Well that was interesting.. service time.
Discussion
Ive held back from posting anything until now, when the car is back safe and sound tucked up in my care.
The vantage went in to Wilmslow for its annual service and MOT.
It had also developed a squeal from the engine.
I receive a phone call off the service dept informing me the car had failed its MOT! I was shocked, 1st failure was the rear tyres cracking... see my other thread on that one, id been assured they were safe. and 2ndly on the brake flexes being dangerously perished... a complete shock!
Fine i thought at least those and the diagnosed cause of the squeal.. the common pulley would be covered under warranty. WRONG.. nothing was covered under warranty and i would need to could up the full lot to get it through an MOT.
Not being one to take things like this lightly, I've had the car 7 months and done 4k in it, these were not wear and tear items in my opinion, tyres aside thats a slightly different one.
after some discussion with the DP he reluctantly agreed to sort the tyres but i still wasn't happy, I contacted Aston Martin Customer services and spoke to a nice lad called Will, after all this was going into day 3 now and i still didn't know what was going on, it become a matter of principle rather than money.
Aston then agreed to cover the brake repairs and wilmslow the tyres, Leaving me with the Pulley and belt, Annoying as i know its a common problem but at least i got it all sorted and its been an excuse to ride my motorbike to work all week.
Just wanted to say once again i have had frustrations with the Wilmlsow service centre (sales have never been anything less then excellent) The service staff have always been pleasant Keith and Mark especially but i can't help but feel that budget and policy get in the way of customer satisfaction. Is money really that tight for them???
However i am now satisfied and my car was delivered back to me sparklingly clean, They delivered it back to my house so it was parked on my drive when i retuned from work.. the driver even picked up my mail.
So in the name of keeping "Ruby" the nicest vantage about, she's cost me a small fortune but all worth it when i took it out for a drive this evening.
So id like to say thank you to Keith and Mark in the service department and sorry for being a pain but split brake lines are not OK, especially as my car has meant to have a safety check when its been in and you knew i was taking it to LeMans, scary.
and to Lance... if you read this... i know you hate me, thats OK. Thanks for your help.
The vantage went in to Wilmslow for its annual service and MOT.
It had also developed a squeal from the engine.
I receive a phone call off the service dept informing me the car had failed its MOT! I was shocked, 1st failure was the rear tyres cracking... see my other thread on that one, id been assured they were safe. and 2ndly on the brake flexes being dangerously perished... a complete shock!
Fine i thought at least those and the diagnosed cause of the squeal.. the common pulley would be covered under warranty. WRONG.. nothing was covered under warranty and i would need to could up the full lot to get it through an MOT.
Not being one to take things like this lightly, I've had the car 7 months and done 4k in it, these were not wear and tear items in my opinion, tyres aside thats a slightly different one.
after some discussion with the DP he reluctantly agreed to sort the tyres but i still wasn't happy, I contacted Aston Martin Customer services and spoke to a nice lad called Will, after all this was going into day 3 now and i still didn't know what was going on, it become a matter of principle rather than money.
Aston then agreed to cover the brake repairs and wilmslow the tyres, Leaving me with the Pulley and belt, Annoying as i know its a common problem but at least i got it all sorted and its been an excuse to ride my motorbike to work all week.
Just wanted to say once again i have had frustrations with the Wilmlsow service centre (sales have never been anything less then excellent) The service staff have always been pleasant Keith and Mark especially but i can't help but feel that budget and policy get in the way of customer satisfaction. Is money really that tight for them???
However i am now satisfied and my car was delivered back to me sparklingly clean, They delivered it back to my house so it was parked on my drive when i retuned from work.. the driver even picked up my mail.
So in the name of keeping "Ruby" the nicest vantage about, she's cost me a small fortune but all worth it when i took it out for a drive this evening.
So id like to say thank you to Keith and Mark in the service department and sorry for being a pain but split brake lines are not OK, especially as my car has meant to have a safety check when its been in and you knew i was taking it to LeMans, scary.
and to Lance... if you read this... i know you hate me, thats OK. Thanks for your help.
