Reasons why you don’t go to a main dealer for a service

[lyonspride]

Pan Pan Pan said:

Mexman said:

I find it amusing that the same old posters who love to constantly dealer bash, as demonstrated on other threads, have found their way onto this one also.
Maybe some of the issues, are not the dealers, and perhaps, some should look closer to home?
I'm not saying that some of these stories are not justified, and that is true of every aspect of a service industry but I would guess a lot of them are jackanory.
Some people just like to complain, moan, throw toys out of the pram, and go through life whinging about every level of service they ever encounter, whether it be a holiday, a restaurant, a shop or whatever, and will never be happy.
Trip advisor?

It is also about people who have had sh*tty, dishonest, incompetent service from main dealers, Just because some put a suit and tie on,and have expensive showrooms, does not mean they are not still, sh*tty, dishonest, incompetent, individuals and or dealerships.

It is bizarre how the human mind works, it's like we see all that surface dressing and we think it's a good thing.

[Pan Pan Pan]

lyonspride said:

Pan Pan Pan said:

Mexman said:

I find it amusing that the same old posters who love to constantly dealer bash, as demonstrated on other threads, have found their way onto this one also.
Maybe some of the issues, are not the dealers, and perhaps, some should look closer to home?
I'm not saying that some of these stories are not justified, and that is true of every aspect of a service industry but I would guess a lot of them are jackanory.
Some people just like to complain, moan, throw toys out of the pram, and go through life whinging about every level of service they ever encounter, whether it be a holiday, a restaurant, a shop or whatever, and will never be happy.
Trip advisor?

It is also about people who have had sh*tty, dishonest, incompetent service from main dealers, Just because some put a suit and tie on,and have expensive showrooms, does not mean they are not still, sh*tty, dishonest, incompetent, individuals and or dealerships.

It is bizarre how the human mind works, it's like we see all that surface dressing and we think it's a good thing.

One would think that at the very least, they have their manufacturers, if not their own reputation to uphold? Perhaps not.

[Sheepshanks]

itcaptainslow said:

I’d be interested to put some of the detractors in a service department for a month. I think the experience would open their eyes to how much some customers can be a cause of all the problems, versus the dealership...

I'd find the totty too distracting...

[mickyh7]

Here goes then.
1980's 2ltr Cavalier 70k
Oil light came on near Liverpool.
I'm skint.
Reved it light went off.
Realised if I kept it in 3rd at 70 the light went off. Drove home to Co. Durham
Took it to Vauxhall in Darlington and asked for an oil pressure test only.
After aprox 3 hours and many questions I was brought a Sump Pan full of Copper bits and oil.
I was told the bottom end was scrap but could be booked in for a rebuild at about £1000.
Remember I'm skint,2 young kids mortgage I'm eary 30's.
Fortunately for me, working as an Inspector in the Nissan Engine Factory (unit shop).
And having a pretty good knowledge of engines in general around that time( we would strip other makes as all Manufacturers do for R&D).
I recognised that my Cavalier (G reg). Didn't actually have copper coloured big end bearings, it had White Metal bearings.
I mentioned this to them in order.
The Mechanic, his Manager and then the General Manager's faces are still in my memory !
I've never heard so many excuses about parts being mixed up etc. Apologies etc.
My car ? Was rebuilt in 30 minutes. With no charge.
Fitted new shells, the old ones looked ok though.
Cheap oil, at big speeds on the M62 had overheated and flaked the black paint off the inside of the sump pan and it had near blocked the pick up pipe.
With a colleague it was fixed in 3 hours on his ramps.
30k later it was stolen and burnt out.
Shame, great car.
From that day I have never trusted any Dealers.
This is a true story. No Social media then or mobile phone camera's to prove anything.
Pack of wkers.
Even if it is one bad Apple, it was over for me on the Eighties.

[Baldchap]

Buster73 said:

My brother put his Velar in for a warranty job on his heater on Monday , no courtesy car available , so I had to collect him.

Rang Monday afternoon to see when he could collect , told the software was being sorted.

Rang later to be told it needed some parts.

Rang Tuesday, will get someone to ring you back , no call.

Rang Wednesday to complain , no manager to take the call but someone would email him your details , no call.

Rang back late Wednesday to be told his car was ready .

Went to collect , no manager would discuss the poor service he’d had.

