Bang goes the cheap services

[65mike]

Hi all.

Just spoke to my Lexus dealer at Woodford regarding a service i only wanted the oil changed as it has been in there for 16 months so needs doing.

The best price was £300.00 and no esssential services now they have gone and they could do it for £270.00.😶

You would think that Lexus would welcome cars that were over 10 years old more work for the dealer and the opportunity to sell parts but alas no seems not.

So car will go to a local independent  and i will order the parts and get it done this way.

When i spoke to the independent guy he said yes no problem.😄

65mike

 

[steve2006]

I think I mentioned a while ago that this servicing shake up had got nothing to do with customer satisfaction but was merely a way of increasing revenue.....point proved apparently. 😀

[J Henderson]

Exactly the reason why I stopped going to the dealer.

There's literally no point now as most of our cars are now 10+ years old and outside the parameters of the "Relax" scheme being beneficial.

Much better to find an independent garage you can trust. Ideally one that's happy to fit customer-supplied parts and fluids.

Even better, one that doesn't also sell stuff like tyres, exhausts etc, which could be an avenue for "upselling".

[Linas.P]

They still offer essential in Lexus Hainaut (same as Woodford), last time I checked was December, so maybe it was stopped in meantime, but it was definitely still available.

I always used Lexus service, but for 10+ years car essential service plan is must, if they cancel essential care then I can't see anyone using them. 

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, 65mike said:

So car will go to a local independent

Why would you even consider taking such an old car to the dealers for work anyway?

[Linas.P]

Just now, Herbie said:

Why would you even consider taking such an old car to the dealers for work anyway?

For work - never, but Essential Care service was actually good deal, you would be hard pressed to beat it by £20 getting all stuff yourself but not much more, but you won't get your car inspected by Lexus (who even if not perfect still knows better than most), you won't get the book stamped (even if utility of that questionable) and you won't get courtesy car.

[Malc]

2 hours ago, 65mike said:

So car will go to a local independent  and i will order the parts and get it done this way.

why not just leave your indy to get the parts .  oil and filter presumably .  he'll use proper stuff for sure ......  surely !

Malc

[Linas.P]

9 minutes ago, Malc said:

why not just leave your indy to get the parts .  oil and filter presumably .  he'll use proper stuff for sure ......  surely !

That is another issue, if you have trusty independent garage - yes!

What if you don't? For example I would never trust mechanics I use to work on my car without supervision and definitely not to get parts. Besides all mechanics will gauge you for part price, this is always the case. 

I am not saying that there are no mechanics who would get best stuff with your benefit in mind, but I haven't met such mechanic yet.

[Malc]

1 minute ago, Linas.P said:

but I haven't met such mechanic yet.

then why on earth trust them to do the work ?

Uberrimae Fidei should apply in this instance too 

Know Your Client and build an excellent rapport and relationship ...  where's that all gone these days ?

I know it doesn't come from Social Media and the internet .  it actually comes from having a proper chat with the guy and understanding all about him for a start 

Oh dear .  showing my age I guess 

Malc

[Linas.P]

2 minutes ago, Malc said:

then why on earth trust them to do the work ?

I don't trust them, that is the point... and why use them? There are nobody else to use... I won't drive 180 miles to get the service done 🙂

 

[Malc]

4 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

There are nobody else to use

Oh my that's sad for you

where on earth are you then ?

Malc

[steve2006]

Stop it now please.

[Linas.P]

London. Just to clarify - it is not like there is single mechanic around, simply the case that none of them are good.

I think it is deeper problem - people have long stopped caring for cars in our consumerist society. People who buy nice cars generally have them leased, so servicing them is irrelevant (they go to dealer anyway), there is short period of time when cars are still valuable enough to get service by dealers (say 3-8 years old) and after that car is considered trash anyway by most. And this is the issue with independent garages - cars which are taken to them are usually considered by owners as being "junk" and they want cheap treatment just about to keep them road legal, so this is what independent garages focuses on. They don't focus on quality, they don't focus on good service or quality parts etc. they simply focus on making it cheap and road legal ,but this is not the level at which I want my car serviced.