6 year old flexy brake pipes needing replacement....... That's some quality kit AM use...
Jeep Grand Cherokee 14 years old, used in the s
ttiest back roads, offroad and generally abused almost 130k on the clock.
Flexy pipes fine, metal pipes showing signs of external surface rust
Wife's Yaris, 11 years old..... Both flexy and metal brake pipes perfect
Fiat Ducato 8 years old.... never been stored indoors, no problems with bake pipes...
My vantage pulley was squeaking following a 2 month layup....... Liberal use of silicon spray, £2.99.... Been silent for weeks now
Jeep Grand Cherokee 14 years old, used in the s
ttiest back roads, offroad and generally abused almost 130k on the clock.Flexy pipes fine, metal pipes showing signs of external surface rust
Wife's Yaris, 11 years old..... Both flexy and metal brake pipes perfect
Fiat Ducato 8 years old.... never been stored indoors, no problems with bake pipes...
My vantage pulley was squeaking following a 2 month layup....... Liberal use of silicon spray, £2.99.... Been silent for weeks now
8Tech said:
The brake hoses issue sounds like a money saving move on the Vantage as the DB9 has stainless braided hoses that should last forever.
I made my own, and fitted them to my TVR..... No problems for the 12 years I owned it, and they're still on it now.I'll do the same with the Vantage when the time comes
Moral of the story......never never have your MOT done by the main dealer......I have made that mistake in the past with BMW's and they always found something wrong with it.......take your car to an MOT station where they have no interest in repairing your car.
In saying that, I have always had wonderful service from Stratstone Wilmslow, who have looked after all 3 of my Astons.
In saying that, I have always had wonderful service from Stratstone Wilmslow, who have looked after all 3 of my Astons.
8Tech said:
The brake hoses issue sounds like a money saving move on the Vantage as the DB9 has stainless braided hoses that should last forever.
Had to change the front ss brake hoses on my UK sourced 04 DB9 as they were badly corroded at the union near the calipers,worth a check at 30£ each from HWM.To be honest it was easy to have them done together as mot and service fell together and taking time off work etc
The people at wilmslow are fantastic i cant knock that, front of house wise. I just got a tad fustrated that they struggled to understand that when i bought an assured pre owned aston i expected it to pass its next MOT.
Especially when id has a few early day issues with the service dept failing to rectify the boot seal problem, and id paid to have some insanely small amounts of door handle bubbling sorted through them when i could have had it done much cheaper else where.
I think my problem lies in working for Audi where customer satisfaction becomes before making money and every thing we do is geared towards delighting the customer, Audi have policy and process in place to ensure where reasonable things like this dont happen.
The people at wilmslow are fantastic i cant knock that, front of house wise. I just got a tad fustrated that they struggled to understand that when i bought an assured pre owned aston i expected it to pass its next MOT.
Especially when id has a few early day issues with the service dept failing to rectify the boot seal problem, and id paid to have some insanely small amounts of door handle bubbling sorted through them when i could have had it done much cheaper else where.
I think my problem lies in working for Audi where customer satisfaction becomes before making money and every thing we do is geared towards delighting the customer, Audi have policy and process in place to ensure where reasonable things like this dont happen.
V8 Animal said:
Beats me why owners take there car to the main stealers and pay £60 for a MOT
Average garage is half that a ticket is a ticket?
It's not just average garages, my Aston got it's last MOT at the Merc dealer who we know well and use for servicing our other cars and it cost me £35 (maybe £39 - can't remember!). Average garage is half that a ticket is a ticket?
I deliberately avoided an MOT at any Aston dealer or specialist for exactly the reason someone else mentioned - there is no incentive to "find" things to do since the work won't ever go their way ....
Jalfonse said:
What is the pulley squeal "common issue" you mention?
There are a set of pulleys and a belt that develop a "squeal", more often when damp / cold. Not a big issue, it can be kept at bay with some talc / spray as mentioned. However the kit is only @£100 and an hour to fit. Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff