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Conspiracy theory a few years ago that car manufactures were looking to service and parts as a profit center as selling cars had a decreasing margin
It's not a conspiracy theory, servicing can make more money than car sales (wife manages 17 Kia dealerships). As for the dealerships, they are very tightly controlled by the manufacturer, so the coffee, wifi, separate waiting area, video footage of cars etc is all mandated and audited. All their tool and spare parts are audited as well (I've even processed the paper work for tool audits helping the wife), so their cost base is higher than an independent; but so is the standard of work (hopefully). All the courses the technicians go one are mandated and audited as well. Dealerships aren't particularly profitable, so they're certainly not raking it in; barely scraping by would be a better description.
I took my smoking BMW to a back Street BMW specialist in Inverness.
They plugged in a laptop and told me what the problem was. For free.
They couldn't do the work there and then and pointed me to the main dealers. The main dealers couldn't even look at it and suggested I leave it with them for 2 weeks before they could do so.
I drove to Edinbrugh where the main dealers charged me £130 for an hour's labour to plug a laptop in and tell me what was wrong with the car. The same think the nice man in Inverness had told me for free. I was not best pleased!
I worked in main dealers garages doing training for a while. The man who had made one group the most money was not a sales executive, it was the parts manager who had hooked up a deal to supply genuine parts to various places. His dealer principal struggled to get a pay rise for him. This was from the super car owning boss of the franchises.
I also witnessed some willy waving over which of the main dealerships head office crew were getting a super car for their company car.
Someone was making excellent money from main dealerships. It frequently was not the folk you get to walk into, or even complain to after going up 3 levels.
As i said earlier in this thread Audi do a body work inspection at every service to catch any potential issues and fix them before they get any worse, this is part of their 12 year anti corrosion warranty
Miss one service and that 12 year body work warranty is void, i found this out when i took my 11 year old Audi to them when the front wing started to rust, the previous owner had the last 2 services done at an independent so the 12 year body work warranty was void
Not worth a jot.
I had a 9yo Audi TT, rust at leading edge of sills and inside lip of bootlid.
Not covered apparently. Sills was road rash so not covered as it was not treated (no note from any firmer inspection to say it needed treating).
Boot lid not covered as it was from the inside out, not the outside in.
Work that one out.
As I said, worthless. I will never darken the door of a main dealer for servicing ever again.
A service is a lot more than oil and filter change. There will be a long checklist of things and those will be done by a main dealer. You will be able to get the full list. an independent may be cheaper but will they systematically work thru the inspection list?
This is the difference between and oil and filter change and a service, right here.
Again, as mentioned above, I'd go for a quality independent.
My dad used to change the oil in his car, and from watching it seems like an easy thing to do.
Remove plug under the gearbox, allow it to drain, unscrew filter thing using some tool that looked like a chain whip. Replaced that, put the plug back in the gearbox and fill to the required level.
I reckon many here would happily strip down a modern fork, so changing the oil in your car is likely a doddle
I think you need to undo the plug under the sump rather than the gearbox 🙂
I think you need to undo the plug under the sump rather than the gearbox 🙂
Depends if you've filled up the gearbox through the timing inspection port or not though.
I find the price between the local dealer (Citroen) and independents isn't too far off on routine servicing.
Proper incompetence during my last main dealer service (Audi).
After being told I needed the auto box fluid changing I was expecting a big bill.
I collected the car and paid, without really thinking. It was only when I was filing the paperwork a couple of weeks later that I noticed that they hadn’t charged for any labour - only parts. 🤪
If they had fixed or modular priced servicing this wouldn’t happen - some make the pricing too complicated so it becomes opaque. A bit like Howdens. KISS
Remove plug under the gearbox,
Sounds about right given some of the fork servicing stories on here 🙂
I bought two services for my Koraq when I picked it up. £100 each. Since it's done 900 miles in four months I think that's me sorted for two of the four years of the contract. I can't remember if you have to get Skoda to service it if it's under contract.
