£505 for a standard elise service

[DsDetective]

Just paid a certain well known dealer in Surrey £505 for a standard annual service (they cleaned and oiled the pipercross without me asking which was nice, but I can't believe it took very long) - the car had no defects.

The car wasn't even cleaned very well, the interior was a bit of a mess, and I was charged £10 for CLEANER. I won't even get started on the most expensive bottle of WD40 in existence that also made it's way on there.

Why do I feel like I've just been bent over in the showers?

The £505 was after a 10% "loyalty" discount, I'm thinking I won't be claiming that again tbh, or is that what everyone's charged these days?

[21TonyK]

That really does sound like a rip off. But, is it the labour rate that pushes it up or parts costs?

[DsDetective]

21TonyK said:

That really does sound like a rip off. But, is it the labour rate that pushes it up or parts costs?

Mostly labour, £55 on oil and about £35 on bits (before VAT)

[kambites]

Main dealers are always a rip off. Don't use them.

It cost me less than that for a C-service on mine earlier this year at an indi.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 2nd July 18:39

[21TonyK]

Out of interest, did they specify the oil used and the quantity? £55 sounds quite cheap for oil for a dealer if it was a quality branded oil.

[bogie]

to put that into perspective, my Aston service was only a about £60 more expensive last time for a 30k mile service, before I added a pair of tyres to the bill ...and thats with 2x as much oil etc !

[jb111s]

If you took it to the place I think you did then you should of investigated the forums first. A great dealership & decent sales & parts guys no doubt, but their servicing prices are astronomical. I don't know how they continue to get away with such prices for servicing.

Drive about 40 mins further out and take it to Lipscomb's for half that price, top class service & also an official stamp in the book & done by an official dealer.

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

That sounds like a bit of a mickey take if there was nothing else done.

[Sune]

My 1998 S1 is due for a C-Service, and I made a few calls to check price levels.

Results:
Independent Lotus garage in UK where car was bought: 495£
Lotus dealer east coast UK: 615£
Lotus dealer in Hamburg Germany: 1110£
Lotus dealer in Copenhagen: 1812£

Living in Denmark I feel that I'm being ripped a new one if I don't take it at least to Germany for service, which is some 300+ miles from where I live, and they would like to keep it for 2-4 days depending...
I'm thinking that my next holiday will be in Essex or Cranfield...

[TTwiggy]

This has been a useful heads up for me as I was about to book my first service with these guys (also had the 10% discount). I found them to be excellant on the sales side, but I think i'll be going to Lipscombs for servicing!

[plipule]

Had my S2 Exige done at Sinclaires. Cleaned the Pipercross and the car too - all for £275. They know what they are doing too.

[subaqua]

Got mine back from Lakeside engineering today... A service, Coolant change, some inspection work on steering and an MOT.... best part of 200 quid south of yours - and they are about 10 miles from your former dealer of choice

[TonyHetherington]

For a simple A service

Not much more than £200 from Lipscombs, whom I highly recommend (official dealer).

[david@mediacopy]

The 3 'midlands' dealers close to me are charging £270, £324, £295 for an 'A' service.

The local indy wants £210 - all inc. VAT

My cars coming up to it's first 9k service so I'm tempted by the Indy, but how do you guys think I stand on warranty if I need to claim later ?

[bogie]

if its under warranty Id still go for the dealer stamp...just to save hassle later...technically, under Euro law they cannot enforce you to go to a dealer as long as the schedule etc is followed...I just cant be arsed in arguing about it, say if my engine had blown and I wanted a new one ......

[TTwiggy]

just booked mine into Lipscomb for an 'A' - £195 inclusive... result!

[Redlake27]

It is just a Rover or Corolla engine that needs an oil and filter change.........

.....I'd use a local independent or a HiQ or Masterfit for anything but suspension related servicing.

[bogie]

it got me thinking about that £500 bill...whats the labour rate to service a Lotus? £100 an hour? !

[jb111s]

bogie said:

it got me thinking about that £500 bill...whats the labour rate to service a Lotus? £100 an hour? !

At this particular dealership I wouldn't be suprised. They charge a premium on the fact they are the most well known and one of the longest serving Lotus dealerships.

It still bemuses me how people haven't voted with their feet when it comes to their servicing department rates, but it seems many are content to get ripped off just because its the garage they bought their card from.

Real shame as they are a great dealership & their prices for used cars are very reasonable.

[subaqua]

bogie said:

it got me thinking about that £500 bill...whats the labour rate to service a Lotus? £100 an hour? !

Bogie... I reckon the going hourly labour rate is about 100 quid for VWs and don't see Ford dealers charging significantly less, it no suprise that, when your average new Lotus costs half as much again as a VW, the dealers would charge a similar hourly rate.