Main dealers [cars and trucks]

[Cowabunga]

Some may have read of my previous criticisms of car main dealers. Their poor quality of work, mistakes, intentionally missed items listed on the service schedule and deceitful attempt to uplift the invoice value through unnecessary changes of pads, discs, wiper blades and many other potential items. An Audi main dealer at Swansea once told me that their ‘master technician’ had diagnosed three burnt out motors in the driver’s seat that required a whole new seat. A seat that was repaired the next week by my ‘local mechanic’ with some insulating tape which had it working perfectly for some years thereafter.

Anyway, today they struck again. My son-in-law’s Honda Civic went in to our local [20 miles away] Honda main dealer today for a service and MOT. He made it 15 miles before having to abandon the car in a lay-by for tonight due to the entire front undershield of the engine dropping to the road and trying to dig itself into the road. Will ring dealer tomorrow morning to report and see what they are going to do about it. My bet is that they won’t send a mechanic out but tell him to phone his breakdown recovery service. We’ll see.

Thing is, I’m not in the least surprised. I should be, but I’m not.

By the way, isn’t it time we had another pickup truck topic?

 

[suffolksmallholder]

I’m not at all surprised.
SS

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

I sympathise and wish there was a way of stopping these so called Main Dealers from operating.
I bought a one year old Volvo XC 60 which was an ex lease car and in very good condition having covered less than 11k miles. It was however very high spec and was drastically reduced in price as the insurance was high. It was also offered with inclusive two years "free" servicing and an MOT when needed.

First year was fine and nothing was reported on the extensive servicing report. Had to pay a silly amount for oil change etc.
Next year and the MOT, which it failed I was told it needed new brake discs as the pads had worn out. It also would need a recall for a suspension problem which although they knew about had forgotten to include.
When I asked what the cost of the brake discs and pads would be I was told over £600. I told them where to shove their "free" servicing and care package and took it to my local ex Volvo garage who did the MOT and fitted knew brake pads (Discs were good for another 3 years and two sets of pads!) Total cost £140.00 using genuine Volvo parts!! They completed the suspension recall check which took them 10 minutes.

I complained to Volvo, but was never sure if they were slapped on the wrist.

 

[melted welly]

I sympathise and wish there was a way of stopping these so called Main Dealers from operating.
I bought a one year old Volvo XC 60 which was an ex lease car and in very good condition having covered less than 11k miles. It was however very high spec and was drastically reduced in price as the insurance was high. It was also offered with inclusive two years "free" servicing and an MOT when needed.

First year was fine and nothing was reported on the extensive servicing report. Had to pay a silly amount for oil change etc.
Next year and the MOT, which it failed I was told it needed new brake discs as the pads had worn out. It also would need a recall for a suspension problem which although they knew about had forgotten to include.
When I asked what the cost of the brake discs and pads would be I was told over £600. I told them where to shove their "free" servicing and care package and took it to my local ex Volvo garage who did the MOT and fitted knew brake pads (Discs were good for another 3 years and two sets of pads!) Total cost £140.00 using genuine Volvo parts!! They completed the suspension recall check which took them 10 minutes.

I complained to Volvo, but was never sure if they were slapped on the wrist.

Guy that works for us has a Volvo car. Whine from gearbox, bit of research and found it was potentially a know problem, took to Volvo dealer, charged £1200 for them to have a look, including £300 to replace the plastic gromit screws on the splash pan. They concluded it was fine.

Took it to an independent, car now has a new gearbox and dual mass flywheel, done under warranty thru Volvo, warranty claim, genuine parts, cost him £700. Wouldn’t buy a Volvo.

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Guy that works for us has a Volvo car. Whine from gearbox, bit of research and found it was potentially a know problem, took to Volvo dealer, charged £1200 for them to have a look, including £300 to replace the plastic gromit screws on the splash pan. They concluded it was fine.

Took it to an independent, car now has a new gearbox and dual mass flywheel, done under warranty thru Volvo, warranty claim, genuine parts, cost him £700. Wouldn’t buy a Volvo.

