Car Servicing

[ladsnet]

(there's a topic you never thought you'd see on here!)


Just on one of my rants really.

Is it me?  Its it just the UK?

Doesn't matter what make of car... whether its an official dealer, a servicing chain or a backstreet garage.
I don't think I've ever come away feeling satisfied that I've had a good experience.

You're either ripped off... they've attempted to rip you off... they've messed something up... they've not done what they said they'd done... or a combination of all the above.

[jdcyl]

The car repair business is also notoriously crooked in the US and Canada. Consumer advocacy investigations regularly find shockingly high majorities of the shops tested defraud customers. The shops are confident that people have little to no knowledge, and are in no position to challenge the scams.

[ken_85]

Oooh, don't drive myself (medical reasons) but like cars enough. BUT...have seen/heard of this so much as well it's unreal.

We also have cars checked (NCT, not sure what the British phrasing would be) every 5 years, moving down to 1 depending on age of car. There is a LOT of stuff in the NCT that gets checked that doesn't actually contribute to the safety or efficacy of the car/driving process, and I've heard of a lot of people/garages who will "fix" the car before the test, let it pass, and then take back the small pieces to be used for someone else.

[jumbler]

(there's a topic you never thought you'd see on here!)


Just on one of my rants really.

Is it me?  I don't think I've ever come away feeling satisfied that I've had a good experience.

Maybe it says a lot about you??

You're either ripped off... they've attempted to rip you off... they've messed something up... they've not done what they said they'd done... or a combination of all the above.

It all depends, doesn’t it?? What you need to keep your car roadworthy; your MOT and insurance are technically bust the minute something serious goes wrong, even if that something still means you can drive the car.

Otherwise, maybe it’s the brands, or the dealership?? Do you buy new or secondhand?? Do you only go for MOT’s when you get the reminder/service when it breaks down?? Or you think they’re pushing extras you don’t need because you can keep going a bit longer without it??

Just for fun, I put my old car reg no’s into the gov.uk MOT database - it tells you what warnings the car got issued with, and how many years running they still didn’t get them fixed.

I have my car on a PCP, and have a service package which used to last 4 years (now it’s down to 3 because the PCP contract is for 4 years). I pay for the package, but I know that for most of the deal I’m covered, and at the end I’d need to decide whether to sell up and get a new one, or pay for it myself.

But then again, I don’t do serious mileage, just commuting really and the odd holiday.

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We also have cars checked (NCT, not sure what the British phrasing would be) every 5 years, moving down to 1 depending on age of car. There is a LOT of stuff in the NCT that gets checked that doesn't actually contribute to the safety or efficacy of the car/driving process

The MOT over here has to be done when the car hits its third birthday. Like I say, you can check the MOT history for any car. The government was going to extend it to 4 years (first time) but then got cold feet.

A lot of the media were dumping on it big time, but as most drivers (over 40, shall we say) are pretty careful, I don’t really see the merit in having tests done in years 3 and 5. I would say maybe year 4, and year 6 onwards. But keep the general rule the same (if something breaks, your MOT, insurance are bust, and you have to get it fixed).

It would help if you had to provide proof that things like tyres are roadworthy before your insurance renewal, rather than get an automatic renewal through the post. But the MOT is meant to do that anyway - perhaps make drivers have their insurance due in the same month as the MOT.

I've heard of a lot of people/garages who will "fix" the car before the test, let it pass, and then take back the small pieces to be used for someone else.

The idea that someone thinks “it’s OK” to do that is actually quite chilling. It’s a bit like when random houses blow up “due to gas”. That isn’t actually random at all, it means nobody has checked the pipes, or had the boiler serviced. So the idea that someone can bodge an MOT for you is pretty nasty, really.

[Welsh Cake]

Have you tried getting recommendations from friends/family etc? Or neighbourhood sites like Nextdoor?

[Ollie2UK]

I haven't owned a car for years, but isn't a big part of it how complicated they are nowadays? I remember when I was a kid my dad always used to do most of the work on his car himself, but now if you haven't got a diagnostics computer you're pretty much fucked when it comes to doing anything more than changing the oil.

It's hardly surprising garages take advantage of that to screw you over for work that doesn't need to be done.

[jumbler]

True that. Another factor is the added cost of new safety features. For example, eCall (when enough sensors and airbags have activated, the car calls emergency services), and the upcoming Speed Assist (mandatory speed limiter).

Features like that rely on tech, and for the last few years manufacturers have been reducing chip production. And a lot of auto manufacturers have centralised component production (which is why anything made in Russia or Ukraine is affected right now).

My dealer told me that VW had to set up a new factory in Czech Republic to make components currently sourced from Russia. Otherwise waiting times for new Golfs would be 5 years or something ridiculous.

[Icart Cruiser]

For the past 8/9 years I've used my local Hyundai dealer for servicing, never had any issues or felt ripped off, maybe I'm a rare case tho..?