Main Dealer Service

italiastar · 23-07-2005, 21:23

When my Fabia required a service a few weeks ago, I'd been told that the service was expensive because of the price of the special oil - "only comes in 1 litre bottles sir" as I'm sure we have all been told.

I've always suspected that it comes out of a drum, but I was recently talking to an ex-Audi "technician" at a party and he told me that they did in fact use 1 litre bottles.

I had reason to go to my dealer today and took the opportunity to drive into the workshop. To my surprise were several large oil drums, and other large containers of brake fluid, gearbox oil etc etc etc.

One oil drum contained Quantum PD oil. When I challanged the service manager he said it was not for PD engines - I questioned this further and he said it was for waste oil, despite there being a large tank next to the drum labelled "waste oil". He finally admitted that this was PD oil and that he was not aware from where the oil put into the cars was supplied from. He asked me to believe thim that he was not aware of this drum.

I'm not annoyed that they used quantum PD oil, what annoys me is that they *hagged me for the cost of "highly expensive VW" oil and did not invoice or charge me for Quantum. When the Alhambra was serviced recently, they charged me for 5 litres of Quntum PD at just over a fiver per litre and put the container in the car with nearly 1 litre left. Skoda charged me nearly £9 per litre for what they invoiced as TDi oil. They also charged £4 for sundries.

My advice is don't trust dealers and watch them like a hawk.

teedeeye · 23-07-2005, 21:44

Wow, I thought I got rinsed at my last service! £9/ltr for PD oil's a little steep!!! Just checked, I paid £4.50/ltr. Head technician at Orchard Skoda told me they use Valvoline PD oil (from a drum), but sell VW's own stuff over the counter in 1ltr bottles (of course you are aware that Quantum is a VW brand). As long as it's the right spec though, it does'nt realy matter.

I suggest you name and shame both here and on the dealer review section. I'm absolutly sick of both hearing and indeed witnessing poor dealer customer service and extorsionate pricing. If they carry on at this rate, the dealers themselves will damage the Skoda brand.

How about Briskoda submitting our dealer reviews to Skoda UK for comment?

Jon TDI · 23-07-2005, 21:52

PD oil is expensive (even Quantum PD oil), but you can get it cheaper. I remember oilman on here doing group deals on several types of oil.

And I think your dealer is feeding you a lot of b*llsh!t. This is why I supply my own oil (505.01 spec of course)

Lummox · 23-07-2005, 22:13

Dont tar all us dealers with the same brush. There are some bad un's but there are also some good uns.

Just as a note we have 506.01 on bulk pump (around 1500 litres of it in a tank) and use that on all PD's.

teedeeye · 23-07-2005, 22:22

I aknowledge that there are some great dealerships out there, but I say let the reviews speak for themselves.

BTW lummox, I note you're based not far from me! Could you give me a clue as to where I could find decent service

?

Lummox · 23-07-2005, 22:57

I work in M.K

teedeeye · 23-07-2005, 23:06

I get yer

, sounds like just what the doctor ordered

.

g75f · 23-07-2005, 23:09

After reading these posts i think we all want the same thing a good job done at a fair price. Maybe a list should be made like the dealer pages but with servicing costs and marks out of 10 for politeness etc. It is bad when you have a nice car and you don't trust any of the dealers to service it but i think this goes for all garages IMHO. Maybe im getting paranoid!

italiastar · 23-07-2005, 23:11

Quote:

Dont tar all us dealers with the same brush. There are some bad un's but there are also some good uns.

Just out of interest, how much do you charge? I have no problem with using oil from a drum or whatever as long as they are open about it and charge the correct (fair) price.

The Service manager is currently investigating and hopefully we will reach an amicable resoltion - hence why I've not "named and shamed"

italiastar · 23-07-2005, 23:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by g75f

After reading these posts i think we all want the same thing a good job done at a fair price. Here Here!

Maybe a list should be made like the dealer pages but with servicing costs and marks out of 10 for politeness etc. - an excellent idea - by the way the service manager concerened said we were all sad when I mentioned Briskoda !

It is bad when you have a nice car and you don't trust any of the dealers to service it but i think this goes for all garages IMHO. Maybe im getting paranoid! - I'm afraid your not getting paranoid - just a fact of life

Maybe not every dealer is the same - lets try and find them and recommend them here.

WW_VRS · 24-07-2005, 10:21

My problem is/was the dealer is excellent in some ways (friendly, helpful, appears to do the job right) but expensive (nearly twice the cost).

Combined with an issue that needs resolving (something was snapped) - I've not had time to go back yet, and that's 2 weeks ago, my work is very busy right now), it's just the time aspect that's killing me.

I'm sure it will get sorted though, they keep their word (another positive).

Xenons however have yet again been adjusted downward

Lummox · 24-07-2005, 10:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by italiastar

Just out of interest, how much do you charge?

IIRC its around £9 a litre retail.

italiastar · 24-07-2005, 15:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lummox

IIRC its around £9 a litre retail.

That's exactly my point - as you are a dealer, how can you justify selling bulk oil at £9 per litre - I can buy the same oil from GSF at £25 for 5 lites and my SEAT dealer charged me £28 (which I don't think is unreasonable) for a 5 litre container and left what they didn't use in the backso after 5 services I may get one oil fill-up for free. GSF are not a charity, so must be making a profit on the stuff they sell for £25, so how can dealers justify selling bulk oil for £9.

Also why do they add things like £4 sundries and then another £3 screenwash - isn't that a sundry? Why top-up the screen wash - how do they think it gets topped up for the rest of the year?

The cost of the showroom, workshop and training the technicians, I hear you say - but I thought that was why Labour rates were so high - they alway claim to sell parts etc at cost.

I don't mind paying for the service I recieve, but I resent being ripped-off and paying inflated prices for someone who does not work to standard equal or better than myself.

PS

Lummox · 24-07-2005, 15:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by italiastar

I don't mind paying for the service I recieve, but I resent being ripped-off and paying inflated prices for someone who does not work to standard equal or better than myself.

Despite higher oil prices than some places our costs for servicing are very competative they have to be or we wouldnt be so busy. Difference is we dont rip people off doing annual services when a lube is needed thus saving labour. We see plenty of people that come unstuck doing jobs at home. Working on a modern car isnt as easy as they used to be we are trained by the manufacturer to work on your vehicles keeping them safe for you to drive. Check the Octavia in our workshop at the moment where the guy thought a price for a cambelt change was too high and did it himself at home as he used to service his Mondeo before it. Its now having 12 new valves.

ChrisRs · 24-07-2005, 15:22

Very well said Lummox BUT the oil IS a rip off. £9 a litre is rediculous!!

Lummox · 24-07-2005, 15:33

Im not 100% sure on the £9 litre I will check. But I know the RRP on SLX2 as supplied by Skoda from Castrol isnt far off that. And we dont bump the prices up on our stock system that pretty much seems to match the RRP prices set by Skoda on ETKA.

italiastar · 24-07-2005, 17:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by robbo51

Very well said Lummox BUT the oil IS a rip off. £9 a litre is rediculous!!

My thoughts entirely.

Whilst I totally agree Lummox - the modern car is a different beast - I recently couldn't even find the sparkplugs, let alone think about changing the cambelt, Main Dealers have got to ask themselves, how long are they going to get away with this. The prices within the M25 are reaching joke proportions, so much so that people are seriously taking their cars to other parts of the country and even France. Also will main agents see cars after the first 3 years? - maybe they don't care because they won't gbe there.

Things are changing - VW marques now have dedicated service agents who do noting else - after all that's where the money is supposed to be. Accross the continent this is more common - for example Italy had Bosch approved gaurages who are authorised to work on all marques. As you have indicated, there is nothing wrong with a bit of true competition.

Please don't think I'm knocking you - all main agents are not the same - I'm very pleased with the one who serviced my SEAT this year. The supplying dealer wanted £372 for it's 2nd service - my new dealer carried out the necessary work for £170 - I stress the word necessary - they didn't carry out unecessary work, just what was required to maintain the warranty.

***DGW*** · 24-07-2005, 19:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lummox

Check the Octavia in our workshop at the moment where the guy thought a price for a cambelt change was too high and did it himself at home as he used to service his Mondeo before it. Its now having 12 new valves.

