OK, I'm not intending to name and shame but have to get this off my chest.
My daughter left her 2 year old Corsa with me whilst she went to Turkey on holiday, so that the dealer could pick the car up and service it.
I know a bit about cars and servicing so gave it the once over and immediately found a slow puncture on a front tyre. The tax disc holder had fallen off the screen and was not readily visible Apart from the interior being disgusting, she has cats and is a vet nurse, there were no other faults. However, one side of the split rear seat was in the folded-down position and I deliberately left it like that.
Inevitably, after the dealer had the car for a couple of hours the phone call came asking if all four tyres (with at least 3mm of tread, more on the back) could be replaced but no mention of slow puncture. In addition they wanted to change front pads and discs that were still highly serviceable and wanted to flush out the aircon system. Finally, as per the service schedule they wanted to replace the brake fluid.
Now, I agreed to the brake fluid replacement as I agree it is a safety related item but declined all the other work, which I estimate could have added an extra £600 at dealer prices, hiding behind the fact that I could not authorise this on someone elses car.
On the return of the car, they had charged for fuel system and oil flushes at a total of probably £30 (waste of time and money). The bonnet catch and bonnet, door and hatchback hinges had seen no lubrication, the battery contacts had not a lick of Vaseline or similar on them. The rear seat back had not been moved so the seat belts could not have been checked. The service indicator had not been cancelled.
The car interior was still a pit, OK not their job to rectify and the tax disc still not readable. Not even an effort made to give the exterior a bit of a wash.
Cost of this service, a suspiciously round £200.
Well, spent my time getting the car into a safe and presentable condition, except the rain coming on stopped me washing the exterior.
Why do we bother just to keep warranties intact?
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"no mention of slow puncture"
How could they know it had a slow puncture if it was only there for a day?
"The bonnet catch and bonnet, door and hatchback hinges had seen no lubrication, the battery contacts had not a lick of Vaseline or similar on them."
Is this all required in the service schedule?
"with at least 3mm of tread, more on the back)"
3mm is not a lot, and close to the time to change in many people's opinion, even though it's nearly twice the legal minimum.
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Presenting the car in a filthy condition does nothing to encourage the garage to do a good job.
No excuse, of course, and if they were that bothered, they should decline to touch it.
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>>On the return of the car, they had charged for fuel system and oil flushes at a total of probably £30 (waste of time and money)<<
Agree absolutely.
The rest is subjective, dealers usually suggest changing serviceable parts that 'might' become unserviceable before the next service.
What's that I hear?
INDEPENDENT.
Especially for a Corsa, you could buy the plugs/filters from Vauxhall, get the correct fluids from a factor and make sure an independent records the correct service schedule has been adhered to.
From frequenting the backroom I see no hint that Vauxhall is known for 'goodwill' after the warranty expires, and as long as an Indie is VAT registered and uses the correct parts/schedule, the warranty is unaffected.
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Some you win some you loose.
Prior to taking my very adult daughters V reg Yaris to a long overdue service I cleaned out the rubbish, vacuumed it, washed it and scrubbed the wheels.
£149.99 for a main service ( free valetting).
They lifted the battey terminal covers and sprayed some blue stuff there, made the interior smell like a cheap perfume counter, sprayed the tyres and to their credit replaced a valve cap and topped up the washer fluid. ( no extra charge)
No mention of the £850 replacement exhaust "probably needed" from 2/3 years ago so the original one soldiers on.
But did suggest £150 for split anti roll bar bushes.
I said I could not authorise this. (a simple job for my indie )
Overall I guess a reasonable deal.
While I was there a gent rolled up and said " I want to buy a car" "new or S/H ?" "New".
He looked totally genuine but his response did not light any blue touch paper.
Recession? What recesssion ?
Edit. I agree with the clean car approach hence dad doing the dirty work !
Edited by henry k on 29/09/2009 at 18:37
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As touched on before
At the first year service on mine I let the main dealer do the service (for the warranty) - but shortly after re did it so I could sleep at night, using Mobil 1. Sure enough, I found they had fitted a non approved scratty looking oil filter element that looked as though it cost 15p. (with meager randomly spaced pleats)
Bought a new element from the SAME dealers parts dept and found it to be the `proper` Purflux element job - as have all other filters bought there since.
At the second year service I thought stuff the warranty - they won`t get their hands on it - and to date at nearly 4yrs old they have not.
I suspect they were saving a few bob on filters and perhaps never in their wildest dreams thought that someone would pop it out in the middle of the warranty period.
