Buying a Service Plan from a Dealership

fred990

A friend at work had a 'prestige' German car with main dealer servicing and mentioned bits of stuff coming out of the dash vents. We took the top off the pollen filter housing only to find a filter that had gaps around it! It had been bent and forced in rather than spend five minutes taking off the retaining clips! The labour rates for this brand was 'reassuringly expensive'. 

motorguy

fred246 said:

It's very suspicious why they have changed an essential job to one that is only done 'if required'. It's not an easy job. It's not a job where a customer would easily know if it had been changed or not. I was told that mechanics never bother changing it. Human nature would dictate that a mechanic is not going to do it unless he has to. He doesn't have to do it because they have changed it to 'if required'. Would be interesting to set up some secret cameras but I predict the number being changed would approximate quite closely to 0%.

The franchise charge by the hour and the mechanic gets paid by the hour.  Why would they not do it if they can invoice for it?

Broad brush assumptions you have put
It's not an easy job - On many cars it is an easy job
I was told that mechanics never bother changing it - By who?  You said that was said by GSK.  They would not deal with franchised dealerships.
Human nature would dictate - Human nature doesnt come in to it.  They are tasked with doing a job and have to do it.  If people only did they job based on what they wanted to do or was "easy", frankly very little in life would get done.
I predict the number being changed would approximate quite closely to 0%.- You have no evidence at all to support that.

I can only conclude you are chosing to purposely mislead people using broad brush statements like the above.

Its quite fine for you to have that opinion, however you present it as fact with no basis for it.

Frankly, i'm getting tired calling you out on this.  Its clear you have a particular agenda which seems to be to derail threads and give people misinformation.

I dont understand why you would take pleasure in doing that.

fred246

These are fixed price services so they can't charge any extra for actually doing the job. It's not an easy job. They will save time and money by not replacing it. GSK are a drug firm and I never mentioned them. Franchised dealers have never been shown to better than independents. If they were going to change them they would just say 'change pollen filter'. They wouldn't put "change pollen filter if required". That's obviously an excuse to avoid doing the job. This is a money saving site and I am showing how you can service your car for a fraction of that paid to a garage and you will actually then know what has been done.

motorguy

fred246 said:

These are fixed price services so they can't charge any extra for actually doing the job. It's not an easy job. They will save time and money by not replacing it. GSK are a drug firm and I never mentioned them. Franchised dealers have never been shown to better than independents. If they were going to change them they would just say 'change pollen filter'. They wouldn't put "change pollen filter if required". That's obviously an excuse to avoid doing the job. This is a money saving site and I am showing how you can service your car for a fraction of that paid to a garage and you will actually then know what has been done.

Clearly your need to troll and derail threads outweighs any sympathy you might have for people who come here and then have you muddy the waters for them with untruths and unsubstantiated claims.

Speaks volumes about the individual behind this "persona".

Most people can see through you anyway.  Leaving it at that.  

Grumpy_chap

This thread has become rather de-railed, but Fred's claims of doing a service for only the parts cost of £60 is rather disingenuous as it gives no allowance for the value of time that Fred needs to put into the process.  Given Fred's superior expertise in all things automotive, that time value must be quite considerable.  In addition, there needs to be a consideration to the value of tools and equipment used in undertaking the service.  When all these factors are considered, a service by Fred is probably way more expensive than a main dealer service.

fred246

£60 is for 2 services. It's hard to compare prices when you don't know what to include. The pollen filter is a considerable expense but they only do it 'if required'. The fact that a major service in a service plan has less tasks than a normal major service is very important in this thread. If you keep taking your car to a garage you will never know when the pollen filter has been change as it is an optional item. If you see a stamp in the record for a major service it won't have had a fuel filter change if it has been paid for in a service plan.

ontheroad1970

Hearsay won't be much evidence in a court against libel.  The owners of this site should be aware also as they will be severally liable with both Freds.  Yes Freds, libel does count on social media and on forums.  

fred246

For libel claims you need false statements. What false statements are you suggesting we have made?

motorguy

fred246 said:

For libel claims you need false statements. What false statements are you suggesting we have made?

Why dont you list out all your beliefs about the motor trade and then your conclusive evidence to support it?

And as you make broad brush statements i dont think its unreasonable to expect statistical evidence showing > 50%+ support for your beliefs from independent sources with no underlying agenda, not edge cases of 1 or 2% from sources with agendas.

We look forward to your response

ontheroad1970

fred246 said:

For libel claims you need false statements. What false statements are you suggesting we have made?

Your assertion is incorrect.  All that a company has to say is that something you said paints them in a way that may affect their business and that the statement you made was without merit.  They only need to prove on the balance of probability.  Since you never actually anything you say with any proper evidence, that's pretty much slam-dunk liability