At the first 10,000 mile service of my car, at the main dealer, I was amazed to be asked if I wanted to pay for a £16 bottle of Havoline fuel system cleaner. Amazed because I thought car manufacturers did not recommend any fuel or oil additives.
I declined. Anyone else had this attempt to get even more money out of them?
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Ford,for example,say NO fuel or oil additive should be used but the dealers suggest both should be added at a service.The first time I came across it,saw it on the bill and refused to pay for it-I didn't request it-since then I have been asked and always refused.
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A bit like brake cleaner.
I had lovely shiny callipers visible through the wheels for almost a couple of hundred miles!
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Yes; additives are a scam and are openly sold to the garages as such. Forte probably being the most blatant in their marketing.
Brake cleaner isn't a scam; once air-lining the dust off was banned, wet removal was the only practical method and uses quite a lot of the stuff. It's not a cosmetic product.
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I've found the Forte Diesel treatment to work well, use every 3k miles and at each 6k service, 12k service it is used to top up the pot when changing the diesel filter.
Motor always runs better after added, or is it me?
Mind you. main dealers will charge the earth for the treatment, cicra £25 for a bottle of treatment you can buy for less than a tenner, my independant charges a tenner at the service so dont feel ripped off.
Forte 'Gas' treatment on the other hand would appear to have no noticeable benefits.
CBG
Edited by corblimeyguvnar on 14/10/2008 at 18:50
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Just had a 50,000 mile service on a CRV 2.2 ictdi.
Both "fuel system cleaner" and "air conditioning treatment" were "recommended". The aircon treatment was said to "kill the bacteria". I declined both, and now have a lower opinion of the dealer.
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Not all fuel additives are a scam. The VAG additive, which HJ suggested to me some years ago, cured the persistent cool-running problems of my Audi 100 after one application. I continued to use it and it was reckoned to be partly responsible for very low emissions figures on that car and several others.
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You were asked first and given the opportunity to decline the offer. It's no worse than your barber suggesting "something for the weekend, Sir?"
Every trader wants to maximise their profits.
Edited by L'escargot on 14/10/2008 at 19:01
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A garage will often use to system clean fuel additive to clear out engine muck if/when a vehicle fails its MOT emissions tests. Often the additive treatment is enough to get the vehicle through a re-test, otherwise it's more serious money.
There are some excellent fuel additives products on the market and they a good job at cleaning up what cheap fuel or mixing fuels don't do.
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