Saying no to work at a garage
Discussion
I’ve just read a couple of threads where people have raised issue with the cost of extra works service advisors have highlighted when their car is in for service.
Whenever my car is in for service, I usually opt for what the car has gone in for. I usually say no to anything else. I’m in the lucky position whereby I have a good friend who owns his own garage and MOT station where I can get any extra work done at a cheaper rate. I’m therefore quite comfortable politely declining any suggestion of extra work when at a dealership. I normally only go to a main dealer if I’d want to maintain a full main dealer history in any event and just have the service done.
Perhaps a younger me would feel pressured into having extra works done but now I’ve grumpily advanced into middle age, I have no qualms in refusing anything I might (wrongly or rightly) deem to be unnecessary.
Anyone feel the same or felt pressured into agreeing to more work than expected at service time?
Whenever my car is in for service, I usually opt for what the car has gone in for. I usually say no to anything else. I’m in the lucky position whereby I have a good friend who owns his own garage and MOT station where I can get any extra work done at a cheaper rate. I’m therefore quite comfortable politely declining any suggestion of extra work when at a dealership. I normally only go to a main dealer if I’d want to maintain a full main dealer history in any event and just have the service done.
Perhaps a younger me would feel pressured into having extra works done but now I’ve grumpily advanced into middle age, I have no qualms in refusing anything I might (wrongly or rightly) deem to be unnecessary.
Anyone feel the same or felt pressured into agreeing to more work than expected at service time?
I very rarely use garages. Took my BMW into the main dealer for a recall and was told it needed new handbrake cables - utter nonsense.
Wife took her car to a slightly upmarket back street type garage (they had a chair in the porta cabin) who did loads of unnecessary and fruitless work despite me being clear what I wanted (which it turned out they couldn't even do anyway as they don't have the right computer)
I genuinely feel sorry for colleagues or non car people I know who put themselves in the hands of garages each year. But then they don't lose a weekend every few months scrambling round under a car trying to find where I dropped a bolt...
Wife took her car to a slightly upmarket back street type garage (they had a chair in the porta cabin) who did loads of unnecessary and fruitless work despite me being clear what I wanted (which it turned out they couldn't even do anyway as they don't have the right computer)
I genuinely feel sorry for colleagues or non car people I know who put themselves in the hands of garages each year. But then they don't lose a weekend every few months scrambling round under a car trying to find where I dropped a bolt...
I once took my GTR for a service at a well known GTR place and they did the usual walk around and then came to ask me what to authorise or not, one of those items was the gearbox sump cover, because they are exposed to stone chips and rust away causing a leak (apparently) when I asked, what, the one you replaced last year? It got very awkward and silent…
paradigital said:
Given my recent experiences with a German people’s car brand trying to convince my wife that her car needed a cambelt change less than a month after they had themselves done said cambelt change, I now point blank refuse any work that I haven’t specifically sent the car in for.
I think that highlights the problem in most main dealers. There's a lot of "front of house" staff who have zero idea bout the job. So computer says "cambelt due at 5 years" so they try to upsell it before checking history. They tell customers lies (or inaccurate) to try and get the upsell. I doubt the tech recommended the cambelt
All to ofteb the technician has said something like "Brakes could need changing in 9-12 months. Not urgent" and the person charged with upsell says "wont last 6 months. Urgently dangerous now!"
Ian Geary said:
I very rarely use garages. Took my BMW into the main dealer for a recall and was told it needed new handbrake cables - utter nonsense.
Wife took her car to a slightly upmarket back street type garage (they had a chair in the porta cabin) who did loads of unnecessary and fruitless work despite me being clear what I wanted (which it turned out they couldn't even do anyway as they don't have the right computer)
I genuinely feel sorry for colleagues or non car people I know who put themselves in the hands of garages each year. But then they don't lose a weekend every few months scrambling round under a car trying to find where I dropped a bolt...
The biggest problem in the motor trade right now. Is that its very, very difficult to find good techs. Not that they aren't out there. But they are increasingly less and less of them. Its getting IMO down to 20% total being the type you'd want to touch your car!Wife took her car to a slightly upmarket back street type garage (they had a chair in the porta cabin) who did loads of unnecessary and fruitless work despite me being clear what I wanted (which it turned out they couldn't even do anyway as they don't have the right computer)
I genuinely feel sorry for colleagues or non car people I know who put themselves in the hands of garages each year. But then they don't lose a weekend every few months scrambling round under a car trying to find where I dropped a bolt...
