EMaC Ltd / Evens Halshaw Service plan

pecuniam_hominem

Hi All,

I purchaed my car from Evans Halshaw about 8 months back and they contacted me to offer me their service plan (as my car is due a service).

So basically it comes to £570 for three years servicing and MOT, with a bunch of other 10% discounts on other services. Sounds great, right?

I did the maths, in my old car, I paid around £180 for an annual service. I usually paid for a £30 Kwik fit MOT.

So over 3 years, it would cost me £630. Each year I would usually put the service and any repairs on a credit card and pay over three months. The downside is my cashflow is impacted for the next 3 months.

So when there plan comes to £570, it saves me £60 a year, nearly 10%, but not a huge amount over three years.

The benefit of this plan, is it would be 36 small payments £16.27. Now usually, if you take something like this, there is interest applied, or people who pay up front get a good discount.

In this case, everyone seems to pay the same and no interest is charged.

The quote document refers to a 'cancellation fee' to terminate the contract if it has been in place over 60 days. I am going to phone them and find out what it is. If it is reasonable, I will probably think about going ahead.

Has anyone had any experience of this company/plan? Was it worth it? Any hidden charges?

It seems too good to be true.

System

Find out exactly what is in the service, whether it is done to the manufacturer's schedule or their own.

marlot

You'd probably lose the money if something happened to EH. Or it could become really inconvenient if they closed the local branch?

You might be better putting the £16 a month into a savings account?

wgl2014

Evans Halshaw also don't have the best reputation, if you have a decent local independent garage I would go there.

To help with budgeting you could start a separate easy access savings account and put some cash in each month for when it's needed.

pecuniam_hominem

Thanks for the replies.

I have thought about a savings account. Tbh it doesn't really cause me a lot of pain, it's not like I am struggling to pay it.

Thank you everyone:)

Nathaniel_Essex

I pay around £17 a month and took out the service through Ford. Haven't really done the maths to see if it would be cheaper doing it through someone else. Main reason is because I like not having to monitor anything as I get a call every time my service or MOT is due.

z1a

"it saves me £60 a year," - No, by your reckoning, £60 over 3 years = £20/year.

flashg67

I had an Emac plan with Hyundai which I found decent value, and as it was a new car, wanted to retain dealer servicing (I know I didn't have to do this). The dealer actually lost their franchise just after it finished - another dealer did take it over though I believe, so there is that risk.
Also, my work moved offices so the dealer was no longer as convenient, but I still had to use them whilst the plan was in place.
It's a good way of budgeting IMO though

fb1969

I have an EMAC plan on my Mazda. I've found it a good way to budget, my plan covers 3 services and MOTs over 3 years but is payable over 30 months not 3 years - check if that is the case with yours as its 2.5 years paying and not 3.

stuey68

I am at a loss as to how this company, Evans Halshaw, is still allowed to trade! They are very quick to take your money but abysmally slow and painful to provide the products/services to which they are obligated.
I paid a £200 refundable deposit to view and test drive a used car, on 24/07/18. They did not get the car into the branch until 08/08/18! When we went to test drive the car, on 12/08/18 the seats were soaking wet because they had valeted the car only on the previous evening or just before we arrived.
They couldn't produce a service record, owners manual, service booklet and, although the car still had 9 months worth of Ford warranty left they stated they weren't selling it with a warranty!
They also wanted £98.99 admin fee and a further fee for an AA inspection!
We decided not to pursue the sale and have been trying, without success, to obtain a refund of the "refundable" deposit since 12/08/18 - 10 days so far!
The offending, and completely useless branch is Evans Halshaw Carstore in Coventry.

Why would any sensible person choose to do business with this company going forward? .

Here is the review I wrote for the Review Centre. Doesn't seem to have had any effect. Does anyone read or take notice of these reviews?
"
★☆☆☆☆
WRITE A REVIEW

“Incompetence, Indolence and Inefficiency”
Written on: 03/08/2018
Incompetence, Indolence and Inefficiency - a story of Evans Halshaw, Coventry.
I paid a deposit to reserve a car I saw on Autotrader. Was told it was being "prepped". That was two weeks ago! Numerous calls to EH Wolverhampton and EH Coventry have resulted in no progress. Are they Indolent? Have tried the Business Managers at both sites without success. Are they Incompetent or just Inefficient? Have been assured that someone at EH Coventry will get me an answer on where this car is and call me back. Silence, so far, has been deafening! Are they Indolent or just plain Incompetent? Have, today, tried to speak with the Dealer Principal at Coventry and been told he will call me back; that was 3+ hours ago. Is he Incompetent, Indolent or just Inefficient? The question now is: "Does EH actually have this car? Is it damaged and thus requires extensive work before it can be test driven? why is it taking so long to prep a small Ford car for viewing? Something does not smell right! Looking at the huge number of poor reviews on the web how does this company continue to be allowed to trade and how do they stay in business? Why am I persevering, you are probably asking? Well, my wife likes the sound of this particular car and if I requested a refund of my deposit then this lets this bunch of Incompetents off the hook and, this, I am not prepared to do. My next step is to refer the issue to the Retail Motor Industry Federation and the Motor Traders Association in the [vain?] hope that they do not display the same attributes as Evans Halshaw and actually try to intervene and resolve this issue to my satisfaction. To anyone who reads this sad tale, please pass on the story to friends and family (and the press if you have any contacts) and think twice before dealing with this company.

Deneb

I have a service plan for my Volvo, also with Emac, but not through Evans Halshaw. I was offered it after paying for my first service. The total cost is a shade under £495, and at the time the Volvo quoted costs for the year 2 and 3 services came to £740, although my experience of the Volvo service indicator is that it always quoted less than their dealers actually charge, so in fact the cost of the two services would be slightly higher.

The service price indicator has since changed, and now gives a quotation for a specifically selected dealer. The current cost for the two services at my local dealer is now £825. Working on the assumption that this is likely to rise again by next year and the service plan is looking like even better value than it initially appeared.

OP, you say you did the maths, but based your figures on the cost of a service for your old car. Surely you need to base your calculations on the cost of the services for your current car AT the dealer concerned? Also factor in that the cost of a service is likely to differ according to the age or mileage of the vehicle at the time. For instance, the first year service on my car cost me £280. The year 2 service cost is currently £520 (£475 last year), and the year 3 service which was also £280 last year, is currently £305 and likely around £330 by the time it is due

FWIW I am aware that I could get my car serviced more cheaply than the prices quoted by my Volvo dealer, and I normally do my own servicing anyway, but dealer servicing for the first 3 years maintains the warranty, and the Volvo Assistance package.

I'm not saying a service plan is right for everyone, and you need to weigh up the pros and cons before you opt for it really, rather than afterwards. If you don't intend keeping the car for the life of the plan, or don't need to have it dealer serviced for the life of the plan, if at all, it is less likely to be of any benefit.