How much for a bottle of Loctite ?

[multi power]

Main (car) dealers are a flipping nightmare!!!

Local Audi garage had my car in for four days last week whilst they traced an intermittent ABS fault. In my defence they are only up the road and my indy is a fair distance away. I was trusting they could justify those sky high hourly rates and Vorsprung Durch Tecnik diagnostic facilities to quickly diagnose and repair it. What a joke!!!

The bill was racking up to £336 and they still hadn't found the issue (but not tested/checked the obvious culprit after the wheel sensor....the actual ABS pump ECU...doh).

In the meantime while they should have been tracing/diagnosing the fault, they claimed the front pads AND discs were 90% gone and needed replacing @ over £1300. Apparently also the expansion tank was slightly low on coolant - of course this meant the engine would need a full leak test!! The car was last serviced and checked by my (very good Audi indy @ MRC Tuning) in March so I knew the pads were only at 50%, discs perfect and other than a top up of coolant engine otherwise fine...

Just utter bill inflating nonsense.

There was other BS and stalling tactics concocted - apparently the £20 Bosch wheel sensor (I had replaced when the fault first showed up) was faulty and they needed to know where I bought it for a 'warranty claim'. Turns out subsequntly they HAD tested it and it was perfectly ok - as it was when I fitted it two week earlier. I'm sure the fault (very likely the ABS module itself) would have eventually been found but only after more hours and days of technicians time.

Suffice to say after no contact/update all day Thursday and Friday I had a gut full. So finally got hold of front office service staff on Saturday and told the service manager to call me. Went in and told the service manager them I wasn't paying for it, not a penny. To give the chap his due he totally "got" how pee'd off I was and they apologised profusely, washed the car it and gave it back.

I was promised a call from the "master tech" that was diagnosing the fault on Monday to discuss exactly what he did. I'm still not clear what the £336 claimed was actually for. Still not had a call.....

They are wasters!

Well apart from anything else the brake discs and pads must be very super duper quality at that price

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Well apart from anything else the brake discs and pads must be very super duper quality at that price

They totally make it up (the prices). I always seem to be able to buy the exact same quality tyres elsewhere (like around the corner) for half the price quoted at a franchised garage. Some mugs must pay it though.

 

[Mursal]

A while back, €120 an hour for Audi/VW if they got it .....................
Back a bit now (we have/had a recession) to something like €80.
Second year apprentices with the service manager breathing down their neck.

Local Toyota dealer recently advertised for a position to uplift the sales of product to customers frequenting the maintenance department. I forget the job title, is was quite long ...........

 

[Sid]

A while back, €120 an hour for Audi/VW if they got it .....................
Back a bit now (we have/had a recession) to something like €80.
Second year apprentices with the service manager breathing down their neck.

Local Toyota dealer recently advertised for a position to uplift the sales of product to customers frequenting the maintenance department. I forget the job title, is was quite long ...........

Audi in Exeter have email me to say "they" have invested £5.5 million into a new set up. Nothing wrong with the old one but hey its not like farming is it.

Job title- If i see you look like you have money i will attempt to squeeze you dry manager.

 

[Roy_H]

Why not just ignore the service thingy

I did say it was the wife's car didn't l ? ( = "There is something wrong with the car it needs fixing and it needs fixing now! ") No in all fairness, she is not that bad but it pays to keep 'em sweet.

 

[Mursal]

I know its not the point, but there are lads/ladettes over on U-Tube, that will talk her through the sequence to kill the service light.

 

[Clive]

£60 an hour isn't just Rolls Royce prices i.e. Fendt. Our local NH and JD dealers are well into the 60s an hour!!

I have no problem with £60 / hr - however I have been charged over £300/hr in this case it seems ! Ferrari / Porsche/ Mclaren are all less !

 

[milkloss]

I have no problem with £60 / hr - however I have been charged over £300/hr in this case it seems ! Ferrari / Porsche/ Mclaren are all less !

They haven't got back to you then Clive?

 

[Doing it for the kids]

See, this is farmings trouble. We are immensely practical people, with (increasingly) rare practical skills. We see a problem or job needing doing, get a quote to have it sorted, spit our tea out and exclaim 'I'm not paying that, the parts are only a third of the quote and doing it myself will take me a couple of hours!'. We know too much, what can be done for what actual cost. Most people haven't got a clue, so they just pay, because they have no alternative, and are perfectly happy paying. We on the other hand have enough knowledge to realise what it could cost, and we're very much NOT happy paying.

Exactly that. Some one who lives close buy to us was complaining about how long our jobs took (property based)

Admitidly we have been slow trying to keep lots of projects moving with a Skelton crew. He on the other had decided he wants something done, his architect draws it all up, he approves it and then let the architect sort the work.

Very nice but very expensive tradesman then turn up, do a job no better than ours, bill the architect who then adds his margin. I bet his costs are 30-40% more than ours.

We know and can do it all so don't like spending money with others when we can do it ourselves.

I just feel sorry for 'the rest of the world' who don't see it and just keep paying up.

 

[pettsy]

Very nice but very expensive tradesman then turn up, do a job no better than ours, bill the architect who then adds his margin. I bet his costs are 30-40% more than ours.

We know and can do it all so don't like spending money with others when we can do it ourselves.

I just feel sorry for 'the rest of the world' who don't see it and just keep paying up.

If he's happy paying for it what's the issue. As a tradesman all too often I have to pick up the pieces after someone "thought it looked easy and they could do it themselves" but end up making more of a mess.

 

[Steevo]

If he's happy paying for it what's the issue. As a tradesman all too often I have to pick up the pieces after someone "thought it looked easy and they could do it themselves" but end up making more of a mess.

Wise words there. Sometimes a specialist is cheaper and can do a better job in the process. I know I've been there and wished I'd got a pro to do a certain job. I've also done the opposite and got someone to do something to later find out they were as good as a chocolate fireguard.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

NO problems it just goes to show that some don't want the hassle so pay top whack. Same across the board in life.

I often feel that some don't k ow with a bit of time they could make substantial savings. Ordering materials - 20 mi utes can sometimes save hundreds. Depends on the situation though obviously

 

[Farmer Roy]

£60 an hour isn't just Rolls Royce prices i.e. Fendt. Our local NH and JD dealers are well into the 60s an hour!!

$100 / hr ( pretty close to £60 ) is pretty standard here for tractor dealerships NH, CIH, JD etc

 

[Campbell]

Should this Loctite thread become a Sticky?

 

[Oat]

Should this Loctite thread become a Sticky?

It jokes like that which make me think this thread should be 'locked' (tight)

 

[Doing it for the kids]

You are assuming the threads haven't gone already?

 

[Paddington]

Called in at my newly opened LR showroom for a couple of pedal rubbers and two dashboard switches and was quoted over £160 as they'd have to order them in.
Got all new parts from ebay next day for £40.

 

[Roy_H]

I know its not the point, but there are lads/ladettes over on U-Tube, that will talk her through the sequence to kill the service light.

Well it cost me nowt to have the dealer do it for her so it matters not.

 

[Mursal]

Happy days .................

 

[Ducati899]

Is it like all true fendt products and will never be empty....[emoji23]