Good Garage Scheme - Beware

Horizon81

The Good Garage Scheme - sounds like an independent scheme, possibly a quango, established to ensure that motorists can take their cars to somewhere trustworthy for servicing and repair, right?

Well that was my assumption and I advised a relative to use a local member of this scheme 2 years running, in the (false) belief that they would get a good level of service, from an honest garage that carried out all (and only) necessary work, in line with the manufacturers service schedule for the car.

After the second service at said garage (12 months ater the first one) I decided to have a look at the invoice. On each service, the garage charged for an air filter. This was unnecessary - even the manufacturers service schedule calls for an air filter to be replaced only once every 2 years. The car had only covered 6000 miles since the last service, and surely this garage should know that, as they did the service last year.

However, and more importantly, on each service there was a charge for 'Forte Engine Oil treatment' and 'Forte Gas/Fuel treatment', each costing over £13, so £26 additional charge to each service carried out by a Good Garage Scheme member.

I decided to look closer at their website and sure enough, the Good Garage Scheme is run by Forte - a lubricants company! FYI, their website states:

Forte is a name that is synonymous with the very best in effective engine treatments. Our products are used on a regular basis by over 9,000 garages in the UK and our programmes are now part of the ‘norm’ when it comes to servicing a vehicle.

The 'norm'? Maybe for the Good Garage Scheme garages, but it certainly isn't the norm according to vehicle manufacturers. Nowhere in any car I have ever owned does the manufacturers handbook/service schedule advise that use of these 'treatments' is necessary. And no main dealer I have ever used has advised that I use such a treatment on my car.

Another assumption with the Good Garage Scheme is that prices are reasonable. After all, if you wanted to pay main dealer prices and get main dealer trained technicians using genuine manufacturer approved parts then you'd just go to a main dealer in the first place, right? Well, I checked the price of Oil and Pollen filter on the Good Garage Scheme member invoice with main dealer and in each case the main dealer price was cheaper by a few pounds. Secondly, the total price of the service - I checked with the main dealer what the price would be for a service for my relative's car and there is a big difference between an Interim Service and a Full Service - of course the main dealer knows which is relevant for your car by its age/mileage and would charge accordingly. The Good Garage Scheme on the other hand just gives you the same service each time - a Full one - and changes parts that do not need replacing, like the air filter in my relative's case, not to mention those treatments! The main dealers Full service price was consistent with the Good Garage Scheme member however the main dealers Interim service was considerably cheaper.

To summarise, the Good Garage Scheme charges you for engine and fuel treatments that your car probably does not need. The suspicious would say that as the 'scheme' is run by a lubricants company that there is perhaps a vested interest in forcing these products/treatments on you without even consulting you?! Secondly, in this case, the total service price was more than that charged by a main dealer.

Please don't think I'm affiliated with a main dealer of any kind. I can assure you I'm not. What I'm saying is that don't assume that Good Garage Scheme members charge reasonable prices and are honest, whilst main dealers charge expensive prices and change parts unnecessarily. This certainly wasn't the case here. Perhaps the ideal is to use a fully independent garage who you can trust, or who has been recommended to you. But given these unnecessary engine and fuel 'treatments' forced upon your car without consultation (and a £26 surcharge with every service) I'd certainly avoid any Good Garage Scheme members.

Strider590

In the same way the certain insurance companies own certain comparison websites, im sure that some garage chains own websites like the above.

With the "good garage scheme" something or somebody has to pay for the idea and the running of the site, either garages pay the site to advertise their details OR they get sponsorship deals OR both.

Horizon81

Strider590 wrote: »

In the same way the certain insurance companies own certain comparison websites, im sure that some garage chains own websites like the above.

With the "good garage scheme" something or somebody has to pay for the idea and the running of the site, either garages pay the site to advertise their details OR they get sponsorship deals OR both.

The scheme is run by Forte - a lubricants company. Garages pay to sign up to the Good Garage Scheme, get good exposure and people thinking they're err.... 'Good'. In return they make customers buy Forte's unnecessary additives/treatments, so really it should be called the 'Very clever misleading scheme invented by Forte to flog its pointless products' but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

I've done quite a bit of searching and this has been reported on many forums before. I'm surprised I wasn't aware of this already.

Strider590

Sorry... That sounded like I was defending it

What im trying to say is you can't run a website with no income, nothing in life is truly free and people should be aware of and think about how these "free services" pay for themselves before they trust in them.

The GGS site has no apparent advertising, this would set my alarm bells ringing straight away!
Ads might be an annoyance, but they do tell you how a site supports itself

Hammyman

Horizon81 wrote: »

Please don't think I'm affiliated with a main dealer of any kind. I can assure you I'm not. What I'm saying is that don't assume that Good Garage Scheme members charge reasonable prices and are honest,

There's been a fair bit of assumption on your part.
You're assuming that they service in accordance with the mftrs schedule - THEY ARE NOT AND IT EVEN TELLS YOU THAT.

At the end of the day its simple: If they've stated they use this additive etc etc then its the fault of the customer for NOT BOTHERING TO READ THE LITERATURE WHICH IS THE CAUSE OF MANY ISSUES.

Lum

To be fair, every good garage scheme member I've visited has had prominent posters in the waiting room and/or reception that blather about how good Forte's product allegedly is and clearly states that they use it on every oil change.

When I've asked them not to bother they have always obliged without question, but really if they have a sign up saying they use it on every oil change, you can't really complain when you get them to do an oil change and they have used it.


It could be worse, you could've gone to Kwik Fit and instead of being charged £26 for questionable oil additives that you probably don't need, you would have been charged £160 for 4 new brake discs that you definitely didn't need. Allegedly.

Horizon81

Fair point about it being customer responsibility to ask for a full breakdown of price before any work is carried out. Lesson learned. I wonder if all members of the scheme would be willing to not carry out the Forte treatments if asked, especially as that's the only reason of the scheme in the first place.

In my eyes, the good garage scheme is all a total con. Never thought I'd say go to a main dealer instead but if they're cheaper and better equipped to deal with your particular vehicle then it makes sense!

mobile60

the garage i used to work for was a member of the good garage scheme, to become a member all they had to do was agree to use the forte product for every service! the product is good and we still use it regularly for problem cars and my new workplace, but the actual scheme is just a con really,as anyone ,legitimate or cowboy, can join.

[Deleted User]

Also they never publish bad reviews on the GGS website, only the good ones.

I took my car for a service at GGS garage earlier this year. Although I already knew about the GGS only being a front for selling Forte products. I used the garage based on local recommendations.

Strider590

^^ I think the place that did my cam-belt was one of these too.

I used them 10 years ago and I remembered them fixing my handbrake for free when I thought the cable had snapped (they had even pre-ordered a cable in), so I went back again.

sassy_one

I have always taken my car (over the passed 5 years) to a Good garage scheme and to a Bosch approved one and foudn them to not only be great but very polite, friendly and good prices.

I think every place has some bad days and I expect you are one of few who has received a bad experiance of such.