Nothing wrong with our Mini main dealer for not. 7 years in our roadster s has been fine taken to them, last year £39. Top class service and coffee too.
Oh dear, got that wrong for decades then, though I have a vehicle failed only once since the MOT was introduced, that for a bulge on a hydraulic brake hose.
However, I take the very strong view I want to be the first to know if mine or my wife's car is in anyway unsafe or potentially moving that way.
I also take the view, that with the two brands franchised workshops unique handling of that brand. high exposure to that model and direct access to the bulletins from the makers, they are likely to be the best inform to do so.
That they picked up the failing brake hose, and rang me about, I was more than pleased about, plus I know it was replaced with an OEM part.
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We have a Passat which is serviced and MoT'd by an independent that was at one time the only Skoda dealer in the area. We bought a s/h Octavia from the 15 years ago. Skoda took the franchise away when they wanted to expand their presence and there was no room where the dealer was situated (in a small village.) They gave it to Evans Halshaw alongside their Ford dealership, who eventually became Lookers, and then closed the place about a year ago for a Lidl to be built. Ergo our nearest Skoda dealer is now 15 miles (or more) away.
The best bit is that - as other have noted - our independent charges less labour, does what is agreed in the timescale agreed, and in most cases uses Skoda parts which are identical to VW but cheaper.
Per the comments about leaking shockers, this has been known for decades as a trick used by many tyre-based organisations when doing your exhaust to get unnecessary additional income. "Ere guv, look, your shockers are leaking." Jack up almost any car and let the suspension drop such that the shocker is extended and exposed and you will find a smear of fluid at the top end. Pretty well all shockers do it - think of the pressures involved when they are operational and you won't be surprised if there is a tiny escape of fluid. Caveat emptor comes to mind.
The best bit is that - as other have noted - our independent charges less labour, does what is agreed in the timescale agreed, and in most cases uses Skoda parts which are identical to VW but cheaper.
Per the comments about leaking shockers, this has been known for decades as a trick used by many tyre-based organisations when doing your exhaust to get unnecessary additional income. "Ere guv, look, your shockers are leaking." Jack up almost any car and let the suspension drop such that the shocker is extended and exposed and you will find a smear of fluid at the top end. Pretty well all shockers do it - think of the pressures involved when they are operational and you won't be surprised if there is a tiny escape of fluid. Caveat emptor comes to mind.
Update
contrary to main dealers advice car didn’t need new discs all round , just brake pads and Mot. £280 .I am assured the pads are top drawer quality. I doubt Kia make their own pads ?? Another full years mot👏👏
Nothing wrong with our Volkswagen dealer my car had it first MOT it passed with flying colours if i need anything i take it there and so far no problems
The vehicle was on a Service Plan and was insured for up to £750 MOT repairs so in the best interest of the dealer to have it pass its MOT without any costs.
That certainly shows in the dreadful state of that disc they must have nodded through last year.
Though whether they pick up on things would depend if they or another are underwriting your insurance, big incentive one way or other.
For discs and pads Original Jeep dealer quoted close to £700. National tyre fitters quoted £550 using a make I have never heard of and cannot find Online and another Jeep dealer quoted just under £600. Probably go to the other Jeep dealer once my Inde has had a look at brakes, shock absorber on Friday. They will also being a MOT check without it going through the system.
I would love to believe that main dealerships had that level,of integrity. But I have personal experience of them attempting to fleece me on two occasions. And missed and bodged service procedures. I will now always stay very well clear.
I now shop around for the cheapest MOT, usually £18. They work to the same standards and are protective of their licence. I then fully trust my independant, owners are family friends which helps.
John
A longest you happy with the outcome of the cheapest MOT (but i didn"t know you can get one at £18 )
Look for local offers on the likes of Groupon. In my opinion. An MOT is an MOT. I do though have sufficient expertise to keep an eye on what is required.
What I do miss by not using a main dealer is they will normally flash the ECU and bring the software up to date. This is ’free’ in a service. But to have it done on its own is about £85. But they are unable to tell you if updates are available beforehand.
John
Hi John my car went to the local Volkswagen dealer and like what you said they updated my software it great now ( But you are handy with your hands ) I am not except when cooking that my expertise.
My experience has been they always find some "fault"
Example - dealer said suspension bushes were worn and needed replaced
Took car to small independent garage who said bushes are supposed to wear and there is nothing wrong with them.
Car passed MOT
Oh yes, that's one garage to avoid then, if safety is at all important.
That they do wear or break up is a fact, but they are most definitely not designed to do that, just the opposite, do it as little as they can to retain the suspension.
But some is tolerable, even though any is undesirable.
The reality is you found someone working to lower standards, than that dealer, who probably was bound to work to the vehicle makers "in service" limits.
