Can any vehicle expert answer these questions?

JohnM20 replied on 27/03/2023 13:59

Posted on 27/03/2023 13:59

Can anyone with any real knowledge of cars answer the following questions?

My car has gone to the main dealer today for an interim service and MOT. I have had a report from the dealer concerning the following:-

1. "Can't check the oil level because a very small piece at the very bottom of the dipstick has broken off". How can a bit break off a dipstick which is in the car's sump?

2. "Tread measurement for the rear tyres shows one tyre needs replacing". The measurements that I took 2 weeks ago, 130 miles done since, are over double what the dealer is saying. The odd thing is they only gave three readings, inner, middle and outer. The tyre has 4 tread grooves and so I have four readings, all well within the legal limit.

3. "The spare tyre is 79% worn". It has NEVER been on the car. How can it be worn?

Is this a further case of why main dealers should not to be trusted? Five years ago this same dealer told me I had a radiator leak and quoted £600+ for the repair. I had never seen any evidence of a leak and the dealer couldn't explain where it was. Two main services and two interim services later there is never any mention of it by the technicians(?) In the intervening  time I have added, at most, 1 litre of water/antifreeze and still no evidence of a leak on my garage floor.

Your comments / explanations very welcome.

 

Navigateur replied on 27/03/2023 20:32

Posted on 27/03/2023 20:32

Hope the broken off bit of dipstick (if it ever existed) is metal and now happily captured by the magnetic sump plug.  Dreadfull things could happen if it was swept into the moving parts.

richardandros replied on 28/03/2023 05:51

Posted on 28/03/2023 05:51

When I bought my current Touareg from the main dealer which is about an hour from home, I took out a three year service plan which seemed to make sense at the time. At year two, after the service, they announced that all the brake pads needed replacing and wanted over £750 to do it.  I didn't trust them and took the car to a local garage, five minutes from home - a Bosch Service Centre and one which, although not the cheapest around here, has a very good reputation.  They quoted exactly half the figure to do the same job - using genuine VW parts - and they could have done it cheaper had I opted for non-OEM pads.  They also spotted a sticking brake caliper which the dealer had missed, simply because they hadn't had the wheels off.

Oh - the main dealer is very good at sending you a slick video of someone working on the car - but when it comes to doing the actual job, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them. I had an even worse experience with my previous Disco which after the main dealer had got his hands on it, spent more time with them rectifying problems they had caused, than it did with me!

Needless to say, my car has been looked after by that Bosch Service centre ever since and I trust them absolutely.

JohnM20 replied on 28/03/2023 07:52

Posted on 28/03/2023 07:52

I've just looked at the new MOT certificate which shows a  "Pass" but under "Advisories" it shows that one rear tyre is at the legal limit and the other is close to the legal limit. This is patently not the case as the minimum tread depth that I have measured is 3.5mm (maximum 4.5mm) . I 'm going to take the car to where I normally get my tyres from and ask them to measure the tyres for me to confirm my measurements and hopefully get this in writing. I will then have to get in touch with the DVSA and get the MOT records corrected. I think a letter to the CEO of the dealership will be the next job to do.

Rocky 2 buckets replied on 28/03/2023 08:09

Posted on 27/03/2023 17:19 by JohnM20

Just got the car back from the dealers complete with paperwork.  They are showing the tread depths to be:-

N/S 3   3   1        O/S 1.6   3   3  with a quote for a new tyre.

I've just checked the depths myself using my Vernier depth gauge. My readings are:-

N/S  4.0   3.5   4.0   4.0    O/S  4.5   4.0   3.75   4.5

All measurements are from outside of tyre to inside.

Had I been my neighbour who uses the same dealership, she would have taken their word as gospel and bought a new tyre from them totally unnecessarily.

I think I've taken my car their for the last time.

Posted on 28/03/2023 08:09

Good move👍🏻. I’ve only once come across this in my life when I owned a Ford Ranger pickup. Not only things being done & me being charged for them without my knowledge but one item charged for that was not actually done, I checked it & got it sorted immediately. I changed both the vehicle & dealership-not a radical answer but the truck needed changing. 
Just change, the trust is gone, no 2nd chances.

flatcoat replied on 28/03/2023 08:20

Posted on 28/03/2023 07:52 by JohnM20

I've just looked at the new MOT certificate which shows a  "Pass" but under "Advisories" it shows that one rear tyre is at the legal limit and the other is close to the legal limit. This is patently not the case as the minimum tread depth that I have measured is 3.5mm (maximum 4.5mm) . I 'm going to take the car to where I normally get my tyres from and ask them to measure the tyres for me to confirm my measurements and hopefully get this in writing. I will then have to get in touch with the DVSA and get the MOT records corrected. I think a letter to the CEO of the dealership will be the next job to do.

