Car Service.... Hmmm.

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I dropped the car in for it's second service this morning and picked up the courtesy car. Just as I got home the service dept rang to say they'd found a screw in the front nearside tyre too close to the edge to repair and quoting me £130 plus VAT to fit a new tyre. They said it was a very slow puncture but was definitely leaking air. I told them to leave the screw in as I could get the tyre far cheaper from my usual tyre fitters.

I went to the tyre fitters this morning and they pulled out the tiniest screw you've ever seen. After testing the tyre they assured me it wasn't leaking at all, was perfectly safe, and I'd be wasting my money having a new tyre. Fantastic, if we hadn't planned to have a blat down to Upton Warren today - what a waste of time. :bang:
 
Thats the main dealers for you the best on i have seen vauxhall do is on the vectra B the idle is all over the place oh sir it is a ecu thats £1500 please and guess what does not cure the fault it is a £90 idel air control valve fault they must of ripped around 150 people i know of when they come to us
 
We had a very similar thing with my Husband's car this week. It had the screw in the tyre last year at the service and it was left as it only goes down very slowly and is little problem.

This week they noticed the tyre was slightly down so rang him to find out where the locking nuts were before dealing with it - they are whereever they left them last time - apparently not with the car. They then pulled the screw out !!

Oh dear, no locking nuts and deflated tyre - quoted over £220 to get new ones and new tyre as supposedly unrepairable. He went round there to pick the car up, used his inflater thingy to pump the tyre up again and bring the car home as they refused to discuss it - especially as to where the locking nuts were.

Rang a tyre specialist who recommended somewhere to get replacement nuts, then took everything round to them and they fitted them and repaired the tyre for free, he needs two new tyres so they are getting to supply and fit those.

I was not happy with the service I got last time my car went in for a service - gave them 1 out of 10 in their after service questionnaire - so we are now looking for a new garage, not necessarily a main dealer, to look after our cars in future!
 
Popped to Kwik fit today to get them to top up the gas on the aircon. I fixed all the leaks last year but never got around to putting refrigerant back in it.

Anyhow, machine tops it all up, they come to disconnect and it starts leakign the gas out the valve. They had to recover the gas, checked the valve (it's like a tyre valve) and it was slightly bent so wasn't sealing. They didn't have a spare, so just said bring it back when fixed.

No Charge :D
 
You can't tell if the screw has punctured untill you remove it unless its showing obvious signs, even if its not, how far away from penetrating the carcass of the tyre ?? I am very fussy with tyres especially something that could cause a blow out at speed.
I work for a main dealer, they should have advised you about the screw, then its up to you if you want to leave it in or remove it.

Dean
 
Kerioak said:
We had a very similar thing with my Husband's car this week. It had the screw in the tyre last year at the service and it was left as it only goes down very slowly and is little problem.

!
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You drove around for a year knowing there was a screw in the tyre:eek:, a 1200kg car travelling at 70mph on the motorway could go anywhere if a tyre blows, I saw a motorhome lose a back tyre a few weeks ago, he overtook me then bang, he lost control and ended up in the outside lane, luckily it was unoccupied at the time or there could have been a major accident.

compromising on safety in that way is just plain :cuckoo:
 
wack61 said:
You drove around for a year knowing there was a screw in the tyre:eek:, a 1200kg car travelling at 70mph on the motorway could go anywhere if a tyre blows, I saw a motorhome lose a back tyre a few weeks ago, he overtook me then bang, he lost control and ended up in the outside lane, luckily it was unoccupied at the time or there could have been a major accident.

compromising on safety in that way is just plain :cuckoo:
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There are lots of people who do nothing but a couple of miles a week pootling around town at less than 30mph, and never go near a motorway. A screw in a tyre is hardly a major risk here.
 
At the risk of preaching, even round town people travel on dual carriage ways at speeds enough to cause a blow out. I kid you not the number of cars I see most days into my workshop actually worn so badly that the metal cords are showing is scary !!
Tyres are probably the most important safety item on cars and are usually the most overlooked, it doesn't matter how good your brakes are if your tyres are shot you don't stop.
We also don't repair tyres, when a tyre has been run low on pressure it generates alot of heat and side wall degradation so the risks are far too high, when that repaired tyre fails, I wonder who's door the police would come knocking at. Just a few thoughts.

