Stealerships

[Cius]

I'm not car savvy, but even I can replace a pair of wiper blades. I don't know how to check brake pads though, and replacing those is way beyond me.

Its easier than you think. Not mechanically minded at all but a youtube video or two and you will be fine provided you have the correct tools.

 

[cr@zydude]

Its easier than you think. Not mechanically minded at all but a youtube video or two and you will be fine provided you have the correct tools.

I use YouTube tutorials before I change headlight bulbs or wiper blades. I'll leave my brakes to the professionals, but more power to you for being able to do it yourself.

 

[Neuk_]

I still think one of the major reason for high car prices is these service and maintenance plans.
Years ago when service and maintenance plans was an optional extra at VW I worked out that it is cheaper to just pay for services yourself.
Also I feel with all the corruption in this world they probably going to BS me somewhere with actually servicing the car properly as seen in above example.

Sure, for services, maybe it works out cheaper to not have a service plan. Maintenance plans are another story, I have always viewed them as a kind of insurance, a complete waste of money until you have a claim and they are then worth every cent.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Yep. The number of times the stealership has told me the wiper blades and brake pads need replacement only for me to check myself and they are barely half worn down. Most people don't check.

Yup. And the way they talk to people who don’t know better like it’s an on/off switch and will just suddenly and instantly fail is incredible.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Sure, for services, maybe it works out cheaper to not have a service plan. Maintenance plans are another story, I have always viewed them as a kind of insurance, a complete waste of money until you have a claim and they are then worth every cent.

Yes, but it’s exactly like medical aids and he’s 100% correct.

Have a small issue with the throttle not being responsive? On maintenance plan they’ll change the ECU, throttle body, fuel injectors and the spark plugs…because maintenance plan is paying.

Take it to a normal mechanic and he’ll run proper diagnostic and go clean a sensor and send you on your way.

The reason these things cost what they do and why using a dealership out of warranty is because of these plans. Replacing an entire gearbox or doing a full engine swop instead of fixing what is actually wrong for a 10th of the price.

 

[akescpt]

Yep. The number of times the stealership has told me the wiper blades and brake pads need replacement only for me to check myself and they are barely half worn down. Most people don't check.

Send your wife to buy wiper blades at Midas. Afterwards she asks them to fit. Job done.

Buy the brakes at Midas. Have them fitted at Supaquick. Always cheaper. For me anyways.

 

[Neuk_]

Yes, but it’s exactly like medical aids and he’s 100% correct.

Have a small issue with the throttle not being responsive? On maintenance plan they’ll change the ECU, throttle body, fuel injectors and the spark plugs…because maintenance plan is paying.

Take it to a normal mechanic and he’ll run proper diagnostic and go clean a sensor and send you on your way.

The reason these things cost what they do and why using a dealership out of warranty is because of these plans. Replacing an entire gearbox or doing a full engine swop instead of fixing what is actually wrong for a 10th of the price.

Dealerships behave that way whether there is a maintenance plan or not in my experience. Very few dealerships are interested in or equipped for proper root cause analysis, they prefer quick in and out work like servicing and replacing parts.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Dealerships behave that way whether there is a maintenance plan or not in my experience. Very few dealerships are interested in or equipped for proper root cause analysis, they prefer quick in and out work like servicing and replacing parts.

Yes but the reason they do is because of the maintenance plans coming about in the first place.

Now they simply shun any other business or have some idiots willing to pay for it.

Same way doctors gets to charge 500% because the medical aid industry enables it.

 

[chrisc]

Friend bought a cheapie that turned out to need substantial engine work
A local workshop agreed to do it, quoted R17000 to do all the work and kept the car for 3 weeks
On delivery, it started but was very rough
It ran for 15 mins, just enough time for him to get home
Engine was inspected by a third-party mechanic. None of the items listed on the workshop invoice had been fixed
Confronted the original workshop, was told to f-off
Got a Small Claims Court hearing arranged, principal of original workshop did not attend
Magistrate awarded 100% of costs
Sheriff delivered summons to pay to original workshop
This was ignored
On it goes

 

[Jean Claude Vaaldamme]

Sure, for services, maybe it works out cheaper to not have a service plan. Maintenance plans are another story, I have always viewed them as a kind of insurance, a complete waste of money until you have a claim and they are then worth every cent.

But what does your maintenance plan actually cover that you need "insurance" on. Most of it will be covered by your warrantee anyway.

 

[Neuk_]

Yes but the reason they do is because of the maintenance plans coming about in the first place.

Now they simply shun any other business or have some idiots willing to pay for it.