Posted on 28/03/2023 08:20

This is borderline fraudulent, personally I would be going ballistic with the garage very publicly in their showroom. Reporting on here will change nothing and other less savvy customers will be ripped off. I am very capitalist and pro business This type of behaviour makes me fume. 

EmilysDad replied on 28/03/2023 09:14

Posted on 28/03/2023 09:14

I think a lot of dealers are in on this game. A week or two, & maybe 1000 miles at most, after buying my car from a main dealer I had ANOTHER main dealer replace a key fob under warranty. When I collected my car I was presented with an eleventeen point health check which included their advise to change front pads & discs at a cost of around £550. IMHO  a classic case of upselling because the selling dealer had deemed them OK. 

The discs are still on the car nearly 4 years later having just had a change of pads since.

They try to justify it under the guise of safety.

huskydog replied on 28/03/2023 09:17

Posted on 28/03/2023 07:52 by JohnM20

I've just looked at the new MOT certificate which shows a  "Pass" but under "Advisories" it shows that one rear tyre is at the legal limit and the other is close to the legal limit. This is patently not the case as the minimum tread depth that I have measured is 3.5mm (maximum 4.5mm) . I 'm going to take the car to where I normally get my tyres from and ask them to measure the tyres for me to confirm my measurements and hopefully get this in writing. I will then have to get in touch with the DVSA and get the MOT records corrected. I think a letter to the CEO of the dealership will be the next job to do.

Posted on 28/03/2023 09:17

Please post your findings , as an ex technician who worked for a main dealer for over 40 years in the workshop ,doing MOT’s and in my last years in reception I always find these stories interesting 

you may not have any luck with DVSA as you have removed the vehicle from their premises 

i now find if I want to know any thing about my car I ask someone down the pub as there is always an expert there 

vbfg replied on 28/03/2023 10:57

Posted on 28/03/2023 10:57

A have had a number of bad experiences with local garages as 3 times, I  was charged large amounts to fix the immobilser on my motorhome when all it actually needed was a £1.00 tube of superglue to stop the metal ring around where the ignition is inserted, from moving, which a mobile electrical engineer, eventually diagnosed and fixed!  When the end dropped off the exhaust (around 4 inches of it), I was dreading how much a new exhaust would be.  I dropped it off at a local garage I had not used before and when I went to pick it up, the bill was the grand total of £20.00 as the mechanic just welded the end back on.  That was around 5 years ago, so I have used them to MOT my motorhome and my car since then.  Finding a garage that doesn't rip you off, is like finding gold ore in your back garden.

Takethedogalong replied on 28/03/2023 11:47

Posted on 28/03/2023 11:47

Have to say we much prefer to use reputable local garages. We use a couple for our four vehicles, one for the cars, another with a larger workshop for our MH. I would add that all our vehicles are pre owned, so all are now out of any warranty, other than my Mini, which we purchased a general warranty for, so that I can get it sorted out with a courtesy car if needs be. We have used these garages for years and had great service, honest feedback. The only time we went back to a dealership was with one of our Jeeps, Patriot I think. We ended up having to contact Fiat in Italy to resolve the issue things got so bad with the dealership. The response from Fiat was excellent, but we never went back to the dealership. 

So many dealerships seem to change which companies they sell for nowadays. No idea how this works, but one month Ford then …poof….now sells Kia’s🤷‍♀️ 

I would ask around friend’s, family John if I was you. See if anyone can recommend an independent workshop. Our family use quite a few, rather than dealerships. Good luck.

cyberyacht replied on 28/03/2023 12:01

Posted on 28/03/2023 12:01

"1. "Can't check the oil level because a very small piece at the very bottom of the dipstick has broken off". How can a bit break off a dipstick which is in the car's sump?"

Translation - our apprentice snapped the plastic bit off withdrawing the dipstick and we can't get replacement dipstick.

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