Sounds like they were even too lazy/incompetant to put a touch of consumer visible, but penetratingly useless white grease on the hinges too Chris. I always use a couple of drops of Mobil 1 having stripped a door off in the breakers and seen the lack of penetration into the bearing surfaces of the hinge.
Edited by oilrag on 29/09/2009 at 18:45
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Why do we bother just to keep warranties intact? >>
I for one don't. My cars go to independents only, and then only if I cannot DIY for some reason.
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Lots of interesting points made here.
The interior of the car was probably more "hairy" than scruffy.
The slow puncture showed itself by one tyre being several psi below spec whilst the others were correct.
I agree that white, spray-on grease does nothing to lubricate door hinges, I use an old-style oilcan to squirt a few drops of engine oil into the hinge.
The brake discs were condemned on the basis of lipping with no suggestion that the thickness of the disc braking area was checked to be safely within tolerances. I suspect this just does not get measured these days.
Oh, I forgot to mention the £1.07 charge for screenwash despite the fact that I filled it to the absolute maximum on presenting the car for service. In fact, as they had tested the washers, the level was lower when the car returned.I should have charged them for screenwash.
I know a local lad who worked as a mechanic for this Vauxhall dealer and was dismissed on spurious grounds. He had been ground down by the need to meet targets for selling work on cars bought in for service and was actually quite glad to leave, finding a job at Hi-Q where there was less pressure on him.
I feel that cars are leaving the factory these days with very high build quality and their design and build is based on laudable engineering principles not seen for many years. Why let dealers compromise this with sloppy practice and unscientific guesswork.
I run Fiat Pandas myself. I actually find the basic build quality way superior to the new Corsa and, when within warranty, find the Fiat dealers, though no cheaper, display a much higher level of standards towards servicing than Vauxhall.
Once out of waranty, I DIY in a slow, careful and plodding way with obsessional attention to detail. If I cannot perform a job I will seek garage help.
I guess this is a symptom of the throwaway society, Car breaks, scrap it, get £2000 discount then drive away in shiney new one.
Just a huge compliment to the guy at We "r" Tyres in Sunderland who repaired the puncture. He not only got the tyre pressure right but also the wheelbolt tightening torque, having worked very hard to find a very small leak.
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The bonnet catch and bonnet door and hatchback hinges had seen no lubrication
The white grease that they spray on the hinges is purely for appearance purposes to fool the owner of the car into thinking the hinges have been lubricated. In reality the grease just sits on the outside of the hinges collecting dirt and dust and doesn't actually penetrate into the moving parts of the hinges.
The garage I use have finally stopped spraying this grease on the hinges of my car, despite me previously asking them not to do so in the first place. Just as well as I only wipe it off afterwards anyway. Saves me a job and I can concentrate on wiping the greasy finger print marks off everything else.
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I think large dealers are just like that well known PC superstore, charge high prices for substandard routine work.
Most people don't even know what an oil filter is and it is why they get away with it.
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Whats that orange grease? When I had my car back from a service my hinges were a copper sort of colour, this not a spray grease but an applied one from a tub.
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It's called Copper Ease. An anti-seize compound. Use it on your spark plugs or on the back of your brake pads to stop brake squeal.
But like spray grease I can't see it penetrating door hinges.
Edited by old crocks on 29/09/2009 at 20:37
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Just try a squirt of engine oil on door hinges and a bit of grease on the retaining straps. For the boot/hatchback, a squirt of oil on the hinges.
As the advert says, the doors close just like a Golf. Haha.
Lubricate the bonnet catch and you no longer need the muscles of Geoff Capes to open the bonnet.
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wanted to flush out the aircon system.
I had words with the Service Manager at the SEAT dealer who was servicing my daughter's Ibiza as the service receptionist kept earnestly insisting that the car was "overdue" for an air conditioning service, as if it was some life or death thing. He apologised, but no doubt she'll carry on.
The bonnet catch and bonnet door and hatchback hinges had seen no lubrication
Many dealers use silicone spray now. However above mentioned SEAT dealer uses the white grease that others have mentioned. They're not mean with it and it looks a treat on a black car!
Cost of this service a suspiciously round £200.
Was the cost agreed beforehand? I always do that and then try to ignore the random itemisations on the bill. They only serve to make me cross.
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Indeed, new airbox screw, £3.67 plus VAT :P
Otherwise known as a screw from your DIY store, 12p.
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Another little rant. My daugher is now 24 and I'm trying to wean her off dependency on her dad for sorting out her cars. She lives with an intelligent lad who could and should arrange these things.
I know, my fault for doing it all in the past.