My neighbour changed a cambelt on his Audi 1.8T but used the wrong one and ended up having to do the job again plus replace all the valves when it snapped. Unbeknown to him the engine had suffered further hidden damage and it failed terminally on its first long journey after those repairs.

italiastar · 24-07-2005, 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by DGW

My neighbour changed a cambelt on his Audi 1.8T but used the wrong one and ended up having to do the job again plus replace all the valves when it snapped. Unbeknown to him the engine had suffered further hidden damage and it failed terminally on its first long journey after those repairs.

I agree, but how many people have paid to have cambelts done which were not changed and how many were fitted incorrectly by garages?

I had one done on my wife's 1.4 Golf MK 3 - one of the easiest to do so I've been told. When I went to start the car from where the garage had parked it, I was getting some very interesting noises coming from the engine - louder than any diesel. I also noticed later that they'd cracked the cambelt cover - I presume from trying to prise it aside, rather than remove it.

At least if a garage mucks it up they're responsible.

Again, please don't think I'm knocking either of you - I know you are a respected person on this site and I also respect you.

awt41 · 25-07-2005, 10:56

I recently had a 40K service on my PD100, carried out by a Main Dealer.
I've just checked the invoice and can confirm that the charge for 5 ltrs of oil was £46.75 - that's £54.93 including VAT.

23-07-2005, 21:23	#1
italiastar Briskodian Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 151 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Main Dealer Service When my Fabia required a service a few weeks ago, I'd been told that the service was expensive because of the price of the special oil - "only comes in 1 litre bottles sir" as I'm sure we have all been told. I've always suspected that it comes out of a drum, but I was recently talking to an ex-Audi "technician" at a party and he told me that they did in fact use 1 litre bottles. I had reason to go to my dealer today and took the opportunity to drive into the workshop. To my surprise were several large oil drums, and other large containers of brake fluid, gearbox oil etc etc etc. One oil drum contained Quantum PD oil. When I challanged the service manager he said it was not for PD engines - I questioned this further and he said it was for waste oil, despite there being a large tank next to the drum labelled "waste oil". He finally admitted that this was PD oil and that he was not aware from where the oil put into the cars was supplied from. He asked me to believe thim that he was not aware of this drum. I'm not annoyed that they used quantum PD oil, what annoys me is that they *hagged me for the cost of "highly expensive VW" oil and did not invoice or charge me for Quantum. When the Alhambra was serviced recently, they charged me for 5 litres of Quntum PD at just over a fiver per litre and put the container in the car with nearly 1 litre left. Skoda charged me nearly £9 per litre for what they invoiced as TDi oil. They also charged £4 for sundries. My advice is don't trust dealers and watch them like a hawk.

23-07-2005, 21:44	#2
teedeeye Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Northants Posts: 224 Thanks: 3 Thanked 22 Times in 20 Posts	Wow, I thought I got rinsed at my last service! £9/ltr for PD oil's a little steep!!! Just checked, I paid £4.50/ltr. Head technician at Orchard Skoda told me they use Valvoline PD oil (from a drum), but sell VW's own stuff over the counter in 1ltr bottles (of course you are aware that Quantum is a VW brand). As long as it's the right spec though, it does'nt realy matter. I suggest you name and shame both here and on the dealer review section. I'm absolutly sick of both hearing and indeed witnessing poor dealer customer service and extorsionate pricing. If they carry on at this rate, the dealers themselves will damage the Skoda brand. How about Briskoda submitting our dealer reviews to Skoda UK for comment? __________________ Fabia 1.9TDI - PD100 - Elegance - petrol green - 2001 - Dragon PD tuning unit - 16" vRS alloys - K&N filter - PD160 intake - short shift mod - cage mod - Osram Silverstars - 144k miles and counting

23-07-2005, 21:52	#3
Jon TDI Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: North East England Posts: 3,152 Thanks: 34 Thanked 27 Times in 26 Posts	PD oil is expensive (even Quantum PD oil), but you can get it cheaper. I remember oilman on here doing group deals on several types of oil. And I think your dealer is feeding you a lot of b*llsh!t. This is why I supply my own oil (505.01 spec of course) __________________ Black Magic SEAT Leon 2.0 TDI Sport - Green panel thingy, Upsolute jiggery pokery, Koni FSD/Eibach Pro Kit bouncy stuff, 18" Audi A8 Parabol rims, '08 Cupra black/honeycombe grille. Also driving around in a Mini ONE that thinks it's a Cooper!