Dean
 
I tried explaining this to the ex-wife a few years back when the MOT identified a split in the inner sidewall of one of my front tyres...
"Can't you just keep driving on them...? Why do you keep buying stuff for your car? It's always about the car, isn't it? You love that car more than you love me..."
etc etc etc

Trying to explain that driving on dodgy tyres is an act of possibly fatal stupidity was lost on her - like when I needed new brake pads...same thing... consumables get consumed...then you have to buy more...

I still have that car...
No idea where she is now though...
 
Had a main dealer tell me my front tyres were illegal and would be 250 quid to replace them, looked at them when i picked the car up still had several mm before the wear bars, checked with a mate who is traffic police and he said nothing wrong with them perfectly legal, even at the wear bars there is still plenty of tread left really. Took the car to a proper tyre place a few months later because tney were getting close to the wear bars, and i had a slow puncture in the back tyre and got all 4 replaced for 320 quid ! and that included a full 4 wheel alignment. Joke is, the dealer was going to use the same tyre company to do the fix as i went to !
 
MisterE said:
There are lots of people who do nothing but a couple of miles a week pootling around town at less than 30mph, and never go near a motorway. A screw in a tyre is hardly a major risk here.
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I've had a blowout in a 30 limit (at 30) and ended up rolling the car. No sign of any screw in the tyre (or anything else that could cause a blowout). Luckily we walked away with only a few bruises (and a written off Landy).
 
I've been in a car that had a blowout and we all nearly ended up in a (very deep) river. As such if there was even a SLIGHT issue with any of the tyres of my car, they would be replaced, not even repaired. It could be paranoia, but when they are your only contact with the road it is lunacy to try and get by...town car or not.
 
I phoned around to get quotes for a rear wheel bearing. They ranged from about £70 sir, could be £90, a few around £80, one at £98 and the main dealer at £217!

I took it into the £70-£90 garage and they charged me £60.30 :D

I know where my next car service will be.
 
I worked in a BMW main dealer for 12 years as a master tech. All I would ever advise anyone, is to seek out their local small independent garage who cares about where his next customer is coming from and looks after them.
An example of savings you can make (in no way advertising), our local merc dealer charges £110/hr + vat and the BMW dealer £85/hr + vat. We charge £35/hr + vat.
Do your homework and suss out your local area. Drive past a few smaller places and see if they are consistently busy. Ask friends and family. The days of having to use main dealers are long gone. You are just a number to them. We were always told to ''sell what you can whilst you can. They may never come back.''
ALL main dealers have this attitude.

Kev.
 
Well said kevshore, you have hit the nail on the head.

Also one other thing to remember is that the small independents dont have the overheads of the main dealers, this helps them in keeping costs down!
 
Dealers make a lot of money from servicing cars during the warranty period, they like to tell people that to keep the warranty valid you must have the vehicle dealer serviced, well that is complete and utter tosh, any garage can service the vehicle so long as it is serviced to the manufacturers specification and to save any hastle using genuine parts.
All our vehicles are serviced by our own fitter at work, it's easier because he will do them in the evening or on a sunday morning and I know the job is done properly and using the best oils (I usually do it with him).
We have just bought 2 new vehicles from a Ford fleet dealer and on each invoice it states.
"this vehicle is covered by Ford motor company normal warranty terms"
"If the vehicle is maintained to Ford specification then the warranty is 3 years or 60000 miles, whichever comes first"
So kevshore is right, there are some excellent local independant garages out there that take pride in the work they do and do the job properly.
 
i had my first 2 services on my car done at a main dealer (the first was free when i bought the car so that wasnt a problem) the second was at a different dealer and they tried to strike the fear of god into me about my brakes (whcih just needeed new pads about 6k later) id just presumed that to honour the warranty id have a have to get it serviced at ford. obviously thats what they want you to think so now i go to a local garage.

if i was gonna keep the car long term id do the servicing myself, but as i want to sell it on at the end of the finance (and buy an estate) period i need to keep the stamps in the book
 
You still get a stamp in the book and it doesnt devalue the car just because its not main dealer serviced.

(ah just seen the bit about servicing yourself. Just use an independent then. ;) )
Kev.
 
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