A rant about a car dealer (service dept)

[shchuka]

I generally hate those super-smart cars that have sensors all over the place, telling you things you don't care about...  Unfortunately, I've got one of those - and it's only a Vauxhal Vectra (Opel Vectra for non-UK folks).  Anyway, some time ago, a light came up on the dash - in a shape of the engine coolant tank.  I checked the user's manual to find that this means the engine coolant level is low.  No overheating though, all fine.  Ok, I have Halfords a mile away, so stopped there and picked up a bottle.  Got home, waited for the car to cool and went under the bonnet. Interestingly, the level was just fine.  I still topped up a bit - yet on the next drive the light came up again.

I did some searching on the net confirming that in this particular model the coolant level sensor often dies right around 100K miles mark (I have 107K right now).  On the same vectra owners forum the posts indicated that the price of the replacement is about £17 - not too bad (although this was a couple of years ago).  I don't drive much (use my GS a lot more often), so I didn't bother to do anything about it for  about 3 months.

Then I got a letter from Vauxhall about a factory recall related to hand brake.  As I took the car to a vauxhall dealer, I asked them to replace this sensor thingy.  They called me two hours later saying that they ran the diagnostics and that I need to have the sensor replaced - at the cost of £160 including parts and labour.  I told them to go and make love to themselves.  Those bastards still charged me £60 for "diagnostics", although I told them straight away what's wrong and what needs to be done.

The same day I ordered the part on the net (from a place recommended on that forum).  It arrived the next day and took me about 20 minutes to replace.  Everything fixed.  The part cost me £24 including shipping.

If a third-party shop could get me the OEM part for £24 with shipping, the dealership should be able to get it cheaper than that.  If it took me 20 minutes to replace, it should take skilled mechanic no more than 10 minutes.  So they wanted to charge me £140 for a 10 minute job?? WTF??

Should I say I'm never going there again?

As I said, this was just a rant - just wanted to share this experience with somebody.  Ignore it if you don't care.

[MVent03]

This is why I hate, hate, hate, all service departments. Especially those related to vehicle maintenance. I will do all of my own maintenance on my vehicles because I trust myself more than I trust a "trained professional" to care about my ride.

I've also noticed an interesting trend in one thing breaking immediately after something else is fixed by a "trained professional". That phenomenon never seems to happen when I do the work myself. Go figure...

[yamahonkawazuki]

most shopes you are billed for an hour minimum. @ shop rates. tbh sounds about right, svc ppl love those quick jobs. most are paid @ a flat rate. so those fast jobs like that is money in their pocket

[mister]

I used to do some work for a Ford dealership. The head of the service department told me... they don't sell cars to make money on the sale, they sell cars to get people into the service department because the service department is a license to print money.

So, I have no problems with my GS whatsoever. I get a flat tire and because I am busy with work, have the bike picked up by the bike shop, tire fixed, and bike dropped back off. two days later my left engine side cover is seeping oil. Somehow, the bolts which had stayed tight for 50,000 clicks, mysteriously became loose within days of visiting a mechanic for an unrelated thing.

But you want markup. Try this one....

My Landrover Discovery needed a new heater core. The old one had sprung a leak and was leaking water into the car. This part is accessed by removing the entire dashboard - a big friggin job. I was quoted by Landrover $1,250 for the part Plus 9 hours labor at $120 an hour ($1,080) for a total fix of $2,330. I called around and found a private mechanic is only does landrover vehicles - discos, rangies, etc. He quotes me $250 for the part ($1000 less WTF!?) and says 9 hours labor for the dashboard then says, ah screw it, I'll do the whole thing including parts for $900.

I asked how come he has the part for $250 and landrover has it for $1,250. he says, because they are thieves I don't buy from them here, I import the part from England directly myself.

Luckily,, I have found a brilliant and honest bike mechanic and same goes for my car mechanic too. Dealer service departments suck balls.

Michael

[shchuka]

@mister Yeah, tell me about it... Luckily, I found a great honest bike mechanic that does all sorts of things and will never do things that aren't necessary.  I've been taking my GS to him for a couple of years now.  A few times, when the job really was small, he wouldn't even charge me for it.  For example, some time ago I brought the bike to him with an oil leak. He must have spent at least an hour checking every possible minute details around the engine until he found the leak - and didn't charge me a penny.  Whenever something does need doing, he'd always suggest what the cheapest option is along with others.

Unfortunately, he's 10 minutes walk from my work - and I'm looking for another job right now.  When I change jobs, the chances are I'll end up in another part of town...

[yamahonkawazuki]

"they sell cars to get people into the service department because the service department is a license to print money."

well said.
drove friends gransport to foreign cars italia in charlotte 2 years ago. for service. anyhoo glad it was his funds and not mine. hes since found someone local who can do most of hte required work. @ far less rate