Main dealer not entirely honest.

Radsteral

one of my workers bought a ford conect little van ..being his first one...you know the enthusiasm and he decided to send to ford garage in plastow, east london..
I had to take over from him and deal with the dealer myself from the same day he send the van for full service and change of exalarator pedal and mot

dealer - sir, the 4 wheels will need changing if they were to pass m o t
me- if you think so, its your right to fail it, but i ve seen the tyres and they got few months left, no tear and wear and still havent reached the mark...i will appeal that m o t failure

couple of hours latter
dealer- sir, the water pump has failed and we dont think it will pass m o t
me- sir..are you inspecting it prior to do carry on m o t?
dealer yes...just having a quick look around .
me- forget about m o t....and i m sure the pump works as it did great when we brought it to your shop today morning .

4 pm
dealer - sir.. steering rack has failed and leaks cost to repair 1250.00

we left work and headed to the dealer
water pump fine... the water hoses that attach to the windscreen wipers under the bonnet had been detached!!!!! water going down on the floor .... i wondered who done it ??
steering solid and great for a 2 and half year old ford connect..and when i asked if ford provided any kind of warranty for their vans of such age for such a big failure he was telling me, he was a bit gobsmacked ..couldnt say much .no leaks anywhere under the engine except the water from the water pump

paid for the service and told my guy to never set foot on the dealers garage, unless he wants a old car/van with alll new parts installed


i had a similar issue with vw dealer who 3 times messed up my lt van and left me of work so many days... they say if timing belt change, always send to the dealer and so did i
one day i decided my van needed a timming belt change after reaching £185.000 miles and served me well
3 times AA had to get me from south lodon on their backside and send me north london dealer...reason timing belt failure..and oil filter not fixed properly
After days of work lost, time wasted and train jurneys from lewisham to north london,when it broke the 3d time i ended up blocking the dealers main gate and locking myself in, displaying on windscreen all the email exchanges /complains and AA recovery paper work i had recieved and stayed there till till the big boss promised he will unload alll tools and materials from my van.. load it to one of his vans and let me go to work till they fix and test mine
I got a vw crafter for 4 days ..and i never treated a van soooooooooooooooo badly in my life... start the van fully loaded and on the second gear all time.. etc..i felt sad it dint break down while i had it!!

I got my vw back..but it never felt the same as i had it and i had to sell it at knck down price after 4 months

BillTrac

NeverAgain wrote: »

...Why? because dealerships know that people only go there if they're complete fools...

Not quite.

I have a new car, bought with a three-service service plan.

Most of those are reckoned to be good deals if you can pull out an extra few hundred up front, MINI tlc is another good one.

We could discuss VAT-registered garages, but realistically the best way to maintain a new car warranty is to have it serviced at the franchised dealer.

And another thing, there was some research done a few years ago which suggested charges and standard of work varied.

Main dealers did not always do the best work, but neither were they aways the most expensive.

If you are after something like a battery, it's always worth getting a quote from the main dealer, they can be cheaper than Halfords or the factors.

Who told you the best way to maintain a warranty is to go to a franchised dealer? Oh I know..probably a franchised dealer.

As far as I have found over the last few years..I pay a lot less to have my car serviced by a trained Ford engineer albeit an independant VAT registered garage. He knows me by name..I called up for a service the other day, and he said 'the black Focus - and I said no I have changed it for another', my main Ford dealer wouldn't have a clue. My independant garage will fit me in to suit, I called him on a Thursday for my service, asked for Tuesday, and because I was willing to take it in at 8 am and hang around he did it within 90 minutes. My main dealer requires the car all day.

I have recommended my indy garage to lots of people and not one has had cause to complain.

I will always take my car to the indy as he actually provides great personal service, at a reasonable price, and doesn't 'invent' costly problems.

nuff said

NeverAgain_2

...Who told you the best way to maintain a warranty is to go to a franchised dealer?...

Far more chance of a marginal warranty item being pushed through by the main dealer.

The independent, no matter how good, will not have the same access to the latest software upgrades and tech bulletins.

The price thing is just an assumption.

Ford, VW, and i think one or two other main dealers now do cheaper services for older cars.

Ford, Renault, and probably others have 'fast fit' bays to compete with the likes of Kwik Fit.

Many buyers will be suspicious of a car which has not had its first two or three services done by a franchise dealer.

Although of course the best garage in your area will always be the best garage, regardless of whether they have a franchise or not.

knightstyle

jaydeeuk1 you can report me for spam as well as I had good service from my local Kwikfit when they did a free brake check, found nothing wrong and didn't try to charge me for unnecessary parts!
I have no connection with KF, just a satisfied customer.

Hoof_Hearted

knightstyle wrote: »

jaydeeuk1 you can report me for spam as well as I had good service from my local Kwikfit when they did a free brake check, found nothing wrong and didn't try to charge me for unnecessary parts!
I have no connection with KF, just a satisfied customer.

Thank you. To say you had good service at one branch doesn't make all the rest perfect. Similarly, if you mention a company that has given good service, it does not mean that you are promoting them, are being paid by them, are employed by them or have shares in them. Some people should not have access to buttons they can't use appropriately.

Hoof_Hearted

OK -- it's about a week now and there has been no response to my complaint. Had a feedback call yesterday and explained why I wouldn't use the garage again. Girl said she would pass it on to the service manager.

If I don't get a response, who should I complain to? I am not out of pocket but would like an apology and an explanation.

I am sorely tempted to get the wife's Jazz air-con re-gassed before her next service and take it to the same place to see whether this is a regular fiddle. Perhaps not as I don't want to give them any more money.

Any suggestions?

Lum

"Main dealer not entirely honest"

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