So in the end trusty independent garage where you can really give your keys and leave them to it is very rare nowadays, especially in bigger cities. Or that is my experience anyway.  

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

London. Just to clarify - it is not like there is single mechanic around, simply the case that none of them are good.

I'm sorry Linas, I'm just not having that.

Ask family, friends and work mates where they take their cars, and get personal recommendations by word of mouth. There must be someone, somewhere, who does good work at a good price and has a good reputation. I live in a town with a population of about 145k-150k people and know at least 4 garages that meet that criteria. There are likely to be more but I don't know all areas of the town or all garages in the town.

[Linas.P]

10 minutes ago, Herbie said:

I'm sorry Linas, I'm just not having that.

Ask family, friends and work mates where they take their cars, and get personal recommendations by word of mouth. There must be someone, somewhere, who does good work at a good price and has a good reputation. I live in a town with a population of about 145k-150k people and know at least 4 garages that meet that criteria. There are likely to be more but I don't know all areas of the town or all garages in the town.

Family and friends falls into those two groups - either new cars serviced at dealer or old cars they don't care about, so no such knowledge to discuss. And to be fair nobody that I know are really into cars, so I just wouldn't take advise from them. 

Besides I don't like overpaying and that may be part of the reason why no mechanics meets my criteria. In other hand is well justified - why would I pay same to independent as it cost to take car to Lexus? The whole point of using independent is that is cheaper than dealer and if it is not, then this undermines whole purpose of using them.

Now again - why am I saying this is bigger city problem? Simply because in smaller town prices are just lower overall, so the difference between dealer and independent is huge. In London cost of living is high, rent is high so even independent garages will charge you high rates as otherwise they won't be able to survive.

[ahmed-abrar]

WESTFIELD MOTORS of Rayleigh are independent's of choice, they have looked after both my previous GS300 and currently my IS250 & Prius Plugin very well, a VAT registered company run by 2 ex main dealer guys for years

[true blue]

I understand Linas outlook but I do feel he is exaggerating a bit .I am fortunate in being a well trained 'old school' engineer; I look after all the families cars and I am appalled at todays dealer standards ,I have taken my Lexus to a dealer once in 7 years for the air bag recall . If I needed a dealer I would look for ex Lexus trained guys who have set up independently or small family run firm with a reputation to look after ; I am not in this position but I am sure there are some in his area .Linas seems very savy so I'm sure he can tell a cowboy outfit just by looking round their workshops(if they will let him in). 

Dave

[Malc]

How many cars are on UK roads?

New record surpassed: over 40m
► Official SMMT data released in 2020

just seen this ..  can't believe for one minute that owners of  cars being serviced at Main Dealers amount to more than a fraction of these today .  a large fraction no doubt BUT there's surely got to be a huge number of small competent trustworthy garages around in most areas of the UK ....  surely ....  just got to find 'em

Malc

[Las Palmas]

4 minutes ago, Malc said:

How many cars are on UK roads?

New record surpassed: over 40m
► Official SMMT data released in 2020

just seen this ..  can't believe for one minute that owners of  cars being serviced at Main Dealers amount to more than a fraction of these today .  a large fraction no doubt BUT there's surely got to be a huge number of small competent trustworthy garages around in most areas of the UK ....  surely ....  just got to find 'em

Malc

How many - NOT GOOD - would you run into while trying to find a good one?

 

On top of that: Lexus here is not what I would call good either.

[Mr Vlad]

Gawd n Bennett. As Steve said above. Give it a rest. I'm of the impression that trolls step in and post self righteous crap. And for crying out loud there are companies like for example trust a trader where folk look for a trade's person. Garages are in there too. Not all lexus garages are good. Some are ruddy awful some are outstanding, same as any other trade. If someone hasn't come across a 'good' trade's person then either they're a liar or just haven't bothered looking long or hard enough. Here endeth my sermon. Thank you 😊 

[Thelongterm]

My village garage is running since 1946, started by few ex German POW's. Previously, I counted on them to do a good job on more complicated vehicles we had like that awful 2012 Passat Swambo had. So I trust them to do a good and reasonably priced service on the fairly simple IS. They always allow you to bring your own parts and we even compare oil prices (they can never beat the eBay prices for C3 5w30). Full service is £50 for labour and a fiver for oil disposal. With £32 for a good oil and a Mann filter its just under £100.