It sounds like people are in an arm lock
I wrote about my daughters Peugeot and our experience with official Peugeot garage service not too long ago so feel everyones pain.
Will this ever change?
Unless we support local ‘indie’ garages, then no is the answer. And that is the rub
SS

 

[ford4000]

I've only ever used a main dealer when warranty work was needed on my hilux, and to be fair they were very good. I usually drop the oils and filters on the cars, tractors, quads myself and change little things like brake pads. Use local garage for bigger things... Although since the discovery went to the Ukraine my garage bills have fallen massively!

 

[MF CI]

Some may have read of my previous criticisms of car main dealers. Their poor quality of work, mistakes, intentionally missed items listed on the service schedule and deceitful attempt to uplift the invoice value through unnecessary changes of pads, discs, wiper blades and many other potential items. An Audi main dealer at Swansea once told me that their ‘master technician’ had diagnosed three burnt out motors in the driver’s seat that required a whole new seat. A seat that was repaired the next week by my ‘local mechanic’ with some insulating tape which had it working perfectly for some years thereafter.

Anyway, today they struck again. My son-in-law’s Honda Civic went in to our local [20 miles away] Honda main dealer today for a service and MOT. He made it 15 miles before having to abandon the car in a lay-by for tonight due to the entire front undershield of the engine dropping to the road and trying to dig itself into the road. Will ring dealer tomorrow morning to report and see what they are going to do about it. My bet is that they won’t send a mechanic out but tell him to phone his breakdown recovery service. We’ll see.

Thing is, I’m not in the least surprised. I should be, but I’m not.

By the way, isn’t it time we had another pickup truck topic?

Makes it all the more gauling when people are criticising tractor dealers on here, car dealers charge more per hour, insist you take your car to their workshop, won't let you take it away till you've paid in full, don't do call outs, unlikely to work weekends, have a waiting list weeks or even months long, need I go on.

 

[box]

Could be worse, could be the wheel that fell off. Going around the wheels with a torque wrench mightn't be a bad idea.

On another note, I suspect your son needs to hand in his man card if he can't deal with a bit of plastic that's fallen off without having to call a tow truck. Mind you, some customers can be rather precious.....

Why did he even take the car to the dealership in the first place? Surely you'd have a good indie that you could refer him to?

No sympathy here. People that use dealership workshops are suckers.

 

[Cowabunga]

Makes it all the more gauling when people are criticising tractor dealers on here, car dealers charge more per hour, insist you take your car to their workshop, won't let you take it away till you've paid in full, don't do call outs, unlikely to work weekends, have a waiting list weeks or even months long, need I go on.

Yes. I do wonder what they will do about it tomorrow morning, considering that it didn’t reach home. I’m not holding my breath for them to actually do anything apart from advising a call to the AA or relevant breakdown organisation. I have exceedingly low expectations of any car main dealer’s service departments. As you intimate, tractor dealers are in a different league.

 

[feilding]

Main car dealers are crooks, end of . They even fiddle the warranty Jobs now. Charge the manufacturer and the customer for jobs. ( Had a main tractor dealer try it once on me. Got caught)

 

[Cowabunga]

Could be worse, could be the wheel that fell off. Going around the wheels with a torque wrench mightn't be a bad idea.

On another note, I suspect your son needs to hand in his man card if he can't deal with a bit of plastic that's fallen off without having to call a tow truck. Mind you, some customers can be rather precious.....

Why did he even take the car to the dealership in the first place? Surely you'd have a good indie that you could refer him to?

No sympathy here. People that use dealership workshops are suckers.

Son in law. I don’t interfere in their lives unless asked.
He seems to prefer main dealers for some reason. Maybe not so much after this and depending on any backup tomorrow. I had a roofer that worked for me that wanted his timing chains and oil pump changed on his high mileage Ranger and I recommended a chap I’ve known for many years and who does these jobs on Transit and Rangers regularly. Nope, he took it to a Ford authorised service centre that I wouldn’t trust to grease a wheelbarrow and they made a complete balls of it, resulting in the Ranger being in the garage for six weeks being repaired.


