Main Dealer Rip Off (Vauxhall Not Toyota)

[The Cav]

was in the main Vauxhall dealership in liverpool yesterday with my daughter

her astra has a warrenty claim on the radio ,from the dealer she bought it from

who happen to be a renault/nissan dealership ,basically they have arranged to have the radio sorted out there

instead of my daughter leaving the car with them.

vauxhall charges =£95ph

replacement radio exchange unit £195

whilst there i heard the receptionist in the service department charge somebody over the phone £18 +vat to fit the spare wheel

£12+vat to put a replacement fuse in the windscreen washer

no wonder people complain about these main dealership charges

i bet toyota dealership costs are similar

having said that johnsons in liverpool did a diagnostic check on mine and didnt charge...

[Daveyonthemove]

They get away with it because a large majority of drivers only know how to fill up with fuel, and don't have a clue about basic stuff under the bonnet.

[headhurts]

I agree £95 per hour is steep but the other charges you quote seem reasonable to me.

I usually use main dealers if possible but know in advance that the cost is high my previous car when out of warranty (jaguar) was expensive but I always had excellent service knew in advance the time given for repairs even if it took them longer to complete repairs and knew they would have any tools required and would be up to date with all procedures and software for my car.

You pays your money and makes your choice.

[hertsnminds]

This is pretty much the same with any job from computer support to plumbing. Yes you can do the job yourself at a lower rate or you can pay someone who has been trained and in some cases certified as competent, to do the job. If there is a problem after you do the job yourself you only have yourself to blame. If there is a problem after you have paid to have the job done you have some recourse to get it rectified.

Yes it costs more to go to a garage, but the costs for the garage to be there when you need them are more in the first place.

[Parts-King]

We are probably £20 cheaper, our rates are not plucked out of the air or priced at what we can get away with, but are a reflection of the true costs of running a high tech aftersales department, and before anybody says "well you dont pay your technicians £75 per hour" no we dont, but then again we dont ask them to pay our insurance, tooling, computers, licences, maintenance costs bla bla bla It costs our service department alone 30K per MONTH to operate and costs have to be re-couped, The costs for a main dealer to operate are unimaginable for most people to understand

Kingo

[bestseany]

was in the main Vauxhall dealership in liverpool yesterday with my daughter

her astra has a warrenty claim on the radio ,from the dealer she bought it from

who happen to be a renault/nissan dealership ,basically they have arranged to have the radio sorted out there

instead of my daughter leaving the car with them.

vauxhall charges =£95ph

replacement radio exchange unit £195

whilst there i heard the receptionist in the service department charge somebody over the phone £18 +vat to fit the spare wheel

£12+vat to put a replacement fuse in the windscreen washer

no wonder people complain about these main dealership charges

i bet toyota dealership costs are similar

having said that johnsons in liverpool did a diagnostic check on mine and didnt charge...

What was up with the radio?

I had to take my mums 2007 Astra back to Vauxhall to get it replaced under warranty too. The CD mechanism broke on it.

I've got to take it back to Vauxhall next week as it has various problems, such as dodgy steering (wobbles and pulls off to left), a rough sounding engine and it nearly stalls when it's cold. Not what you expect for a 4 year old car with 40k on it! No idea what they're gonna charge, but £95p/h doesn't fill me with hope.

[pajjy]

was in the main Vauxhall dealership in liverpool yesterday with my daughter

her astra has a warrenty claim on the radio ,from the dealer she bought it from

who happen to be a renault/nissan dealership ,basically they have arranged to have the radio sorted out there

instead of my daughter leaving the car with them.

vauxhall charges =£95ph

replacement radio exchange unit £195

whilst there i heard the receptionist in the service department charge somebody over the phone £18 +vat to fit the spare wheel

£12+vat to put a replacement fuse in the windscreen washer

no wonder people complain about these main dealership charges

i bet toyota dealership costs are similar

having said that johnsons in liverpool did a diagnostic check on mine and didnt charge...

took my auris in for its 30000 service and MOT.asked if they could check a/c.it works ok but not as cold as other cars ive owned.the feed pipes on the system seem to get very cold.but as the warranty is out soon, so for peace of mind i thoght just let them check it.i was told that it would have to go on some machine or other for a/c servicing and just hooking it up to this machine there is a charge of £70.00.i declined the offer.they said they would check manualy.any way the service (minor) was done with no problems found and MOT passed ok.they said the a/c seemed ok.

its seems a bit steep at £70.00 to just hook up for the air a/c check.had the there been a fault such as gas leak would this been coverd under warranty or considered as a consumable.

