Servicing.

[acetip]

Took the Auris in a Intermediate Service and Mot yesterday plus the recall job on the window switch. Told them no screenwash as already done,no fob Battery as its fairly new. Dont do the tyre pressures as i know they are ok.i provide the oils (5w 30 ESP.)

When i booked the car in a month ago i declined a loan of a car as the wife would run me down to them in her car.that well laid plan fell through as the roads where trecherous no way the wife would drive on them. So i drove down and arrived at 0815 am as arranged i asked how long the car would be and they said at midday so i decided to walk home which is a couple of mile,this may no seem far, but the pavements where covered in packed snow and was a job to keep on my feet.

I forgot to take gloves and walking on the snow with my hands in my pocket was very risky if i fell down. The temp was showing on the cars external readout was -6c, though the women on the dealers reception said it was -8c.M poor fingers were numb.

First corner on my walk home a car had gone through a hedge,bits of bumper and a plastic from under a wheel arch covering the pavement,but no sign of the car though.

At 09.30am got a call the car was done,It seemed only i and one other customer had turned up due to the road conditions.

So it seems they worked on my car mob handed and got it done nice and quick.

pity we did not know about this beforehand as i would have saved my old legs the walk both ways .I could have sat in the recepton drinking coffee and watching the tv.

No problems with the car,but they mentioned that the rear wiper blade rubber has a small split about 1/8 inch long. they suggested not replacing the blade untill the winter is over as there most likly to suffer further damage what with the frozen snow on the car we are on doubt going to get more of it.

The cost for the service and Mot was 125 pound.

The oil i provided cost me about 25 pounds for 5 ltrs including postage.

[ellingtj]

No screenwash, provide own oil, same tactics as me, good man.

[Parts-King]

You would have thought they would offer you a lift? We always give lifts if it's within a reasonable distance

We have had similar issues today, people cancelling who are not prepared to drive

Kingo

[Red Yaris 54]

You would have thought they would offer you a lift? We always give lifts if it's within a reasonable distance

We have had similar issues today, people cancelling who are not prepared to drive

Kingo

Would you still offer a lift if the customer had provided their own oil, screen wash and asked you not to check tyre pressures or change the fob Battery?

That surely must impact on your profit!

[acetip]

Hi Red, I know how accurate my footpump is and so i can make allowences whem checking the pressuers. I dont now how How accurate the workshop pressure gauge is.

At this time of the year i use my screenwash with a mixture god enough down to minus 20 c.I dont no what the workdshop use but i dont want it diluted.

The dealer told me a couple of years ago they use Castrol professional Magnatec, i do not like Castrol after getting the wrong oil in a can once.

The Retailer where i brought the oil replaced the can with no argument but Castrol refused to discuss the matter by letter or phone. So i brought several cans of the ESP, But soon after i did the dealer stopped using the Castrol and now use Mobil but not the ESP grade but one other 5w - 30 that is suitable. But why should i waste the the oil i brought.

I can buy two fob batteries on Market day localy that are top quality for the price of one the dealer charges.

.

[Uncle Buck]

Sounds like a very reasonable price for the work done. Shame they didn't offer you a lift though. My local dealer always offer me a lift (although I prefer to walk as it's under a mile away !). You've just reminded me to strenghthen the screen wash too, lol.

[Red Yaris 54]

Hi Red, I know how accurate my footpump is and so i can make allowences whem checking the pressuers. I dont now how How accurate the workshop pressure gauge is.

At this time of the year i use my screenwash with a mixture god enough down to minus 20 c.I dont no what the workdshop use but i dont want it diluted.

The dealer told me a couple of years ago they use Castrol professional Magnatec, i do not like Castrol after getting the wrong oil in a can once.

The Retailer where i brought the oil replaced the can with no argument but Castrol refused to discuss the matter by letter or phone. So i brought several cans of the ESP, But soon after i did the dealer stopped using the Castrol and now use Mobil but not the ESP grade but one other 5w - 30 that is suitable. But why should i waste the the oil i brought.

I can buy two fob batteries on Market day localy that are top quality for the price of one the dealer charges.

