Dealer-only oil change
Discussion
Spun off from this thread on dealerships : http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
This is not meant to be a sales-person bashing thread, but related to sevicing.
Ignoring all the boring stuff on the linked thread, (please no-one mention leasing or finance or margins on this thread) this post is interesting :
What is next : dealer-only tyre fitting? Dealer-only tyre inflation?
This is not meant to be a sales-person bashing thread, but related to sevicing.
Ignoring all the boring stuff on the linked thread, (please no-one mention leasing or finance or margins on this thread) this post is interesting :
unrepentant said:
Show my Jag to Eric and he wouldn't know where to start because he doesn't have the diagnostic equipment to deal with the complex electronics. He couldn't even change the oil.
If this is true, how does it affect your perception of the brand? What is next : dealer-only tyre fitting? Dealer-only tyre inflation?
I suspect he could change the actual oil but didn't have the gizmo to tell the car that the oil was new so there would be a dashboard full of flashing SERVICE lights.
(as an aside, I had my brake fluid changed at the BMW dealer last week, and they didn't reset the service light either... That's the sort of attention to detail one likes to see when paying Top Dollar for the privilege.)
(as an aside, I had my brake fluid changed at the BMW dealer last week, and they didn't reset the service light either... That's the sort of attention to detail one likes to see when paying Top Dollar for the privilege.)
Truckosaurus said:
I suspect he could change the actual oil but didn't have the gizmo to tell the car that the oil was new so there would be a dashboard full of flashing SERVICE lights.
(as an aside, I had my brake fluid changed at the BMW dealer last week, and they didn't reset the service light either... That's the sort of attention to detail one likes to see when paying Top Dollar for the privilege.)
^^ Mate of mine got the oil on his Alfa changed at a small local garage but had to take it to a local Alfa specialist (which he used for servicing from then on) to get the service indicator turned off.(as an aside, I had my brake fluid changed at the BMW dealer last week, and they didn't reset the service light either... That's the sort of attention to detail one likes to see when paying Top Dollar for the privilege.)
Its an annoying trait with many modern cars - but then again with the ammount of people that have no idea that a car should be serviced it could be a good thing.
eltawater said:
On the Jaguar XF as an example, there's no dipstick.
You're reliant upon the dash hidden menu and the sensors to tell you what the oil level is.
Mildly annoying for someone who likes to check their levels and pressures regularly, but it's no biggie.
Is there not a retro fittable one? Some audis have no DS either but you can usually buy one and fit it. You're reliant upon the dash hidden menu and the sensors to tell you what the oil level is.
Mildly annoying for someone who likes to check their levels and pressures regularly, but it's no biggie.
Limpet said:
My 2012 F30 has had both its services done at an indie (and an all-makes one at that). In both cases the service indicator was reset correctly.
I don't believe this needs a million pounds worth of kit or dealer level knowledge to do on any car.
Of course it doesn't. I use a ten quid tool from eBay to reset the oil service, Inspection I or Inspection II counters on my E36 and E46. Similar equipment is available for any modern car I've happened to look for.I don't believe this needs a million pounds worth of kit or dealer level knowledge to do on any car.
Full diagnostic equipment can be expensive, service resets certainly aren't.
I think most of the time resetting service indicators requires you to do something with the driver's controls rather than plug in a diagnostics machine, allowing indie garages to also reset them without specialist equipment. I reset the service light on my car manually not so long a go - a process I found out how to do by a quick Google. It involved doing something simple like pressing the brake and accelerator with the ignition turn on, and pulling both column stalks towards me until it beeped.
McSam said:
f course it doesn't. I use a ten quid tool from eBay to reset the oil service, Inspection I or Inspection II counters on my E36 and E46. Similar equipment is available for any modern car I've happened to look for.
Full diagnostic equipment can be expensive, service resets certainly aren't.
You don't even need a £10 gizmo on the E46, you can access the service reset using the key in certain positions and the dash binnacle push buttons.Full diagnostic equipment can be expensive, service resets certainly aren't.
I did it the other week after servicing my 330i.
AW111 said:
What is next : dealer-only tyre fitting? Dealer-only tyre inflation?
Have you seen that on the winter tyre thread some people have had warning lights come on because the winter tyre and wheel set doesn't have the pressure indicators, available at about £400 a set, and can't turn the light off.McSam said:
Limpet said:
My 2012 F30 has had both its services done at an indie (and an all-makes one at that). In both cases the service indicator was reset correctly.
I don't believe this needs a million pounds worth of kit or dealer level knowledge to do on any car.
Of course it doesn't. I use a ten quid tool from eBay to reset the oil service, Inspection I or Inspection II counters on my E36 and E46. Similar equipment is available for any modern car I've happened to look for.I don't believe this needs a million pounds worth of kit or dealer level knowledge to do on any car.