[bestseany]

was in the main Vauxhall dealership in liverpool yesterday with my daughter

her astra has a warrenty claim on the radio ,from the dealer she bought it from

who happen to be a renault/nissan dealership ,basically they have arranged to have the radio sorted out there

instead of my daughter leaving the car with them.

vauxhall charges =£95ph

replacement radio exchange unit £195

whilst there i heard the receptionist in the service department charge somebody over the phone £18 +vat to fit the spare wheel

£12+vat to put a replacement fuse in the windscreen washer

no wonder people complain about these main dealership charges

i bet toyota dealership costs are similar

having said that johnsons in liverpool did a diagnostic check on mine and didnt charge...

took my auris in for its 30000 service and MOT.asked if they could check a/c.it works ok but not as cold as other cars ive owned.the feed pipes on the system seem to get very cold.but as the warranty is out soon, so for peace of mind i thoght just let them check it.i was told that it would have to go on some machine or other for a/c servicing and just hooking it up to this machine there is a charge of £70.00.i declined the offer.they said they would check manualy.any way the service (minor) was done with no problems found and MOT passed ok.they said the a/c seemed ok.

its seems a bit steep at £70.00 to just hook up for the air a/c check.had the there been a fault such as gas leak would this been coverd under warranty or considered as a consumable.

£70 is about right for an air con checkup. The machine would probably have vac'd out the system and checked the pressure and gas levels etc.

Kwik Fit will do it for £50 though, and they won't charge if they don't make the air con 10% cooler.

[pajjy]

was in the main Vauxhall dealership in liverpool yesterday with my daughter

her astra has a warrenty claim on the radio ,from the dealer she bought it from

who happen to be a renault/nissan dealership ,basically they have arranged to have the radio sorted out there

instead of my daughter leaving the car with them.

vauxhall charges =£95ph

replacement radio exchange unit £195

whilst there i heard the receptionist in the service department charge somebody over the phone £18 +vat to fit the spare wheel

£12+vat to put a replacement fuse in the windscreen washer

no wonder people complain about these main dealership charges

i bet toyota dealership costs are similar

having said that johnsons in liverpool did a diagnostic check on mine and didnt charge...

took my auris in for its 30000 service and MOT.asked if they could check a/c.it works ok but not as cold as other cars ive owned.the feed pipes on the system seem to get very cold.but as the warranty is out soon, so for peace of mind i thoght just let them check it.i was told that it would have to go on some machine or other for a/c servicing and just hooking it up to this machine there is a charge of £70.00.i declined the offer.they said they would check manualy.any way the service (minor) was done with no problems found and MOT passed ok.they said the a/c seemed ok.

its seems a bit steep at £70.00 to just hook up for the air a/c check.had the there been a fault such as gas leak would this been coverd under warranty or considered as a consumable.

£70 is about right for an air con checkup. The machine would probably have vac'd out the system and checked the pressure and gas levels etc.

Kwik Fit will do it for £50 though, and they won't charge if they don't make the air con 10% cooler.

if they had vacuumed the system out how could they check the gas level, there would not be any gas in the system to check.idealy the system should be vacuumed out over a 24 hour period to get complete evacuation,but this never happens in the real world.

[palmerino]

We are probably £20 cheaper, our rates are not plucked out of the air or priced at what we can get away with, but are a reflection of the true costs of running a high tech aftersales department, and before anybody says "well you dont pay your technicians £75 per hour" no we dont, but then again we dont ask them to pay our insurance, tooling, computers, licences, maintenance costs bla bla bla It costs our service department alone 30K per MONTH to operate and costs have to be re-couped, The costs for a main dealer to operate are unimaginable for most people to understand

Kingo

You are very cheap then comparing to Toyota dealers in London. Currie Motors and Jemca Croydon charge £105 + VAT, which comes to about £125.00 and a bit more. Where about are you based? I might come to service the car with you next time.

Cheers

Plamerino

[The Cav]

was in the main Vauxhall dealership in liverpool yesterday with my daughter

her astra has a warranty claim on the radio ,from the dealer she bought it from

who happen to be a renault/nissan dealership ,basically they have arranged to have the radio sorted out there

instead of my daughter leaving the car with them.

vauxhall charges =£95ph

replacement radio exchange unit £195

whilst there i heard the receptionist in the service department charge somebody over the phone £18 +vat to fit the spare wheel

£12+vat to put a replacement fuse in the windscreen washer

no wonder people complain about these main dealership charges

i bet toyota dealership costs are similar

having said that johnsons in liverpool did a diagnostic check on mine and didn't charge... :thumbs up:

What was up with the radio?

I had to take my mums 2007 Astra back to Vauxhall to get it replaced under warranty too. The CD mechanism broke on it.

I've got to take it back to Vauxhall next week as it has various problems, such as dodgy steering (wobbles and pulls off to left), a rough sounding engine and it nearly stalls when it's cold. Not what you expect for a 4 year old car with 40k on it! No idea what they're gonna charge, but £95p/h doesn't fill me with hope.

The radio occasionally will not eject the CD also sometimes damages the CD when ejecting

it also jumps /skips and has trouble reading the CD intermittently

[Parts-King]

You are very cheap then comparing to Toyota dealers in London. Currie Motors and Jemca Croydon charge £105 + VAT, which comes to about £125.00 and a bit more. Where about are you based? I might come to service the car with you next time.