How many hard graft 45 hour weeks (more than any plumber/brickie/chippy/sparky does) getting moaned about for not identifying enough "red work" Getting moaned about for taking "too long" for doing a job properly rather than bodging it. Dealing with establishments that spend f
k all on special tools and just expect the techs to "get on with it" Being treated like "naughty children" for talking (often asking for advice/help on a specific job) Pay that doesn't reflect the enormous labour charge the customer pays. Or the huge cost of Snap on!The number of techs getting sick of it and leaving the trade is huge. So you get dealers literally taking on anybody and then you get the resultant drop in quality. Which then leads to these posts on PH about something going wrong
BunkMoreland said:
The biggest problem in the motor trade right now. Is that its very, very difficult to find good techs. Not that they aren't out there. But they are increasingly less and less of them. Its getting IMO down to 20% total being the type you'd want to touch your car!
The number of techs getting sick of it and leaving the trade is huge. So you get dealers literally taking on anybody and then you get the resultant drop in quality. Which then leads to these posts on PH about something going wrong
I think in general no one wants to do a manual job especially for the pay offered. Too many easier options for not much less pay or in some circumstances more. The number of techs getting sick of it and leaving the trade is huge. So you get dealers literally taking on anybody and then you get the resultant drop in quality. Which then leads to these posts on PH about something going wrong
Manual labour is so old school haha.
But the comment above about mechanics working harder than trades, I wouldn’t agree with that. Most trades I know work more than 45 hrs a week and also work overtime and then do foreigners after work or weekends.
My family are builders, mostly joiners, and work 5 days a week, 8-4 and they only do homers if they cant get out of it.
The garage I worked in is supposed to be 8-6 but every other week you have to do late cover so that's 8-8 and saturday till 1. Most of the guys I work with then go out to do their evening job in quarries, their own garages or maintaining a fleet for small operators and they do that until about midnight 5 days a week.
I stopped because my health was crap, my social life was crap, I permanently had cut up and black fingers, all my clothes had oil stains, I stank of diesel every evening even after a shower, the jobs were often technical but you were treated like you were a monkey hammering a peg. Money was good in my place but never had time to spend it.
The garage I worked in is supposed to be 8-6 but every other week you have to do late cover so that's 8-8 and saturday till 1. Most of the guys I work with then go out to do their evening job in quarries, their own garages or maintaining a fleet for small operators and they do that until about midnight 5 days a week.
I stopped because my health was crap, my social life was crap, I permanently had cut up and black fingers, all my clothes had oil stains, I stank of diesel every evening even after a shower, the jobs were often technical but you were treated like you were a monkey hammering a peg. Money was good in my place but never had time to spend it.
paradigital said:
Given my recent experiences with a German people’s car brand trying to convince my wife that her car needed a cambelt change less than a month after they had themselves done said cambelt change, I now point blank refuse any work that I haven’t specifically sent the car in for.
The annoying thing about VW Group brands is the way a "service" is basically an oil and filter change and some checks. Get a servoce plan and that's pretty all it includes, with maybe a pollen filter and spark plugs now and again.Yet you'll be earnestly told that the car needs it's "mandatory" a/c service and brake fluid change. If they're mandatory, why aren't they in the service schedule and covered by the service plan?
They're not mandatory at all - dealers are lying to people.
How familiar……
I took my last Griff 500 to a “ So Called TVR Specialist “ in Hants. We agreed several times over the phone, that I had a fixed £ budget and all I wanted was them to establish why it wouldn’t start & get the car running. Turned out that the distributor was broken ( common on these ) I bought a used dizzy, posted it to them and the car fired up. However, it was then that the “ Up Selling Pressure “ started and the bill ( I paid in Cash ) was much higher than it bloody well should have been.
Also, “ their TVR Specialist alarm fitter “ , put the pressure on, trying to flog me one of his super duper imobiliser systems.
In the end, i drove the car away, for the 100 mile drive home. Some miles up the road, I realised that the temperature gauge wasn’t working ( the most important gauge in a TVR ) when I got home, I rang them and he insisted “ That the temp gauge wasn’t working when I took the car to them “ which was a blatant lie.
I wouldn’t give them a wheel barrow to repair…..
I took my last Griff 500 to a “ So Called TVR Specialist “ in Hants. We agreed several times over the phone, that I had a fixed £ budget and all I wanted was them to establish why it wouldn’t start & get the car running. Turned out that the distributor was broken ( common on these ) I bought a used dizzy, posted it to them and the car fired up. However, it was then that the “ Up Selling Pressure “ started and the bill ( I paid in Cash ) was much higher than it bloody well should have been.
