The van, a small rant.

[Someone-Else]

I drive a van,(It's leased, don't ask) and 3 weeks ago I took it in for a "problem" and also its nearly due service.
On the 2nd day I went to collect it only to be told no, we serviced it, but found it needs a new water pump, thats why the engine symbol light came on. it will be ready ina few days.
A few days later I get an email, the pump your van needs is out of stock, it will be around a week. Week passes, another email, the O2 sensors need changing, it will be a few more days. Last night I get an email your van is ready please collect it.
I went to the dealership (young lady on reception) my van is ready for collection, my registration number is............. A minute or two later here is the key, and its in the van area. (Ok, i saw it on the way in) Walks to van looks at it, thinks something is not right, windscreen covered in spots, it rained overnight 2 days ago, but it was fixed yesterday? (Why the spots there, it couldn't have been moved) Sits in van turns on ignition.........same engine problem light comes on, same message, try again, yep still same. Walks back into reception, see an older bloke, can I help you, yes says I my van has the same problem it came in with 3 weeks ago, oh, says he, what's the reg, I will check, he walks off, come back 2 minutes later, he says, yes, it will have the fault, we haven't fixed it yet (me ) any idea when it will be fixed? should be tomorrow, still waiting for parts (Now where have i heard that before)
I left.

I double checked, yes, i still have an email from the leasing company saying the dealership said van is ready, obviously the lease company got it wrong, and why was the young lady allowed to give me the key if it wasn't fixed?

Thanks for reading feel a bit better now.

[chrrris]

On a similar note, a few years ago, I appeared in a story in Auto Express magazine (they sent a photographer out to my house to take snaps of me looking angry/disappointed/etc standing next to my car and all that stuff, which did appear in the magazine). The story was basically this:-

1. I had my car independently MOT'd. It failed on a couple of points, which included corroded brake lines.
2. I took the car to Dagenham Motors in Kingston upon Thames to get the work done, along with several other things I'd spotted (offside headlight adjuster wasn't working, etc).
3. They kept the car for either 2 or 3 full days, I can't remember. After which I picked it up and paid the £750 bill which detailed all the worked they'd "done" and ticked off the post-work inspections, etc.
4. A few hours after picking it up, I noticed that the headlight adjuster was still not working, so I took it back. They kept it for a further full day to address this.
5. Picked it up, again. The headlight was now working. So I took it for it's MoT retest. It failed... due to corroded brake lines (which was the bulk of the £750 bill I'd paid them for).
6. Took it back to complain, livid. And the obese, thug-like, service manager gave me plenty of attitude for my trouble.
7. They then kept it for a further day. During which time they actually did the work (it turned out that they'd done nothing at all between me booking it in and paying them £750 for it to sit on their forecourt for 2 days initially, other than ticking the inspection checklists).
8, When I went back to pick up the car. I made them put it up on a ramp to show me the completed work. They said "there are no ramps available" so I told them I'd wait until they close if I had to, but I wouldn't be leaving without seeing proof that they'd done what they'd billed me for. The service manager hid during this process and left me with some bemused 19-year-old apprentice to talk me through the work.

After this debacle, I phoned Ford customer care (I'd had the car since new) and they honestly couldn't give a stuff. "Our dealers are franchises. You'll have to take any issues you have up with them directly".

They only became interested after the Auto Express story was published, allocating me a one-to-one Ford Customer Care advisor and asking what they could do to fix the situation (which seemed, on asking, to be centered around offering me money off buying another new Ford). I told them, basically, to f**k off and I would never buy another new Ford again. Which I haven't. I have a used Transit Connect van at the moment, but no way would I ever allow a Ford main dealer anywhere near it. They're absolute sharks in my opinion.

Moral of the story: Ford are an abysmal company for customer service, they have some absolutely terrible dealerships, but they do, IMHO, make decent cars and vans.

As a result of all of the above, I am curious about the make of your van... Is it a Ford?

[Someone-Else]

No, my one is a vauxhall.
I think all main dealers are the same, it just depends on what mechanic is allocated to fix your vehicle, some good, some ok, the odd one,...........

[Argyll]

I bought a 4x4 two months ago. Last week I couldn't get the offside rear door open. I called RAC Gold Warranty who told me to take it to my local dealer but diagnosis wasn't included in the warranty and only the solenoid was included in the warranty

I called RAC and explained how could I determine if it was the solenoid or not with diagnosis? They weren't very helpful. I worked out it would cost me £90 for diagnosis.

I took it back to the garage I bought it from in Edinburgh. I expected a row and had the Consumer Rights Act ready but they fixed it without argument.

I received a letter from RAC asking if I'd like to extend the Gold warranty with them. I tweeted them to get f*ck.

[Rorschach]

Mechanics are like plumbers, builders, painters etc. You need to find a good and honest one and then stick with them.
When our family mechanic retired we started using the person who he recommended and the person who he was going to be taking his own car to (for things he could no longer do himself). Luckily the new chap still has plenty of years left before retiring so I am good for a while. I also use another family owned garage mostly for tyres but I would trust them to work on my car, they are a bit pricier than my main guy though and not as accommodating.

[ayjay]

I got a recall for my Berlingo to replace the cups above the coil spring on the front suspension.

I ignored it for couple of years but finally got around to visiting a Citroen main dealer and booked it in - they gave me a card with the appointment date and time on.

I took that day off work and went in - nothing - no booking on their system - no parts available to fit - no real apology, they gave the impression that I'd just turned up in the hope of getting it done there and then.

One of the springs broke a while later and my local garage fitted the uprated cups when they changed the springs.

I've had mixed dealings with Mercedes since buying the Citan, on the whole they're very good, but they do make some annoying little cock-ups.

[Bob225]

well I have had mixed dealings with stealerships At the moment Toyota is the worst I have had to deal with, they have failed twice booking a airbag recall cancelling both appointments last minute plus screwing me over with the car in the first place

In second place is Nissan for breaking items during the removal the interior to dry the car out after a windscreen leak (factory defect)

[wine~o]

I've never trusted main dealers, they'll charge an arm and a leg for basic servicing which they may/may not do correctly. My current vehicle (1999 peugeot 306 estate) had it's first service at a pug dealership which apparently Peugeot insisted on. Since then it has been serviced by a really good indy mechanic (no not indy as in Indianapolis)

According to some ruling "some" years ago the car/van if bought new doesn't have to be serviced by a dealership to maintain any warranty, provided that the service is carried out according to the Manu spec.

[Dave54]

I've always had mixed feelings as well, but the local one is excellent (so far)
They seem to do what they say and know what they're doing. A couple of questions in the past have proved that to me.
I take as I find.
The only problem with not having all the warranty period maintenance done by a dealer, although as w~o says it's within your rights, is that if things go wrong, they're going to look very closely at what's been done in the servicing, and that all the approved fluids have been used etc.