A few hours in the dealership

[m8internet]

My car was in for a service yesterday
I had booked it online and selected "manufacture service"
They had booked it on for a "third service", but it was actually the fourth one (rechecked the email - no mention of third or fourth)

Left the car at 08:30 and normally it is ready within 2 hours
I was advised they were "quite busy" but it should be ready about lunch time
I had completed what I had to do and made my way back to the dealership at 11:30, agreed to sit and wait
Turned out they hadn't even started on the car, and for the first time it was worked on at the upper level so I could watch them at work

Clearly not all the mechanics were present, on each level about half the bays were empty or were occupied by cars which were not being worked on

A father (aged late 50s) and son (aged middle 20s) came in
The sons car had suffered a tyre puncture and they couldn't get the wheel off to put the spare on; they couldn't find the locking wheel nut
Turns out they didn't have any breakdown cover
The dealership allowed them to phone RAC and AA, but they both wanted over £100 just for that recovery (no membership)
The dealership then suggested they contact their own recovery, they discussed what the probem was, and amazingly they agreed to do it for free!
So off they toddled back to their car

A silver Astra then appeared on a recovery truck
Turned out the owners had become locked out
A mechanic started on their car a few minutes later
They didn't have any warranty or insurance for this, which would cost near on £250 to fix; but after some negotiation the dealership would only charge for the new drivers side lock, one key, and reprogramming; total £100
An hour later the car was returned, and off they went

A silver Vectra C appeared, I watched this as it came in and could see the rear indicator flashing away at double speed; self-diagnosis on this was that the front indicator bulb had failed
This guy had just bought the car last Friday and reported "the indicators do funny things"
I nearly creased myself on that!
It then dawned on me that access to the offside indicator was a nightmare, and I could see pound signs coming...
The guy that had just completed the work on the Astra then did this one
He had the bulb out in under 30 seconds, however he struggled to get the replacement in!
It was nearly 10 minutes later before he managed it
There wasn't even a charge for that one

A black Vectra C appeared, the dash was displaying "Safe"
The owner had the passcard but it wouldn't allow the number to be entered
He was advised the car would have to be booked in, took the phone number and left

Another black Vectra C appeared, the dash was displaying "Safe"
A bit of deja-vu here, and he was given the same speel and booked the car in for next Monday
However, when he tried to leave the car wouldn't start!
Up went the bonnet and the battery was disconnected
They left the car for 20 minutes, then reconnected the battery, which the car clearly didn't like!
The owner was then asked for the passcard, and all was fixed
Again, no money changed hands

A Corsa-thing appeared, it's dash was also displaying "Safe"
Apparently this was an old case from the previous week, the dealership had tried a new passcard but the details were wrong
A new passcard had arrived, but those details were wrong
After a few phone calls it turned out the radio CD had been replaced under warranty

Finally, the father and son reappeared with their VW Golf
They still hadn't been charged for the recovery
The locks were then drilled out and a set of standard bolts were fitted
They were only charged for the new tyre, at £55

Unreal, there really must be a Christmas spirit, normally dealerships are rubbing their hands after such jobs

[merikiito]

Nice to see, but how many people will remember the goodwill and give the dealership future work? Well done on the dealership tho and they deserved to named!

[benny]

all depends how old the car is ..on cars under 14mnths old vx some times send out a form for the customer to fill in and vx pay a bonus to dealers and a tech can get upto £300 ever 4months so they will try and help people who will be questioned and are less help full to others ...but that is my synical veiw or maybe it was just good christmass spirit ,,....

[m8internet]

all depends how old the car is ..on cars under 14mnths old vx some times send out a form for the customer to fill

The only details taken on all those above were the vehicle registration number
The Astra was at least 10 years old
The Vectras were all between 1 and 3 years old
The Corsa-thing was a return from a previous warranty claim

I've been using the same dealership for just over 10 years, and I've never had anything from Vauxhall
The only thing the dealership sends me is the MoT reminder, but that goes in the bin as I get the MoT every 6 months elsewhere!

[MalcGSI]

The only thing the dealership sends me is the MoT reminder, but that goes in the bin as I get the MoT every 6 months elsewhere!

How and why do you get an MOT every 6 months?

[m8internet]

I have always had MoT carried out on my cars every 6 months due to the high mileage
There can be a lot of wear and tear on the steering and suspension
Also, an MoT only certifies the vehicles condition on the day of issue so can be useful for other reasons
They are not quite exactly 6 months, as they are adjusted to take into account servicing
I caught a dealership out once, claimed work was required when it wasn't

[scottyd]

what dealer is it mate?

[m8internet]

Glasgow South - Arnold Clark

I caught Glasgow North out with the MoT
The car had its MoT the day before, then was in for service the following day and they reported two items which I disputed
Their response to that was "well, they're not actually essential, but they will fail within the next 1000 miles"
I phoned SureGuard and they advised they would authorise the parts if the dealership told them they needed done
I took the car away and took it to Glasgow South
They inspected the supposedly "failed" parts, reported there was nothing wrong with them, then I told them the story!
They rechecked the parts and confirmed there was nothing wrong with them
They lasted for near on 40K miles, two services, and were then replaced on warranty
Rear suspension bushes and sub-frame carrier, on the Vectra B (the job that cost about £500)

MoT is normally carried out at National Tyres, Langside, Glasgow
However, I get a free MoT with Kwik Fit, so it's going to Stirling at the moment for that
Should it fail then my VX Complete Motoring Plan covers that

[pogo]

is that the mount vernon one mate as ive heard they are fairly good for a arnold clark anyway lol

[m8internet]

Mount Vernon; never been to that one, it must have recently changed from Nissan
Glasgow South is Pollokshaws Road