Aston Martin Emergency Assistance... woeful experience
Discussion
Follow-up...
The car's arrived at AM Bristol this morning which is the main thing.
The post got around to Allianz. A manager phoned me to apologise for the service. Apology accepted.
Let's hope it was just a one-off. As mentioned above, I wasn't a priority as I was safely at home and not at the roadside so no real harm apart from lost hours.
From my point of view, the majority worth in the £1,600 annual bill is the warranty with AM. I'll stay with the AA as I have done for years, so am not worried about a real emergency situation.
Some interesting insights into the business by lukeharding. Thanks for that! I can imagine that if I'm a local contractor, I would fear working on some types of vehicle as the potential cost of getting it wrong as more than the job's worth. Perhaps that, the relatively sparser population area in which I live, that it was a nice weather Saturday (staff off work) and non-urgent status all conspired against me on that occasion. No, it shouldn't. But that's life.
The car's arrived at AM Bristol this morning which is the main thing.
The post got around to Allianz. A manager phoned me to apologise for the service. Apology accepted.
Let's hope it was just a one-off. As mentioned above, I wasn't a priority as I was safely at home and not at the roadside so no real harm apart from lost hours.
From my point of view, the majority worth in the £1,600 annual bill is the warranty with AM. I'll stay with the AA as I have done for years, so am not worried about a real emergency situation.
Some interesting insights into the business by lukeharding. Thanks for that! I can imagine that if I'm a local contractor, I would fear working on some types of vehicle as the potential cost of getting it wrong as more than the job's worth. Perhaps that, the relatively sparser population area in which I live, that it was a nice weather Saturday (staff off work) and non-urgent status all conspired against me on that occasion. No, it shouldn't. But that's life.
nickv8 said:
Follow-up...
The car's arrived at AM Bristol this morning which is the main thing.
The post got around to Allianz. A manager phoned me to apologise for the service. Apology accepted.
Let's hope it was just a one-off. As mentioned above, I wasn't a priority as I was safely at home and not at the roadside so no real harm apart from lost hours.
From my point of view, the majority worth in the £1,600 annual bill is the warranty with AM. I'll stay with the AA as I have done for years, so am not worried about a real emergency situation.
Some interesting insights into the business by lukeharding. Thanks for that! I can imagine that if I'm a local contractor, I would fear working on some types of vehicle as the potential cost of getting it wrong as more than the job's worth. Perhaps that, the relatively sparser population area in which I live, that it was a nice weather Saturday (staff off work) and non-urgent status all conspired against me on that occasion. No, it shouldn't. But that's life.
Glad to hear its getting sorted and that you got an apology. Definitely true that an Aston will give some operators palpations, although some have drivers they trust to do those jobs. Location definitely does come into it too, although funnily enough (or perhaps unsurprisingly) London is the worst. Hopefully they get the car sorted and back to you quickly The car's arrived at AM Bristol this morning which is the main thing.
The post got around to Allianz. A manager phoned me to apologise for the service. Apology accepted.
Let's hope it was just a one-off. As mentioned above, I wasn't a priority as I was safely at home and not at the roadside so no real harm apart from lost hours.
From my point of view, the majority worth in the £1,600 annual bill is the warranty with AM. I'll stay with the AA as I have done for years, so am not worried about a real emergency situation.
Some interesting insights into the business by lukeharding. Thanks for that! I can imagine that if I'm a local contractor, I would fear working on some types of vehicle as the potential cost of getting it wrong as more than the job's worth. Perhaps that, the relatively sparser population area in which I live, that it was a nice weather Saturday (staff off work) and non-urgent status all conspired against me on that occasion. No, it shouldn't. But that's life.
)As already stated all the manufacturers outsource emergency assistance.
When my "timeless" Aston wouldn't start two days into ownership the Alliance chap diagnosed a flat battery. He was confident in his diagnosis having checked everything else with his diagnostics kit. But he didn't carry batteries and told me to get dealer to come out. My nearest AM dealer (I live in Tunbridge Wells) stated I had to get the car to them! In the end the supplying dealer traveled down and fitted a new battery. Guess what; next planned trip the car wouldn't start so it wasn't the battery at fault.
With my Mercedes I had a strong smell of petrol and dealer said for safety reasons I should call out Mercedes Assist rather than drive car to them. I think it was Mercedes RAC who checked the car and assured me there was no fuel leak and it was safe to drive to dealer. So drove to dealer who quickly found a leaking fuel pipe!
In conclusion, I think it's luck of the draw who comes to your rescue with a prestige car. On both occasions the technicians were very courteous but they were certainly not specialists.
When my "timeless" Aston wouldn't start two days into ownership the Alliance chap diagnosed a flat battery. He was confident in his diagnosis having checked everything else with his diagnostics kit. But he didn't carry batteries and told me to get dealer to come out. My nearest AM dealer (I live in Tunbridge Wells) stated I had to get the car to them! In the end the supplying dealer traveled down and fitted a new battery. Guess what; next planned trip the car wouldn't start so it wasn't the battery at fault.
