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About LinkBacksGo to a formula1autocentre garage and have them check it. I do my MOT and any other work from there. They are professional unlike the cowboys at Kwikfit!
Go to a formula1autocentre garage and have them check it. I do my MOT and any other work from there. They are professional unlike the cowboys at Kwikfit!
Yeah they put cream cheese on, I wouldn't like to stop twice hard in that car at motorway speed!Originally Posted by Zak33
Hahahahaha Hahahahahaha HAHahahahaha
Sorry I needed a laugh.
I ended up with a lot of vouchers on my next spend at F1 after they let me leave the garage with 4 brand new top range Michelin Pilot Sport3's after paying for the so called premium balance and finding it shaking like driving over a cattle grid, Tyre pressures for my car (on the door pillar) are 2.2bar front 2.4bar rear, I had a mix that ranged between 4.1 bar and 1.2 bar.
I complained to the area manager and got sent to another new centre who were expecting me and did the job properly.
It is all down to the garage you visit and begger all to do with the chain in general.
My opinion is if you take your car for an MOT at a place that also does repairs and you do not know the owner personally you may get shafted and I think your mother is being fleeced on labour with dirt cheap parts and not being informed of the dangers of swapping a single shock and not the pair. One bad bump to throw her across the road due to imbalanced shocks with brakes that may not stop her.
A main dealer otoh is expensive but normally honest.
I take mine to a MOT only centre, my 20 year old BMW has had it's 1st advisory in 5 years for front brake pipes, yeah I look after it and make sure it is safe but I doubt it would be that story 500 yards up the road at the garage that does MOT's
Wifes old Corsa bought from new failed it's 1st MOT at the main dealers for a loose CV boot clip, I went mad as I paid for a pre MOT but never chased it up, needless to say I put it right myself as it was bollox that it needed a new CV joint and boot as the boot had remained in place until they rammed a screwdriver into it. It never failed again at the MOT only centre.
Capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack
off a horse and helping your uncle jack off a horse.
mycarsavw (01-12-2016)
Oh, the stories I could tell you, based both on personal experience and some of the antics I caught while doing audits at a few.
Personally, main dealers are towards the bottom of the list of those I've found to be honest, and that certainly includes some fairly high-end marques, and I certainly wouldn't use one for an MOT.
Oh come on, it's a Laguna. By the time it gets back up to speed from stopped hours will have passed and the discs will have cooled off again
But seriously, from a quick Google the factor parts are about £35 for the pair for vented front disks. You can get the really top notch stuff like Brembos for about £75, but in a low powered car driven by someone like my mum, you don't need Brembos. Now the wife, her car has Brembos, and uses them, but right tool for the job eh?
I haven't had a good experience myself with them. For basic work they are ok but when I had trailing arm issues on my old peugeot they misdiagnosed and it cost me a lot. I've personally found my local halfords better/more professional but I think these MOT+Service+Tyres chains are the equivalent of PC World for cars. Good for the basics but no real knowledge. Trouble is small garages are like the guys who put small ads for PC repairs you may get a good one who knows his stuff or you may not... I really need to find a car guy who is as good with cars as I am with PCs!
Hey, it might be the 3.0L V6 version.Oh come on, it's a Laguna. By the time it gets back up to speed from stopped hours will have passed and the discs will have cooled off again
Threads are normally left open here.
Last edited by EndlessWaves; 03-12-2016 at 08:05 PM.
I've only been to a F1AC once, because apparently they had a hunter tracking system (they didn't). Either way, I waiting around for 45 minutes as they were running over and then they couldn't get my car onto their ramp (seems they don't know how to use a plank of wood).
Still, wouldn't use a tyre shop for anything mechanical. Independent specialists all the way for me.
I get mine done at the dealers. But then I just Facebook message the service manager there, so not quite the same as a normal dealer.
Sorry to hear you guys had bad experiences with F1AC. My local one is pretty good. I changed all the cracked tyres of my used car for Goodyears at a handsome price. I also did my MOT there later in the year and had no issues.
Oh, OP, I completely forgot about something. Take your car to a Council MOT cetre! They don't do repairs and are known to give you honest opinions.
