Better to get servicing done by main dealer or not

TiTheRev

Flyboy152 wrote: »

In which case Renault are NOT going to warranty it.

Not sure on the fine print, but VWs equivelant (Quantum) would not be good enough for warranty.

Strider590

TiTheRev wrote: »

With fiat that's probably some plasticine and sticky tape

Beat me to it

RishiC

Have a look at this article and you will be shocked:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/95403/Big-garages-are-rapped.html

MECHANICS at main dealer garages are missing potentially dangerous faults ? while drivers are hit with huge servicing bills, it was claimed yesterday.
Undercover investigators found back street independent garages performed better than manufacturer-approved dealers.

They revealed franchised dealers missed an average of 17 per cent of faults ? including low brake fluid level.

Independent garages ? typified by TV mechanics like Corrie’s Kevin Webster ? missed an average of just seven per cent.

Fast-fit centres which used to specialise solely in tyres and exhausts, performed worst of all, missing 21 per cent.

What Car? magazine sent qualified vehicle inspectors to 30 UK garages ? ten of each type.

They asked for a full service at each in cars doctored with seven defects including low tyre pressure, a faulty tail lamp and a deflated spare tyre.

Seven of the independent, often family-run, garages identified and fixed every defect.Despite usually being more expensive, the standard of service at main dealers was worse. Western Toyota in Whitecraig, Edinburgh, failed to spot the low brake fluid level.

What Car? inspectors praised the “friendly service, enthusiasm and pride in their work” among mechanics at independent garages.

The magazine said: “Find a trustworthy local dealer and you too could enjoy first-rate service.”

Main dealers lagged behind the independents in every field apart from punctuality ? with 80 per cent of work done on time ? and their uncomplicated pricing structure.

What Car? editor David Motton said: “We were shocked by our findings. You should expect jobs done to a high standard.”

Earlier this year it was revealed franchised dealers charge up to £100 an hour for servicing, compared to about £40 by independent garages.

Flyboy152

RishiC wrote: »

Have a look at this article and you will be shocked:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/95403/Big-garages-are-rapped.html

MECHANICS at main dealer garages are missing potentially dangerous faults ? while drivers are hit with huge servicing bills, it was claimed yesterday.
Undercover investigators found back street independent garages performed better than manufacturer-approved dealers.

They revealed franchised dealers missed an average of 17 per cent of faults ? including low brake fluid level.

Independent garages ? typified by TV mechanics like Corrie’s Kevin Webster ? missed an average of just seven per cent.

Fast-fit centres which used to specialise solely in tyres and exhausts, performed worst of all, missing 21 per cent.

What Car? magazine sent qualified vehicle inspectors to 30 UK garages ? ten of each type.

They asked for a full service at each in cars doctored with seven defects including low tyre pressure, a faulty tail lamp and a deflated spare tyre.

Seven of the independent, often family-run, garages identified and fixed every defect.Despite usually being more expensive, the standard of service at main dealers was worse. Western Toyota in Whitecraig, Edinburgh, failed to spot the low brake fluid level.

What Car? inspectors praised the “friendly service, enthusiasm and pride in their work” among mechanics at independent garages.

The magazine said: “Find a trustworthy local dealer and you too could enjoy first-rate service.”

Main dealers lagged behind the independents in every field apart from punctuality ? with 80 per cent of work done on time ? and their uncomplicated pricing structure.

What Car? editor David Motton said: “We were shocked by our findings. You should expect jobs done to a high standard.”

Earlier this year it was revealed franchised dealers charge up to £100 an hour for servicing, compared to about £40 by independent garages.

Although being a long term member of Which? (as far back when it was The Consumers' Association), I am have been becoming increasingly disillusioned with their reporting methods (or in this case The Sun's interpretation of it), most particularly their sample sizes and subsequent conclusions.

Out of ten repairers, one missed the low brake fluid, if they had gone to a hundred dealers, would they have found another nine?

