Audi Servicing Now Charging Customers for lifts.

Herzlos

fred246 said:

If you think about these cars they have main dealer servicing for say 3 years when nothing really needs doing. They are then serviced by independents for the next 10 years. They are then often looked after by enthusiasts for many years. Do you really think there is any difference in quality of service. I actually think the enthusiasts will do the best job, probably the independents next and the main dealers being the worst. Main dealers don't really compete for customers. People just blindly go there and pay the silly prices to get the 'main dealer service history'. Cars are getting much easier to service. It's not complicated.

Common sense rather than a pathological dislike of garages would tell you that since the manufacturers stand by their main dealers when it comes to stuff like warranty work, and that they are specialist, that they'd do the best job (on average, there will be some clueless apprentices). You are, admittedly, paying more for the brand and the experience (nice waiting rooms, courtesy cars or whatever).
There are also some brilliant enthusiasts who like nothing more than spending their weekend spilling oil on the driveway. There are also plenty of amateurs who are a complete liability.

I've always had great service and great work from the franchised dealerships I've used (some warranty work and some repairs my local independent couldn't figure out), and I suspect the majority are the same. I use an independent because it's closer, cheaper and I trust the owner to be completely honest about it (as far as to tell me when it's worth repairing or not). I don't have the time nor inclination to do work on the car myself even though I'm sure I'd be capable of it.

fred246

Say you have a new bath made by Royal Doulton. The bath water is dirty and needs replacement. As the bath is only a year old you call the Royal Doulton specialist who only deals with Royal Doulton products. He comes to the house and pulls the plug out of the bath and the dirty water drains away. He then replaces the plug and fills it up with fresh water. He charges you £300 but you are thankful because he is a specialist. An oil change is an oil change. You don't need a specialist.

ontheroad1970

Fred, Fred, Fred...

It's not as simple as that, especially where a warranty is concerned.  

Herzlos

fred246 said:

Say you have a new bath made by Royal Doulton. The bath water is dirty and needs replacement. As the bath is only a year old you call the Royal Doulton specialist who only deals with Royal Doulton products. He comes to the house and pulls the plug out of the bath and the dirty water drains away. He then replaces the plug and fills it up with fresh water. He charges you £300 but you are thankful because he is a specialist. An oil change is an oil change. You don't need a specialist.

What are you on about? Are you seriously trying to say that, for example, an Audi mechanic knows less about how to service an Audi than some bloke who "doesn't need YouTube"?

If the Audi tech stuffs the car up whilst doing the service (using Audi approved instructions, Audi approved training, other Audi experts, Audi recommended parts/materials), then Audi will back it and make it right. If Mr DIY Bob stuffs the car, then he's on the hook to fix it himself.

Pretty much any monkey with a spanner could change oil and a filter on most cars, if you're not worried about liability or value, but I know who I would and wouldn't be letting near mine - I need it working too much.

I understand that a dealership has upset you in the past, but honestly most people have better things to do with their time than learn how to do literally everything by themselves.

m0bov

My local dealer chargers for pick ups and loan cars, its for Covid Cleaning,

Penelopa.Pitstop

AdrianC said:

Herzlos said:

I don't believe there are no usable public transport links between your home and any car dealerships when you're around the London orbital. If you said you were in deepest Wales or something I might believe you.

Public transport around the M25 area is very hub-and-spoke, and can be very limited indeed radially.
Sure, going into the middle of London along one spoke then back out along another is possible - but massively inconvenient.

Exactly. I would have to go on a train to central London and change to go back. It would take about 2h. The place where I live, have trains to London Bridge and one TfL bus towards London, but none of the dealerships is in this direction. The closest dealership of the brand I used to own couple of years ago, just closed down. I was able to walk from there.

Herzlos said:

I'm kinda spoiled in that my local independent is maybe 5 mins walk away (no courtesy cars, no lifts), and the nearest franchised place is 5 minutes bus away. And I live comparatively in the middle of nowhere.

Well, I don't live in the middle of nowhere, but the closest franchised dealer of the brand I don't drive any more, is 5 miles away, not direct train or bus to get there. You have to change and it takes min. 35 minutes. Other closest brands I don't drive either, are 8 miles away, 1h on 2 buses, no direct link. Yeah, it's all within M25, but it doesn't mean public transport is any good.

Anyway, I found it unreasonable that some dealers don't allow customers to wait inside. Going to Indy is not an option with car on warranty.

Herzlos

Using an independent mechanic (with a VAT number) shouldn't violate your warranty. It may hurt should it come to brand "good will".

photome

Herzlos said:

Using an independent mechanic (with a VAT number) shouldn't violate your warranty. It may hurt should it come to brand "good will".

Just dont use Fred as he wont stand by his work