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Depending on what function the MOT inspector is looking at, they are given guidance on how to establish the condition of the function. Where the function component has physically broken, ( e.g. a bulb failure) there can be little doubt about the condition of the system, but when assessing wear items, the MOT manual does set out some criteria for judging. Some criteria may require a measurement (E.g. Exhaust gas analysis) , which is great because it is then easy to compare the result to the limits set out in the manual, but other functions may be open to interpretation. When does acceptable wear in a ball joint become unacceptable? Essentially its down to the inspectors opinion, and it's more than likely that two inspectors may disagree about a joint that is marginal.
In that respect many parts of the MOT systems is flawed as there can be differing opinions about conditions that cannot be accurately measured during the test.
Despite its flaws, the UK MOT system has worked and kept the condition of most vehicles on the roads at or above an acceptable level, and probably prevented quite a few serious incidents.
In that respect many parts of the MOT systems is flawed as there can be differing opinions about conditions that cannot be accurately measured during the test.
Despite its flaws, the UK MOT system has worked and kept the condition of most vehicles on the roads at or above an acceptable level, and probably prevented quite a few serious incidents.
On our previous Jeep we had quotes from another Jeep dealer for fixing several items and the amount was nearly £2000. The Inde did a check and all that was required was about £400 worth of work.
We used the vehicle for a couple of years after that and none of the issues mentioned by the dealer showed up on any subsequent MOT or inspection and neither did they show up when the Jeep was checked by another Jeep dealer!
We had a service plan contract which is why we have used a Jeep dealer for the past 3 years.
We used the vehicle for a couple of years after that and none of the issues mentioned by the dealer showed up on any subsequent MOT or inspection and neither did they show up when the Jeep was checked by another Jeep dealer!
We had a service plan contract which is why we have used a Jeep dealer for the past 3 years.
I guess that I must have been lucky as over the years I’ve used a mix of main dealers and independents and not had the bad experiences that some have had. Mind you except for the Kias that we have had most of our main dealers have been the smaller local ones that were long standing specialists in the marque IE Citroen, Volvo, Saab, Subaru, Land Rover. These are becoming rarer. Our current Subaru dealer was a Skoda franchise but that was removed in favour of a large edge of town showroom, but they still are an approved Skoda repair Center. franchise. The independent we used in parallel worked on anything from Panda to Ferrari. Again a family business passed from father to son.
I think Friday is going to be interesting when the Inde does the "unofficial MOT" test on mechanical issues mentioned as I trust the fully. I am very aware that the rear discs and pads need changing so no argument there, but the other concerns a different matter.
Oddly enough my farther who was a depot manager for the local authority was of the opposite opinion. They would do an MOT for you but a simple blown bulb would fail it and you then had to go away source the part and go back for a retest on the problem part. Garages who you were familiar with would often just ring you and agree to fit the item before passing it. Possibly it depends on how willing a garage is to help and how far you trust them.When a car is still within it's warranty period I don't see a problem with using the supplying dealer, but when out of that period I have often used MOT stations (Local Authority or a local bus company) that have no service or repair facilities, In that way they can't have a vested interest in generating unnecessary work.
In theory service stations that offer MOT's should run the MOT as a separate entity, and the DVSA inspectors would be looking for any sharp practices that might be disadvantaging consumers, such as unreasonable fails, or unreasonable advisories.
IF you have a concern about the accuracy or administration of an MOT then contact
What to do about a poor MOT?
If you disagree about the outcome of an MOT, you need to report this to the DVSA. Click here for more details on what you need to do after a poor MOTwww.themotorombudsman.org
That is one of the disadvantages of using dedicated MOT stations, And Whilst that might be a bit of a nuisance, at least you can have a greater confidence that unnecessary work is not being generated by the station. The retest within the given period is of course free.
I think most conscientious drivers/owners would check the obvious things like operation of lights and mirrors, tyres etc before submitting a car for an MOT, thus if such an obvious item causes a failure it says something about the driver......
Took the Jeep in this morning to the Inde who has a MOT station to check the Jeep. No issue with offside font inner steering linkage ball joint and checked by two technicians. Nothing wrong with nearside rear shock absorber which is supposed to have light misting of oil or has limited damping effect. I was physically shown the areas and even I could not see anything on the shock absorbers except an area that had been wiped clean.
Rear brakes which were supposed to be worn over 90% were measured and are worn to about 80% however I was aware that the discs and the rotors would need replacing so no issue there.
If I had authorised Jeep to go ahead with repairs to shock absorber and steering linkage we would not be nearly a grand out of pocket. The brakes etc are an additional £700.
Rear brakes which were supposed to be worn over 90% were measured and are worn to about 80% however I was aware that the discs and the rotors would need replacing so no issue there.
If I had authorised Jeep to go ahead with repairs to shock absorber and steering linkage we would not be nearly a grand out of pocket. The brakes etc are an additional £700.
As already said, a respected and trusted Inde for me every time.
John
John
As said earlier my local chap saved us £580 on brake parts not needed. And an MoT too.
Maybe the management of the main dealers are more strict on interpretation to safeguard their reputation 😉😉
Maybe the management of the main dealers are more strict on interpretation to safeguard their reputation 😉😉
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