[Pond]

Yep, you guessed it....not a BMW dealer, but a Honda main dealer.
Had my Type R in for it's annual service today. After a few years of BMW dealers and BMW 'specialists', I have to say what a painless and, actually, pleasant experience. It did help that the service was FREE (as the car is on a 5 year service plan paid for by the previous owner), but even so..

Easy booking on a date to suit me, not them. Courtesy email a few days before and a phone call yesterday from the actual service receptionist to say I could drop the car to them at a time to suit me, not them!

Video sent to phone and email by the mechanic for the inspection. Call at around 3pm saying car was ready and if I couldn't make it before 6pm I could pick it up tomorrow and they would lock the car in their service building.

There was no attempt at upselling. The tyres are getting a little low (3.5mm average), which I knew and was expecting a call to say they could fit four new ones for around £1m. Nope, nothing. Just the tread depths noted on the paperwork.

The service staff were nice people too. Happy to chat (I like to chat) and were very complimentary about the condition of my car.

Altogether probably the best dealer experience (of any make) I've had in 38 years of driving.

[Pentland]

What an inconvenience having to drop your car off. The dealers I use, BMW and other marques pick the cars up from home and drop them off mid afternoon.

[Pond]

Originally Posted by Pentland

What an inconvenience having to drop your car off. The dealers I use, BMW and other marques pick the cars up from home and drop them off mid afternoon.

I've either been using the wrong garages, or live too far from them, then!

[DaveA]

Ugh, don’t remind me, I have the “pleasure” of all the faff at my BMW dealership tomorrow… Went out and measured all the tread depths earlier in prep for that tyre one… Also, the price they quoted me is not the same as the price advertised in “my bmw”, so will need to quiz them before handing over the keys…

The dreaded “standard scope” will no doubt raise its head (does anybody really know what thst is for, by the way?)

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by Pond

Yep, you guessed it....not a BMW dealer, but a Honda main dealer.
Had my Type R in for it's annual service today. After a few years of BMW dealers and BMW 'specialists', I have to say what a painless and, actually, pleasant experience. It did help that the service was FREE (as the car is on a 5 year service plan paid for by the previous owner), but even so..

Easy booking on a date to suit me, not them. Courtesy email a few days before and a phone call yesterday from the actual service receptionist to say I could drop the car to them at a time to suit me, not them!

Video sent to phone and email by the mechanic for the inspection. Call at around 3pm saying car was ready and if I couldn't make it before 6pm I could pick it up tomorrow and they would lock the car in their service building.

There was no attempt at upselling. The tyres are getting a little low (3.5mm average), which I knew and was expecting a call to say they could fit four new ones for around £1m. Nope, nothing. Just the tread depths noted on the paperwork.

The service staff were nice people too. Happy to chat (I like to chat) and were very complimentary about the condition of my car.

Altogether probably the best dealer experience (of any make) I've had in 38 years of driving.

Nice to hear.

I have experienced similar recently. Son who lives in Germany has Opel Insignia (german registered) he was coming over for a couple of weeks holiday but needed a infotainment software update before he could install a sat nav update (according to sat nav instruction), his local dealership couldn't help / didn't know about it.

I stopped in at the local Vauxhall garage explained the situation, gave them the Vin number, service guy got the technician who new about this and said yes we can do, when do you want to bring it in. Arranged for following Monday. Received text and email confirming with agreed price of £119 total. I said to the missus, blimey that was easy.

Turned up with car, left it with them, received a health check Video then a call to say car is ready went to collect car, all done Sir and handed the keys over with the Sat Nav USB, saying we also updated the Sat Nav for you while we had it in.

Made a refreshing change, did exactly what was needed without fuss or trying to flog you stuff you didn't need. Perhaps BMW could learn a thing or two

[SkyJawa]

Funny that about the tyres - guess what VW did!

Took our Tiguan in recently (its done about 15k now bought new in July 2019) and they phoned my missus to say the front tyres need replacing - we can do them for £1.25m each

No thanks, would never pay a dealer to do tyres, get the paperwork and they still have 3.5mm, so low but not requiring replacement just yet. twats.

[Pond]

Originally Posted by SkyJawa

they phoned my missus to say the front tyres need replacing - we can do them for £1.25m each

At least they offered a discount on the tyres, though!

I had a new leased Mazda6 a few years ago. It went to the dealership for it's first service at 12k miles. Got a phone call saying it needed two new tyres because there were stones in them. The tyres were like new and had a couple of tiny stones lodged in the grooves! I told them to pick the stones out and feck off! Absolute chancers.

The same tyres lasted another 30k miles with no issues.

[D69GMB]

Not a main dealer but my go to local garage that looks after my Ford Transit Connect.
Was out yesterday going down the local bypass and a rumbling sound starts which very quickly transpired as a seizing front calliper. Was only two junctions away from said garage so limped in and told my tale of woe. No problem at all, straight onto his parts supplier who had parts in stock and was just heading out so would deliver asap. To cut a long story short, I was back on the road in under 2 hours, £90 for the calliper and £55 for fitting. Was delghted as I am seriously busy just now. Have just been back in with a load of biscuits for the guys. A great wee local business who go out of their way to help.