Same way doctors gets to charge 500% because the medical aid industry enables it.

I disagree, I have seen plenty of the same behaviour with cars with no maintenance plan at all, for over 20 years now. It may be worse or exaggerated on cars with a maintenance plan but OEM dealerships have always done it.

 

[Corelli]

Just got a call from Mercedes where my car is in for service. He started to mention a whole lot of things which need to be done on the car, He finished of with an airco filter which needs replacing. So I said really? His answer was yes.

Then I told him well seems like I caught you guys out. The airco was just serviced a week ago including an air filter which was replaced. Then he suddenly backtracked and said it was his mistake, a quote for another car was by accident attached to mine.

Really, how can I trust that the other work is really needed?

Is your Mercedes in warranty? If it isnt and youre in Cape Town, take it to MBG just off the R300.

www.mbg-automotive.co.za – MERCEDES BENZ & AMG DIAGNOSTICS, SERVICES & REPAIRS

mbg-automotive.co.za

They're like taking it to Mercedes using Mercedes parts etc, just without the bad mechanics from Mercedes.

 

[Neuk_]

But what does your maintenance plan actually cover that you need "insurance" on. Most of it will be covered by your warrantee anyway.

Warranty is normally 3 years, some manufacturers have longer warranty's but the norm is around 3 years. Maintenance plans are normally around 5 years, so they are still 'active' after warranty has fallen away. Then you have things like clutches where warranty is normally 6 months as it is a wear and tear item, so assuming no abuse a maintenance plan will cover a clutch change long after warranty has expired.

 

[Corelli]

And yes Mercedes has an maintenance schedule that says what parts need to be replaced when. The Mercedes actually tells you which service you need. A1, B2 and so on. They then follow a long list what needs to be inspected and replaced at the workshop.

 

[Corelli]

I was quoted R167000 to extend my Mercedes Maintenance by 2 years. 7k was for service and 160k was for peace of mind. I took it privately, spent about 3k on the one service and 12k for the next (including double battery replacement, wipers etc. I did a big service now that cost me 18k, but it was fixing a lot of wear and tear items, including brake pads and discs front and rear and a few other items.

 

[Jean Claude Vaaldamme]

Warranty is normally 3 years, some manufacturers have longer warranty's but the norm is around 3 years. Maintenance plans are normally around 5 years, so they are still 'active' after warranty has fallen away. Then you have things like clutches where warranty is normally 6 months as it is a wear and tear item, so assuming no abuse a maintenance plan will cover a clutch change long after warranty has expired.

Yes but a maintenance plan is not a warrantee and will not cover most warrantee items.
If your clutch fail so quickly you the problem and others don't need to pay so much more for their cars because you abuse it. And again a clutch is not really a huge expense on most cars.

 

[Neuk_]

Yes but a maintenance plan is not a warrantee and will not cover most warrantee items.
If your clutch fail so quickly you the problem and others don't need to pay so much more for their cars because you abuse it. And again a clutch is not really a huge expense on most cars.

The maintenance plan on my previous Golf covered just about everything a warranty would, some obvious exclusions being things like paint.

Did you miss the part I said about clutch abuse? And unfortunately, clutches and some related parts do fail at low mileage, just like anything can in reality. I helped a friend put a new clutch in his '84 MkI Golf GT years back and the pressure plate was defective out the box. Not exactly the same as failure in a new car but it does happen, abuse or misuse is another story, as I said previously.

 

[airborne]

And again a clutch is not really a huge expense on most cars.

That used to be the case but even on a shtbox run arounds the agents can charge R15-20k nowadays and that's even before you hit dual-mass flywheels, then I've seen R40k clutch jobs, even on bakkies which often used to be dirt cheap it’s got pricey.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I disagree, I have seen plenty of the same behaviour with cars with no maintenance plan at all, for over 20 years now. It may be worse or exaggerated on cars with a maintenance plan but OEM dealerships have always done it.

Yes I fully agree it happens at dealerships.

I'm saying the reason they operate like this is because maintenance plans exist.

Why train your staff to fix things if they are never going to do that because the maintenance plan will just cover a full on part replacement.

 

[Neuk_]

Yes I fully agree it happens at dealerships.

I'm saying the reason they operate like this is because maintenance plans exist.

Why train your staff to fix things if they are never going to do that because the maintenance plan will just cover a full on part replacement.

Yes, I know what you are saying, I am saying that this behaviour happened before maintenance plans existed and continues to happens on cars with no maintenance plans. One could argue it is worse due to maintenance plans, even where just 'servicing' is concerned and no fault finding or repairs are needed.