But they’d done a safety check and gave him a quote, new discs and pads needed at £1200 and four new tyres required at god knows how much , not bad for a car with. 20,000 miles covered from new.

And they wonder why dealerships get a bad name ?

At 2 tons I'd expect brakes and tyres at 20k.

And if the garage hadn't told him you'd be on here next week saying the garage had it a week and didn't even look and now it failed an MOT or got pulled for bald tyres.

They literally can't win. With the attitude of most on here I'm not surprised they didn't answer his calls!

[monkfish1]

itcaptainslow said:

Mexman said:

I find it amusing that the same old posters who love to constantly dealer bash, as demonstrated on other threads, have found their way onto this one also.
Maybe some of the issues, are not the dealers, and perhaps, some should look closer to home?
I'm not saying that some of these stories are not justified, and that is true of every aspect of a service industry but I would guess a lot of them are jackanory.
Some people just like to complain, moan, throw toys out of the pram, and go through life whinging about every level of service they ever encounter, whether it be a holiday, a restaurant, a shop or whatever, and will never be happy.
Trip advisor?

I’d be interested to put some of the detractors in a service department for a month. I think the experience would open their eyes to how much some customers can be a cause of all the problems, versus the dealership...

I was the service department for 13 years. It wont change my view. Not screwing the undertray on, or ignoring my request re washing is most certainly NOT my fault.

Accepting that some customers are wrong or plain unresonable, it doesnt change anything. With respect, your defence or rather "explaining away" of poor standards, lack of morals and dubious selling techniques in main dealers suggests you have become part of the problem rather than the solution.

This is pretty common in any industry though. Group think. What starts out as unacceptable can quickly become an accepted behaviour because their is no one challenging it. The motivations in dealers just adds to the problem.

Prior to my 15 years in the industry, i came from 20 years outside the industry. I was amazed at the time by what goes on, and its not got better.

[rosetank]

Honda dealer. Oil service, picked up the car and drove it hard 30 miles home. Reversed out in the morning and there was a patch of oil. Upon inspection the sump plug was just about hanging in there.

Called them, barely an apology, after arguing that the service sheet had been filled in so ‘it can’t happen’... then later offer of a free car wash.

End result, never used them again.

[vikingaero]

itcaptainslow said:

Mexman said:

I find it amusing that the same old posters who love to constantly dealer bash, as demonstrated on other threads, have found their way onto this one also.
Maybe some of the issues, are not the dealers, and perhaps, some should look closer to home?
I'm not saying that some of these stories are not justified, and that is true of every aspect of a service industry but I would guess a lot of them are jackanory.
Some people just like to complain, moan, throw toys out of the pram, and go through life whinging about every level of service they ever encounter, whether it be a holiday, a restaurant, a shop or whatever, and will never be happy.
Trip advisor?

I’d be interested to put some of the detractors in a service department for a month. I think the experience would open their eyes to how much some customers can be a cause of all the problems, versus the dealership...

I agree. On MSE you get some right chancers who protest the most unreasonable stuff in the universe. But they are the shouty ones who get results as the dealer wants them gone.

[Red 4]

vikingaero said:

I agree. On MSE you get some right chancers who protest the most unreasonable stuff in the universe. But they are the shouty ones who get results as the dealer wants them gone.

I haven't seen anyone post "unreasonable stuff" on here.

£50 for a few squirts of WD40, loose sump plugs, £daft for pads and discs, etc etc is not criticism for the sake of criticism or looking for freebies.

Perhaps you could point out the "chancers" on this thread.

[itcaptainslow]

monkfish1 said:

itcaptainslow said:

Mexman said:

I find it amusing that the same old posters who love to constantly dealer bash, as demonstrated on other threads, have found their way onto this one also.
Maybe some of the issues, are not the dealers, and perhaps, some should look closer to home?
I'm not saying that some of these stories are not justified, and that is true of every aspect of a service industry but I would guess a lot of them are jackanory.
Some people just like to complain, moan, throw toys out of the pram, and go through life whinging about every level of service they ever encounter, whether it be a holiday, a restaurant, a shop or whatever, and will never be happy.
Trip advisor?

I’d be interested to put some of the detractors in a service department for a month. I think the experience would open their eyes to how much some customers can be a cause of all the problems, versus the dealership...