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She lives with an intelligent lad who could and should arrange these things.
Good grief!! If she's a vet she's certainly reasonably intelligent herself - why should he arrange these things when she needs to get a grip on this area herself!! Otherwise, you're simply moving the problem rather than solving it ;).
...Relationship counselling aside (apologies if that read as a rant), in agreement with some of the other posts I also think an indie would probably have been the best step forward. Having owned Vauxhalls before I'm aware they don't routinely valet the car at service (I've only ever had that on my BMW or my MINI - never happened with Renault, Fiat, Ford or Citroen either). Re. back seat and seatbelts being tested; wouldn't that only have been relevant for an MOT?
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never happened with Renault Fiat Ford or Citroen either...
Not sure what kind of garages you use but every car I've ever taken to a dealership for servicing has been at least washed and vacuumed.
The one thing the much criticised SEAT dealership we use does well, it that it does a good valet - too good in fact, some years they cover all the interior plastics in something that makes them go all shiny. They always get the black bodywork looking good - no mean feat.
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Not sure what kind of garages you use but every car I've ever taken to a dealership for servicing has been at least washed and vacuumed.
:( Franchised dealers in the S. Wales area - Ranging between Merthyr, Cardiff and Newport... (the cars being within warranty). The best customer service I've received for service has been at BMW and MINI, the worst quite possibly from a service receptionist from a Vauxhall dealer that clearly should have been kept away from dealing with the public. She consistantly had the interpersonal skills of an inanimate object and a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp :(. Yet next to her was someone who was gfreat, and thankfully I think that girl HAS now been put onto admin in the office!
The Renault dealer was the worst offender: Car dropped off spotless bar some mild brake dust on alloy wheels. On collection (following day) the car had been plastered by seagulls (you'd think a vandal had taken a large tin of white paint to it), and had been left for seemingly many hours. I was that horrified I actually insisted my car would not leave the premises until it was cleaned and refused to hand over the keys to their courtesy car until it was done.
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My daugher is now 24
Mine are 24 & 26. The older one is married now but although her husband has two degrees and is very good at construction related things, he thought the oil can showing the car needed servicing (it didn't, the dealer had ommited to reset it, again) meant he should add oil!
The younger one took her Mitsubishi for its first service where the dealer tried to steal £50 off her. Unfortunately for the dealership I was standing in the background. Funnily enough they didn't call us to remind us of the car needing its second service. :)
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All these comments have been enlightening and useful.
My personal opinion is that Vauxhall is soon to be an extinct brand and that the dealers have given up any attempt to maintain that brand or even a presence in the UK of this former GM subsidiary, whether it be called Opel or carry some obscure name based upon its dubious international ownership.
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My personal opinion is that Vauxhall is soon to be an extinct brand and that the dealers have given up any attempt to maintain that brand or even a presence in the UK of this former GM subsidiary whether it be called Opel or carry some obscure name based upon its dubious international ownership.
nah, some vauxhall dealers have always been like that, going back 20 years plus to when I actually had a brand new Vauxhall. My semi local dealer - Pat's garage Lyndhurst - seem pretty good though, on the limited times I've used them.
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I had Vauxhall company cars from 1992 to 2002, the cars were OK though the dealers were a nightmare. Ford dealers were a revelation in comparison, though of course that was seven years ago now.
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I had Vauxhall company cars from 1992 to 2002 the cars were OK though the dealers were a nightmare.
One particular dealer, or all of them? I've used 4 different Vauxhall dealers in my area, one of which is no longer there, and I wouldn't take my car back to them even if they were. One of the others I couldn't comment either way, as they have both good and bad points. No real issues with the one I have used since 1986, which is why I continue to use them.
Like any outlet, whether it be tyres, exhausts, etc, there are good ones and bad ones. At the end of the day it's down to the management and staff of the individual outlet.
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One particular dealer or all of them? I've used 4 different Vauxhall dealers in my
I wont name and shame though I had experience of as I recall four dealers.
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I wont name and shame
I wasn't suggesting you did. I read your post as being all Vauxhall dealers were a nightmare.
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I meant the dealers that I had contact with.
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The vauxhall dealer here in leeds left his grubby finger prints all over the glove box but never took the wheels off in the first service, the service indicator was still on and the floor mats were covered in specs of oil.!
Come on main dealers get your fingers out we want better service!
Took to local indie for second year service paid for a pollen filter that i found last week when i serviced it at 3yrs it was never replaced, (black)!
For the sake of £45.00 i paid for plugs,air/oil filters, pollen filter & fully synthetic oil at vx and did it myself now out of warranty.
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