Servicing Rip Off

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

I called a couple of dealers to establish exact servicing costs for the 2nd year Time & Distance with the required brake fluid change and also Longlife oil.

My local dealer quoted £230 for the service, £75 for the brake fluid change and an additional £25 for Longlife oil.

I then called the dealer from which I purchased the car (18 miles away):

Service £240, £75 for the brake fluid, £25 for the longlife oil. BUT they insisted that my car must have an air conditioning service at £75??? I queried this and said that other dealers are not stating this. He advised me that if for example the condenser failed under warranty then VW would want to see evidence that the air conditioning system had been serviced to support any potential warranty claim.

This is also the same dealer which attempted to rip me off on my initial service by charging an extra £80 for oiling the door hinges and undertaking a 'visual check' of my vehicle which covered 3500 miles in it's 1st year!. This is also the dealer which put the standard oil in my Father-in-Laws Ed30 despite him requesting and paying for the longlife oil.

Needless to say that my vehicle will never be taken back to this dealer, nor my Father-in-Laws GTI nor my fathers Golf.

Rant over

[CJ92]

Dealers do vary not only in price but also in service.I have had poor after sales experience but am fortunate to have another Dealer 30mins drive away,who i found to offer excellent service and competitive pricing.It paid off for them because thats where i brought my Ed30 from..

[AlexM]

That sounds way too expensive, i paid around £155 for mine. My dealer took me off of the long life which saved me about £30 on the oil.

[chriswastle]

Hi TT

I also took my first GTI off longlife, and went interval.

The air conditioning service is just a con, mine started to fail after about 28 months and i put booked it in for a warranty claim, only to be told it probably just needed servicing!!! a few choice words with the service manager and everytning was sorted FOC.....

Different subject i know but Tarmac i know you had a kenwood 7220 fitted last year, do you know which fitting plate they used? and does the unit sit flush in the daashboard?

good luck with the servicing

[AsianMpower]

Which dealer did you have the problem with?

and My dealer told me that they only use longlife oil in gti's no other oil is suitable!

now i am worried that i have had advise on a litre of longlife top up but may have different oil in the car. what shall i do?

[TwoSheds]

Which dealer did you have the problem with?

and My dealer told me that they only use longlife oil in gti's no other oil is suitable!

now i am worried that i have had advise on a litre of longlife top up but may have different oil in the car. what shall i do?

What makes you think that ?

Did you buy your 'new' GTI from a VW dealer & if so the service record book, with the car, should confirm whether Longlife oil was used or not at the last service.

[Jack_is_Back]

My dealer told me that they only use longlife oil in gti's no other oil is suitable!

That's bollox. If you're on time and distance servicing you don't need to use longlife oil (although a lot of people still do through choice rather than necessity).

My GTI may stay in my family for several years, I'll be sticking to annual servicing with LL oil.

[AsianMpower]

That's bollox. If you're on time and distance servicing you don't need to use longlife oil (although a lot of people still do through choice rather than necessity).

My GTI may stay in my family for several years, I'll be sticking to annual servicing with LL oil.

so what oil would they use for time and distance? why would my dealer say that then?

gonna have to ring them back to find out.

[AsianMpower]

What makes you think that ?

Did you buy your 'new' GTI from a VW dealer & if so the service record book, with the car, should confirm whether Longlife oil was used or not at the last service.

This is also the same dealer which attempted to rip me off on my initial service by charging an extra £80 for oiling the door hinges and undertaking a 'visual check' of my vehicle which covered 3500 miles in it's 1st year!. This is also the dealer which put the standard oil in my Father-in-Laws Ed30 despite him requesting and paying for the longlife oil.

no bought it second hand but has been serviced by vw.

[stooH]

Not sure where you are in Hampshire T_T or which 2 dealers you're referring to but I had a choice between Peter Cooper in Portsmouth and White Rose in Petersfield. White Rose win every time, friendlier, more courteous, more eager to please and cheaper.

This is the bit when you tell me that they're the ones that tried to screw you over isn't it?

[AsianMpower]

Not sure where you are in Hampshire T_T or which 2 dealers you're referring to but I had a choice between Peter Cooper in Portsmouth and White Rose in Petersfield. White Rose win every time, friendlier, more courteous, more eager to please and cheaper.

This is the bit when you tell me that they're the ones that tried to screw you over isn't it?

Hampshire? nowhere near the place!

i am based in hertfordshire and no ones tried to screw me over! unless you no otherwise?

You seem to be abit confused, go make yourself a hot cup of milk and take a afternoon nap.

PS...there the place that tried to screw me over....LOL

[Snoopy]

Simple answer to all this don't take it to them dealers.

By Law VW have to honour the warrenty as long as you can proove you have stuck to the recomended service times and used parts of equivalent quality. Best way for this is use a VAT registered garage and due to the few pence difference (and thats all it is) in parts cost ask them to use genuine VW parts. So your fully covered. YOU DON'T NEED TO USE A VW DEALER too keep your warranty cover use an independent and better still a small independent most give 2 zillion times better service and actually do the job.

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

Hi TT

I also took my first GTI off longlife, and went interval.

The air conditioning service is just a con, mine started to fail after about 28 months and i put booked it in for a warranty claim, only to be told it probably just needed servicing!!! a few choice words with the service manager and everytning was sorted FOC.....

Different subject i know but Tarmac i know you had a kenwood 7220 fitted last year, do you know which fitting plate they used? and does the unit sit flush in the daashboard?

good luck with the servicing

Hi Chriswastle,

My Kenwood 7200 face plate fits flush to the dash. However, I had to place a couple of small pieces of double sided tape behind to pack it out slightly - otherwise there would have been a 3mm recess. I have no idea what make faceplate they used though.

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

My nearest dealer is Martins of Basingstoke. They seem to be pricey but at least they are not telling me it is a requirement to have the air con serviced like Ridgeway in Newbury.

I take your point Geoff regarding using a non-franchised dealer but my car covers approximately 3000 - 4000 miles per year at the moment and for peace of mind I like the VW stamp in the book. Perhaps I should try some dealers a little further away as it appears I might be able to save £100!

It's just a convenience thing being able to take the car to a local dealer and manage the process around my working day etc etc. I have to say that when purchasing the car from Ridgeway in Newbury, the sales team were superb. Unfortunately, their service department seem to intentionally mislead customers to extract more money from them. I don't feel I can trust or do business with these sort of people. It's the type of thing you expect from a shoddy back street independent garage. I never penny pinch over running costs for cars and am a big believer in the old saying 'you get what you pay for'. However, I will not be ripped off intentionally or otherwise.

[chriswastle]

Thanks TT for your reply, i think its ridgeways policy to try and sell the air conditioning service ( wantage tried it with me), just another way of getting money out of you.

Regarding the kenwood, i have had the dnx5220 fitted and the facia is slightly darker than the rest of the dash and the unit sits about 6-7 mm further in. : ( I have just ordered a double din facia from VW i hope this cures the problem....

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

Thanks TT for your reply, i think its ridgeways policy to try and sell the air conditioning service ( wantage tried it with me), just another way of getting money out of you.

Regarding the kenwood, i have had the dnx5220 fitted and the facia is slightly darker than the rest of the dash and the unit sits about 6-7 mm further in. : ( I have just ordered a double din facia from VW i hope this cures the problem....

I had mine installed at John Klees car audio in Reading (1mile from M4 J11). Apparently, mine is the standard face plate they use for all MKV's but I'm unsure of the exact make.

[Snoopy]

I take your point Geoff regarding using a non-franchised dealer but my car covers approximately 3000 - 4000 miles per year at the moment and for peace of mind I like the VW stamp in the book.....

I know lots of tec's that work in dealers 99.9% of them i would not let within 100miles of my car. It meens very little if you have been round that enviroment on a regular basis in the past imo.

It's just a convenience thing being able to take the car to a local dealer and manage the process around my working day etc etc.....

Granted been near and a use of a car from them is handy. But alot of small independents do this too.

I don't feel I can trust or do business with these sort of people. It's the type of thing you expect from a shoddy back street independent garage...

IMO alot of the stigma of back street garages has gone as if they don't do good work they have a habbit of folding nowadays. Unlike dealers who still have people going back time and time again. If im not happy with a service you won't ever seem me going back again. Only way is vote with your feet.

I never penny pinch over running costs for cars and am a big believer in the old saying 'you get what you pay for'...

Sorry but i disagree from experience in the trade when it comes to cars especially service just because its expensive does not meen its a good job done by someone who actually knows what he/she is doing. From decades experience its very rare indeed this is true in the car service industry.

All just my own opinion of cause..

Geoff,

Damb i miss the smiley i want some smile ones as if i don't use them my writing style reads agressive and its not ment to be.

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

Fair minded comments Geoff.

However, in my experience there is some advantage to sticking with franchised dealers:

I cover very low mileage. When my GTI falls outside the 3 year warranty in May 09 it will probably have covered less than 10,000 miles from new - hardly enough mileage for many faults to even develop/appear. I believe (or at least I like to believe!) that should a major fault develop, VW would be sympathetic to contributing to the repair.

About 10 years ago my parents had a Rover 800. They had owned it from new, had covered 38000 miles and was 3.5 years old. They had full Rover service history and had ensured the cam belt was repalced at the correct interval. Over the next 10,000 miles the car had no less than 3 cam belt failures! The first one, Rover covered two thirds of the bill (£2200 total bill) of the initial failure. They also covered the full cost of the subsequent two failures and sent a 'regional Engineer' to try and identify the causes (which they never did).

I genuinly don't doubt that some independent garages probably do a better job. It's just trying to argue the toss with VW ehrn something actually does go wrong! I plan to try other VW dealers within a 25 mile radius to see if I can get a better price.

[CJ92]

I genuinly don't doubt that some independent garages probably do a better job. It's just trying to argue the toss with VW ehrn something actually does go wrong! I plan to try other VW dealers within a 25 mile radius to see if I can get a better price.

In my experience it always pays to shop around.As i have already stated dealers do vary greatly not only with prices but also quality of work and customer care..

[Snoopy]

I genuinly don't doubt that some independent garages probably do a better job. It's just trying to argue the toss with VW ehrn something actually does go wrong! I plan to try other VW dealers within a 25 mile radius to see if I can get a better price.

I know someone who experienced a massive engine failure due to incompetence by a main VW dealer from the northeast. The dealer refused to admit it was there fault. It went to court, then the next level of court, Recovery break down guy as well as independent garage and also ab engineers report were used as evidence. Its not the only problem this dealer has had and there reputation in the trade is well known, but the place looks great and people go because its a main dealer.

There was a time when a main dealer stamp ment something now its not worth the extra in pound notes it costs in my own opinion. People will tell you it gets you more money come resale BUT they forget what it actually costs you in pound notes extra in the first place. As i say everyone has there own view on this. But most my family are in the motortrade either at the grass routes end at main dealers or managment or MD levels so im sort of surrounded by what happens and have been all my life. I much prefer the small independent or specialist with the personal touch who you can actually call a mechanic rather than a company DFT. They often work out much cheaper even after paying for a taxi etc.

Anyway time to get back on topic. Service prices are imo silly were ever you go for what you are really getting.

[Luke]

a mager engine failure

now that sounds like a major problem

[poobarr]

I called a couple of dealers to establish exact servicing costs for the 2nd year Time & Distance with the required brake fluid change and also Longlife oil.

My local dealer quoted £230 for the service, £75 for the brake fluid change and an additional £25 for Longlife oil.

I then called the dealer from which I purchased the car (18 miles away):

Service £240, £75 for the brake fluid, £25 for the longlife oil. BUT they insisted that my car must have an air conditioning service at £75??? I queried this and said that other dealers are not stating this. He advised me that if for example the condenser failed under warranty then VW would want to see evidence that the air conditioning system had been serviced to support any potential warranty claim.

This is also the same dealer which attempted to rip me off on my initial service by charging an extra £80 for oiling the door hinges and undertaking a 'visual check' of my vehicle which covered 3500 miles in it's 1st year!. This is also the dealer which put the standard oil in my Father-in-Laws Ed30 despite him requesting and paying for the longlife oil.

Needless to say that my vehicle will never be taken back to this dealer, nor my Father-in-Laws GTI nor my fathers Golf.

Rant over

NAME AND SHAME THEM DUDE!!!

[MajorH]

I know someone who experienced a massive engine failure due to incompetence by a main VW dealer from the northeast and they refused to admit it was there fault. Went to court then the next level of court, Recovery brake down guy as well as independent garage as well as engineers report were used as witnesses. Its not the only problem said dealer has or reputation in the trade it has either put the place looks great and people go because its a main dealer.

There was a time when a main dealer stamp ment something now its not worth the extra in pound notes it costs in my own opinion. People will tell you it gets you more money come resale BUT they forget what it actually costs you in pound notes extra in the first place. As i say everyone has there own view on this. But most my family is in the motortrade either at the grass routes end at main dealers or managment or MD levels so im sort of surrounded by what happens and have been all my life. I much prefer the small independent or specialist with the personal touch who you can actually call a mechanic rather than a company DFT. They often work out much cheaper even after paying for a taxi etc.

Anyway time to get back on topic. Service prices are imo silly were ever you go for what you are really getting.

It's got to be Lookers surely !

[winrya]

Had my 3rd time and distance service in the week.

cost of service with longlife oil

MOT

and enabling auto locking

a bargain at £152. Can't moan for a main dealer

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

Blimey, that is cheap!