It isn’t a bit of plastic, it’s an alloy or steel plate that has apparently lost multiple bolts and was red hot at the leading edge by the time he found a safe place to stop. He’s not a farmer, he is a vaccine and antidote production and quality control supervisor in a laboratory clean room.

I have suggested baler twine as a short term remedy. I can’t help but wonder whether the service was done before or after the MOT. Surely it was before, so that any remedial work could be done before the test. If so, how the heck did the tester or mechanic manage to miss the loose or missing bolts. It beggars belief.

 

[Cowabunga]

Main car dealers are crooks, end of . They even fiddle the warranty Jobs now. Charge the manufacturer and the customer for jobs. ( Had a main tractor dealer try it once on me. Got caught)

Yes there are some very dodgy main dealers out there. I prefer to use two [formerly three] agricultural main dealers for purchases and repairs. The third dealer was not dropped due to anything they did wrong but because they are further away and because I’ve been consolidating the business for the last fifteen years due to advancing age and nobody to take over the business.

Today I had a call from my local Ford main dealer to say that my new keys [more secure contactless entry] were now in stock, and I booked it in for its first service while I was at it. No choice really as only they could do the key recall and it’s less bother to let them service it while under warranty. I’ll take it to my local mechanic to get the differential oils changed, which isn’t part of the standard service otherwise I’ll be stung for oil and labour.

Which reminds me just now that I need to do the first service on my new pressure washer pump and Honda four stroke. I’ll do that myself of course.

 

[David1968]

First MOT for the pick-up (3 years old) got a phone call...

"Just to tell you it's passed"
"Ok thanks"
"But it needs a new battery"
"it was fine this morning"
"We tested it and it's likely it'll let you down the first cold morning"
"But it's ok just now?"
"Well yes, but probably not for long. We can fit a new one for £150"
"i can get one for half that"
"But we'll fit it as well"
"Any fool can fit a battery"
(short silence...) "So, do you want us to go ahead then?"
"No"

Traded it in this year (6 years later) still with the same battery...

 

[Dead Rabbits]

Makes it all the more gauling when people are criticising tractor dealers on here, car dealers charge more per hour, insist you take your car to their workshop, won't let you take it away till you've paid in full, don't do call outs, unlikely to work weekends, have a waiting list weeks or even months long, need I go on.

That sounds just like our local Deere dealer

 

[L P]

Some may have read of my previous criticisms of car main dealers. Their poor quality of work, mistakes, intentionally missed items listed on the service schedule and deceitful attempt to uplift the invoice value through unnecessary changes of pads, discs, wiper blades and many other potential items. An Audi main dealer at Swansea once told me that their ‘master technician’ had diagnosed three burnt out motors in the driver’s seat that required a whole new seat. A seat that was repaired the next week by my ‘local mechanic’ with some insulating tape which had it working perfectly for some years thereafter.

Anyway, today they struck again. My son-in-law’s Honda Civic went in to our local [20 miles away] Honda main dealer today for a service and MOT. He made it 15 miles before having to abandon the car in a lay-by for tonight due to the entire front undershield of the engine dropping to the road and trying to dig itself into the road. Will ring dealer tomorrow morning to report and see what they are going to do about it. My bet is that they won’t send a mechanic out but tell him to phone his breakdown recovery service. We’ll see.

Thing is, I’m not in the least surprised. I should be, but I’m not.

By the way, isn’t it time we had another pickup truck topic?

I can only say he should have bought a hilux.......





Audi dealer years back told me on a service the car needed 2 new tyres, new carbon ceramic front discs and pads all round, a mere £2700 from memory. Told them to wait an hour for me to get there and inspect it and if they were lying they were to replace the lot FOC else I'd report them. 5 minutes later they called and pretended they had got the car muddled with someone else's... your car is now ready for collection. Chancers

 

[Cowabunga]

First MOT for the pick-up (3 years old) got a phone call...

"Just to tell you it's passed"
"Ok thanks"
"But it needs a new battery"
"it was fine this morning"
"We tested it and it's likely it'll let you down the first cold morning"
"But it's ok just now?"
"Well yes, but probably not for long. We can fit a new one for £150"
"i can get one for half that"
"But we'll fit it as well"
"Any fool can fit a battery"
(short silence...) "So, do you want us to go ahead then?"
"No"

Traded it in this year (6 years later) still with the same battery...