I was the service department for 13 years. It wont change my view. Not screwing the undertray on, or ignoring my request re washing is most certainly NOT my fault.

Accepting that some customers are wrong or plain unresonable, it doesnt change anything. With respect, your defence or rather "explaining away" of poor standards, lack of morals and dubious selling techniques in main dealers suggests you have become part of the problem rather than the solution.

This is pretty common in any industry though. Group think. What starts out as unacceptable can quickly become an accepted behaviour because their is no one challenging it. The motivations in dealers just adds to the problem.

Prior to my 15 years in the industry, i came from 20 years outside the industry. I was amazed at the time by what goes on, and its not got better.

I was in the motor industry for a similar time. I'm glad I'm out-it was one of the best days of my life when I found I had the opportunity to leave. I'm giving a viewpoint based not on defending the industry (why would I be bothered now I'm working in another industry which is unconnected?!) but providing hopefully balance and context to the comments on here. If someone says XYZ is not good and I agree, I'll say I agree. I don't believe in being contrary for

I agree there are some practises in some dealerships that are "questionable", totally. I've had truly ste experiences as a customer, which I've documented in posts in this thread. But-I can say with absolute conviction that I've been fortunate to have worked with (apart from a couple of exceptions who didn't last long!) honest guys who would never knowingly rip a customer off, and I like to think I was one of those people. Tucking someone up for the sake of the company? Nah, you're alright.

Please show me where I've defended "poor standards, lack of morals and dubious selling techniques"?

Suggesting I'm part of the problem is I feel a little unfair, but hey, you're entitled to your opinion-one that I feel is wrong and perhaps one comes from not understanding or misconstruing my posts. If they have been taken the wrong way...not a lot I can do about that. I worked on the basis of always giving people the truth when in the trade-if they didn't like the truth, well, they'd been told how it was (in hopefully as professional as possible, pleasant manner!) and had the facts of the situation. What they did with those facts was up to them!

However, it really doesn't matter much to me now. I'm quite happy being out of the trade, doing a job I love, maintaining my own cars with the exception of my Elise (for residual purposes), for which I visit a trusted independent who has since become a manufacturer service centre. Why go here? Because the main dealerships I experienced were poor. If they were good (as per the Honda dealership who maintains my bikes), I'd go to them.

I take them all at face value and judge on the service they give me, rather than enter the building with a chip on my shoulder.

I'm currently reading a book by a sports psychologist, who suggests we get the results we mentally expect as our behaviour is drawn to our dominant thoughts. Think we'll miss a penalty, we'll miss a penalty. Walk in somewhere expecting below average service...you might just be more likely to get it. Who knows?

[jamesson]

I've just remembered a few other incidents. Broken glass on BMW headlight. One dealer said I needed a whole new unit at a ridiculous price, another said no you don't and showed me the exploded diagram on their system which showed just the glass could be ordered separately at greatly reduced cost.

Audi dealer rang me to advise I should book my car in for a cambelt change urgently as it was overdue and surely I didn't want to risk massive engine damage. I asked how much it would be, a ridiculous price was quoted. The fact that my engine is chain driven didn't seem to matter.

And finally, I was asked why I stopped taking the car there and when I said they quoted £2000 to replace rear dampers the service manager was actually very apologetic and said that was ridiculous. Whilst I appreciated his apology, it didn't make me want to go back there.

[Pan Pan Pan]

As mentioned in an earlier post, for many their car is just another tick on their white goods list.. (Fridge freezer, check, plasma tv, check, tumble drier, check, car, check, etc)
They don't know about their car, or how it works, and they really don't want to.
These are the people the sh*t dealerships know they can get away with murder with.
They tend to patronize their clientele, and it is usually only when someone who knows cars, and specifically their own car, comes along that they get found out for the sh*ts they actually are.
Whilst the people who don't care about their car outnumber the ones who do, this situation is likely to continue. So it remains a case of buyer beware, when taking ones vehicle to a main dealer.

[Tabs]

Obviously can't use names. Lexus main dealers. I've had two Lexus, the first purchased and servicing was as one would expect from them. Exemplary.
Part exchanged it for another Lexus at main dealer similar distance away. Didn't really match up to my expectations.
After that, would only take it to the first dealer for servicing.
On Thursday, the 12 volt battery failed, and because of warranty etc, wanted to use main dealer. Two prices, £125 from my favourite dealer, and £395 from the one I didn't feel happy with when I bought it. The £125 should be a fixed price across all dealerships.
Guess where I went.

