Reasons why you don’t go to a main dealer for a service
Discussion
vikingaero said:
Part of the reason is the bulls
t. Much like the sales shenanigans of going backwards and forward to the sales managers office to get you a better deal/talk about the football, service staff will waffle on about the complimentary health check, the walk around videos and invalidating your "whole warranty" if you don't do this or that.
Contrast that to my Romanian mechanic:
"Do I need new brake pads?"
"No, come back in 6,000 miles."
[6,000 miles later]
"Do I need new brake pads?"
"I can do them now if you want, but it can wait another 3k".
So that's three visits to get the brake pads changed - how many powerfully built directors have time for that?t. Much like the sales shenanigans of going backwards and forward to the sales managers office to get you a better deal/talk about the football, service staff will waffle on about the complimentary health check, the walk around videos and invalidating your "whole warranty" if you don't do this or that.Contrast that to my Romanian mechanic:
"Do I need new brake pads?"
"No, come back in 6,000 miles."
[6,000 miles later]
"Do I need new brake pads?"
"I can do them now if you want, but it can wait another 3k".
vikingaero said:
Plus he gets things trade price and will give me the invoice and charge only for his labour on top - you can't get more transparent than that. Most garages will charge full retail and add VAT on top.
Yes, this parts price trick is annoying. They think we don't realise.I’ve always preferred to use an independent, but I can say the only truly good one I ever found was the Alfa workshop in Royston. I drove an hour and a bit to use them, truly fantastic!
Since changing the car I’ve tried very hard to find good indy’s and some reasonable, most a ball ache.
The most local one to me has great reviews, does work with a very well known mclaren specialist, always got interesting stuff in there, and I have to say they are exceptionally helpful and courteous. But they are more expensive than the local dealer! And have made a handful of silly mistakes when using them recently that means I’ve lost faith in them (tyres fitted backwards, oil filter seals pinched etc)
Since changing the car I’ve tried very hard to find good indy’s and some reasonable, most a ball ache.
The most local one to me has great reviews, does work with a very well known mclaren specialist, always got interesting stuff in there, and I have to say they are exceptionally helpful and courteous. But they are more expensive than the local dealer! And have made a handful of silly mistakes when using them recently that means I’ve lost faith in them (tyres fitted backwards, oil filter seals pinched etc)
jimmy156 said:
I’ve always preferred to use an independent, but I can say the only truly good one I ever found was the Alfa workshop in Royston. I drove an hour and a bit to use them, truly fantastic!
Since changing the car I’ve tried very hard to find good indy’s and some reasonable, most a ball ache.
The most local one to me has great reviews, does work with a very well known mclaren specialist, always got interesting stuff in there, and I have to say they are exceptionally helpful and courteous. But they are more expensive than the local dealer! And have made a handful of silly mistakes when using them recently that means I’ve lost faith in them (tyres fitted backwards, oil filter seals pinched etc)
firstly, should have gone to A for Alfa in Aylesbury. Awesome.Since changing the car I’ve tried very hard to find good indy’s and some reasonable, most a ball ache.
The most local one to me has great reviews, does work with a very well known mclaren specialist, always got interesting stuff in there, and I have to say they are exceptionally helpful and courteous. But they are more expensive than the local dealer! And have made a handful of silly mistakes when using them recently that means I’ve lost faith in them (tyres fitted backwards, oil filter seals pinched etc)
Secondly, as per your garage, you have two cars from the same manufacturer who are well known for their monstrously ridiculous parts/servicing. Yet you find an indie that is more expensive than a Nelson???
From past, expensive, painful experience there are many reasons why I don't go anywhere near a main stealer. Expensive to the point of laughing in your face, incompetent, bare faced liars telling you that they have done simple jobs when they know full well that they haven't, spotty faced apes who can barely change an oil filter and rude staff who need to go on a college course just to learn how to walk upright.
My son recently took his car for a service and noticed on inspection that the only thing that they had actually done is change the oil, charged him £230 and told him that if he wanted the spark plugs changing that he would have to pay an extra £60.
They rely mostly on complete ignorance from the general public who are happy to pay £350 for 5 litres of oil and a few filters because they get that coveted stamp in the book which actually means feck all.
My car is old enough that I don't have to bother with all that nonsense and for less than £50 I can change the oil using fully synthetic and all round quality filters and the most important thing is that I know it's been done properly because I have done it.
My son recently took his car for a service and noticed on inspection that the only thing that they had actually done is change the oil, charged him £230 and told him that if he wanted the spark plugs changing that he would have to pay an extra £60.
They rely mostly on complete ignorance from the general public who are happy to pay £350 for 5 litres of oil and a few filters because they get that coveted stamp in the book which actually means feck all.
My car is old enough that I don't have to bother with all that nonsense and for less than £50 I can change the oil using fully synthetic and all round quality filters and the most important thing is that I know it's been done properly because I have done it.
dunc01965 said:
My car is old enough that I don't have to bother with all that nonsense and for less than £50 I can change the oil using fully synthetic and all round quality filters and the most important thing is that I know it's been done properly because I have done it.
^^ Agree. That's the way I do it too.
Nads02 said:
Got my yaris for £775, toyota dealer wants £295 for a full service...
