Main dealer pulling down my pants
Discussion
Bit of advice please.
I took a 2011 RRS to the garage for a new crossover pipe last Tuesday.
Having used the same dealership for the last few years, i've got a pretty good relationship with them and everything is normally spot on.
When I took it in, I was told it will be 5 hours plus whatever the part costs. The gearbox has to come out to do the job (other option is lift the body off but more expensive).
Now the service advisor I deal with left on Thursday which has kind of screwed me over as they're saying she should never have told me the price etc.
It should have been done on Wednesday last week but she rang me to say the part they ordered was incorrect so had to order the right one so would be done Thursday last thing at the latest. She wanted to make sure it was done before she left so she 'had no loose ends'.
Again, she rang me on Thursday and said it's taking a bit longer to do so won't be ready until Tuesday due to the bank holidays but assured me the price she quoted is the price i'll be paying.
Fast forward to today and another service advisor rang me to say a bolt has seized and they need to take the gearbox out to do it properly and want an extra 5 hours(??)
Obviously I was pretty annoyed as I was told to do the job the gearbox had to come out anyway but apparently they tried to do it another way.
I told them i'm not paying for another 5 hours labour as that's what I was quoted for originally.
They're now refusing and telling me I either pay the extra 5 hours or pay for the 5 hours already 'used' or they won't release the car back to me.
I'm a bit pissed off and now the service advisor has left, they're saying it's my word against theirs.
Bit of a long post but just wanted to get the details in. Any advice on what to do would be great.
Thanks.
I took a 2011 RRS to the garage for a new crossover pipe last Tuesday.
Having used the same dealership for the last few years, i've got a pretty good relationship with them and everything is normally spot on.
When I took it in, I was told it will be 5 hours plus whatever the part costs. The gearbox has to come out to do the job (other option is lift the body off but more expensive).
Now the service advisor I deal with left on Thursday which has kind of screwed me over as they're saying she should never have told me the price etc.
It should have been done on Wednesday last week but she rang me to say the part they ordered was incorrect so had to order the right one so would be done Thursday last thing at the latest. She wanted to make sure it was done before she left so she 'had no loose ends'.
Again, she rang me on Thursday and said it's taking a bit longer to do so won't be ready until Tuesday due to the bank holidays but assured me the price she quoted is the price i'll be paying.
Fast forward to today and another service advisor rang me to say a bolt has seized and they need to take the gearbox out to do it properly and want an extra 5 hours(??)
Obviously I was pretty annoyed as I was told to do the job the gearbox had to come out anyway but apparently they tried to do it another way.
I told them i'm not paying for another 5 hours labour as that's what I was quoted for originally.
They're now refusing and telling me I either pay the extra 5 hours or pay for the 5 hours already 'used' or they won't release the car back to me.
I'm a bit pissed off and now the service advisor has left, they're saying it's my word against theirs.
Bit of a long post but just wanted to get the details in. Any advice on what to do would be great.
Thanks.
I had a similar experience with a well known TVR garage many years ago. an 8 hour max quote, became a "we have spent 10 hours are probably a 1/3 through the job".
They refused to budge an inch, but fortunately I had their courtesy car. After a 2 week standoff, I collected my car on a trailer and paid them 5 hours.
I have never returned to their garage and I'm pleased to say I take every opportunity to warn people not to using them... (Except here, cos its not allowed, maybe the initials FMC?)
They refused to budge an inch, but fortunately I had their courtesy car. After a 2 week standoff, I collected my car on a trailer and paid them 5 hours.
I have never returned to their garage and I'm pleased to say I take every opportunity to warn people not to using them... (Except here, cos its not allowed, maybe the initials FMC?)
21TonyK said:
Sorry OP, can't help but as a general related question, can they keep your car? Surely you can collect your car at any point and its up to them to progress any claim for monies owed through a legal claim.
Keep your car = theft?
From memory, they are allowed to keep the car until payment is received in full.Keep your car = theft?
spikeyhead said:
Point out to them that a quotation is a quotation and not an estimate, therefore you expect the job to be completed at the price quoted.
Always assuming it WAS a binding quotation, which it doesn't sound as if the service receptionist would be authorised to commit the dealership to.B'sides, even then, the terms of the quotation would include a caveat over assumptions and problems arising, which a seized bolt would definitely fall under.
So there are three ways of doing this job. The OP was given a time for the slowest (but surest), and the intermediate method. There is a quicker method, which they tried, but have been foiled in by a pre-existing problem with the car. I'm sure that the OP would have been very thankful at having been saved an hour or two of labour (at main dealer rates...) if this pre-existing problem hadn't been present, right?
With the main dealers I've used in the last few years they quote labour based on a time given by the manufacturer. On that basis if they do it quicker they win, if they don't then tough luck on them. Independents tend to want to bill for extra if possible, which isn't unreasonable if the job takes longer through no fault of their own, and they are cheaper to begin with.
cmaguire said:
With the main dealers I've used in the last few years they quote labour based on a time given by the manufacturer. On that basis if they do it quicker they win, if they don't then tough luck on them. Independents tend to want to bill for extra if possible, which isn't unreasonable if the job takes longer through no fault of their own, and they are cheaper to begin with.
This has always been the case. I'll ring them up and get a price to do a job. I've not once had them come back to me and say it will now be more for whatever reason.The big thing for me is that the job I said yes to was to take the gearbox out to change the pipe. I was under the impression it was a body off job until she told me they can do it by removing the gearbox. Before she mentioned it, I had no clue it was possible.
Whether or not she has tried to screw them over by under quoting or not, I don't see how this falls on me.
She told me it was all down on the job card just incase it wasn't completed before she left but when I asked them, they said nothing was noted.. Yet they knew the hourly rate we agreed.
They always quote book time for jobs ,which is doing the process the manufacturer approved way .
If they have a shortcut they gain a few hours out of you .
Technicians get their bonus for completion of jobs under book times .
Sounds like they tried a short cut and then wasted time and failed to remove the old part .
They are trying to charge you for gearbox removal when they knew the box had to come out and based the time on the box coming out to gain access .
Smells to me .
If they have a shortcut they gain a few hours out of you .
Technicians get their bonus for completion of jobs under book times .
Sounds like they tried a short cut and then wasted time and failed to remove the old part .
They are trying to charge you for gearbox removal when they knew the box had to come out and based the time on the box coming out to gain access .
Smells to me .
A mate of mine was a service manager for Mitsubishi a while back, one day a lad came in with a blown turbo on an evo, cost a fair chunk to fix by the end of it, the lad came back to the service department stating the cost was over quote and demanded his car. The garage stuck it on a lift so he couldnt remove the car, the garage also called the police. When the Police arrived they told the garage they couldn't hold the car and had to release it, don't think they ever got paid for the work.
Mr GrimNasty said:
It's called a lien.
The thing to do would be to let them complete the job, pay, signing and writing paid under protest in as much detail as you want, then initiate small claims process, letter before etc. to DP.
It can't be that hard to track down the old employee and get a statement.
You will have absolutely no chance of getting any money returned once you have paid them in full.The thing to do would be to let them complete the job, pay, signing and writing paid under protest in as much detail as you want, then initiate small claims process, letter before etc. to DP.
It can't be that hard to track down the old employee and get a statement.
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