[Buster73]

Baldchap said:

At 2 tons I'd expect brakes and tyres at 20k.

And if the garage hadn't told him you'd be on here next week saying the garage had it a week and didn't even look and now it failed an MOT or got pulled for bald tyres.

They literally can't win. With the attitude of most on here I'm not surprised they didn't answer his calls!

Been checked at an independent since , pads not even close to needing replacement , tyres still no where near need replacing yet either , 18 months old so no MOT needed.

Not forgetting the fact it went in for a warranty repair on the heater , yes just the heater that took them three days to fix added to which an inability to communicate with the customer left him without transport for three days.

My brother doesn’t post on here , his attitude isn’t in question.

The customer care or lack of is actually embarrassing for any dealership , never mind a premium brand.

You might be happy to find that acceptable, he doesn’t, the garage in question shouldn’t, and LR should be asking questions why their dealers treat customers in such a way.

Edited by Buster73 on Saturday 29th February 12:07

[Wills2]

I wonder if there is an automotive version of Munchausen's....

[vikingaero]

Red 4 said:

vikingaero said:

I agree. On MSE you get some right chancers who protest the most unreasonable stuff in the universe. But they are the shouty ones who get results as the dealer wants them gone.

I haven't seen anyone post "unreasonable stuff" on here.

£50 for a few squirts of WD40, loose sump plugs, £daft for pads and discs, etc etc is not criticism for the sake of criticism or looking for freebies.

Perhaps you could point out the "chancers" on this thread.

Most people on here are pretty reasonable. The unreasonable stuff I pointed out was on MSE - MoneysavingExpert - a real dhead with an Audi who got resolution by screaming and shouting even though he had no legal right and didn't deserve it.

[DSLiverpool]

Quoted £849 to do a track and balance on the Bentayga, asked Audi and it’s £149 - both in house same machine.

[cayman-black]

I remember i had a lovely brand new Toyota Landcruiser so in it went for its first service, oil and filter change. Thing is on these all parts have a pink dot on them from the factory and i checked that the oil filter also had this dot. On collecting the car and checking i see that the oil filter had exactly the same dot so had not been changed. I was not happy so they took the car in straight away and done the oil and filter again. No dot on the new filter.
A similar thing also happened with Porsche so i no longer trust main dealers at all.
Also just had some mud flaps fitted at an Essex LR main dealer on my new SVR, then i see it out on a test drive the young chap says he was just checking that the grease he put round the edge of the wheel bolts was ok? OK.
I had its main service done at my Italian main dealer and they never even drove the car, they do know how particular i am about it and they respect that.

Edited by cayman-black on Saturday 29th February 13:00

[Red 4]

DSLiverpool said:

Quoted £849 to do a track and balance on the Bentayga, asked Audi and it’s £149 - both in house same machine.

... Or get it done properly at The Wheel Alignment and Ball Joint Centre in Bootle for about £70

It's a bit rough and ready but I've seen all sorts on the ramps in there (Ferrari, Porsche, lots of modified stuff, priceless classics .... And rough arse, rotten Transit vans ).

No free coffee, no fancy tiles on the floor but blokes who know how to set a car up with the latest Hunter machine.

I'll take the (cheaper) proper job every time.

Edited by Red 4 on Saturday 29th February 13:14

[DSLiverpool]

Red 4 said:

DSLiverpool said:

Quoted £849 to do a track and balance on the Bentayga, asked Audi and it’s £149 - both in house same machine.

... Or get it done properly at The Wheel Alignment and Ball Joint Centre in Bootle for about £70

It's a bit rough and ready but I've seen all sorts on the ramps in there (Ferrari, Porsche, lots of modified stuff, priceless classics .... And rough arse, rotten Transit vans ).

No free coffee, no fancy tiles on the floor but blokes who know how to set a car up with the latest Hunter machine.

I'll take the (cheaper) proper job every time.

Edited by Red 4 on Saturday 29th February 13:14

I’ve always used them in the past (and paid £) but I’m aware the active suspension on the Q8 / Bentley might be an issue so minimising any potential problems.