.

My comment was not particularly criticising you for your actions as much as an observation that if customers supplied their own materials and asked for certain aspect of the servicing not to be done, then surely the dealers profits would be affected and the offer of a courtesy lift may be withdrawn

It would be interesting to see exactly how much you have saved by your actions over that of the amount charged by the dealer for providing the full parts and labour service

I doubt that the actual total saving is as much as you may think.......but as long as you feel that you have saved, that is all that matters :)

[acetip]

As we all check our screenwash level at other times of the year other than just when our cars are serviced. while should i let the dealer do it at the service and have them charge me 1,85 pounds for adding an unspecified amount screenwash liquid.to the bottle. when i have a part used 5 ltr bottle of the stuff at home. We dont take our cars into a dealer whenever a top up is required.I would not mind betting after topping my screenwash and not mentioning anything about it at the reception i would have been charged for a top up anyway.

I dont think the bill for the labour charge for this and checking the tyre pressure would have been deducted from the usual charge.for the service.and i would not expect it to be. Ive given the the reason why i prefered doing some of the jobs myself.

Why i said i was pleased at the charge for the service was it came out within a few pence of the last intermediate service 2 years ago., which is surprising as how much other things have shot up of late.

There is no reason for them to replace the fob Battery as a matter of course.If the market trader can test a Battery in a matter of seconds.why cant a dealer do the same.

IIs all down to them maxamising their profit. If i gained anything else it would been what they would have charged me for using their oil instead of supplying my own.

In the service handbook under intermediate service schedule it states that the air con filter should be cleaned on the Auris.

I posted recently about when i asked a member of the workshop staff who believed to be the foreman when they clean or inspected this filter and was told when the customer asks. so i can only assume they just seem to be deviating from the scedule

Do you think they reduce the bill for not carrying out this work.?.

[acetip]

Further to the above posting about my Auris servicing done yesterday.

I drove today into a town about 12 mile from my home to visit a Carphonewarehouse.

My Auris is fitted with climate control and i set it a 22 c. and its left on all the time which is pretty good setting for most of the year.

But today the car interior began getting very hot, i noticed the fans were blasting away, were you would normanly hardly notice they are on at all..When i checked the temp setting instead of the 22 c the setting was reading HIGH and outside air was being used (as normal).

It seems someone had been fiddling with the controls.As i have to pass my Toyota dealer on my drive home i called into the reception and asked why my air con settings had been moved and was told that this was part of the service by the chap behind the desk,who was not the usuel receptionist. he added that they must have forgot to reset the controls to my original settings.

BUT not long after i got the Auris i noticed that the aircon at min temp was not as cold as other cars ive owned. i asked about this when a sevice was due and was told they would have to put the airc con on the test rig and would cost 70 pounds but they could check by just running it to see how it seemed to them.

Anyway after they had done the service (a couple of years ago) they wrote on the service sheet that the air con appears to be ok. So if the controls had been moved this service why is no mention of its condition of the aircon and why is this aircon check not mentioned in the service schedule as part of the srvice.

Call me synical but i think i know whats happend.. It was very cold yesterday and only one customer turned up besides me,. the staff ran out of work.so someone was either sitting in my car in the workshop or outside

keeping themselves warm at by running my car's engine.

I wonderd why my average fuel consuption that is normaly about 38 mpg on my local country roads was showing an 29 mpg average,When i stuck the readout on instantaneous reading at a steady speed it showed 40 mpg + So everything was what i would expect.

I dont know how long they had been running the car like that.

you may say it was caused by the reving of the engine in the MOT well ive never noticed the fuel consumption drop like that before.in this car or anyother ive owned.

[Uncle Buck]

Your theory about the workshop staff using it is plausible, but don't they have a heated workshop ? With only 2 cars in for work, there's no way the doors would be open all day - any other garage would close the doors to keep heat in. It wouldn't really bother me that my heater controls had been changed (after all it's easy enough to change them back), but the fuel used is very naughty. For the obc to read almost 10 mpg less than normal, it does indeed suggest the engine was running on fast idle for quite a while.