Cheers

Plamerino

Queensferry Nr Chester, probably about a 450 mile round trip for you :eek;

Kingo

[Jamesbelfast]

was in the main Vauxhall dealership in liverpool yesterday with my daughter

her astra has a warrenty claim on the radio ,from the dealer she bought it from

who happen to be a renault/nissan dealership ,basically they have arranged to have the radio sorted out there

instead of my daughter leaving the car with them.

vauxhall charges =£95ph

replacement radio exchange unit £195

whilst there i heard the receptionist in the service department charge somebody over the phone £18 +vat to fit the spare wheel

£12+vat to put a replacement fuse in the windscreen washer

no wonder people complain about these main dealership charges

i bet toyota dealership costs are similar

having said that johnsons in liverpool did a diagnostic check on mine and didnt charge...

took my auris in for its 30000 service and MOT.asked if they could check a/c.it works ok but not as cold as other cars ive owned.the feed pipes on the system seem to get very cold.but as the warranty is out soon, so for peace of mind i thoght just let them check it.i was told that it would have to go on some machine or other for a/c servicing and just hooking it up to this machine there is a charge of £70.00.i declined the offer.they said they would check manualy.any way the service (minor) was done with no problems found and MOT passed ok.they said the a/c seemed ok.

its seems a bit steep at £70.00 to just hook up for the air a/c check.had the there been a fault such as gas leak would this been coverd under warranty or considered as a consumable.

£70 is about right for an air con checkup. The machine would probably have vac'd out the system and checked the pressure and gas levels etc.

Kwik Fit will do it for £50 though, and they won't charge if they don't make the air con 10% cooler.

if they had vacuumed the system out how could they check the gas level, there would not be any gas in the system to check.idealy the system should be vacuumed out over a 24 hour period to get complete evacuation,but this never happens in the real world.

When the refirgerant is vacuumed out it is weighed. The system is held under vacuum so it can be tested for leaks. Then the correct amount of refrigerant is added the system. This procedure usually takes around an hour

Aircon systems should not filled by pressure but by weight.:)

[Parts-King]

............and if done properly it is oiled too! Too many "experts" will shove gas in it and hey presto it's had an A/C service, its a bit more than that

Kingo

[acetip]

was in the main Vauxhall dealership in liverpool yesterday with my daughter

her astra has a warrenty claim on the radio ,from the dealer she bought it from

who happen to be a renault/nissan dealership ,basically they have arranged to have the radio sorted out there

instead of my daughter leaving the car with them.

vauxhall charges =£95ph

replacement radio exchange unit £195

whilst there i heard the receptionist in the service department charge somebody over the phone £18 +vat to fit the spare wheel

£12+vat to put a replacement fuse in the windscreen washer

no wonder people complain about these main dealership charges

i bet toyota dealership costs are similar

having said that johnsons in liverpool did a diagnostic check on mine and didnt charge...

took my auris in for its 30000 service and MOT.asked if they could check a/c.it works ok but not as cold as other cars ive owned.the feed pipes on the system seem to get very cold.but as the warranty is out soon, so for peace of mind i thoght just let them check it.i was told that it would have to go on some machine or other for a/c servicing and just hooking it up to this machine there is a charge of £70.00.i declined the offer.they said they would check manualy.any way the service (minor) was done with no problems found and MOT passed ok.they said the a/c seemed ok.

its seems a bit steep at £70.00 to just hook up for the air a/c check.had the there been a fault such as gas leak would this been coverd under warranty or considered as a consumable.

£70 is about right for an air con checkup. The machine would probably have vac'd out the system and checked the pressure and gas levels etc.

Kwik Fit will do it for £50 though, and they won't charge if they don't make the air con 10% cooler.

if they had vacuumed the system out how could they check the gas level, there would not be any gas in the system to check.idealy the system should be vacuumed out over a 24 hour period to get complete evacuation,but this never happens in the real world.

When the refirgerant is vacuumed out it is weighed. The system is held under vacuum so it can be tested for leaks. Then the correct amount of refrigerant is added the system. This procedure usually takes around an hour

Aircon systems should not filled by pressure but by weight.:)

years ago when i worked at a british rail workshop i went on one of their couses on a/c.i think they then used refridgurant R.which is illegal now as it effected the ozone layer.

the system was much larger on a coach than A/c in a car but what with shunting etc the whole coach including the a/c

had pretty rough treatment.we were told for complete vacuation of the system when being pumped down it needed a minium of 4 hours but if possible 24 hours but when in workshops for major servicing over 2 days this lengh of time was not possible.after being pumped down the original gas was never used again,as it could be contaminated.the cas bottles were weighted before using and sight glasses used to judge capacity.but things have moved on since those days and things change.