I have a Honda Jazz which is due for its first(12000 mile) service.The dealer where I bought the car(South Yorkshire) priced this at £135.Thinking tha this was quite high I got the Yellow Pages out & called a few other dealers in the county.I one found one just fifteen miles away offering the same at just £92.
Does anyone have any opinion on why there should be such a big variation or better the above saving?
Mostyn
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Does anyone have any opinion on why there should be such a big variation or better the above saving?
Less overheads maybe.
For example;
Fewer, or no courtesy cars to maintain.
Fewer salesmen to pay wages to.
Less plateglass in the showroom to polish.
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A simple service uses little consumables, so the bulk of the cost is the 'labour rate' the garage charges, which (as DD says) contains the fixed overheads. These vary hugely between front- and back-street garages. Round here franchised places charge about £45/hr, independents £30 or less. [Others can tell us what it's like round London].
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I see your point but both of the dealers are approved by Honda & are only about fifteen miles away.Both seem to have the same facilities etc.Makes you wonder if they would price match like the supermarkets etc do.
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Spoke to a service manager about this when I received drastically different quotes on a Ford Fiesta I once owned. He pointed out that overheads, etc., were relevant, as was desire on his dealership's behalf to grow their servicing side.
What you've got to realise is that just because two dealerships are, say, Ford, doesn't mean they don't compete with each other. I would even argue that they are each other's main competition when it comes to servicing.
Cutting their prices was one way to get me into their service dept, which worked, as they got my business and did a fine job.
V
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If you log into the Ford website you can get service quotes from all the dealers in your area(& outside) and they're different-even branches of the same dealer.
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Some years ago a main dealer in my town (not Honda) were doing MOTs at a very low competitive price. Unusual because they were well known for pricey (but good) servicing and repairs.
My wifes car went in for an MOT and she duly received a call to tell her that the steering rack had excessive play and needed replacing as a matter of safety to which she agreed.
Later I talked to several whose cars failed their low price MOTs at this dealer and we generally agreed that probably they were short of work and this provided them with it.
Not totally relevant to variations on servicing costs but the old adage of you gets what you pay for is often true.
It's so much better I feel if you can find a good dealer who you can strike a relationship up with and stick to them rather than looking for the lowest cost.
Unless you perhaps change your car regularly and are more concerned with having the service book stamped up for when you come to sell,
More often though the best do tend to be the small operator than the large main dealers.
alvin
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I am convinced that franchised dealers may get customers in for an MoT (possibly competitively) and then 'find' work which needs doing for the car to pass. A few years ago my 306 'had to have' a pair of lower suspension arms at its first MoT, which seemed to me unlikely at 24K and after 2½ years with one careful lady owner. This cost close to £200. I learnt the lesson and now go for MoTs to places like ATS which do not have expensive parts on the shelf waiting to be turned into profit. If serious servicing needs to be done at a dealer's, I specify each task, but if possible I use a reliable independent (unless the car is under warranty). My cars are not often new enough for that!
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I had the car serviced at the cheaper dealer last Friday.All seems o.k.They offered to put GB plates on the car for free,which I took them up on,and they put Castrol Magnatec in the car (hopefully this is good stuff)They also put new dealer stickers and tax disc holder in the car(naughty?).Unlike when I have had my previous car serviced at a main dealer they did not give me a copy of the mechanics check-sheet e.g details of brake pad wear & tyre wear.Is this normal or should I speak to them.
Sorry to sound a bit naive but until the last year we just had old jalopys (309&sierra)serviced by a friend.
Thanks
Mostyn
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