Ask a Service Manager anything...anything at all.

[Stickyfinger]

Countdown said:

What's the most "profitable" job from a service point of view? i.e. what earns you the most money for the least hassle?

Disks need changing or refilling the screen wash.....?

[hurstg01]

Stickyfinger said:

Countdown said:

What's the most "profitable" job from a service point of view? i.e. what earns you the most money for the least hassle?

Disks need changing or refilling the screen wash.....?

Saying the punter needs a dashcam after unplugging it, and then plugging it back in and selling the newly purchased and still boxed dashcam on eBay?

[techguyone]

Is there a moderator? can't you just theadban Human Doing for turning a really good thread to st.

[ghost83]

Stormfly1985 said:

Why did you change your username to Ghost83?

Since a ph member went running to the garage with screenshots and my username they will be putting my username into google to see if I've said anything else and to spy! So ghost as that was the wife's suggestion and 83 for my birth year

[Countdown]

What's the favorite scam a dodgy service department might pull?

[TVR1]

Gad-Westy said:

sparks_E39 said:

The overheads of a main dealer are very expensive. The one I work at charges just over £100 an hour, and before I worked in the industry I thought that was ludicrous. Now I think it's actually about right. I'm a service advisor for a main dealer. It can be a bit stressful sometimes and isn't really that well paid (circa £20-22k) but I do enjoy it. I don't want to become a service manager though, don't think I'd want that much stress. A diagnostic check is charged initially at one hours labour. It isn't alway about hooking up the machine.

Thank you for answering. I'll admit I'm still skeptical on the hourly rate aspect though. And I do wonder if some of the high overheads come from overly 'swanky' premises and locations that don't necessarily benefit the customer though may help reassure them that their rates are justified. I don't know, just seems high. Total guessed numbers here but I'd guess a typical large dealership might be doing 80 labour hours per day 300 days a year? That comes in at about £2.4m in revenue from labour alone ignoring any mark up on parts. Maybe that just represents what this sort of operation costs and I accept that businesses need to make some money too.

I've been out of the trade after 25 years for a few months now. London main dealer rates are circa £140 plus VAT. Brand really doesn't matter. The problem these days is that to get the customers in and do the volumes of business needed, you do need glass palaces and space. Space and staff costs money. My dealership (West London) cost £30k a DAY to open the doors and no, that's not a typo.

[750turbo]

techguyone said:

Is there a moderator? can't you just theadban Human Doing for turning a really good thread to st.

Just hit the report button techguyone. It is over there and up a wee bit -->

[techguyone]

lol thanks, now I know it's there, despite seeing it for the last god knows how many years, guess I'm just used to seeing some/any moderation on boards.

[Zooks]

Interesting thread. Whats your opinion of lifeshine & superguard etc
Does it always get applied by valets or does it get done in house?

[eltawater]

ghost83 said:

Stormfly1985 said:

Why did you change your username to Ghost83?

Since a ph member went running to the garage with screenshots and my username they will be putting my username into google to see if I've said anything else and to spy! So ghost as that was the wife's suggestion and 83 for my birth year

You are aware that if someone clicks on your previous username it will take them straight through to the profile of your current username so that they may continue tracking you via Google, right?

[valiant]

TVR1 said:

I've been out of the trade after 25 years for a few months now. London main dealer rates are circa £140 plus VAT. Brand really doesn't matter. The problem these days is that to get the customers in and do the volumes of business needed, you do need glass palaces and space. Space and staff costs money. My dealership (West London) cost £30k a DAY to open the doors and no, that's not a typo.

You need to buy some cheaper doors then.

[itcaptainslow]

Countdown said:

What's the most "profitable" job from a service point of view? i.e. what earns you the most money for the least hassle?

It’s usually service work or things like changing brakes.

[itcaptainslow]

Zooks said:

Interesting thread. Whats your opinion of lifeshine & superguard etc
Does it always get applied by valets or does it get done in house?

In my honest opinion it’s a waste of time if the car receives a reasonable amount of care in its life. The valeters apply it-usually with a minimum amount of training so the results can be, um, varied!

[ghost83]

eltawater said:

You are aware that if someone clicks on your previous username it will take them straight through to the profile of your current username so that they may continue tracking you via Google, right?

Didn't know that