Exactly. They tried to uplift the invoice dishonestly. Typical.

However there may be an issue with changing batteries these days due to intelligent battery management being almost universally fitted and the need to re-set the system when a new battery is fitted. “Any fool” will not be aware of this or how to do it. Not doing so creates all kinds of obscure electrical issues.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Exactly. They tried to uplift the invoice dishonestly. Typical.

However there may be an issue with changing batteries these days due to intelligent battery management being almost universally fitted and the need to re-set the system when a new battery is fitted. “Any fool” will not be aware of this or how to do it. Not doing so creates all kinds of obscure electrical issues.

Hmmmmm, sounds like the manufacturers are complicit in this leg lifting by their main dealers, making something as simple as a battery change needing specialist knowledge

I’ve been using an independent mechanic ever since I boiled the engine on my Peugot 309, shortly after a main dealer service. Had a hefty price for fitting a new engine from main dealer so mate recommended an independent mechanic. Father and son came out to collect the car, father looked under the bonnet and almost instantly said look, here’s your problem, there was a oil cooler where the oil filter screws on, when the new filter had been put on it had been twisted causing the water pipe to kink and prematurely fail. They had the head skimmed and got it fixed for a small fraction of what the main dealer wanted to replace the engine which was good for many years thereafter. I have been using the same independent mechanic ever since for all our road going vehicles.
Rightly or wrongly that’s who I use for my current car, a Toyota, bought at 3 years old, with 5years warranty, extendable to 10 if serviced by the main dealer…………who are family and used to be the only garage my parents would use. The rot set in there so to speak many year ago when their car failed it’s MOT so they had to buy another one, their old car was running around as a taxi for at least 3 years afterwards, which is how I came to buy a Peugeot, had always been Fords up until then off dads cousins.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

Some may have read of my previous criticisms of car main dealers. Their poor quality of work, mistakes, intentionally missed items listed on the service schedule and deceitful attempt to uplift the invoice value through unnecessary changes of pads, discs, wiper blades and many other potential items. An Audi main dealer at Swansea once told me that their ‘master technician’ had diagnosed three burnt out motors in the driver’s seat that required a whole new seat. A seat that was repaired the next week by my ‘local mechanic’ with some insulating tape which had it working perfectly for some years thereafter.

Anyway, today they struck again. My son-in-law’s Honda Civic went in to our local [20 miles away] Honda main dealer today for a service and MOT. He made it 15 miles before having to abandon the car in a lay-by for tonight due to the entire front undershield of the engine dropping to the road and trying to dig itself into the road. Will ring dealer tomorrow morning to report and see what they are going to do about it. My bet is that they won’t send a mechanic out but tell him to phone his breakdown recovery service. We’ll see.

Thing is, I’m not in the least surprised. I should be, but I’m not.

By the way, isn’t it time we had another pickup truck topic?

Last paragraph, is the new Amarok really better than a Ranger ???
Or how to turn off permanently the Stop/Start function on a new Triton,
Or who makes the best diesel engine, Ford Powerstroke, GM Duramax or the Dodge Cummins???

 

[FonterraFarmer]

Exactly. They tried to uplift the invoice dishonestly. Typical.

However there may be an issue with changing batteries these days due to intelligent battery management being almost universally fitted and the need to re-set the system when a new battery is fitted. “Any fool” will not be aware of this or how to do it. Not doing so creates all kinds of obscure electrical issues.

Living shît "BMW life", you need to get into the cars computer to tell it that it has another battery or risk the above...
Why I tell people FFS do not buy any X Series BMW POS.

 

[ewald]

A mechanic I know bought a 15 year old Volvo from an old chap who had owned it from new, and had done about 50k miles. It was serviced solely by the main agents, who had fitted new rear pads and discs almost every year due to ‘corrosion’ - 11 sets of pads and discs on a 50k mile car, not far off fraudulent behaviour in his view.