AndyStobbs
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- Messages
- 2,475
- Location
- North West England
Takes me about 3 hours to service anything bigger than a corsa.
the main dealers are interested in one thing only, profit they charge way too much and don't give the best service, often a well established back street garage will give way better value and service, my son went with his mate to a main dealer to get their cars serviced they were both grande punto tjets and needed main deal for warranty, his mate forgot to put the locking wheel key back in the car and without even asking him if he had it on him destroyed the locking nuts to get them off then added the cost of the labour and a new set to the bill the lad was just going to pay but my sons not one to be ripped off so ends up in a great big argument, no charge for the nuts and labour in the endMy last Dealer Experience was with my wife's Fiesta, some years ago now, but...
It was brand new and had to go in for the first service so that the terms of the warranty were satisfied.
She collected the car and asked me to give it a glance as both of us have worked for Ford Motor Co and were well aware of how **** many of the main dealers are.
Well, there's not much to see from a first service, tyres ok, washers full, wipers ok, etc.
The I got to look at the dipstick.
Pull out, wipe, back in...pull out. Trouble was, there was no obvious 'level'. There was just oil everywhere.
Repeated the process several times with the same result - conclusion was: overfilled.
You could also see that the oil was still black. Yes, it was a diesel, and yes, I know the oil discolours quite quickly, but the dealership is 3 miles away. It doesn't discolour that quickly on a brand new vehicle after a three mile drive.
Back to the dealer - quite a row ensues until he commits to look at it personally and comes to the same conclusion as me: the appendage (aka mechanic) that had done the job had added new oil to the top of the existing sump-load. I suppose some underling had been told to do the drain and hadn't.
Mr Manager's solution was to 'drain some out' and top it up again.
More shouting, then he agreed to drain it all out and do the job properly.
Here's a thing - this particular dealership was getting oil in (I think) 20 and 40 litre containers, depending on the type of oil. They then sell it for oil changes in 1/2 litre increments. Talk about maximising profit.
Yes, those pesky customers wanting work they have paid for actually done to a reasonable standard. The cheek of it....As an ex machanic, both main dealer and small garage I'm really trying hard not to reply about my experiences of customers and their expectations for fear of offending anybody.
As an ex machanic, both main dealer and small garage I'm really trying hard not to reply about my experiences of customers and their expectations for fear of offending anybody.
thats a shocking storyWife's car went in for its 3rd year service a few years ago (it was bought new and had 3 years servicing included). The 3rd year included having the brake fluid changed.
As it happens it was booked in for an mot the very next day, at an independent garage up the road. The mot tester came out of the pit shaking his head and said it would probably fail as there was oil all over the rear wheel - could be a seal or something he reckoned.
I told him about the service/brake fluid change and he had another look - he nipped up the bleed nipple as it had just been left loose. I was fuming at the time and looking back now I wish I would have really kicked off about this as it could have been very dangerous.
When main dealers are charging absolutely top money you expect better than that.