[Armaan]

Originally Posted by Pond

At least they offered a discount on the tyres, though!

I had a new leased Mazda6 a few years ago. It went to the dealership for it's first service at 12k miles. Got a phone call saying it needed two new tyres because there were stones in them. The tyres were like new and had a couple of tiny stones lodged in the grooves! I told them to pick the stones out and feck off! Absolute chancers.

The same tyres lasted another 30k miles with no issues.

Had a similar experience with Halfords. Insisted there was a nail in the tyre of our trusty Yaris, £85 for a replacement - even though there was no loss in pressure.

I got home and some advice on here said try to take it out - turned out to be the head and about 3mm of nail that hadn’t even gone through the rubber.

Even they chanced it!

[Pond]

Originally Posted by D69GMB

Not a main dealer but my go to local garage that looks after my Ford Transit Connect.
Was out yesterday going down the local bypass and a rumbling sound starts which very quickly transpired as a seizing front calliper. Was only two junctions away from said garage so limped in and told my tale of woe. No problem at all, straight onto his parts supplier who had parts in stock and was just heading out so would deliver asap. To cut a long story short, I was back on the road in under 2 hours, £90 for the calliper and £55 for fitting. Was delghted as I am seriously busy just now. Have just been back in with a load of biscuits for the guys. A great wee local business who go out of their way to help.

It is good to hear that there are still 'back street garages' not jumping on the bandwagon of the extortionate prices of and poor customer service of bigger dealers/ specialists.

I have two local garages who are brilliant. One is a small 'one ramp' place run by a mother and son (I think the dad retired a few years ago). They are great for MOTs, general servicing and simple repairs. I paid them £95.00 recently for an oil service on a BMW. That was £50 oil, £11 for a filter and £34.00 labour. Great value in this day and age.

The other is a real old-fashioned place where the owner is over 70 and knows more about car mechanics than any dealer technician could ever hope to. The place is a complete mess; bits of old cars strewn all over the floor and no organisation to anything. But if you want a mechanical problem solving, they will sort it for about £50. Takes him longer to find the tools than sort the problem.

[dazzapb]

tyre stories, mine was using twat fix as i had little choice.

Had a screw in the center of my tyre on a sunday, needed car for the monday.

It was a nice lease Audi s5 and the tyres/car was almost new, around 3k miles. He took up the car on the ramp, mentioned that the screw had gone in at an angle - not repairable.

He proceeded to tell me to bring it back the next day and he could do a deal on a brand new set - best to get all 4 done. I don't often lose it but he won't be suggesting that again in a hurry

Took it to a proper tyre center repaired for 40 quid all sorted.

Years before my wife took an old saxo in to the same gaff in richmond. Terrible noise sounded like it was the exhaust. They said 400 odd quid to fit a new back section on a 500 quid car. She said she was getting a second opinion to their dismay. The same tyre place above (feltham tyre center) said the exchaust was fine it was the inner thread on rear tyre had failed.

You'd think we would have learned from that experience. I even recall getting 'brand new' warped discs fitted on a mondeo in the late 90's - had to go to small claims to sort it.

Having said that the kwit fit mobile dude who changed my x3m tyres last year was amazing but I expected that as he was franchised


BMW are no angels, when I was at the service center last year being told my absolutely fine brake expensive discs were below min TH (they were not!) they were telling an american lady her tyres on her mini needed changing IIRC due to a nail in one of them, she needed 2 and hurry they are in stock.
I refused their 450 a corner suggestion and got the full set done for 750 odd as above.

[D69GMB]

Originally Posted by Pond

It is good to hear that there are still 'back street garages' not jumping on the bandwagon of the extortionate prices of and poor customer service of bigger dealers/ specialists.

I have two local garages who are brilliant. One is a small 'one ramp' place run by a mother and son (I think the dad retired a few years ago). They are great for MOTs, general servicing and simple repairs. I paid them £95.00 recently for an oil service on a BMW. That was £50 oil, £11 for a filter and £34.00 labour. Great value in this day and age.

The other is a real old-fashioned place where the owner is over 70 and knows more about car mechanics than any dealer technician could ever hope to. The place is a complete mess; bits of old cars strewn all over the floor and no organisation to anything. But if you want a mechanical problem solving, they will sort it for about £50. Takes him longer to find the tools than sort the problem.

To put all this into perspective, I had the misfortune of having to take the X3M40D to our local dealers recently as I discovered that one of the bolts was missing from the rear door hinge!. What an absolute work up that was, had to convince them that the bolt was missing, had to physically show them what I meant, took three weeks to get an appointment and two hours to fit a bolt ffs

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by D69GMB

To put all this into perspective, I had the misfortune of having to take the X3M40D to our local dealers recently as I discovered that one of the bolts was missing from the rear door hinge!. What an absolute work up that was, had to convince them that the bolt was missing, had to physically show them what I meant, took three weeks to get an appointment and two hours to fit a bolt ffs

Blimey, think I would have just ordered the bolt and screwed it in myself. No amount of coffee can compensate for the 2 hours of your life you can't get back