Have I been fleeced?

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 11:28

I have just had my 2 serviced at Coldhams Lane Cambridge. It has 20K on the clock, but they said cos its coming up to 4 years old, that will be the 40K service it needs, as it is the first to come up. Fair enough I suppose, they do tell you. But, I looked at the sheet afterwards and there is little on that service they do extra that isn't done on the 20K service and I have been charged £216 and that was with 10% off as they hadn't got enough people to wash the car!!!! s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Is this a bit much? And I don't understand when the car hasn't got the milage why it needs the service nearest the year either.

Any explanations? And have I been done?

Slacey · January 9, 2004, 11:33

Did they change the transmission oil and brake fluid, also replace air and fuel filters? These things could explain the high price... if they were done.

darrenjuggins · January 9, 2004, 11:35

Hi John,

IMHO it sounds a little expensive can't remember how much my actual 40k was, but it certainly wasn't that expensive.

onto the other point about is it fair, well technically it has only done 20k, but in years it's 4 which means the over riding rule on years wins, which dictates a 40k service.

my mum has done only 7k in her mazda 323 and has been stung for all the services, so if ya want to keep your warranty you have to play the game.

I will post up exactly how much i paid for mine later, but I think it was only about £130/£140 tops plus my mobil 1 supplied seperately.

did you get a loan car with the £216 ?

hope this helps

Mr J

aaronjb · January 9, 2004, 12:02

Quote from: "John Woodward"Is this a bit much? And I don't understand when the car hasn't got the milage why it needs the service nearest the year either.

Because a lot of the things on the service schedule degrade with age as well as use.. Especially oils & fluids like brake & PAS fluid.

Brake fluid (except silicone based fluids, which you should never use in a road car without knowing exactly what you're doing) is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture in the air. Over time this means that a greater and greater proportion of the fluid becomes water, lowering the boiling point of the fluid and leading to spongy brakes and air in the system if you boil it.

Power steering fluid (which is basically Automatic Transmission Fluid, ATF) degrades with age as it's hydraulic oil.

Gearbox & engine oil changes over time - leave the top off a can of oil for a year or so and have a look at it .. it's turned a horrible colour and generally gone all gloopy.. You wouldn't want that kind of treacle trying to lubricate your engine - and that's taking fully synth as an example. AFAIK, semi-synth and dyno oils break down more quickly with age, leading to a lack of lubrication and, eventually, a siezed engine.

HTH s;)

s;)

Aaron

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 12:05

All good stuff guys. I need to check whether the transmission oil was changed to be honest. And I have a feeling the air filter WASN'T changed, so I DO think I have been done over........

I may query this price to be honest now......

aaronjb · January 9, 2004, 12:16

Ooh - as a P.S. to my last message, I can't comment on the price, as I've not had a service done yet...

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 12:27

I would have had expected a breakdown of all the consumables used and the labour charge as part of the bill.

You could then cross-reference that with the manual's advice.

I would have thought you could potentially have quite a lot of work as presumably they would have to go through all the checks and changes for car that has done the equivalent of 40K as the guys above have already mentioned.

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 12:43

Quote from: "Lusaka"I would have had expected a breakdown of all the consumables used and the labour charge as part of the bill.

I get that with mine, along with the cost of each.

My 20K service was £210 so yours doesn't seem to bad.

Slacey · January 9, 2004, 12:46

Quote from: "phil4"My 20K service was £210 so yours doesn't seem to bad.

Blimey! Mine was £170 and that was WITH an optional brake fluid change!

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 12:46

£216 doesn't sound too bad for a 4 year service to me.

I also totally agree with Aaron's comments and would go further to say that I would change oil at 6 monthly intervals if you are doing lots of short journeys, as your low mileage suggests you might.

Andy

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 12:49

Quote from: "Slacey"
Quote from: "phil4"My 20K service was £210 so yours doesn't seem to bad.
Blimey! Mine was £170 and that was WITH an optional brake fluid change!

Mate, it's not the only thing that's more expensive in this bit of the world. FWIW I actually applied to do this job in Manchester, but they moved me.

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 12:58

Ok, so it can be dependant on dealer and the level of what they do. I shall go home and go through the service sheet with a fine tooth comb tonight, as well as the invoice they gave me (I did notice the price of new spark plugs and a few more things on there) and I shall have a see what it is like. It may be that £216 isn't so bad after all.......

Its just that I rearely took my Mk1's to a dealer to get a service done (unless it was a C service, which they do EVERYTHING) and I always promised myself that with this, it would be dealer service only, so perhaps I didn't know what to expect.

Will let people know what was on the service later...........

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 13:16

Somebody answer me this:

When u buy a new car they have often been stood in the shipping yard for 'X' No of months, for example, a car has been stood for 4 months, u purchase it 'BRAND NEW', but u dont get it serviced in 8 months time! Its all a scam, to bring in constant revenue to the manufacturers/resellers.

So although you purchase a brand new car it could have been sat somewhere for ages unused. Isnt this the same as if the car was sat on your drive??

Surely, if the car isnt used, its not causing any ware, hence I strongly feel a service should only be done when the miles have been covered!!!!

