Main Dealer wants to charge "to use their tools" - WHAT!
Discussion
Dog Star said:
It's a tool that these days is 100% necessary for the job. Its taking the piss. I don't object to a labour charge (to stop people getting codes read and going elsewhere) but extra for use of a tool - no.
So presumably you would let random people use things you own for free, can people just walk into your house and use stuff? Bloke under railway arches fixing cars is cheap and has,
Hammer
Spanners
Multi-meter
Socket set
Pliers
Main dealer has,
Hammer
Spanners
Multi-meter
Socket set
Pliers
Full manufacturer diagnostics.
If you don't need the diagnostics you're very welcome to visit the railway arches. Very obviously the main dealer has higher overheads and can only recover those effectively by charging specifically for things which aren't available elsewhere.
You can buy beer for £1.50 a pint in Tesco but that's not much help when you're out in a club...
Hammer
Spanners
Multi-meter
Socket set
Pliers
Main dealer has,
Hammer
Spanners
Multi-meter
Socket set
Pliers
Full manufacturer diagnostics.
If you don't need the diagnostics you're very welcome to visit the railway arches. Very obviously the main dealer has higher overheads and can only recover those effectively by charging specifically for things which aren't available elsewhere.
You can buy beer for £1.50 a pint in Tesco but that's not much help when you're out in a club...
Face for Radio said:
To stop people from getting the code read for free, and then buggering off to an Indy telling them what part is at fault and getting it replaced there.
Most indy's have fault code readers. OP shouldn't have gone to a main dealer if he didn't want to pay for it. My Indy charges £20 a time to diagnose a fault. doogz said:
Who's charging a significantly higher labour rate because of their extra facilities already though?
Mainly because of the extra benefit of resale and warranty support? Its swings and roundabouts really but I would just put the RR in for a service and be done with it. That or purchase a code reader and find the poor connection/sensor in question myself. There's no point moaning about it, modern cars are a PITA.OP, have you got AA cover. When my car died on cruise control they plugged into it and found the fault prior to getting the car moving again. It's kind of bending the rules but why not?
danyeates said:
I work in the marine industry and would never be able to get away with charging these diagnostics charges found in the automotive sector. We use a very expensive Yamaha diagnostic system, but heaven forbid we try to charge anything for it!
...and now tell us where the "cheaper competitors" are for your business?BoRED S2upid said:
Most indy's have fault code readers. OP shouldn't have gone to a main dealer if he didn't want to pay for it. My Indy charges £20 a time to diagnose a fault.
I was going to say; a decent indy will have a proper multi-marque diagnostics machine that can do nearly everything the official dealer item will do, usually because the multi-marque item has been reverse engineered from the official one.750turbo said:
Westy Pre-Lit said:
So you can afford to drive around in a RR sport but everybody else has to work and supply a service for free .....here we go again 
Yep!IMO, the majority of people (on here, and in real life) have no bloody idea what it takes to run a Dealership!!
Start up costs..
Staff...
Rent/Rates...
Equipment...
Training...
Etc...
The costs are horrendous, but do not let that get in the way of a good moan.
Main dealers charge more for stuff because people are willing to pay more. I don't really see what's wrong with that? Making a profit isn't a crime.
Personally, I'd never use a main dealer, as much because in my experience they tend to be incompetent as because they're expensive. In fact, I have no particular intention of taking any of my cars to a garage again at all.
Personally, I'd never use a main dealer, as much because in my experience they tend to be incompetent as because they're expensive. In fact, I have no particular intention of taking any of my cars to a garage again at all.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 14th August 09:28
I have a an expensive professional diagnostics tool and you can understand why dealers and people charge for the service.
Its knowledge, time and the updates cost money too - Land Rover probably get them free but mine are £400+VAT for one year - if they wanted to give everything free then they wouldnt make any money simple really.
Its knowledge, time and the updates cost money too - Land Rover probably get them free but mine are £400+VAT for one year - if they wanted to give everything free then they wouldnt make any money simple really.
loose cannon said:
popped into sainsburys and bought a frozen pizza, as i was hungry at the time i popped into the bakery next door and they let me borrow there oven for 15 mins to cook my pizza
Which has nothing to do with the OP's point. Which was more akin to if you went to a Pizza Express, and in addition to the price of the pizza, they charged extra for use of the pizza oven.
Your rolleyes demonstrates only that you have the comprehension skills of said pizza.
As a Truck main dealer we depend on some very expensive diagnostic equipment to maintain vehicles correctly. This is a profit making business and needs to be in order to still be around when customers need parts and breakdown assistance etc. Selling vehicles is only a part of the income stream!
Having recently used an independant with it transpired limited diagnostic ability on my own car, I shall be sticking with the main dealer and supplier. He wasnt cheap but it was fixed with no fuss and I feel confident that the repair was good!
Having recently used an independant with it transpired limited diagnostic ability on my own car, I shall be sticking with the main dealer and supplier. He wasnt cheap but it was fixed with no fuss and I feel confident that the repair was good!
WhereamI said:
Dog Star said:
It's a tool that these days is 100% necessary for the job. Its taking the piss. I don't object to a labour charge (to stop people getting codes read and going elsewhere) but extra for use of a tool - no.
So presumably you would let random people use things you own for free, can people just walk into your house and use stuff? Not really any different to what I do - we charge a fee for a service for which we happen to use an IT tool. We bake that into the price we charge clients, rather than levying a usage or licence fee.
So yes, I think charging for labour *and* the use of a specific tool is stretching things slightly, particularly if it leaves you with a customer who is sufficiently peed off that they feel the need to take their business elsewhere when they might otherwise have left the car with you to repair. Not least because they might also be worried about the subsequent itemised bill detailing the use of other tools needed to fix the car because that's not covered by the warranty...).
People don't like surprises, so I can't help thinking the situation could have been avoided with a bit of expectation management by the dealership, along the lines of:
- checking fault codes isn't covered by warranty (but the subsequent repair might be);
- it usually takes x amount of time;
- we use a sophisticated diagnostic tool which we need to keep up to date, hence that will be shown on the bill; and
- if it's an out of warranty piece of work and you leave the car with us to fix then we can credit that bill with the diagnostic fee.
Or something along those lines. At least then the customer has been able to make an informed decision.
You'll still get some people taking the car elsewhere, but I would be willing to
WhereamI said:
Dog Star said:
It's a tool that these days is 100% necessary for the job. Its taking the piss. I don't object to a labour charge (to stop people getting codes read and going elsewhere) but extra for use of a tool - no.
So presumably you would let random people use things you own for free, can people just walk into your house and use stuff? Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff