Son put his car in for a first 16,000 mile service - discussed previously on phone with garage and left his car with the written instruction for service.
In the afternoon they phoned - car was ready and how would he pay? Then the request for £398 - where did that come from? £295 for a service and we changed the brake fluid as it is nearly 2 years old.
At this my son suggested that they think again - they had done work which was not required for the service and not requested on his order (slip of paper with name, reg and service required @ £295). The reply was that you will need to brake fluid changed in 5 months time and it will cost you more - my son's reply is it would if I got you to do it but less if the man in the village does it.
Lots of bluster, mild panic, I will speak to the service manager, I'll phone you back........... In the end after spinning it out for 3 calls - my son gave in and offered to pay for the brake fluid as a gesture of goodwill but not the time @ £85 / hour they asked for. At this the service manager gave in and gave the brake fluid for free, as a gesture of goodwill.
I surmise that the thought of a customer who spent £22,000 18 mths ago was worth more than an argument over the rights & wrongs of a brake fluid change.
I am sure this will not be the first (or last) customer in the week with an unexpected bill but how many would have argued and how many would just have paid on the company credit card.
The difference is, I think, that my son's credit card is for his own company and therefore "real money" and not just a line on expenses.
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The difference is, I think, that my son's credit card is for his own company and therefore "real money" and not just a line on expenses.
I think you've hit the nail on the head there with regard to some of the practices mentioned on this site by servicing agents.
Certainly was the case with my brother, he had been employed for over 20 years by a company which provided him with a fully funded company car, literally all he had to do was sign for anything, even his petrol. He then struck out on his own and had to fund his own vehicle costs, shortly followed by screams of outrage at the servicing costs and the little 'extras'.
I'm sure that the company car scenario has certainly not contributed to keeping costs down. I know dealers have all the overheads they need to cover but the company car/signature culture must help to keep the true costs not totally hidden but pretty low on the priorities of most new car drivers.
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The big fleets screw the service department down so hard on costs that the garage have to bounce it up on private individuals.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The big fleets screw the service department down so hard on costs that the garage have to bounce it up on private individuals. ------------------------------
It's important to distinguish between company cars owned by an employer where the employee pays the bill and then it becomes 'a line on expenses' and company cars owned and maintained by lease company's.
I would guess that most? of the more expensive company cars are on full maintenance leases, and the lease companies really screw the cost down on servcing.
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Falkirk Bairn - was this a VAG dealer by any chance ??
I only ask because my brother had a very similar experience with them.
I think it right and proper that they did give it him for free in the end.
As your son say's they did not have a leg to stand on as it was not requested.
As you say though if it was an employee company car - most people would have just signed to charge their company account.
Good for your son is what I say.
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VAG - Yes it was an Audi TT
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I also agree that the BIG Fleet users know all the tricks and dodges and therefore screw the Main Dealer down.
They do not pay the full dealer hourly rate, do not pay miscellaneous expense (washer bottle top up £2.00, disposal charge for oil £2.00, grease, washers etc £4.00) they have agreed prices for oil, 10-15% off for parts and often take OEM parts instead of brand......).
If main dealer complains about the £2.00 disposal charge - give it to the driver he will drop it off at the office and we will get somebody to collect it - just bluff but saves £2.00 on the invoice
A company I worked for many years ago questioned every bill from every garage (over 1,000 company cars), sat on it and had the garage service manager cut it and then have accounts cut it again.
Payment 90 days from end of the month (could be nearly 120 days in effect) then offer to pay at 60/70 days only if there was a minm 2.5% settlement on top of previous adjustments.
If you are a young credit control clerk with targets to meet you give in - overall 20%+ was not that uncommon and then there was extended claims beyopnd the original warranty time or mileage - much less than that and the fleet manager had ulcers.
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Interesting point this - only a couple of days ago we had someone complaining that their brake fluid had not been changed and therefore their car had not been serviced to manufacturers specification, and that they had to put themselves out to take the car back for the work to done!
The garages are damned if they do and damned if they don't it seems!
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"The garages are damned if they do and damned if they don't"
Not at all. They just need to be transparent in their pricing and agree all work in advance. Fairly straightforward surely?
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If a garage is going to do work over say £10.00 they should phone and ask permission - £100 added to a £300 bill is an increase of 33% -
When did you get a pay rise of 33% more than you were getting - There are people going to jail for non payment of 7% rises in council tax - roughly £70.
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Like I've posted many times before, all these guys will be on some kind of bonus/target scheme. Nine times out of ten they will get away with this sort of thing and increase their (and the dealer) income.
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