Car Servicing, Main dealers, are they on drugs

wack61

wack61

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4 months ago i started a courier business, my fiat van is due its second service so i rang the dealer for a price

£432

seemed a bit soon for a cambelt so I asked what that included

oil,filters and a brake fluid change

are they on drugs, is that really what people are paying, I took it to a service centre, they tested the brake fluid 0.5% humidity which is nothing so that's something that's being charged for that doesn't need doing

Bill came to £198 for a full service plus they stood by the price quoted when their supplier couldn't get the fuel filter because it was a fiat only part which cost £55

I was expecting £250-280 at fiat but £432, really

The only thing that's annoying me is in order to comply with fiats servicing schedule to keep the warranty I'm probably going to have to waste money changing the brake fluid.
 
They are a total rip-off, I have to agree - Arnold Clark just quoted my workmate £108p/h to do his repair....... needless to say it went elsewhere.
 
I recently had my two year old VW Scirocco serviced and was told when booking it in that the DSG gearbox needed an oil change, about £300. I was also told that when it next needed doing it would be about £140.

When the vehicles in warranty they screw you because you can't go elsewhere it seems as simple as that.
 
depends on where these garages are. Inside the M25 and particularly in towards central London, [inside Nth/Sth circ] I would expect those prices and higher with certain brands - and I say that as a garage owner in those areas [that finally opted out of franchise a few years ago] and knowing the overheads [business rates, staff wages with london premiums, etc etc], however, outside there..hmmm... well, hard to say. Always remember that the bigger the dealership and the more prominent its location, again, the bigger the overheads - most dealerships are paying their staff more just for starters. Sadly if a manufacturer specifies a brake fluid change at a certain time/mileage point in order to maintain the warranty, then it must be done assuming you want the warranty to stay intact.
However, you can have it all carried out at other garages if you choose, as long as it is done to manufacturer standards using genuine parts [check your paperwork, each manufacturer will have specific criteria on this, I am just generalising].
 
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That doesn't seem right. If you bought new you should have looked at servicing schedule. Some brands offer pretty good deals. I am surprised Fiat is trying to lose all their remaining customers. Oh well, I am not going to miss them if they go under one day. Ford transit or VW Transporter for more upmarket choice is hard to beat.
 
It's usually the same people complaining about main dealer servicing prices that are the first to recommend checking for a full main dealer service history when looking at a used car ;)
 
I once overheard a conversation in a main dealer near me between a service manager and a customer, basically the customer's brake wear indicator light had just come on and she was asking for an idea as to how much this would cost. The service manager told her that because the pads were worn the discs would probably need replacing and while the fronts were being changed she ought to change the back as well. grand total of over £800, the next question was " whats it worth against a new car".
 
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chris954 said:
I once overheard a conversation in a main dealer near me between a service manager and a customer, basically the customer's brake wear indicator light had just come on and she was asking for an idea as to how much this would cost. The service manager told her that because the pads were worn the discs would probably need replacing and while the fronts were being changed she ought to change the back as well. grand total of over £800, the next question was " whats it worth against a new car".
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Oh wow. Maybe this is why I didn't even get outraged when after the service the manager insisted I book for another day to replace the whole exhaust. The end of attachment rod turned out to be rusty; everything else seems to be in order. They even texted me on Sunday morning to remind how bad it is. 8k miles later it is still on the car :)
 
Five years servicing for my Kia Cee'd cost me £629 up front. It's due its second annual service next month. All main dealer, of course. With the seven year warranty, £0 road tax and ~60 MPG I expect very small bills for several years. Insurance is about £150 for protected fully comp.
 
tdodd said:
Five years servicing for my Kia Cee'd cost me £629 up front. It's due its second annual service next month. All main dealer, of course. With the seven year warranty, £0 road tax and ~60 MPG I expect very small bills for several years. Insurance is about £150 for protected fully comp.
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With that it's easy to see why they're so popular.
 
The TrustFord quote for my Fiesta is £847 for 5 years servicing and that includes an extra 4 years European Breakdown. I can pay a lump sum before the first service or pay monthly, starting now, over 4 years at no extra cost.
 
I am sure that you can have it serviced anywhere and it should not affect the warranty.

I recently purchased a BMW and it come's with five years servicing cost, try another dealer .
 
God help anyone in kent who ever has to deal with Hyundai.
 
got to pay for the shiny showroom somehow! (Not saying it is right) and which is why I go to an independent guy who I trust totally, at £25 / hr... If he says it needs replacing then it does... turbo failed last year, did he get a new one or take it to bits, sort it and put it back together....

Also if I need to have anything done, I can drop it off and leave it, have access to several other vehicles if needs be, and he fits bits in between more urgent jobs, helps to keep the cost down...
 