23-07-2005, 22:13	#4
Lummox Hairy Yeti Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Newport Pagnell Posts: 21,137 Thanks: 18 Thanked 535 Times in 468 Posts	Dont tar all us dealers with the same brush. There are some bad un's but there are also some good uns. Just as a note we have 506.01 on bulk pump (around 1500 litres of it in a tank) and use that on all PD's. __________________ MK2 Golf GTi - APX 225bhp 1.8T - Emerald K3 - Quaife ATB - VR6 Widetrack - VR6 brakes front and rear - Neuspeed ARBs - Speedline alloys - H+R coilovers - Powerflex bushes - Helix clutch G60 flywheel - Adjustable solid top mounts - Custom engine bay - Tornado Motorsport MSA cage - and lots lots more. Last edited by Lummox; 23-07-2005 at 22:14.

23-07-2005, 22:57	#6
Lummox Hairy Yeti Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Newport Pagnell Posts: 21,137 Thanks: 18 Thanked 535 Times in 468 Posts	I work in M.K __________________ MK2 Golf GTi - APX 225bhp 1.8T - Emerald K3 - Quaife ATB - VR6 Widetrack - VR6 brakes front and rear - Neuspeed ARBs - Speedline alloys - H+R coilovers - Powerflex bushes - Helix clutch G60 flywheel - Adjustable solid top mounts - Custom engine bay - Tornado Motorsport MSA cage - and lots lots more.

23-07-2005, 22:22	#5
teedeeye Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Northants Posts: 224 Thanks: 3 Thanked 22 Times in 20 Posts	I aknowledge that there are some great dealerships out there, but I say let the reviews speak for themselves. BTW lummox, I note you're based not far from me! Could you give me a clue as to where I could find decent service ?

23-07-2005, 23:06	#7
teedeeye Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Northants Posts: 224 Thanks: 3 Thanked 22 Times in 20 Posts	I get yer , sounds like just what the doctor ordered .

23-07-2005, 23:09	#8
g75f Briskodian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: essex Posts: 40 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	After reading these posts i think we all want the same thing a good job done at a fair price. Maybe a list should be made like the dealer pages but with servicing costs and marks out of 10 for politeness etc. It is bad when you have a nice car and you don't trust any of the dealers to service it but i think this goes for all garages IMHO. Maybe im getting paranoid!

24-07-2005, 10:21	#11
WW_VRS Escorted Estate Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Oxfordshire/Berkshire Posts: 9,684 Thanks: 43 Thanked 67 Times in 58 Posts	My problem is/was the dealer is excellent in some ways (friendly, helpful, appears to do the job right) but expensive (nearly twice the cost). Combined with an issue that needs resolving (something was snapped) - I've not had time to go back yet, and that's 2 weeks ago, my work is very busy right now), it's just the time aspect that's killing me. I'm sure it will get sorted though, they keep their word (another positive). Xenons however have yet again been adjusted downward __________________ WW --->> Project Journal (pic links in first post there) Fabia vRS alloys for sale incl tyres, spare wheel with tyre + spare tyre - make me an offer via PM

24-07-2005, 15:22	#15
ChrisRs Skonda Fabic Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 4,979 Thanks: 17 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	Very well said Lummox BUT the oil IS a rip off. £9 a litre is rediculous!!

24-07-2005, 15:33	#16
Lummox Hairy Yeti Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Newport Pagnell Posts: 21,137 Thanks: 18 Thanked 535 Times in 468 Posts	Im not 100% sure on the £9 litre I will check. But I know the RRP on SLX2 as supplied by Skoda from Castrol isnt far off that. And we dont bump the prices up on our stock system that pretty much seems to match the RRP prices set by Skoda on ETKA. __________________ MK2 Golf GTi - APX 225bhp 1.8T - Emerald K3 - Quaife ATB - VR6 Widetrack - VR6 brakes front and rear - Neuspeed ARBs - Speedline alloys - H+R coilovers - Powerflex bushes - Helix clutch G60 flywheel - Adjustable solid top mounts - Custom engine bay - Tornado Motorsport MSA cage - and lots lots more.

25-07-2005, 10:56	#20
awt41 Briskodian Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Summer Wine country Posts: 58 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I recently had a 40K service on my PD100, carried out by a Main Dealer. I've just checked the invoice and can confirm that the charge for 5 ltrs of oil was £46.75 - that's £54.93 including VAT.

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