With my Mercedes I had a strong smell of petrol and dealer said for safety reasons I should call out Mercedes Assist rather than drive car to them. I think it was Mercedes RAC who checked the car and assured me there was no fuel leak and it was safe to drive to dealer. So drove to dealer who quickly found a leaking fuel pipe!
In conclusion, I think it's luck of the draw who comes to your rescue with a prestige car. On both occasions the technicians were very courteous but they were certainly not specialists.
I used this service twice - once when I drove over a nail and was stuck at scratchwood services and once when involved in a collision. Both times I ended up on the phone to a third party and I banged on repeatedly about the very low front splitter, the £4000 bill for supply and fit of a new one and how I need a very low, low loader.
Both times they cancelled the original low-loader and re-tasked someone with a very low low-loader. And job done.
OP clearly had a bad day out :-(
Both times they cancelled the original low-loader and re-tasked someone with a very low low-loader. And job done.
OP clearly had a bad day out :-(
the 'assist' services that most manufacturers have are the cheapest available.
For example, Nissan Assist costs Nissan £6 per sale, with a perceived value of £150. It helps sell main dealer servicing and service plans. Your Aston Martin one is likely no different. It's just the absolute minimum level the manufacturer can get away with. And that results in the service you have experienced.
There are some exceptions - BMW assist is run through Mondial, and is better.... but not perfect.
For example, Nissan Assist costs Nissan £6 per sale, with a perceived value of £150. It helps sell main dealer servicing and service plans. Your Aston Martin one is likely no different. It's just the absolute minimum level the manufacturer can get away with. And that results in the service you have experienced.
There are some exceptions - BMW assist is run through Mondial, and is better.... but not perfect.
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
the 'assist' services that most manufacturers have are the cheapest available.
For example, Nissan Assist costs Nissan £6 per sale, with a perceived value of £150. It helps sell main dealer servicing and service plans. Your Aston Martin one is likely no different. It's just the absolute minimum level the manufacturer can get away with. And that results in the service you have experienced.
There are some exceptions - BMW assist is run through Mondial, and is better.... but not perfect.
AM's is via Allianz/Mondial. Downside is it is not quite as extensive as BMW's, it also appears more dysfunctional, from the same organisation.For example, Nissan Assist costs Nissan £6 per sale, with a perceived value of £150. It helps sell main dealer servicing and service plans. Your Aston Martin one is likely no different. It's just the absolute minimum level the manufacturer can get away with. And that results in the service you have experienced.
There are some exceptions - BMW assist is run through Mondial, and is better.... but not perfect.
I saw an example of a recovery service today, at M4 Membury Services car park.
Recovery truck parked with a Subaru on board. Subaru had a missing rear nearside wheel. Vehicle resting on brake disc.
The Subaru was reversed off the truck, with the rear bumper and brake disc scraping along the ground.
Two people got out of the truck, presumably the Subaru owners, carefully locked the Subaru (just in case a car with a wheel missing was driven away), then walked towards the Services buildings.
The recovery truck then drove away, leaving the car and people behind.
I don't know the rest of the story, because I left too.
Dewi 2 said:
Luke Harding seems to know how the recovery world works.
Perhaps having a list of 'local' contractors (who have vehicles suitable for low cars), would be our solution.
Then contact one directly, if our hour of need arises.
In reply to Jon39s post about the service and the Subaru, obviously it isn't the correct way to recover a vehicle (even if there is damage, a recovery operator should do no more damage if at all possible to avoid), but I suspect the truck did not have a set of skates, but instead had sliders which have now become more popular and wouldn't have helped here. The reason they will have been unloaded at a services as the job will likely be a club job that is being legged. Clubs do not pay enough on mileage or call out to justify sending a resource out of area, and the industry is short staffed, which compounds the issue. Why would you send a truck out of area all day (with the driver then having to run on tacho) for £1.05/mile, when that same truck could do another 5 jobs with a £55/£65 call out for each job? Also you probably won't have the staff to cover those other five jobs, and you can bet that the club you are working for will be upset if you miss their KPIs, and potentially you could lose your contract. What this leads to is vehicles and sometimes customers being dumped just inside another operator's area, so that it is no longer the original contractor's job. Of course, this varies from club to club, and can be avoided depending on who you go for. Two in particular are prolific for this, but they would get upset with me if I said whom it is - and to be fair to them it isn't entirely their fault.
lukeharding said:
Dewi 2 said:
Luke Harding seems to know how the recovery world works.
Perhaps having a list of 'local' contractors (who have vehicles suitable for low cars), would be our solution.
Then contact one directly, if our hour of need arises.
Thank you Luke.
The 'proper' cost would be quite acceptable to me, because in my experience, a breakdown occurrence has been extremely rare.
Exactly the same with 'self insuring' an extended warranty. With that, by not paying for extended warranty, I am so far about £23,000 better off. For a few, who encounter failures during their early years of ownership (with hindsight) that does not work out well, but on average, Aston Martins do seem fairly reliable.
Please, what does SLA stand for? I presume it is a type of recovery truck that takes care of low cars.