I used an independent for many years for my Nissan 200 SX. Never had a problem with them and a full service including MOT came in at under £200 every year. I had the car for 13 years from new before trading for the Kia. The only surprise was a cracked intercooler pipe after about 10 years, but that was obvious (the fault, not the diagnosis) without needing a garage to tell me. It never failed an MOT. With the Kia I might just as well use main dealer servicing now that I have the pre-paid package. After that we shall see. Kia main dealer servicing is not especially cheap, so I'll be shopping around after year 5.
 
I bet there are hundreds of motor dealers getting angry about this and saying how we don't understand that you are not paying for just a service but their training, years of expertise etc... Familiar???

How many on here moan about those wanting a wedding for £150 as Uncle Bob can do it for that? Those who think we just turn up and spend a few hours, take some pics, burn to CD and then bang... £1000 for 5 hours work... NO! There is the kit, normal overheads, training, the hours PP etc... Same for the garage. Large premises with rates/rent. Energy costs, staff costs... I bet those ramps are not cheap and that IT kit costs a lot... That all adds up to the bills. Lets not be hypocritcal!
 
Cartus said:
I recently had my two year old VW Scirocco serviced and was told when booking it in that the DSG gearbox needed an oil change, about £300. I was also told that when it next needed doing it would be about £140.

When the vehicles in warranty they screw you because you can't go elsewhere it seems as simple as that.
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Pretty sure the VW/Audi group state that the car has to be serviced by a VAT registered garage and use genuine VW parts. But if a warranty issue does arise, I'm pretty sure they would use this fact and do everything they can to get out of it.
 
tdodd said:
Five years servicing for my Kia Cee'd cost me £629 up front. It's due its second annual service next month. All main dealer, of course. With the seven year warranty, £0 road tax and ~60 MPG I expect very small bills for several years. Insurance is about £150 for protected fully comp.
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But getting into a Kia cee d every day is a big price to pay;)
 
BBR said:
But getting into a Kia cee d every day is a big price to pay;)
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It is no worse than a lot of cars on the road. Shall we start with Corsa - something as ugly that is a very significant part of the market.
 
Yv said:
depends on where these garages are. Inside the M25 and particularly in towards central London, [inside Nth/Sth circ] I would expect those prices and higher with certain brands - and I say that as a garage owner in those areas [that finally opted out of franchise a few years ago] and knowing the overheads [business rates, staff wages with london premiums, etc etc], however, outside there..hmmm... well, hard to say.
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Bristol OPC was nudging £100/hour eight years ago. They were the ones that told me a needed a new clutch at 55,000 miles. It failed at four years later at 98,000 miles. When they rang me to ask why I had stopped using them for servicing, I told them! That car now goes to an independent specialist.

I didn't work out what the local Audi dealer's rate was but I imagine it's near or at three figures. I used them once on the A6 despite its age as it had a full Audi history to that point. To be fair, they were very good and there aren't many places around that know the air suspensions that it has (which was faulty).
 
Lynton said:
got to pay for the shiny showroom somehow! (Not saying it is right) and which is why I go to an independent guy who I trust totally, at £25 / hr... If he says it needs replacing then it does... turbo failed last year, did he get a new one or take it to bits, sort it and put it back together....

Also if I need to have anything done, I can drop it off and leave it, have access to several other vehicles if needs be, and he fits bits in between more urgent jobs, helps to keep the cost down...
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I have a guy like that but I'm 100% sure they wouldn't accept one of his staples duplicate book invoices as proof of manufacturer standard service despite me having 100% confidence in him after 10 years and 600,000 miles worth of work.

My last van was an Iveco daily , red flashing "you're about to die" light came on , it was under warranty so I gingerly drove it to the dealer, gets there, that's the brake pad warning light, needs discs and pads on the back £700, we can do it today, I'm sure you can

Took it to my guy, he measured the discs, loads of life left, got a lump hammer, knocked the lip off fitted new pads and charged me £75, they lasted another 30k and even then when he changed them it was 35% of the cost iveco wanted

It's only £39 for the garage I did use to replace the brake fluid but even the manager said its a waste of money, they test every car that comes in but it's rare that it fails even on a 10 year old car.

I did ring another fiat dealer and got the same price, I darent ask how much a cambelt service is, perhaps it's because it's red and Italian
 
Might be worth popping onto either fiat or Alfa owner forums to find a good Indy near where you are.
 
Servicing the FTO has cost me nearly 2k this year, since everything consumable has had to be replaced except the clutch!
 
