My Vauxhall Service Experience.

[slippery]

As the Monaro is being marketed with 10000 mile intervals, but my SS is supposed to be every 6000 miles, I decided to compromise by servicing every 10000, with an oil and filter change at the half way point. Booked the car in at Vauxhall dealers for 25000 mile oil and filter change and told them that I also needed the brakes looked at as they were getting a bit noisy/juddery. Asked them twice, both prior to and at point of, booking it in, about whether of not they would have the brake pads on the shelf to offer up to my car to see if they fitted. I told them that I had done some homework and that they appeared to be the same and was told that as they were service parts, they would carry them in stock. They did the oil and filter change (£106 inc VAT) and informed me that my rear pads were very low and my front discs had started to crack. When I asked if they could replace as necessary, they told me that they weren't in stock and they weren't prepared to order them in, in case they did not fit and therefore sat on the shelf gathering dust. I pointed out that this was unlikely unless they had sold no Monaros, as they ate pads and discs, but a lot of shouting took place before they backed down and agreed to order the parts. They said they would ring me they following day to let me know when they would be in, but that was Wednesday and they still haven't. As a potential future Monaro customer, of which I made them aware when I made my initial enquiries, I am totally unimpressed. They said they rang their Head Office about it, who told them they needed to ring the Chevrolet Dealers in Manchester about the parts for my car. I know Bauer Millett know nothing about the Lumina because I called them when I bought it. Told them they would be wasting their time and that if they had stuck to what they said in the first place, it would have just been a simple case of seeing if they fitted or not. Prats. Still waiting. Will keep you posted. Hope someone from Vauxhall is reading this, I could just as easily have been a Monaro driver they told the bits were in stock and as a high mileage driver, every day my car has to go back to the garage to have the rest of what should be a simple job finished is a serious pain in the a**e!

>>> Edited by slippery on Friday 2nd July 23:09

[HRTHSVHoldenUK]

G,day mate what i reckonyou should try is contact this Holden Dealer in Adelaiade South Australia the dealership is "Southgate Holden" and email the parts department order in what ever is necessary and get the garage of your choice to fit I recommend this as other of our HoldenUK club members have done this! i,lpost the direct link on the next post any probs you can give me a ring on 07717 291016 Wayne Larsen HoldenUK Register.

[HRTHSVHoldenUK]

Southgate Holden Reynella Adelaide South Australia

www.southgate.com.au

They will be more than happy to help you.
Regards Wayne Larsen HoldenUK Register.

>> Edited by HRTHSVHoldenUK on Saturday 3rd July 00:54

[Munki]

yes its a common problem with the warping and cracking of Holden brake rotors. The standard discs will warp very quickly even when new - i have been through3 sets of fronts in 2 years. You could get them skimmed but i have found a better alternative is to change to DBA slotted rotors (Disc Brakes Australia). They are about $130 each but they are much better and don't warp.

[uk hsv]

The new DBA dealer in the UK is "Wallace Performance" and the number is 01224 708444 if you ask for "Gavin Wallace".... please tell him you got the details from the HSV Drivers Club site as this will help in my plan for club discount!!!

As they are a new DBA dealer it might be a bit of a learning curve for them sorting out a Holden!!! (DBA make discs for lots of UK cars not just Holden)

Please tell us how you get on.

[number28]

I have just used DBA and can say I highly rate them. I e-mailed them direct and we went back and forth tunil they knew exactly what I wanted. A pair of new discs and front pads turned up just two days later! They are heat treated grooved types with some weird paint coding on the edge - for any anoraks who care how hot brakes get. Cost UK £825 for discs alone - delivered from DBA £321+VAT (and almost half the cost is delivery). Not bad except for the fact that they sent the wrong discs, but they have promised to sort that out and refund my postage costs against overall bill.

[slippery]

Thanks for your suggestions guys, I will certainly be having a look into getting them elsewhere if I don't get a positive response by Monday afternoon. The car has done 500 miles since Wednesday so it's getting pretty urgent now. How long would it take to get the parts in,if I went through the people you mention above? Looks like Linden might come up trumps again!

[jagsy]

number28 - thnaks for that info.

I've had a similar email conversation with DBA direct - very good service. I hope the are as good when I need them sending.

[V-Car]

Gday guys, there is a bloke here in Perth that i know, his company is Perth Brake Parts and i've spoken to him about your brake problems over there.
He probably knows as much if not more than anyone else in Australia regarding rotors and pads for our cars, specifically DBA, Bendix, and Ferodo etc.
He's said he'd be only too happy to help out and answer any questions you may have regarding your stoppers.
His name is Neil, and his contact details are:
[email][e-mail][/email]
phone # [phone]
fax [phone]


>> Edited by V-Car on Sunday 4th July 14:51

>> Edited by V-Car on Sunday 4th July 14:52

[motomk]

[quote]Gday guys, there is a bloke here in Perth that i know, his company is Perth Brake Parts and i've spoken to him about your brake problems over there.
He probably knows as much if not more than anyone else in Australia regarding rotors and pads for our cars, specifically DBA, Bendix, and Ferodo etc.
He's said he'd be only too happy to help out and answer any questions you may have regarding your stoppers.
His name is Neil, and his contact details are:
[email][e-mail][/email]
phone # [phone]
fax [phone]


>> Edited by V-Car on Sunday 4th July 14:51

>> Edited by V-Car on Sunday 4th July 14:52[/quote]

Yep..I am also in OZ/Melbourne and can't recommend this guy enough. Sadly he often won't sell you stuff unless you are in Perth WA!! That may sound negative but that is how good he is...he doesn't push his own business when he is giving you advice!
The DBA website has all the different sized discs on it too. www.dba.com.au

motomk

[sjc]

I just want to say how brilliant this forum and the HSV drivers site is becoming for info about our cars. Keep up the great work everyone and I'm off to give myself (a very small) pat on the back for winning my fights with PetrolTed to keep it alive in the early days!

[jagsy]

I remember that SJC - well done to you too.

There are always peaks and troughs on the internet regarding HSV's as we are always out driving them he he

[slippery]

Yes SJC, I will second that well done!!! You were having the argument before I even knew the site existed. Well anyway, I finally got my brakes sorted today. The Monaro front pads and discs and rear pads fitted straight on to the car without a problem. Total cost including VAT and fitting - £395. At least I can stop again! Asked the Vauxhall garage for a service schedule and information about service pricing. Guess what?!! They don't know yet. They really know how to make life easy for their sales force at Vauxhall don't they?!! Can you imagine a customer's response to a question like that, if it was a Vectra they were thinking about buying and they couldn't get answer? It just seems so disorganised and unprofessional. I bet the only people who are buying Monaros are people that know they want one. If people are weighing up several high quality alternatives, the lack of dealer knowledge would be enough to put any prospective purchaser off. Oh well, at least we will probably retain our rarity value!

[Crazy of Cookham]

Interesting. When I first purchased the HSV I went to local Vauxhall dealer for service. Apart from emptying the showroom which was amusing the rest of the experience was a nightmare. Since the car has been looked after by local specialist sports car engineer who is great.

I hope you get better service it would be a shame for the Monaro's to get a bad name.