Nearest Skoda dealers to be are both 30 min drive. Neither are great. But Skoda UK have been really good at getting stuff sorted (third Skoda, has irritating issues with each one). My wife's 16 Fabia we get done at a local Indy. We rang round including main dealers and it was about 30% less and it's a lot closer.
£345 for 2nd service and brake fluid change (19 plate) Peugeot yesterday.
I asked for battery to be replaced if needed - "no problem sir, we will order one and check if needed, but they are £200 due to Stop Start and coding required" On collection 4 hours later "We have taken £100 off the bill because you did not need a new battery, that will be £445 please."
I raised both eyebrows to the ceiling and asked what the £100 was for. "Diagnostics and a charge".
In that case add on £100 and fit a new battery please, resulted in the £100 being swiftly dropped.
My local independent is reliable, does a great job and I have been using them for 30 years. Guess where I will be going next time. Lesson learnt.
I’ve had my issues with main dealers in the past, but they are not always rip off merchants. Just had MOT done locally by an indie as I felt driving 25 miles to my usual dealer wasn’t an essential journey under current circumstances.
Cost at indie £54
Cost at dealer £39
(which includes wash & valet, car health check, the cliched coffee/WiFi, use of an office cubicle while they do the work or a lift to the local station or courtesy car - thought that’s probably £10 for insurance)
I always use main dealer for servicing but not necessarily for other work. Last service they did was 'just' an oil change. But they also put it on the lift and do a full inspection, video it and send it to me. The nice chappy pointed out that one of the rear drop links had a bit of play developing. So I bought a new one for about £30 or so, and fitted it myself. It would never have been spotted if I'd just gone to a local garage and asked only for an oil change, though I might have saved myself £100 or so. So there are pros and cons to it...
I’ve had 2 vehicles paintwork damaged by main dealers “washing” them after a service so don’t think you’re getting an extra bonus there.
We bought a new Civic with a 5 year/5 main dealer service pack for an extra £500 which I thought was a bargain. Excludes MOT's and non service parts but includes decent breakdown/recovery cover after 3 years as it's main dealer serviced.
I also get my V90 main dealer serviced but speak to the Service Manager about the price each time. Usually results in at least 20% off and again, breakdown/recovery after 3 years.
I know it's a highly visible pain but servicing pales into insignificance against depreciation and my bastard VED of £475 has just hit the mat (well Inbox) 😒
@boblo Bilmey. What options did you have to select to get a Civic (Type R?) North of £40k?
I have to use a main dealers, otherwise the car never gets washed and cleaned!!
tonyf1
Free Member
@boblo Bilmey. What options did you have to select to get a Civic (Type R?) North of £40k?
@tonyf1 Sorry stick-end-of-wrong
Two different cars. V90 has the nasty VED, Civic has the bargain service plan. Volvo's service plan was actually more than I pay the local main dealer... 🙄
£100inc VAT for labour isn't bad for a main dealer.
The local Bristol and Bath BMW branches are £135+vat, the local Independent is £65 (or it was a couple of years ago). If the car is in warranty, view it as a service and a £8/m fee to maintain the warranty. Once it's out of warranty, Do it yourself.
Mine uses 7l of oil, so it's still expensive as I use BMW parts and give it an oil service every 12months, despite it being 17y old.
My Mrs has an E Class Cabrio, 3.0 Diesel. 1st service was due last summer and the main stealer wanted £449. It had 6k on the clock.
I found a Merc specialist who didi it for £156 using petronas oils as per Mercedes dealer and it was registered on the mercedes system, she had a notification on the Mercedes Me app before I even got the car back home.
Only difference was I had to occupy myself for an hour whilst they did it instead of be given an A class to drive around in for the day.
I’ve had 2 vehicles paintwork damaged by main dealers “washing” them after a service so don’t think you’re getting an extra bonus there.