I just get the parts off Euro Car parts all the filters, spark plug and oil comes in under £100 (Don't remember the proper price)
Indeed. I managed to get my Evora serviced (oil + oil filter) for £130 all in and I even get my service booked stamped by the garage I just get the parts off Euro Car parts all the filters, spark plug and oil comes in under £100 (Don't remember the proper price)
M4cruiser said:
dunc01965 said:
My car is old enough that I don't have to bother with all that nonsense and for less than £50 I can change the oil using fully synthetic and all round quality filters and the most important thing is that I know it's been done properly because I have done it.
^^ Agree. That's the way I do it too.I use dealer servicing to keep MDSH up on cars I care about keeping resale value on. I also like a courtesy car.
The key is to keep them to their fixed service price.
Anything else they find that needs fixing, I’ll weigh up whether I want them to do it. My usual response is ‘no’ as I’ll normally want to have a think about it.
Anything a bit open ended, that needs a bit of common sense investigation, I won’t take near a main dealer.
They are basically a servicing sausage factory.
The key is to keep them to their fixed service price.
Anything else they find that needs fixing, I’ll weigh up whether I want them to do it. My usual response is ‘no’ as I’ll normally want to have a think about it.
Anything a bit open ended, that needs a bit of common sense investigation, I won’t take near a main dealer.
They are basically a servicing sausage factory.
james_zy said:
2 GKC said:
The service department at my local BMW dealer in Bristol never answer the phone so I can’t take it there even if I want to.
Good old Dick Lovett. I had the same experience when I lived in Bristol. They also told me that stones can defy the laws of physics where they can enter an air duct, stop, and accelerate rapidly in the opposite direction to puncture an AC condenser, from behind..
Without a shadow of doubt the worst dealer I've ever dealt with.
nickfrog said:
I am not sure that happens though. I am paying £500 including the plugs and while 4 of them are easy to get to I know the last two are quite a PITA. The thing is I could save £100 and use the indy. Problem is I know this is likely to cost me more than £100 when it comes to sell as a good number of buyers prefer a full dealer service is history. I know this is a nicely profitable line for the dealer but this service is every 4 years so paying £25 premium a year is actually yielding a bit of residual value and probably a bit of good will from the dealer / BMW if out of warranty.
It's not "£100 every 4 years" - it was £351 saved after one year (and 2000 miles!), and it's every year! Sheepshanks said:
vikingaero said:
Part of the reason is the bullst. Much like the sales shenanigans of going backwards and forward to the sales managers office to get you a better deal/talk about the football, service staff will waffle on about the complimentary health check, the walk around videos and invalidating your "whole warranty" if you don't do this or that.
Contrast that to my Romanian mechanic:
"Do I need new brake pads?"
"No, come back in 6,000 miles."
[6,000 miles later]
"Do I need new brake pads?"
"I can do them now if you want, but it can wait another 3k".
So that's three visits to get the brake pads changed - how many powerfully built directors have time for that?t. Much like the sales shenanigans of going backwards and forward to the sales managers office to get you a better deal/talk about the football, service staff will waffle on about the complimentary health check, the walk around videos and invalidating your "whole warranty" if you don't do this or that.Contrast that to my Romanian mechanic:
"Do I need new brake pads?"
"No, come back in 6,000 miles."
[6,000 miles later]
"Do I need new brake pads?"
"I can do them now if you want, but it can wait another 3k".
The fact is that he has given me the option of saving money or doing it later.
Dog Star said:
nickfrog said:
I am not sure that happens though. I am paying £500 including the plugs and while 4 of them are easy to get to I know the last two are quite a PITA. The thing is I could save £100 and use the indy. Problem is I know this is likely to cost me more than £100 when it comes to sell as a good number of buyers prefer a full dealer service is history. I know this is a nicely profitable line for the dealer but this service is every 4 years so paying £25 premium a year is actually yielding a bit of residual value and probably a bit of good will from the dealer / BMW if out of warranty.
It's not "£100 every 4 years" - it was £351 saved after one year (and 2000 miles!), and it's every year! The "£100 every 4 years" is precisely what the added cost would be for me compared to a reputable indy. Sadly, a lot of buyers insist on BMW SH, rightly or wrongly, so using an indy can indeed be a false economy (but not always). Now saving £351 a year might lead you to a totally different conclusion in your particular situation.
What surprises me is your claim that main dealers charge £600 for oil and filters. Mine charges £239 on a M2 (that's the price on bmw.co.uk, before discount). How could I save £351? I can buy the oil and filters for £120 at trade prices so to save even £100 the labour would need to be £19 with no other gross margin for the indy, that's unlikely, even up North
I am all for slagging off the main dealers but factually, something doesn't add up.
Edited by nickfrog on Friday 26th February 10:05
Price
Customer service
Workmanship
The way I see it, a main dealer doesn't have to be good to make money. They have the brand to piggy back off. They can be expensive, they can do poor work and people will still go back.
An independent place has to be good to make money. Good workmanship, good customer service and decent prices.
Therefore, I don't use main dealers.
Customer service
Workmanship
The way I see it, a main dealer doesn't have to be good to make money. They have the brand to piggy back off. They can be expensive, they can do poor work and people will still go back.
An independent place has to be good to make money. Good workmanship, good customer service and decent prices.
Therefore, I don't use main dealers.
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