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Post by Big Blue on Oct 19, 2018 9:49:40 GMT
The Gorilla has been telling me for weeks that it needs a service but when I go into the menu nothing needs one. So I booked it in to Cooper Thames Ditton who have looked after it since it arrived on these shores to do something, whatever that something was.
I received a video showing me that the rear tyres are legal but a bit too frayed on the inside edge (funny camber on Alpinas plus 507bhp). That was no surprise as I was going to re-tyre this month. A slight leak on one rear shock also showed up: 70k miles so not a surprise. I'll have both replaced at the rear.
Then they cleaned it inside and out, reset the service computer which was telling me it needed a TuV (I have a valid MoT) HU.
So I will need to buy some tyres and book in for the shocks but this visit.........
£0.00
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2018 9:55:32 GMT
A price that resonates with me too, nothing to do with my having a big nose wither.
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Post by Tim on Oct 19, 2018 10:33:37 GMT
That's a result, although did they tell you the price of the shocks?
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Post by johnc on Oct 19, 2018 10:52:44 GMT
That is how you build customer loyalty and satisfaction.
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Post by PG on Oct 19, 2018 12:36:21 GMT
That is how you build customer loyalty and satisfaction. +1 A skill too many places - automotive and otherwise - have long forgotten. |
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Post by Martin on Oct 19, 2018 13:25:25 GMT
Good service, can’t complain with that at all.
Not quite the same, but I dropped into the BMW garage on my way past at lunchtime because I checked the oil level last night and it said it needed 1 litre. I’d read that oil top ups were include in the (free on the 7 for 5 years/50k miles) service pack and that’s right, didn’t cost me a penny. It will be back in just under 7,000 miles for a service, which won’t cost me anything either.
Even more off topic....the 535d had a ‘live’ electronic oil level, whereas with the Boxster you had to select check oil and leave the engine running until it gave you the reading. The 750 is similar to the Boxster, but it increases the engine revs while its doing the check and takes a bit longer (sounds nice while you’re waiting)
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 19, 2018 13:30:31 GMT
Hot on the heels of Racing's £360 for an oil service on his 500 I noticed that Stratstone, our local BMW dealer, do an oil service for £139 and full major service for £399, which I found quite reasonable.
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Post by Big Blue on Oct 19, 2018 13:33:53 GMT
Yeah mine does the "ask for check with engine running".
They had a fair few new M5s in stock in Cooper TD. Very nice inside and I was glad to note that the storage tray next to the steering wheel on the driver door side was lined, as opposed to the first 520d I saw where it was just bare plastic.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Oct 25, 2018 9:06:30 GMT
The Gorilla has been telling me for weeks that it needs a service but when I go into the menu nothing needs one. So I booked it in to Cooper Thames Ditton who have looked after it since it arrived on these shores to do something, whatever that something was. I received a video showing me that the rear tyres are legal but a bit too frayed on the inside edge (funny camber on Alpinas plus 507bhp). That was no surprise as I was going to re-tyre this month. A slight leak on one rear shock also showed up: 70k miles so not a surprise. I'll have both replaced at the rear. Then they cleaned it inside and out, reset the service computer which was telling me it needed a TuV (I have a valid MoT) HU. So I will need to buy some tyres and book in for the shocks but this visit......... £0.00 It's worth keeping an eye on the inner edges of all your tyres, but the rears in particular. Whilst my car was in yesterday it was noted that the inner shoulders have worn unevenly or "castellated" - imagine a slight flat section, then normal circumference section, then a slight flat etc. Very subtle but visible when the wheels are rotating. The mechanic says he is seeing more and more of this and believes it is partially tyre manufacturing processes and partially our increasingly shit road surfaces. VWs and Audis are prone to this, it seems, from doing some Googling. Given the inner shoulders of the rear tyres are rarely seen, it's worth the occasional check. |
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Post by Alex on Oct 25, 2018 10:10:13 GMT
Had that on the Golf. Took it to ATS because the tyre pressure warning kept going off and they found a screw in the culprit tyre but also had to replace two other tyres as they had canvas showing on the inner wall.
