Dealer Service - is it necessary?

TiTheRev

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

The 'fear' of not using the dealer network only exists to the advantage of one group of companies - dealers. There are plenty of independent specialist garages around with labour costs half that of a dealer. They're usually staffed by ex-dealer mechanics anyway.

I could tell you stories of dealerships I've used that would make your toes curl - most people probably can. Using a dealer for servicing is no guarantee of quality - but it is a guarantee of paying over the odds.

No offence, but that is such a dated view of dealerships.

Dealers, since block exemption, have had to become more compettitve. I can only speak for myself, but we have good technicians here and we have only lost one tech to an independant (he went solo after being trained by VW to MasterTech!). We regularly do price matching for services, mot's and maintenance work. We also always use OE parts which carry a two year warrenty, twice the length of any aftermarket equivelant.

Our current return rate is under 1%, so we can honestly say that we fix it 1st time and customers are happy. I dont know how many times Ive heard people on here say 'Ive taken it to my local garage 4/5 times and they still haven't fixed it...!' We also offer free courtesy vehicles and collection and delivery service, plus a free valet with every service. Do you get that with independants, or might you get it back with greasy paw prints all over instead?!

Dont tar us all with the same brush :money:

darich

TiTheRev wrote: »

+1 not worth the potentail hassle. Block exemption is there for fair competitiion, but if A.N.Other garage doesnt maintain your car correctly you're stumped if anything should go wrong...plus as Hintza says you get the latest updates/recalls etc FOC at the dealer.

+2
My car was bought with an approved used car warranty and the paper work clearly states that the work must be carried out by an approved or authorised garage. I know about using OEM parts and VAT registration means your warranty is valaid but for in my case one service at the main dealer to maintain the warranty it's not a choice i have.

I could easily go to an indy garage but then BMW will say they're not authrised and any warranty work i should have had they'll simply not do.

VW also have a similar attitude - they refused to help me on numerous issues i had with a car bought from an authorised dealer but i had it serviced independently. When I was looking for assistance for some mammoth bills they simply said that my car hadn't been serviced at a VW dealer and they effectively washed their hands of it.

iolanthe07

Good points there TiTheRev. I'm taking my car for its second annual service tomorrow and getting a free courtesy car - that must cost the dealership, and it's not something you usually get with the independents.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

TiTheRev wrote: »

No offence, but that is such a dated view of dealerships.

Oh no it isn't. Try asking a certain Audi dealer I know why they think wheel bearings last only 100,000 miles. Or another Audi dealer at a different location why they changed my exhaust and timing chain under warranty, to repair a gearchange problem. Or the Volvo garage that said my brake fluid was weak, when I tested it myself it was fine. Or the same Volvo garage that told me my alloy wheel was buckled and needed replacing at £450, when in fact it was 100% true and only slightly marked.

TiTheRev wrote: »

Dealers, since block exemption, have had to become more compettitve. I can only speak for myself, but we have good technicians here and we have only lost one tech to an independant (he went solo after being trained by VW to MasterTech!). We regularly do price matching for services, mot's and maintenance work. We also always use OE parts which carry a two year warrenty, twice the length of any aftermarket equivelant.

Technicians - or fitters, as they're commonly known. My independent only uses OE parts also, mind you can you name a manufacturer that doesn't buy its parts in from someone else, like brakes, electronics, pumps, gaskets...etc?

TiTheRev wrote: »

We also offer free courtesy vehicles and collection and delivery service, plus a free valet with every service. Do you get that with independants, or might you get it back with greasy paw prints all over instead?!

You don't offer 'free' anything. The 'free' is included in whatever price you charge, you just don't itemise it on the invoice. I'm quite happy to get oily hand prints on the paintwork, it costs me about £0.10 and 5 minutes with a sponge to remove such things (not that I've ever had to). That's a lot cheaper than the £2.50 a typical dealer will charge for filling up the windscreen washer bottle, or the £10 the local MB dealer wanted to charge me for dipping my gearbox - a 20 second procedure to discover if I needed to buy £70 of fluid from him. Needless to say I didn't take him up on that offer.

plane_boy2000

Think from memory the Ford warranty is a standard 2 years manufacturer backed with a 1 year dealer extension. The 1 year extension is a "freebie" subject to you having your car serviced at Ford. Its only the first two years that are covered by block exemption, so in the ops case I would go down the ford route for this one. Of course this may have changed as my dealings with ford were 4 or 5 years ago now.

goldspanners

plane_boy2000 wrote: »

Think from memory the Ford warranty is a standard 2 years manufacturer backed with a 1 year dealer extension. The 1 year extension is a "freebie" subject to you having your car serviced at Ford. Its only the first two years that are covered by block exemption, so in the ops case I would go down the ford route for this one. Of course this may have changed as my dealings with ford were 4 or 5 years ago now.

surely this varies depending on the dealer.

ive had my focus from new,its 5 years old in march,i had it serviced at the dealer once,i was sorely disappointed with what was included for the price,since then ive done all my own servicing.
within the warranty period both dealer and manufacturer,i needed a wiper motor and passenger side window regulator. all done under warranty nad never questioned service history.

JonathanA

My advice would be to shop around. £175 for a Ford Focus service sounds expensive (depends on which service I guess), but our Ford dealer charges £125 or £150, we get a courtesy car and can book the car in when it is convenient to us. You don't have to use a Ford dealer as others have said. I'm sure the fact that we did have a full Ford FSH helped get us a contribution towards the cost of an alternator though when ours failed at just under 4 years old.

Having said all that, a good independent will do just as good a job, so ultimately it is where you feel most comfortable!

iolanthe07

With my Mitsubishi I get accident and breakdown roadside service and recovery free for three years then £15 a year for a further 10 years.......but only if it is serviced by a franchised dealer. I'm not sure whether it is worth it or not.

Lord_Lardington

Totally agree with PPP Lasers. The "free" stuff is included in the labour rate that is massively higher than an independent garage.

I too also have very poor experiences of Audi delaerships, typically failing to solve problems that my local guy diagnosed in 5 minutes and also trying to sell me work that doesn't need doing.

Expensive AND rubbish. Never again.

TiTheRev

But when dealers are price matching you still get the free stuff, top quality parts and fitters, dealer guarantees etc AND the decent price. How is that so difficult to comprehend