Also, “ their TVR Specialist alarm fitter “ , put the pressure on, trying to flog me one of his super duper imobiliser systems.
In the end, i drove the car away, for the 100 mile drive home. Some miles up the road, I realised that the temperature gauge wasn’t working ( the most important gauge in a TVR ) when I got home, I rang them and he insisted “ That the temp gauge wasn’t working when I took the car to them “ which was a blatant lie.
I wouldn’t give them a wheel barrow to repair…..
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Friday 28th February 23:36
Zio Di Roma said:
I fell for the pads and discs scam at our local Land Rover dealership.
It was only when I filed the invoice and found the previous one that I realised the car could not have needed them.
Wouldn't be so sure about the second part... Our Discovery Sport had rusted rear discs replaced under warranty twice... It was only when I filed the invoice and found the previous one that I realised the car could not have needed them.
I've had company cars for years, all work has to be done at main dealers, except tyrws we can get at Kei Fit. I've seen some stupid stuff turn up on the to-do list, the work just gets authorised and everything gets invoiced to the car provider. I'm sure most of the bonus work doesn't get done, I specifically asked for an AC clean as the car had a fish tank type smell on when first switching the AC on on warm days when the car hadn't been driven in a few days. Lex Autolease paid about £70 for that if I remember correctly, the smell was evident a few days after picking it up from the dealer.
I still think many main dealers are absolute con shops. The Mrs's car used to get serviced at a main dealer near her old house, they were great, never had any issues, never tried to bill her for something she didn't need as far as I could tell l. When we moved house, she went to another main dealer in the same network and they were horrendous, just barefaced liars.
At one point, her car started making a grinding rumble from the front left wheel. It was kind of hard to hear, wouldn't always make the noise and not always at the same speeds. I suspected a worn wheel bearing, but didn't have a jack or lift to get the car up to cheek the bearing properly. When her car went to the dealer for a service, she asked them to have a look at the wheel. They said she needed abiht £1200 of work doing, new suspension parts, an absurd amount of labour which couldn't be justified, a story many here probably identify with.
I took the car to an indie garage, they diagnosed the fault - collapsed wheel bearing, who'd have thought it. Diagnosed, fixed and on the road in no time at all, for the price of close to sweet fk all.
Car went back to the main dealer for an MOT a few months later (maybe 8-9 weeks iirc), they were told up front any faults would be rectified by a different garage so there was no financial incentive to find anything that wasn't genuinely wrong or in need of attention. The car sailed through the MOT, as it should. It drives perfectly.
If a mechanic had actually put the car on a ramp and taken an honest look at it, they'd have diagnosed the knackered bearing almost instantly. The fact that main dealers think they can pull this st is disgraceful. The revenue this sort of practice brings in is likely substantial, I wouldn't be surprised if these places had a tacit culture of management pushing this kind of behaviour to increase revenues.
I still think many main dealers are absolute con shops. The Mrs's car used to get serviced at a main dealer near her old house, they were great, never had any issues, never tried to bill her for something she didn't need as far as I could tell l. When we moved house, she went to another main dealer in the same network and they were horrendous, just barefaced liars.
At one point, her car started making a grinding rumble from the front left wheel. It was kind of hard to hear, wouldn't always make the noise and not always at the same speeds. I suspected a worn wheel bearing, but didn't have a jack or lift to get the car up to cheek the bearing properly. When her car went to the dealer for a service, she asked them to have a look at the wheel. They said she needed abiht £1200 of work doing, new suspension parts, an absurd amount of labour which couldn't be justified, a story many here probably identify with.
I took the car to an indie garage, they diagnosed the fault - collapsed wheel bearing, who'd have thought it. Diagnosed, fixed and on the road in no time at all, for the price of close to sweet f
k all. Car went back to the main dealer for an MOT a few months later (maybe 8-9 weeks iirc), they were told up front any faults would be rectified by a different garage so there was no financial incentive to find anything that wasn't genuinely wrong or in need of attention. The car sailed through the MOT, as it should. It drives perfectly.
If a mechanic had actually put the car on a ramp and taken an honest look at it, they'd have diagnosed the knackered bearing almost instantly. The fact that main dealers think they can pull this s
t is disgraceful. The revenue this sort of practice brings in is likely substantial, I wouldn't be surprised if these places had a tacit culture of management pushing this kind of behaviour to increase revenues.silentbrown said:
Zio Di Roma said:
I fell for the pads and discs scam at our local Land Rover dealership.