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Post by Martin on Oct 25, 2018 10:12:37 GMT
Had that on the Golf. Took it to ATS because the tyre pressure warning kept going off and they found a screw in the culprit tyre but also had to replace two other tyres as they had canvas showing on the inner wall. Typical company car driver...!  |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 25, 2018 10:19:01 GMT
The Gorilla has been telling me for weeks that it needs a service but when I go into the menu nothing needs one. So I booked it in to Cooper Thames Ditton who have looked after it since it arrived on these shores to do something, whatever that something was. I received a video showing me that the rear tyres are legal but a bit too frayed on the inside edge (funny camber on Alpinas plus 507bhp). That was no surprise as I was going to re-tyre this month. A slight leak on one rear shock also showed up: 70k miles so not a surprise. I'll have both replaced at the rear. Then they cleaned it inside and out, reset the service computer which was telling me it needed a TuV (I have a valid MoT) HU. So I will need to buy some tyres and book in for the shocks but this visit......... £0.00 It's worth keeping an eye on the inner edges of all your tyres, but the rears in particular. Whilst my car was in yesterday it was noted that the inner shoulders have worn unevenly or "castellated" - imagine a slight flat section, then normal circumference section, then a slight flat etc. Very subtle but visible when the wheels are rotating. The mechanic says he is seeing more and more of this and believes it is partially tyre manufacturing processes and partially our increasingly shit road surfaces. VWs and Audis are prone to this, it seems, from doing some Googling. Given the inner shoulders of the rear tyres are rarely seen, it's worth the occasional check. I wonder if that's anything to do with these speed humps with the gaps that are just too wide for a car to straddle comfortably and you end up with all the vehicle's weight on the inner edge of the tyre? |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Oct 29, 2018 18:31:30 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised, although I generally slow right down and put one side's wheels over them rather than straddle them. If you look how much rubber is deposited on the edges of those speed cushions you can imagine the damage being done.
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Post by grampa on Oct 31, 2018 13:49:54 GMT
That is how you build customer loyalty and satisfaction. +1 A skill too many places - automotive and otherwise - have long forgotten. Yep. The Vauxhall dealer I used to use had a policy of - if someone called in with a problem that was only going to take a few minutes to fix, a mechanic would attend to it straight away and there would be no charge - they had loads of customers who would blindly just replace their car with them every three years or so (probably still do, just I haven't been there in more than 8 years), so probably paid them well. |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 31, 2018 15:01:15 GMT
+1 A skill too many places - automotive and otherwise - have long forgotten. Yep. The Vauxhall dealer I used to use had a policy of - if someone called in with a problem that was only going to take a few minutes to fix, a mechanic would attend to it straight away and there would be no charge - they had loads of customers who would blindly just replace their car with them every three years or so (probably still do, just I haven't been there in more than 8 years), so probably paid them well. Different times. Judging by how little dealerships make on new car sales and how much they rely on the aftersales dept, if they stopped charging for all their mechanics' time they'd soon be out of business. You can't plan your labour if it's continually being dragged away on non-earning jobs. |
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Post by Eff One on Nov 2, 2018 11:37:39 GMT
Whereas I've just got the Focus back expecting a bill of £250 for a 5 year service and MOT, and been stung for nearly £700. The front pads and discs were completely shot and bizarrely, the horn had failed.
They did have a very nice '17 plate 5 door Fiesta ST3 in the proper blue - very rare, and the first one I've seen. I miss my ST...
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Post by johnc on Nov 2, 2018 15:04:24 GMT
I have to say my 5 year service plan has been great. Over 4 years now and I haven't paid a penny for oil, filters, brake fluid or anything else. It has to make my current car about the cheapest car I have ever run.
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Post by Martin on Nov 2, 2018 15:46:05 GMT
I have to say my 5 year service plan has been great. Over 4 years now and I haven't paid a penny for oil, filters, brake fluid or anything else. It has to make my current car about the cheapest car I have ever run. Had the same pack on my 5, was a good saving even though it only lasted 18 months. They’ve downgraded it since you got yours, it only covers one service now as it’s 3 years / 36,000 miles and the service intervals are 2 years / 18-20,000 miles. Still 5 years / 50,000 miles included with the 7 so I’ll get 2 services. |
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Post by johnc on Nov 2, 2018 18:13:57 GMT
My original tyres are still showing about 3mm after nearly 30,000 miles but I thought with winter coming I might explore the possibility of changing them at my dealer. I did an internet search beforehand so that I was armed with prices: would you believe the BMW dealer is £1 per tyre more expensive for the fronts and £10 cheaper for the rears than the best price I can get anywhere else....and if they f up the wheels in the process I will be get a new one.