TiTheRev

You'll get pro's and con's for both sides. Motor Trade insider says this;

http://www.motor-trade-insider.com/index.php/2009/08/is-main-dealer-servicing-cost-effective/

30 garages is a pretty poor cross-section of the number of garages in my town, let alone the country, so I would take this 'damning report' with a bucket of salt. You could have taken another 30 garages next to the 30 already tested, and found that the Kwik-fit ones were great and Indy's very poor.

Labour rates are undenyably cheaper with Indy's, but we see (easily) 3/4 cars per week at my Dealership that have been 'elsewhere', and they've been unable to diagnose or fix the fault. Invariably we will bill the garage directly too, so the customer may never know that their local garage is inept

cardinalbiggles

TiTheRev wrote: »

With fiat that's probably some plasticine and sticky tape

300k miles with 3 Fiats, 2 breakdown callouts, one was for a flat in the middle of nowhere on a grass verge so I couldnt get it jacked up the other was when the "Dealer" put an autobox back in without actually bolting it back to the car. They are no worse then any other car.

And I think your mistaking plasticine with playdoh

jase1

TiTheRev wrote: »

we see (easily) 3/4 cars per week at my Dealership that have been 'elsewhere', and they've been unable to diagnose or fix the fault. Invariably we will bill the garage directly too, so the customer may never know that their local garage is inept

Just because a generalist garage can't fix a problem doesn't make them inept.

If the same garage brought a Lexus, or a Chrysler to you, would you be able to diagnose that? And if not, does that make you 'inept'?

TiTheRev

jase1 wrote: »

Just because a generalist garage can't fix a problem doesn't make them inept.

If the same garage brought a Lexus, or a Chrysler to you, would you be able to diagnose that? And if not, does that make you 'inept'?

But the eternal cry of the Indy's is that the Snap-off/Sun etc diagnostics equipment can do the same as the dealer??? So you are saying that Dealers are better in that they are qualified and have the expertise/equipment to do the job properly?!

Inept was a strong word, but quickly followed by a cheeky wink, so wasn't expected to be taken so seriously

bigjl

Our fitters used to send the Zafiras back to Vauxhall when it needed things not considered normal maintenance, mainly due to time constraints and the extra time being expended on the unreliable Zafiras, note we only have 1.9 CDTi's with the Fiat lump and DPF, after 5 or 6 attempts to sort out the one I used to use they sent it to Saab on the Highway in E1, the result was a new top end, they put the old one in the boot for inspection, with signs of overheating on the camshafts! Possibly caused by diesel dilluting the properties of the engine oil.

The car then went back and they replaced the bottom end, the car was transformed, pity the suspension couldn't handle the extra oomph, as it now had 85k on it.

Then three weeks later that sent the vehicle to a different station that had totalled a car, they gave me a newer one, that was crap, it dodn't have the Recaro type seats as fitted to the 55 plate Design spec and it was not as fast as my newly fixed old one.

The boss thought he was doing me a favour by getting me a newer car, I was happy with the old one now it had been fixed.

Some may say the maindealer mechanics have the extra knowledge, but this car was sent to three different Vauxhall dealers, and it tool a Saab dealer that has knowledge of the engine in Saabs to fix it.


There are bad and good in main dealer or indy.


Think yourself lucky our fitters are useless bodgers most of the time, but they have strong Union. Not those halfwits at Unison.

jase1

There is an assumption that a main dealer will have seen common faults more readily on their models than an independent who might only see one or two of that model in a year.

My indie won't touch a lot of electrical issues anyway. His attitude is that there is a reason electrical specialist establishments are specialists, and as a result would not like to touch something he's not comfortable with. If the particular brand doesn't have a specialist nearby he directs the customer to the main dealer -- but I think it's telling that he recommends specialist independents where possible.

The question is not "does a general garage know less about every car than a main dealer" because that is obviously true at times, but rather "does an independent specialist know less about the cars he deals with than a main dealer". The latter question I'm not so sure about, and would hazard a guess that the independent has the edge, because here the main dealer is actually more generalist in some ways, in that he does a lot more than sort out cars when they're seriously messed up.