[65mike]

Hi all.

Wright lets try and get this in to perspective.🙂

Herbie now you say why would you think off taking an OLD car to a dealer.

1. it might be old to you but it has got to last another 10 years yet as i will have to be dragged kicking and screaming before i buy electric car.

2. I have had good service from the dealers as Linas said the essential services were good value.

3. I have tried to find a independent Lexus dealer even got a quote but it was far to far to travel.

4.  I would only trust the independent that i originally mentioned to change the oil and filter would not trust them to change plugs or other items just how i feel.

This is my view and my view only.

I only stated this thread as info not for a puch up on car servicing.

65mike

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, 65mike said:

Hi all.

Wright lets try and get this in to perspective.🙂

Herbie now you say why would you think off taking an OLD car to a dealer.

1. it might be old to you but it has got to last another 10 years yet as i will have to be dragged kicking and screaming before i buy electric car.

2. I have had good service from the dealers as Linas said the essential services were good value.

3. I have tried to find a independent Lexus dealer even got a quote but it was far to far to travel.

4.  I would only trust the independent that i originally mentioned to change the oil and filter would not trust them to change plugs or other items just how i feel.

This is my view and my view only.

I only stated this thread as info not for a puch up on car servicing.

65mike

It just annoys me that people think only Lexus techs can work on Lexus cars.

There are many hundreds, if not thousands, of fully qualified mechanics around the country providing excellent service for reasonable prices.

A mate of mine (who, sadly, lives about 300 miles away these days) served a four-year apprenticeship with Vauxhall. He then got about 5 more years experience under his belt and then went self-employed. He is a damn fine mechanic and works on any and all brands of cars. He's now been self-employed for about 30 years and gets all his work by word of mouth recommendations.

By your reasoning he would either be unemployed or stuck in the main dealers where he served his apprenticeship.

You don't need a dealer. You don't need an independent Lexus specialist - you just need a known good mechanic with a good reputation and a proven history of happy customers. It may be a Lexus but it's still 'a car'.

[65mike]

 

1 hour ago, Herbie said:

It just annoys me that people think only Lexus techs can work on Lexus cars.

There are many hundreds, if not thousands, of fully qualified mechanics around the country providing excellent service for reasonable prices.

A mate of mine (who, sadly, lives about 300 miles away these days) served a four-year apprenticeship with Vauxhall. He then got about 5 more years experience under his belt and then went self-employed. He is a damn fine mechanic and works on any and all brands of cars. He's now been self-employed for about 30 years and gets all his work by word of mouth recommendations.

By your reasoning he would either be unemployed or stuck in the main dealers where he served his apprenticeship.

You don't need a dealer. You don't need an independent Lexus specialist - you just need a known good mechanic with a good reputation and a proven history of happy customers. It may be a Lexus but it's still 'a car'.

Hi all.

So i can assume you do not use a dealer or specialist to service your car then !!!

I have no doubt there are some excellent mechanics out there and there so cowboys too.

The reason most owners take them to dealers and specialist is they have the knowledge of the vehicle and equipment to do the job.

And don't tell me a car is easy to repair / service because you know as well as i do it is not everything needs specialist equipment we live in the age off fault diagnosis now.

65mike.

[65mike]

Just now, 65mike said:

 

Hi all.

So i can assume you do not use a dealer or specialist to service your car then !!!

I have no doubt there are some excellent mechanics out there and there so cowboys too.

The reason most owners take them to dealers and specialist is they have the knowledge of the vehicle and equipment to do the job.

And don't tell me a car is easy to repair / service because you know as well as i do it is not everything needs specialist equipment we live in the age off fault diagnosis now.

65mike.