It was only when I filed the invoice and found the previous one that I realised the car could not have needed them.
Wouldn't be so sure about the second part... Our Discovery Sport had rusted rear discs replaced under warranty twice... It was only when I filed the invoice and found the previous one that I realised the car could not have needed them.
I can't remember if I posted it on here before, but a few years ago I had a car that was under warranty. It went in for a service, but I'd put some private plates on, and the OEM used numberplates rather than VINs for some reason.
Anyway, I asked them to carry out a minor service - oil, filters, plus the free 350 point check (or whatever number it's up to now). They were quite happy to point out that the car needed a plethora of parts, including a new wiring harness, battery, secondary ECU and some other bits. I asked them just to get on with it.
When I arrived a few days later they were very happy to present the bill and ask "how would you like to pay, sir?" I pointed at the sales guy who'd sold me the car, presented a copy of my warranty, and said "I think we're all good, he sold me the car so I'm sure he can sign off on the warranty I bought too. I've checked the list, apart from the service everything else iscovered under this warranty."
Unsurprisingly the folks there were rather unimpressed. When I was told to pick up my car (none of this posh "here you are sir" - I was told "it's parked at the back, the keys are in it"), I knew they were pissed so I couldn't help myself by saying "thank you so much, if you hadn't sold me the extended warranty I would have been paying for all this!"
That garage closed within 12 months. It was pretty much a halo location - eh, too bad. Schadenfreude and all that.
Anyway, I asked them to carry out a minor service - oil, filters, plus the free 350 point check (or whatever number it's up to now). They were quite happy to point out that the car needed a plethora of parts, including a new wiring harness, battery, secondary ECU and some other bits. I asked them just to get on with it.
When I arrived a few days later they were very happy to present the bill and ask "how would you like to pay, sir?" I pointed at the sales guy who'd sold me the car, presented a copy of my warranty, and said "I think we're all good, he sold me the car so I'm sure he can sign off on the warranty I bought too. I've checked the list, apart from the service everything else iscovered under this warranty."
Unsurprisingly the folks there were rather unimpressed. When I was told to pick up my car (none of this posh "here you are sir" - I was told "it's parked at the back, the keys are in it"), I knew they were pissed so I couldn't help myself by saying "thank you so much, if you hadn't sold me the extended warranty I would have been paying for all this!"
That garage closed within 12 months. It was pretty much a halo location - eh, too bad. Schadenfreude and all that.
This so called 'up selling' milarky is nothing new!
A few years back 'er indoors car was a K11 Micra, pretty much bullet proof and low miles. I took it for it's MoT and the tester commented on how good it was underneath, but it could do with new tyres, I agreed as all five were either on the wear bars or very close.
So I bought four tyres online that would be fitted by a place that would be on the way home from a nightshift for her.
She arrived home almost in tears, told me that 'er car was about to fall apart!
The 'Health Check' revealed;
Blowing rusty exhaust (not blowing and no rustier than it was 5 years earlier, and lasted another three)
TRE with a split boot (no damage evident when I looked)
Front pads less than 3mm (new pads fitted just before MoT)
Handbrake inoperative (held on third click and wheels were locked on attempting to move forward)
Severe rust to both cills (note MoT man's comment above)
I phoned the tyre place up and pointed out the above, the reply;
'So you do not want the work booking in, then?'
Needless to say that they have not seen us since!
A few years back 'er indoors car was a K11 Micra, pretty much bullet proof and low miles. I took it for it's MoT and the tester commented on how good it was underneath, but it could do with new tyres, I agreed as all five were either on the wear bars or very close.
So I bought four tyres online that would be fitted by a place that would be on the way home from a nightshift for her.
She arrived home almost in tears, told me that 'er car was about to fall apart!
The 'Health Check' revealed;
Blowing rusty exhaust (not blowing and no rustier than it was 5 years earlier, and lasted another three)
TRE with a split boot (no damage evident when I looked)
Front pads less than 3mm (new pads fitted just before MoT)
Handbrake inoperative (held on third click and wheels were locked on attempting to move forward)
Severe rust to both cills (note MoT man's comment above)
I phoned the tyre place up and pointed out the above, the reply;
'So you do not want the work booking in, then?'
Needless to say that they have not seen us since!
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