Thread: Fight back against dealer servicing costs.

Same logic could be argued that if the workshop you use has a huge solar power system they should charge you less because their electricity costs are lower...

Or if supermarkets put doors back on all cold goods areas to reduce cooling costs we could have cheaper produce.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Joel

As you found out - the inclusive price is often bundled...

Kind of like your internet provider...

I can have Broadband for $70.00 and I can have VOIP for $10.00
As a bundle I can have the lot for $60.00

I can go to Coles and buy a packet of 12 Lamingtons... But if I want to only eat 5 I still pay for all 12....

Yes, I have had dealer experiences where the apprentice does the work and the qualified tech doesnt check everything and something was missed each time... So I insist they allocate the qualified tech to my vehicle for the duration.

But that is digressing from the topic.

Of course the front girl is the "pretty face" - then you go see the Service Advisor who is the front for that particular department... And the scope of work and charges should be done at this point...

Your issue doesn't seem to be with ALL dealers - just YOUR dealers...

You're not the only one with limited servicing scope either from a Dealer point of view...

Closest one (5hrs return) is a narcissist; if you didn't buy your vehicle from him and you live in the region he is not happy to help.

The Adelaide dealer is excellent (8hrs return) so I will at the minimum head there.. They also give me flash loan cars - Had an Evoke last time for 5 days and 2,000km - All for $45.00

The other dealer I use is 28hrs return and supplied the D4 and D90 and serviced the D4 as well as my previous TR Defender.
They provided excellent service.

As far as service costs (once I was off the Corporate plan ) - usually only paid $900 for the major last week (included some good faith work so I left it there Friday till the following week...

Even let them wash the car, add some soap to the washer bottle, think they even added fresh air to the tyres... They checked all the lights, fixed a dash creak etc...

And the Loan Car...

And i bet you paid the full labour rate the dealer charges for a fully qualified experienced mechanic,but got the apprentice doing the work.

That is not ethical,and IMH opinion cheating the customer.

They are probably paying the apprentice,could be a first year,second year or whatever around $10 to $20/h.

They do this at all dealers.

In fact at the local toyota dealer we can watch our vans being serviced.I have brought this issue up with them and i get the answer"no comment".
Apparently there is one supervising mechanic looking after the 5 or so apprentices doing all the servicing.

Sure, we all try to employ apprentices,and they need to be trained correctly.
But,as it is in our industry,they should be charged out at a MUCH lower rate than a tradesman.

The dealers are using them as cheap labour.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Interesting as the bare services listed on all providers I checked are $20-30 more expensive (line rental is factored into price)...

Check out Whirlpool. It's around the $10 mark more. But Telstra line rental was $24.95 and now it's gone up to $25.95.

Our Mazda has factory extended warranty and fixed price servicing so it will be done strictly by the dealer so if there are any issues they have no grounds to reject it. Our Defender is out of warranty and I use a trusted local mechanical shop, but I supply a copy of the LR service schedule and tell them to do everything on it as per the book. I've used them before, the owner is very straight and has saved me money and gone above and beyond before, so I have no reason to doubt him. But, further back in the past I have had others do the wrong thing and they lost my business. Fair workshops deserve support, but dodgy ones don't, I reckon.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using AULRO mobile app

Originally Posted by joel0407

Check out Whirlpool. It's around the $10 mark more. But Telstra line rental was $24.95 and now it's gone up to $25.95.

Seeing as we're in this space.. One of Australia's premier ISPs..

Naked
Attachment 97902

Bundled with land line
Attachment 97903

Provided Land line by another carrier
Attachment 97904

This all assumes they don't hang off the Telstra backbone. If they need to use Telstra wholesale the data drops and the price climbs... Substantially....

I checked a couple of others as well... Similar results..



Joel... I think you may need to reflect on decisions and ask yourself the following:
- did you buy the right vehicle where the vehicle and the ongoing support meets your expectations (a Hyundai has great servicing deals)
- did you move into the right area which meets your desire for multiple choices of service providers (as opposed to exclusive providers for services)
- do you live in the right City (you complain a lot about cost of living in Darwin)...

And finally...
- why are you so bothered by package servicing... Arguing with a service provider over washer fluid, general safety checks etc comes across as petty...

Look up Duty of Care and you'll find they are obligated to ensure the vehicle leaves roadworthy. Part of that will require that the vehicle be inspected....

Seems you're not having some Happy Days

Joel one must go in with eyes wide open when buying vehicles.Buying a Skoda in Darwin and expecting a real world backup,get real.
Buy a new Land Rover in WA.Only 3 factory backed sellers,2 in perth one in Albany.There is also a fully backed independant service agent in Geraldton.
Im more than happy to get my D4 dealer serviced just to keep the warranty going,for me its 160km north or 250km south to the dealers.If you cant afford the upkeep of the vehicle you cant afford to buy it!!!!
Andrew

Originally Posted by Tombie

Seeing as we're in this space.. One of Australia's premier ISPs..