Used to work in a building opposite the local BMW place.
Post service valet routine appeared to contain:
1 drive car to jetwash at rear of building
2 lift bonnet
3 jetwash everything. EVERYTHING. as in, the entire engine.
"sorry sir, appears to have developed an electrical fault"
Didn't exactly sell the place or brand to lots working with me.
Sinclair VW in Cardiff are brilliant. I'm so sick of friendly honest looking 'back street' outfits who really don't have any idea how to diagnose a complex problem. Sinclair is the only place I've been who actually care about my repeat custom and have apparently well educated intelligent mechanics who understand what's going on. Minor service is £180 now, pretty sure it was £150 when I was last paying people to service my car. Back then we took it to a local in and out place that was £100, and it turned out they were just changing the oil, filter and air filter and not inspecting anything at all. They didn't offer a 'major service' or anything along those lines. Sinclair have a pretty long checklist, full of stuff I certainly don't check when doing it myself.
Re the expensive services - are they DSG autos? An oil change on those is expensive - the oil itself is something like £150, and you need a bit of kit to do it (although not much).
As cars have become more dependant on software the independant mechanics are being squeezed out. A friend ran the biggest bestest one locally up to 10 years ago and sold out because the profit margin wasn't there to jusify investing in the specific equipment.
Even main dealers don't always cover all the range, there are a limited number of Renault dealers who have all the kit/expertise for their electric range for example. My local dealer is one but even they don't have a 50kW charger on site so if there's a problem with fast charge they ask the customer to check the software fix has worked rather than drive it 2 x 80km to a charger to check.
"We have good news and bad news. The good news is that you wont be charged for the oil change. The bad news is that your car is on fire"
I've watched somebody set a van on fire while welding it on a ramp.
It was a prime example of witnessing somebody panic.
While I was calmly laying down the tools I was using, and walking down the workshop trying to spot a CO2 extinguisher, as I really didn't want to make a mess with the powder one I'd already picked up, he was running around like a headless chicken looking for a watering can.
I did also set my last van on fire while welding it. It cured the big dent in the side of it, just a shame it split open at the seems. Thankfully the hose wasn't far away, as my bike was still in the back of the van. If it wasn't for the bike, I'd have probably just let it burn!
Finding someone you trust is key but very hard to do at a main dealer, unless they have a good service manager that’s a bit of a lifer, as turnover of staff is high.
My neighbour is an ex BMW mechanic, now running his own mobile mechanic service, he’s got good integrity and a passion for what he does. We had a chat when he was handing my wife’s car back, and said that his Fiesta RS went to local Evans Halshaw Ford for a warranty fix and noticed they didn’t use Ford/approved parts. He was surprised. I wasn’t. Having worked in the industry in the past I have sat on the forecourt in a Kia/Hyundai as the parts manager is not-so-covertly helping unload the Motorpoint van. It’s been going on for years and the Manufacturers are terrible at imposing restrictions against non-adherence to brand standards. There is so much more money on offer in after sales as opposed to car sales but the franchisees are invariably poor at understanding how to get at it. Customer peception is very poor and these service departments are only selling grudge purchases.
Pfff! My VW group car oil service is $25000
https://www.bugatti-broward.com/service/service-information/bugatti-oil-change/
As cars have become more dependant on software the independant mechanics are being squeezed out.
Another policy I'd add to the already long list of things to do when I'm in charge - mandatory open source of all car software.
One other factor in main dealer history if you keep the car and it has a fault put of warranty your more likely yo get a goodwill payment from the manufacturer.
If you think its dear price up what the manufacturer charges a dealer.
You get slapped silly by dealer standards its insane.
Even the chairs you have have to be bought to spec.
Just to update, I’m taking it to another main dealer on Monday for the same work for £60 less. I assumed ( yes yes) that they would all be the same. Just to keep the surety of warranty, this time main dealer, next time probably not.