a lot of engine work done on modern stuff needing it but what I meant was that you won't see franchised places rebuilding some worn out, smokey old thing as it'd never be economic.

[purplebargeken]

Mercedes in Loughton were useless with my Smart car.

 

The Hyundai place in Bushey are great. I went there today and they were friendly, pleasant and professional. The mechanic even re-fitted my front bumper FOC. They lost the right to sell new Hyundai's as they could not live up to the expectations/demands. They service 'em and sell used now. Great bunch.