Full diagnostic equipment can be expensive, service resets certainly aren't.
), on the E36 you can reset the service indicator with a piece of wire! Cheapo solutions FTW! 
TA14 said:
Have you seen that on the winter tyre thread some people have had warning lights come on because the winter tyre and wheel set doesn't have the pressure indicators, available at about £400 a set, and can't turn the light off.
There may be a recipe for the philosophers stone and next weeks lotto numbers on the winter tyre thread, but it is still not worth wading through IMO.Besides, it never snows here
Good garages should be able to adapt to the new technology- even DIYers have had access to reverse engineered leads and software for years now. The VW world has VAGCOM/VCDS and I have a £25 lead and DVD full of software to access the diagnostics on my BMW, it's not as if this has all happened over night.
PanzerCommander said:
Mate of mine got the oil on his Alfa changed at a small local garage but had to take it to a local Alfa specialist (which he used for servicing from then on) to get the service indicator turned off.
He should get one of these. A laptop loaded with this and a few other similar tools should be standard kit in most garages these days, Would pay for itself after one use!I heard the issue with Jags is regarding the specification of the oil, same thing VAG did some years back but then there was much more in the way of market forces to get other oil manufacturers to produce the same spec oil .
I cant change the oil in my Nissan gearbox , it needs the full Nissan diagnostic kit to set the level correctly , this is £2.5k so out of the realms of most indies at present.
I cant change the oil in my Nissan gearbox , it needs the full Nissan diagnostic kit to set the level correctly , this is £2.5k so out of the realms of most indies at present.
A cousin who is no PH visited me recently, in his new Audi. He left after having it's first service & oil change.
He arrived very worried, with a check oil message flashing at him. He had looked with out success for a dip stick. So did I.
This dealer oil check may be OK for city types most of the time, but his 1100 Kilometer trip had no Audi dealer at all, & his oil warning started about 500Km from the nearest one.
You couldn't give me one of these things if you tried.
He arrived very worried, with a check oil message flashing at him. He had looked with out success for a dip stick. So did I.
This dealer oil check may be OK for city types most of the time, but his 1100 Kilometer trip had no Audi dealer at all, & his oil warning started about 500Km from the nearest one.
You couldn't give me one of these things if you tried.
liner33 said:
I heard the issue with Jags is regarding the specification of the oil, same thing VAG did some years back but then there was much more in the way of market forces to get other oil manufacturers to produce the same spec oil.
http://www.millersoils.co.uk/automotive/tds-automo... ?TA14 said:
liner33 said:
I heard the issue with Jags is regarding the specification of the oil, same thing VAG did some years back but then there was much more in the way of market forces to get other oil manufacturers to produce the same spec oil.
http://www.millersoils.co.uk/automotive/tds-automo... ?"They did the same thing with special oil for VAG PD diesel engines, and then people like www,millersoils.co.uk began formulating an equivalent. But obviously if you don't use the Jaguar specified oil you don't have any warranty on your engine and you might need it. This engine was actually shared with Peugeot, Citroen and Ford".
It might be internet billy bulls
t, but if true I wonder if this is deliberate because they know a lot of independent back road places just chuck the same generic oil out of the big vat in every car that comes in? When I was a student I worked as a fitter for a summer and was a bit surprised when they just chucked 10W40 semi synthetic into any and all cars that came in for a service.
I can see their point but no way would I let myself get cornered into being dependent on main dealers for servicing. They do seem to have done a good job of convincing the sort of half informed oaf that thinks Bose equipment is the best that you can buy that these finely tuned machines are so high tech and specialist that only their half trained 19 year olds can carry out complex oil and air filter changes on them.
t, but if true I wonder if this is deliberate because they know a lot of independent back road places just chuck the same generic oil out of the big vat in every car that comes in? When I was a student I worked as a fitter for a summer and was a bit surprised when they just chucked 10W40 semi synthetic into any and all cars that came in for a service. I can see their point but no way would I let myself get cornered into being dependent on main dealers for servicing. They do seem to have done a good job of convincing the sort of half informed oaf that thinks Bose equipment is the best that you can buy that these finely tuned machines are so high tech and specialist that only their half trained 19 year olds can carry out complex oil and air filter changes on them.
liner33 said:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/36231/oil...
"They did the same thing with special oil for VAG PD diesel engines, and then people like www,millersoils.co.uk began formulating an equivalent. But obviously if you don't use the Jaguar specified oil you don't have any warranty on your engine and you might need it. This engine was actually shared with Peugeot, Citroen and Ford".
From my experience of that engine you really, really do want that warranty."They did the same thing with special oil for VAG PD diesel engines, and then people like www,millersoils.co.uk began formulating an equivalent. But obviously if you don't use the Jaguar specified oil you don't have any warranty on your engine and you might need it. This engine was actually shared with Peugeot, Citroen and Ford".
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