Even if I was best buddies with the service-manager, I'm not sure I'd like my car to have a bunch of apprentices bust it - and at double the rate a specialist charges.I get mine done at the dealers. But then I just Facebook message the service manager there, so not quite the same as a normal dealer.
Dealers are a necessary evil for warranty work, but that's about it. Still, some people still believe that having main-dealer service stamps are actually a good thing!
Entirely agree .... provided your local "specialist' is good. Though, strictly, it's not even "necessary" for warranty work any more.
My local "specialist" was a senior mechanic at my BMW authorised dealer (a VERY big one) for nearly 10 years before going out on his own. He's extremely good, about a third of the price of BMW dealer (much lower overheads) and FAR more attentive to customer service.
He came highly recommended to me and after using him for about 20 years, I've recommended him on quite a few times. I've never had the slightest complaint, nor have I heard any from people I recommended him to. The BMW dealer, on the other hand .... well, I had a few things I was well less than pleased about.
And yet they're very good, don't mind my mods when doing warranty work and generally put the senior tech not the apprentices on my car.
The best guide to who to use, or not use, is direct personal experience. It sounds like you have a decent dealer, and a good relationship.
In which case, if it works don't fix it.
My personal experience of various main dealers, including Ford, BMW, etc, has not been great. They bend over backwards until you buy, but then ....
But even though it's been several different dealers, and pretty consistently poor (or dire) in my experience, it's a VERY small part of the total number of main dealers and a long way from statistical significance.
But some examples :-
- after servicing, a main dealer managed to put wheel nuts on the wrong way round, with the locating conical bits facing outwards, resulting in horrendous wherl wobble that I detected within a few yards of driving and, if left unattended, coukd easily have caused an accident. Or the wheel falling off.
- major problems with another brand new car that had dozens of service visits in it's first 18 months, major dangerous faults (brakes, engine cut-out at speed such as M1 outside lane resulting in loss of power steering, etc). Yet, it took threat of legal action to the dealer principle and manufacturer regional manager to get it replaced ... though eventually, they did. Reluctantly.
- major lying over MOT failure
- Replacement parts taking weeks to get, with car offroad until they were, until I threatened to complain to BMW Germany, at which point parts were mysteriously found, and at dealer, despite "none in the country" within 24 hours.
I could go on, but my general impression is that, even if you buy expensive high-end cars (like M-series) you are, to a main dealer, a very small part of their business. To most small specialists, they rely very largely on two things :-
- repeat business, and
- local reputation, word of mouth recommendations, etc
There are always exceptions, of course, but with just about evety main dealer I've ever used, I've felt I was getting a PR "handling" rather than genuinely being important to them.
But of course, YMMV.
I've certainly seen a number of poor dealers. BMW dealers here are no bad by reputation I won't buy one for instance. Audi were very much in the PR handling department too - Sales are great, service much less so.
Citroen had to be the worst I have ever dealt with, incapable of repairing my van that spent 3 months of the 1st year in the Nottingham dealership. The highlight of it was post engine rebuild after the engine ingested the majority of the turbo. I got all the way to Peterborough from Nottingham and after leaving the A1 could smell fuel, after stopping and opening the bonnet I found the entire fuel rail had only been screwed on finger tight. I did enough to get the leak stemmed, drove back to the dealers and walked into reception, checked for any children then belted out with the F word used at least once every 5 words what they had done, a few people sat at the sales desk upped and left.
I had to take it back a few weeks later due to the amount of smoke it kicked out, and when I showed them by revving to 2000rpm the head mechanic (stood with the dealership principle) had the balls to tell me you shouldn't do that with a van. I asked if he wanted to follow me in a car to see how bad it was when you accelerated then asked it he was the t*** who forgot to screw the fuel rail on. He was lost for words so I took it a as yes.
The engine exploded at 100350 miles, 350 miles out of warranty.
Capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack
off a horse and helping your uncle jack off a horse.
Threads don't tend to get closed on Hexus, that only happens if a thread goes nasty.
Whereas this subject allows people to vent about service costs and garage competence, so it could go on for years. Just enjoy it
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