Am I wrong?[/quote]

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 13:19

Quote from: "S7EVE"Surely, if the car isnt used, its not causing any ware, hence I strongly feel a service should only be done when the miles have been covered!!!!

For some things I agree... but there are other components that deteriorate with age... rubber is a great example as that denatures over time... and I'm sure there plenty of fluids, sealants and the like that do too.

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 13:30

Quote from: "phil4"
Quote from: "S7EVE"Surely, if the car isnt used, its not causing any ware, hence I strongly feel a service should only be done when the miles have been covered!!!!

For some things I agree... but there are other components that deteriorate with age... rubber is a great example as that denatures over time... and I'm sure there plenty of fluids, sealants and the like that do too.

These things deteriorate that rapidly?? I cant believe this. For example my parents bought a Corolla Verso, the same time as me (2 years ago) and have only just had they're first service as they've only just done 10,000 miles. I find it had to believe that these fluids only last a year, surely oil and an oil filter is good for more than a year! say, if u have a weekend MR2, its still being used regularly, so the oil should be fine! On all of my 3 services, all they've done is an oil change, oil filter and screen wash.!!!

I will always just get my cars serviced when the mileage has been covered. Just let toyota say that this effects the warranty too!!!!!!! s:evil: :evil: s:evil:

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 13:35

Rubber I think is the main one... it doesn't take too long to start de-naturing... so that's hoses, seals and the like.

Next time you're in a tyre place ask the technician how long it's safe to keep a tyre without using it.

Tem · January 9, 2004, 13:35

There are oils and oils. Some are good for 6 months of use, some are just fine up to 5 years. I believe most quality oils can handle a year just fine, but since car manufacturers can't really force you to use certains oils, they can only recommend short intervals.

Some new models state a longer oil change interval with certain oils though...

Anyway, if you do a lot of short driving, barely warming the engine every time, the oil WILL wear out faster in 10t miles than in engine that drives longer distances at once.

Tem · January 9, 2004, 13:37

Quote from: "phil4"Next time you're in a tyre place ask the technician how long it's safe to keep a tyre without using it.

And after that say that your tyres are just about that age, but you can't afford to buy new tyres from them right now. Ask him if you should buy cheap tyres somewhere else, or keep driving for a bit so you have cash to buy new tyres from them s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

aaronjb · January 9, 2004, 13:53

Quote from: "S7EVE"Surely, if the car isnt used, its not causing any ware, hence I strongly feel a service should only be done when the miles have been covered!!!!

I have a feeling that when a car is delivered to the dealers they do actually do an oil change..

I should really take a picture of the open can of Mobil 1 15w50 that's sat in my garage - it's had the top off it for about 9 months now, and you wouldn't believe how like treacle it looks.. I know that when it's in an engine being agitated every so often it wont' get quite as bad, but I know I wouldn't want it 'lubricating' my engine..

On the rest of the fluids, it depends how much you care about your car, and how you drive it..

If it's a shopping trolley car, it doesn't really matter if the brake fluid is 2, 5, or 10 years old - it'll still stop from 40 mph every time.. If you drive your car hard down country lanes on 5 year old brake fluid, I'm betting you'd boil it pretty quickly and end up with not much in the way of brakes s;)

s;)

The same goes for the oil - does it need to protect under light load at no more than 4000rpm, or being hammered at 8000rpm?

Aaron

Tem · January 9, 2004, 14:12

Quote from: "aaronjb"I have a feeling that when a car is delivered to the dealers they do actually do an oil change..

They don't...at least over here they don't...they recommend an oil change after the drive in period though.

darrenjuggins · January 9, 2004, 19:22

HI John,

promised I would check costs of serivces:

50k service was £59 exc oil
40k service was £134 exc oil
30k service was £102 exc oil
20k service was £105 exc oil
10k service was £59 exc oil

Hope this gives you an idea John....

as for work carrier out on the 40k

£82 was labour
Parts came to £31 spark plugs being the most expensive item at £13 for 4.

hope this helps

Cheers

Mr J

noddynurdle · January 9, 2004, 19:37

my car is 3 year old so it would not have a service at all if the previous owner had go on mileage.
some the reasons for age over mileage

to give the dealer some work and get you to pay for it
that if they are going to give out warrenties they want to make sure it is maintained correctly and get you to pay for it
if a car has high milage it is likey that it will have been driven hard so thing will wear out quicker

mine is due for the 4 year sevice (april) soon i have been quoted by local mr T as around £200.
all the best
glen

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 19:41

And while on that theme... here's the breakdown for my 20K:

Labour - £112
Oil Filter - £7
Gskt, Drain Plug - £0.76
Screenwash (300ml) - £2.51
Spray Lubricant - £2.49
Remote Battery - £4.67
Tank Performance 5W3 - £28.56
Tank Fuel Clean - £10.10

All prices exclude VAT, Total £197.50 inc VAT.

darrenjuggins · January 9, 2004, 19:46

Hi Phil,

whats the Tank Performance and Tank fuel clean ?

did you request that especially ?

Cheers

Mr J

Anonymous · January 9, 2004, 20:04

I think one is the oil (Tank Performance 5W3), and I guess the Fuel Clean is some sort of cleaning agent. Both have the subcodes OIL5 & 6, next to them.

And no, didn't ask for them, they just did them (whatever they are).