I never go to the main dealer. If I need to put my car anywhere I just find a decent independent garage, preferably one that's a specialist for the manufacturer. They are just as good, if not better and half the price. Luckily I do all my servicing and work on the car myself but there's times I really can't be bothered.
 
could be worse.. could have a Veyron. Think the annual service for that is about £14K before any parts... however if you can afford the car then the cost of a service is not an issue.
 
daugirdas said:
Ford transit or VW Transporter for more upmarket choice is hard to beat.
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I was talking to a mechanic I go to about upgrading my T4 to a transit and he said he'd just spent 6 hours welding wheel arches on one. Tbh it was around an 05 plate but my T4 is an R reg and apart from a little rust on the arch lips which I keep on top of is in really good condition. There have been problems with the duel mass fly wheels on T5, also the cab storage is non existent, like my T4. Having said that before I had my R get T4 which now only has 107000ish miles, I had a w reg fiat scudo. NEVER AGAIN ;)
 
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Cartus said:
With that it's easy to see why they're so popular.
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If so popular, why such low car sales. The whole Kia range sales in the UK was roughly on par with the number 1 selling car in the UK.
 
I havnt read all the replies to the OP's post so don't flame me.

but under the block exemption rule, you can take your car/van to any reputable independent garage, providing they are vat registered, and have your car serviced buy them without affecting your vehicle warranty.

the only thing the independent garage needs to do is make sure the parts they fit are of matching OE quality, and they use the correct grade of oil, so providing that they buy there parts from any reputable motor factor all will be well as there are no reputable motor factors that sell below par quality products in the uk. *well apart from euro car parts, they do a range of non matching quality parts i.e there Crosland filters and they do things in plain white boxes aswell, but again any good garage knows to avoid these particular parts.


regarding the brake fluid change.

is the service due because of the mileage you have covered, or is it due because its a year since the last service?
 
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sx_turbo said:
I havnt read all the replies to the OP's post so don't flame me.

but under the block exemption rule, you can take your car/van to any reputable independent garage, providing they are vat registered, and have your car serviced buy them without affecting your vehicle warranty.

the only thing the independent garage needs to do is make sure the parts they fit are of matching OE quality, and they use the correct grade of oil, so providing that they buy there parts from any reputable motor factor all will be well as there are no reputable motor factors that sell below par quality products in the uk. *well apart from euro car parts, they do a range of non matching quality parts i.e there Crosland filters and they do things in plain white boxes aswell, but again any good garage knows to avoid these particular parts.


regarding the brake fluid change.

is the service due because of the mileage you have covered, or is it due because its a year since the last service?
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I'm afraid you are wrong there with regards oe quality parts. There are many top quality manufacturers of fuel filters yet if you own a diesel mk3 Mondeo, there are only 3 brands which are made to the correct specification. The rest will create fueling issues some within a year of fitment. Yet they are supposed to be changed every two years. If the car is only a few years old and service history is important then I would only want manufacturer parts or parts affiliated to or recognised by the manufacturer .
 
nilagin said:
I'm afraid you are wrong there with regards oe quality parts. There are many top quality manufacturers of fuel filters yet if you own a diesel mk3 Mondeo, there are only 3 brands which are made to the correct specification. The rest will create fueling issues some within a year of fitment. Yet they are supposed to be changed every two years. If the car is only a few years old and service history is important then I would only want manufacturer parts or parts affiliated to or recognised by the manufacturer .
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all manufactures who say there filters are of OE quality have to have to be approved and certificated.

mann + hummell, Delphi, sogeffi filtration (fram/purflux/coopers fiaam), mahle + UFI are all approved (there are others that escape me right now),

I know of the issue you refer to, ford changed the specs on the filter material (cant remember from what to what) because of an inherent design flaw in the diesel pump, mann+hummell and Delphi were the first to change, mann make the filters for motorcraft and Delphi designed and made the diesel components.

sogeffi and mahle then followed suit, all of these manufactures make OE parts for various manufactures (sogeffi actually make the oil filters for the ford 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 diesels)

reading through technical bulletins of various suppliers at work,
 
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im my time ive owned an Audi, a couple of fords, a Mazda and a small Toyota (rolled that one) ....Currently have a Kia Ceed and its the best car I've owned - also the newest which might have something todo with it also :)
 
My 5 year old citroen costs about £200 to have a full service.
My Rolex GMT2 watch costs about £700 for a full service.

pays yer money, takes yer choice..
 
I have a customer who had a dent in the door of his merc. Because the door had to be removed from the car for the repair it had to be done by a main dealer because disconnecting the wires from the door invalidates the warranty if not done by an authorised dealer, and of course the car logs it if this ois done.
 
These dealer servicing packages they sell you with a car are not what they seem and need to be treated with caution. Yes, they do cover the basic oil/ filters change and inspections, but everything else is rarely included. So when the brake pads or discs or cam belt need changing, expect to have to cough up.
 
boogie man said:
These dealer servicing packages they sell you with a car are not what they seem and need to be treated with caution. Yes, they do cover the basic oil/ filters change and inspections, but everything else is rarely included. So when the brake pads or discs or cam belt need changing, expect to have to cough up.
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I'd be surprised if any service plan included a cam belt change purely on the fact I doubt it would need doing during that period.
 
nilagin said:
I'd be surprised if any service plan included a cam belt change purely on the fact I doubt it would need doing during that period.
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Those on 7 or 5 year warranty would get there for sure.
 
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