If I am ever stranded, I now know what to do and ask for.
With Mercedes I have rescue 'thrown in', so any risk is only present for a lightly used Aston Martin.
Dewi 2 said:
lukeharding said:
Dewi 2 said:
Luke Harding seems to know how the recovery world works.
Perhaps having a list of 'local' contractors (who have vehicles suitable for low cars), would be our solution.
Then contact one directly, if our hour of need arises.
Thank you Luke.
The 'proper' cost would be quite acceptable to me, because in my experience, a breakdown occurrence has been extremely rare.
Exactly the same with 'self insuring' an extended warranty. With that, by not paying for extended warranty, I am so far about £23,000 better off. For a few, who encounter failures during their early years of ownership (with hindsight) that does not work out well, but on average, Aston Martins do seem fairly reliable.
Please, what does SLA stand for? I presume it is a type of recovery truck that takes care of low cars.
If I am ever stranded, I now know what to do and ask for.
With Mercedes I have rescue 'thrown in', so any risk is only present for a lightly used Aston Martin.
As with everything, you get what you pay for, and agree proper recovery is worth paying for
I’ve used twice. Once, bloke turned up within an hour, plugged diagnostics in and cleared fault (E-Diff not available) in five minutes. Other time, car needed recovering to Works. A different bloke turned up with a low-loader with a very shallow approach angle and took car away, only to deliver it back two days later with the fault (airbag warning light - diagnosed as a detached wire behind the dash) fixed. I don't know what they could have done differently or better TBH.
sticks090460 said:
I’ve used twice. Once, bloke turned up within an hour, plugged diagnostics in and cleared fault (E-Diff not available) in five minutes. Other time, car needed recovering to Works. A different bloke turned up with a low-loader with a very shallow approach angle and took car away, only to deliver it back two days later with the fault (airbag warning light - diagnosed as a detached wire behind the dash) fixed. I don't know what they could have done differently or better TBH.
That's great to read! In my original post which started this thread, they did good the next day (Sunday morning at that).Required them recently. Three planned visits within 90 minutes:
1. Remote technician - took it for a test drive with him, he diagnosed fault to confirm if it was something he could attend to, and advised recovery necessary
2. Director of recovery company coming to "check out what is happening given the vehicle, before i arrange for a truck"
3. Recovery truck - took the AM onto the back myself, they were also very careful (albeit not the type of tech you would find at an AM service dept.
)
All three organisations (AM, Allianz, 3rd party) were rapid and efficient. This was on a weekend or Friday evening when the dealerships were closed too.
Similarly, the work carried out under warranty - no qualms, no difficulty with either dealership.
The only problem is the lost time which i am effectively paying for in cost + depreciation, lost salary and major dent in confidence in the vehicle which I hope will come back.
1. Remote technician - took it for a test drive with him, he diagnosed fault to confirm if it was something he could attend to, and advised recovery necessary
2. Director of recovery company coming to "check out what is happening given the vehicle, before i arrange for a truck"
3. Recovery truck - took the AM onto the back myself, they were also very careful (albeit not the type of tech you would find at an AM service dept.
)All three organisations (AM, Allianz, 3rd party) were rapid and efficient. This was on a weekend or Friday evening when the dealerships were closed too.
Similarly, the work carried out under warranty - no qualms, no difficulty with either dealership.
The only problem is the lost time which i am effectively paying for in cost + depreciation, lost salary and major dent in confidence in the vehicle which I hope will come back.
db11far said:
Required them recently. Three planned visits within 90 minutes:
1. Remote technician - took it for a test drive with him, he diagnosed fault to confirm if it was something he could attend to, and advised recovery necessary
2. Director of recovery company coming to "check out what is happening given the vehicle, before i arrange for a truck"
3. Recovery truck - took the AM onto the back myself, they were also very careful (albeit not the type of tech you would find at an AM service dept. )
All three organisations (AM, Allianz, 3rd party) were rapid and efficient. This was on a weekend or Friday evening when the dealerships were closed too.
Similarly, the work carried out under warranty - no qualms, no difficulty with either dealership.
The only problem is the lost time which i am effectively paying for in cost + depreciation, lost salary and major dent in confidence in the vehicle which I hope will come back.
Glad it was sorted properly.1. Remote technician - took it for a test drive with him, he diagnosed fault to confirm if it was something he could attend to, and advised recovery necessary
2. Director of recovery company coming to "check out what is happening given the vehicle, before i arrange for a truck"
3. Recovery truck - took the AM onto the back myself, they were also very careful (albeit not the type of tech you would find at an AM service dept.
)All three organisations (AM, Allianz, 3rd party) were rapid and efficient. This was on a weekend or Friday evening when the dealerships were closed too.
Similarly, the work carried out under warranty - no qualms, no difficulty with either dealership.
The only problem is the lost time which i am effectively paying for in cost + depreciation, lost salary and major dent in confidence in the vehicle which I hope will come back.
Unless it's your daily driver, hopefully you're not inconvenienced too much and return it quickly.
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