Car main dealer prices vs. Independents - Worth reporting?

[screenman]

Councils, what robbers they are charging a dealer £500,000 a year rates and for what, not even emptying the bins.

 

[DRM]

Sounds to me like a pre-formed section of pipe as fitted in the factory when the vehicle was built, however it's beyond me why they still use steel pipe rather then making some from the roll( about £25 the last i bought) of kunifer, probably because steel rusts and needs to be replaced, it just shows that you need to keep your wits about you regarding the price of things

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I avoid main stealers like the plague. When I have been forced to use them, it has on the whole, been a really negative experience. I never buy new cars, so don't have to bother with them for warranties etc. It can be hard to find an honest independent mechanic, but if you can find a good one, there is just no comparison.

The warranties are often a pile of crap too. The one on my used MX5, never covered oil leaks that didn't require the removal of the engine or gearbox. I've hardly ever had an oil leak from a car, once I think a driveshaft oil seal. Real penny pinching if you ask me.

I honestly don't know how they can give you a figure like that with a straight face, or if they actually expect that some naive person, will actually go with the quote.

Still somebody has to pay for the fancy showrooms, coffee machines, getting treated like royalty etc....lol

 

[Cp40Carl]

You run a BMW, you pay BMW prices, same with Mercedes and AUDIS. They are all snob cars but no better than other cars.

Crikey, I wasn't aware of this. Anyone want to swap their Pinarello for my old Apollo? They're no better than other bikes...

 

[tyred]

I've always avoided main dealers too but last summer I drew a blank trying to source one of hoses which supplies the heater on my ancient MK1 Golf based pick up I phoned the local VW dealer, fully expecting to be laughed at or else quoted an extortionate price. To my surprise there was no trouble at all, they had it for the next day (I was impressed as it's a long obsolete model) and for a very cheap €16 (probably less than a motorfactors would have charged for a non-genuine one if they could have got it).

 

[screenman]

[QUOTE 4922007, member: 259"]Our Kia main dealers are putting their winter/summer storage price up to 50 euros for four tyres for one year plus free change, Grabbing bastards![/QUOTE]

Seems good value to me, there again I can often charge that much for a few minutes of doing something I enjoy.

 

[screenman]

[QUOTE 4922083, member: 45"]Right, so it's the council's fault that a main dealer charges way more than the independent over the road.[/QUOTE]

Different horses and all that. I do not use a main dealer, but I do understand how costs may vary.

 

[screenman]

[QUOTE 4922170, member: 45"]No, same horses.[/QUOTE]

That is your opinion, I will not be able to change it.

 

[Electric_Andy]

This is a common and familiar tale. As others have said, no laws have been broken, and the MOT failure is subjective and will differ between garages. I'd prefer it to be that way to be honest. I bought a bike once which just had a fresh MOT with no advisories, and the front brakes were binding so badly it was an utter death-trap. They were old and neglected, so it wasn't due to the fact that the previous owner had changed something and messed it up.

I think there is something of an "old boys network" attitude with garages in general. I know Martin Lewis (?) (the Money Supermarket bloke) is all for side-stepping the commercial monopoly which can save Joe Bloggs a quid or two, but to date I have not heard of any such advise being common-place or widely circulated.

 

[screenman]

[QUOTE 4922210, member: 45"]I'm just pointing out that you cannot blame high rates for BMW pricing when the independent paying the same rates can do it for less. It's not the council's fault, it's the branding. The branding that requires premium locations, lots of shiny glass and a desire to convince people that you're getting something better because the free coffee tastes nicer.

That's not opinion.[/QUOTE]

So Fred in a shed has the same overheads per mechanic.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Was the independent using a genuine BMW item? Pound to a pile of dung it wasn't, they were making their own off the roll, whereas a franchise dealer will be required by their contract to use BMW supplied parts.

The dealer claims that a 5 year old genuine BMW failed after 5 years, they are either lying to get trade or the BMW one is shite, my Golf is 13 years old & no brake pipes have been replaced yet. It's a Scam, it's always a Scam when it comes to a Main Stealer

 

[ozboz]

Things can swing both ways , my mates business partner tried to circumvent BMW Dealership , thinking the cost of his turbo problem would be way to high , after several smaller mech shops and almost £1500 , a lot of anguish etc and still unrectified , he went to BMW in Manchester to get it resolved , £180 from memory ,

 

[fossyant]

I very often get genuine parts. But £1,000 for brake pipes...

 

[raleighnut]

[QUOTE 4922083, member: 45"]Right, so it's the council's fault that a main dealer charges way more than the independent over the road.[/QUOTE]
Unless it has changed since I was in the trade a 'Main Dealer' has to go by the 'Book' price set by the manufacturer for each job, they aren't allowed to set their own 'price' for doing the job, each job has a set time allocated to complete it. They can probably set their own 'Hourly Rate' but if the book says that 'task' takes 3hrs then they're only allowed to charge 3hrs labour no matter how long it takes them.

An example,
I worked at a SAAB main dealer (until I worked out that fixing cars was a horrible filthy and painful way to earn money) and there was 1 job that came up half a dozen times whilst I was there, changing a worn/leaking 'front' crankshaft oil seal on a 99 (It's on the back of the engine on the 99 cos the engine is fitted 'backwards' with the clutch on the front)
'Book' time for this job is 9hrs because the engine/gearbox has to come out to access this as there is not enough room to get the bolt out between the engine and the 'firewall/bulkhead' however our service manager worked out that if you loosened the engine mounts off and sent the car up on a ramp with an idiot (me) armed with a big crowbar (a 4ft length of 2inch bar nicknamed 'Big Bertha') then you could lever the engine far enough forward to get the bolt out, remove the pulley and change the seal. It used to take us 1 1/2 hrs.

 

[swee'pea99]

Unless it has changed since I was in the trade a 'Main Dealer' has to go by the 'Book' price set by the manufacturer for each job, they aren't allowed to set their own 'price' for doing the job, each job has a set time allocated to complete it. They can probably set their own 'Hourly Rate' but if the book says that 'task' takes 3hrs then they're only allowed to charge 3hrs labour no matter how long it takes them.

An example,
I worked at a SAAB main dealer (until I worked out that fixing cars was a horrible filthy and painful way to earn money) and there was 1 job that came up half a dozen times whilst I was there, changing a worn/leaking 'front' crankshaft oil seal on a 99 (It's on the back of the engine on the 99 cos the engine is fitted 'backwards' with the clutch on the front)
'Book' time for this job is 9hrs because the engine/gearbox has to come out to access this as there is not enough room to get the bolt out between the engine and the 'firewall/bulkhead' however our service manager worked out that if you loosened the engine mounts off and sent the car up on a ramp with an idiot (me) armed with a big crowbar (a 4ft length of 2inch bar nicknamed 'Big Bertha') then you could lever the engine far enough forward to get the bolt out, remove the pulley and change the seal. It used to take us 1 1/2 hrs.

I've posted this before, but I think it bears repeating...

My sister's boyfriend used to work for a Ford main dealer in the middle of London. One of their favourite jobs was a 'spit service' - that's the one where you turn the engine on to confirm that everything seems to be fine, then raise the bonnet, spit on the engine, close the bonnet and do the paperwork. He and his colleagues were routinely paid for 100+ hours a week, though everyone knew they turned up at 10 and went down the pub early. No-one cared. Everyone was making money. (I should add that this was thirty years ago, that dealership has long since closed down, and I'm sure that sort of thing no longer happens. For sure. Un-hunh.)