Naked
Attachment 97902

Bundled with land line
Attachment 97903

Provided Land line by another carrier
Attachment 97904

This all assumes they don't hang off the Telstra backbone. If they need to use Telstra wholesale the data drops and the price climbs... Substantially....

I checked a couple of others as well... Similar results..



Joel... I think you may need to reflect on decisions and ask yourself the following:
- did you buy the right vehicle where the vehicle and the ongoing support meets your expectations (a Hyundai has great servicing deals)
- did you move into the right area which meets your desire for multiple choices of service providers (as opposed to exclusive providers for services)
- do you live in the right City (you complain a lot about cost of living in Darwin)...

And finally...
- why are you so bothered by package servicing... Arguing with a service provider over washer fluid, general safety checks etc comes across as petty...

Look up Duty of Care and you'll find they are obligated to ensure the vehicle leaves roadworthy. Part of that will require that the vehicle be inspected....

Seems you're not having some Happy Days

Yeh. So $79 without a land line, $69 with a land line. Saving $10 for a $25 land line.

Yes I bought the right vehicle. I love it. How much and why I love it is a long list but I know that's not why you made the comment. Yes I'd love a D4 but I realize I can't afford that at the moment. It's not about be able to afford the service, it's the principal. It's actually a lease vehicle and I have full control over what and where the running cost allowance goes. My account is currently over $3500 but if I save money here, I can spend it else where. I just have a credit card that occasionally gets audited to make sure any expenditure is vehicle related. Scoring cheap fuel (cheap not bad quality) mean I can run some softer tyres that might not last as long. Shopping around for insurance and saving on services means I have enough to replace the shocks with something decent (Maybe Bilstien). It's free for me to manage and I'd rather spend the $$ on replacing parts with the best quality I can than paying someone to do something I am quite capable to do myself. There is enough money going in to the account that I could pay for the car to be detailed but I buy Meguires stuff from super cheap and spent 3 or 4 days doing it myself.

I know this is a little bit just me. I am very passionate about my vehicles. When I sold my WRX the whole family, yes my wife and and 2 kids stood in the drive ways and my wife and 2 kids cried as it drove off. So couple that with my distrust of people and this is the end result. Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of very good mechanics but I also know more that are some of the dumbest people I know. I need to get to know the mechanic before I'll trust them. When I rebuilt my Suzuki GTI, I met this guy Terry at an engineering place in Queanbeyan. If I every have a heap of money, win lotto or something, Terry will be my engine guy. I can sit and listen to that guy for a long time. On the other hand, I know personally at least 3 people that have had the "O" ring of their oil filter left stuck on the motor and a new filter and "O" ring installed. They have made it out of their service centres and dumped their oil before they have made it home, all 3 needing new motors. I just can't understand how that can happen. I have never even had one stick? My mower from the first post. I had just sharpened the blades like razors before taking it in for a service and wanted to charge me for sharpening the blades, Seriously? The number of times people have tried to pull the wool over my eyes is just ridiculous. I think it's mainly because people just accept it. They never check. I am just the type of person I refuse to take it. I won't accept it, I trust very few.

Yes I live in the right place. Well at the moment. I am here on a 3 year term transfer and I love this place. It's possibly things like the lack of options that keeps other people away and that's just something else I like about the place. It's not for everyone. I love the storms of the wet season and I love how it never rains in the dry. You can go camping and plan what ever you want and the weather will be perfect everyday, guaranteed. You have to make your own fun. I hated Canberra, where I was last. It had too many people with too much money and they'd just bend over for everything. Shops would rip you blind there. Canberra is a great place if you like drinking Lattes and reading books but that where it ends for me. Darwin doesn't have the stage shows of Canberra but there's no taking Litchfield to the ACT. I've seen some of the most amazing places in my life since being here.

I'm bothered about package servicing for 2 reasons. The things in the package are exactly as you say, general safety checks. Firstly I am completely capable of doing them myself and secondly If people aren't competent to do these, they should have a license.

That should also answer your duty of care question. It's the duty of the driver not to drive an unsafe vehicle. Like I just said. If they can't check them, they shouldn't be driving.

If I drive a vehicle that may or may not be mine, the duty is mine to ensure it's registered. If I get pulled over and it's not registered, I receive the infringement, not the owner.

If the brakes fail well that is beyond what the driver should be responsible for. If I crash because the windscreen is dirt. Do you really think that's going to be the service centre's fault? If I get pulled over with bald tyres and my vehicle gets defected, does the fine go to the service centre?

Yes its still Happy Days but I am not taking this day lying down. LOL.

Look again at the pricing.
$10 less requires YOU to have a land line with someone else. So no saving..

Check Duty of Care again

And in SA the vehicle owner AND driver get fined for unregistered..

Anyhow. I'm so beyond caring to discuss this anymore.

Enjoy your crusade.