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Post by Martin on Nov 2, 2018 19:18:03 GMT
My original tyres are still showing about 3mm after nearly 30,000 miles but I thought with winter coming I might explore the possibility of changing them at my dealer. I did an internet search beforehand so that I was armed with prices: would you believe the BMW dealer is £1 per tyre more expensive for the fronts and £10 cheaper for the rears than the best price I can get anywhere else....and if they f up the wheels in the process I will be get a new one. That’s interesting, didn’t think they would be competitive. I will try them when I need new ones. |
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Post by Alex on Nov 2, 2018 20:18:02 GMT
Whereas I've just got the Focus back expecting a bill of £250 for a 5 year service and MOT, and been stung for nearly £700. The front pads and discs were completely shot and bizarrely, the horn had failed. They did have a very nice '17 plate 5 door Fiesta ST3 in the proper blue - very rare, and the first one I've seen. I miss my ST... I’d have done the discs and pads myself and saved the money! |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Nov 5, 2018 8:49:45 GMT
My original tyres are still showing about 3mm after nearly 30,000 miles but I thought with winter coming I might explore the possibility of changing them at my dealer. I did an internet search beforehand so that I was armed with prices: would you believe the BMW dealer is £1 per tyre more expensive for the fronts and £10 cheaper for the rears than the best price I can get anywhere else....and if they f up the wheels in the process I will be get a new one. Ask if they will price match. |
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Post by Tim on Nov 5, 2018 12:16:17 GMT
My original tyres are still showing about 3mm after nearly 30,000 miles but I thought with winter coming I might explore the possibility of changing them at my dealer. I did an internet search beforehand so that I was armed with prices: would you believe the BMW dealer is £1 per tyre more expensive for the fronts and £10 cheaper for the rears than the best price I can get anywhere else....and if they f up the wheels in the process I will be get a new one. That’s interesting, didn’t think they would be competitive. I will try them when I need new ones. +1
I'm surprised at how slowly the Goodyear Assymetrics are wearing on the 320, there must be 4 - 5mm on them all after about 30k miles. In my mind I still expect to be replacing tyres at around the 15k mark.
The annoying thing though (apart from the bulges caused by potholes) is that even with so much tread left most of the cross cuts are gone effectively leaving a single tread block round the circumference of the tyre which isn't going to be wonderful in the snow.
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Post by grampa on Nov 8, 2018 10:40:55 GMT
Yep. The Vauxhall dealer I used to use had a policy of - if someone called in with a problem that was only going to take a few minutes to fix, a mechanic would attend to it straight away and there would be no charge - they had loads of customers who would blindly just replace their car with them every three years or so (probably still do, just I haven't been there in more than 8 years), so probably paid them well. Different times. Judging by how little dealerships make on new car sales and how much they rely on the aftersales dept, if they stopped charging for all their mechanics' time they'd soon be out of business. You can't plan your labour if it's continually being dragged away on non-earning jobs. I wouldn't think they are being continually pulled away or they wouldn't do it. The dealer principal's theory (which from what I could see of a lot of their customers was a theory that worked) was that a free five minutes invested now and again buys the kind of customer loyalty that keeps customers coming back time and again - I knew a number of people who would blindly come back for another Vauxhall just because of the way they were looked after by the garage. Their sales apparently were always on a par with the next nearest dealer which on the face of it was a much larger business (I say 'was' - it's now a supermarket). |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Nov 8, 2018 11:33:58 GMT
Different times. Judging by how little dealerships make on new car sales and how much they rely on the aftersales dept, if they stopped charging for all their mechanics' time they'd soon be out of business. You can't plan your labour if it's continually being dragged away on non-earning jobs. I wouldn't think they are being continually pulled away or they wouldn't do it. The dealer principal's theory (which from what I could see of a lot of their customers was a theory that worked) was that a free five minutes invested now and again buys the kind of customer loyalty that keeps customers coming back time and again - I knew a number of people who would blindly come back for another Vauxhall just because of the way they were looked after by the garage. Their sales apparently were always on a par with the next nearest dealer which on the face of it was a much larger business (I say 'was' - it's now a supermarket). I agree, but they might make the decision that it's better to have the money now than rely on some sort of loyalty that, as we know, is more and more rare these days. |
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