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Lady Faye Verrit
15 Aug 19 15:26
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Date Joined: 09 Jul 09
| Topic/replies: 2,464 | Blogger: Lady Faye Verrit's blog
Ok, we all know ways that the smaller dealer will cheat but, when it's a main dealer, it is all the more disgraceful!

I'm posting this now because my son could have fallen into Evans Halshaw's trap!

He was in for a service at 13k miles, and they quoted £323.00, which seems steep to me!

They e-mailed to say that one of his tyres was illegal and one borderline.

They told him £400.00....

Fortunately he asked what I thought, and I told him not to do anything, and give me half an hour...

I called the ones I've used, and they were all  a fair bit les, but then I found Kwik Fit's site,who have zillions of branches and massive buying power!

£150.00 each (like for like) total price incl fitting, valve, balance and VAT

Had them fitted yesterday and the fitter told him they were not illegal, and good for a couple of thousand miles!

So the bastard EH were ripping him of for an extra £100.00!!

That took me back to when I had my Honda in for it's first service, with less than 6k miles....

Got a call to say it was ready, but needed new wiper blades at 25.00 each........at 6k miles...no way!

I had a slow puncture and took it to National tyres where the Sikh fitter said it was fixable....

A few minutes later he asked me to come and look, and there was rubber dust, which he said was by running it flat!

So I was a sucker, and bought a new tyre, and no doubt they sold the other, which was barely worn!

Went again a couple of years later, and the same story...

It was then pretty obvious, that they kept a receptacle full of rubber dust, so I asked him to put it back on, and I would live with it for now!

Still angry with myself for falling for the scam!
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Report jefferz August 15, 2019 5:00 PM BST
Always have found that a local family run type of garage is better.Lots cheaper and usually a better result.
Report Lady Faye Verrit August 15, 2019 5:49 PM BST
Yes Jeff, but the main dealers state that this may void the guarantee, and particularly if they use non manufacturers parts!

My thinking is that this wouldn't stand up in a court of law, well not if the independent servicer did use manufacturer parts!
Report ImSoLuckyLucky! August 15, 2019 7:11 PM BST
OP has understated how rancid this firm is

5 years ago I visited one of their stores
looking a Mini Cooper BRG low mileage

Sales guy took us for drive to a fuel station to top up
Whist he was paying I looked in the glove box which revealed an recent

service invoice


When I finished my test drive I then confronted the manager

Was difinetly NOT going to buy the car

Why?

The invoice I found  ex Motobality showed a mileage
20k higher than the speedo reading


I must admit I thought I contact trading standards, BUT then I didn't have
a contract with them


No wonder they have rebranded themselves under a different name

Stay CLEAR

Tongue Out
Report lybertyne August 15, 2019 9:11 PM BST
I go to a small independent garage.  My grandad started going there in the late 1970s, then my dad and now I do.  Completely trustworthy and decently priced.
Report Lady Faye Verrit August 16, 2019 1:07 PM BST
I had two VW Sciroccos, and had all the service work done by young guy, who had worked for VW for many years....

Later my Audi GT auto transmission failed, on the slip road off the M 621...

Not the best time for it, as my mum had died during the night, and I was heading to The Registry Office.

As luck would have it, there was an Audi/VW dealership visible, a quarter of a mile away, so they recovered it
and hit me with a price for repair of £1,620.00 (which figure is imprinted in my brain to this day)!

I told my repairer, who said it was ridiculous, and he organised the people he uses...
Their price just over £800.00.

They collected it, all in the price, and my man said that the main dealer would, pretty certainly, have used the same garage!

When I went to collect it, I was staggered by the place....it was immaculate, and sterile (like a dentists. and inside of Mclaren)!
White tiles on the floor, and showers for the technicians (I call them that out of respect, as they certainly were not "Grease Monkeys)!
Report Lee Ho Fooks August 16, 2019 1:51 PM BST
Unfair to tar them all with the same brush - or would you also apply bent to all businesses eg insurance, petrol stations, banks etc? Thing about EH is you get what you pay for, when you buy a car from them you won't get a similar one as cheap anywhere else but as for extras (like customer service) forget it! You've bought cheap that's all you will get from them....cheap.
Report The_KAMIKAZEE_DRINKING_MACHINE August 16, 2019 1:59 PM BST
I am a car tinkerer and hobbyist. My advice is never take at face value what a mechanic tells you. I think the same could be said of any tradie. Do some research on the net. Find out what parts cost on ebay. Some of these difficult jobs they describe are actually dead easy. Dealerships are the worst.
Report The_KAMIKAZEE_DRINKING_MACHINE August 16, 2019 2:04 PM BST
Lee Ho - " or would you also apply bent to all businesses eg insurance, petrol stations, banks etc?"

We've just had a Royal Commission into Banks and insurance in Australia and it turns out they're the biggest bunch of crooks you'd ever find. Even charge deceased people fees long after their demise!!
Report Dr Crippen August 16, 2019 3:24 PM BST
Years ago had a car serviced and its first MOT at Halfords.
It passed okay but they said the wheels need tracking, and they recommend two new tyres as the walls are cracked.
I thought that's a load of toss.
I just paid for the service and MOT.

Went to a local tyre dealer and had the tracking checked free - spot on was the verdict.

What about these tyres? Nothing wrong with them either said the fitter.

Sold the car years later with three more MOTs recorded and the same tyres.
Report Coachbuster August 16, 2019 7:20 PM BST
'He was in for a service at 13k miles, and they quoted £323.00, which seems steep to me!'

a bit Steep ?    that's flippin vertical  Shocked
Report ImSoLuckyLucky! September 18, 2019 1:26 PM BST
I see car store are closing 2/3 of there showrooms
leaving them with just 12 sites

Probably some bargains available IF you TREAD
carefully

Grin
Report Crisp77 September 18, 2019 2:47 PM BST
I blame Brexit.
Report impossible123 September 19, 2019 11:38 PM BST
I think all present new tyres come with "tread wear indicators" - protuberance on the groove - which are spaced evenly through the main grooves in the tyre tread; to find them just run one's finger along the grooves of the tyre. If the tread wear indicator is inline/level with the tread then that tyre must be change as it's illegal.

Sadly sharp practices are pretty common with MOT service stations esp those charging way below the recommended £58 to make up for their lower fee eg £10 for a "claimed" blown back number plate light bulb (the faulty bulb was not produced when asked); front shock faulty (a slight grit noticed); wiper (streak/smear finish); alignment/tracking.

Apart from the 1st example I'd no choice but to cough up £10 otherwise would have to return for a retest and I did not live in that area; the rest I'd just ignore or consult a trusted mechanic friend. I'd never go to a main dealer for any work done on my car (parts yes) -  they are for company cars only.
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