AutoFast Swords

paul.28 · 14-10-2012 10:46am #1

I left my car in for a full service and pre nct inspection in autofast in swords a few week ago. I was told the service would cost me €129.00. After about 20 mins i got a call to say the service was just about all done and that i needed a few service items. Then he told me i needed to get my air filter, pollen filter and spark plugs replaced and that, including the price of the service will be €210.00. Apparrently this is the only garage in the country that doesnt know what a "full service is" well after spending the money i went for my nct and failed on worn wishbone bushings, corroded brake lines, 2worn tyres, and worn brake pads front and back. These people it seems took €210.00 from me and didnt do a thing. Then it all became clear, I have just found out from a friend of a friend that autofast in the pavilions shopping centre swords dont have any quallified mechanics working there is that even legal. I centainly wont be using these cowboys any more and i urge everyone to stay away.

colm_mcm · 14-10-2012 10:52am

Usually makes sense to nct car, see what it fails on, then do service and repair work.

Sounds like you got a glorified oil change. Have you considered complaining to the company themselves?

paul.28 · 14-10-2012 11:03am

colm_mcm wrote: »

Usually makes sense to nct car, see what it fails on, then do service and repair work.

Sounds like you got a glorified oil change. Have you considered complaining to the

Yes i complained straight after my nct. I was talking to an older guy by the name of ronan who said " well you see we cant guarantee you'll pass the nct because we dont have allthe specialist equipment that they have like an emissions tester, rolling road ramp etc." I then stayed and watched them "serving" a car. They dont even take wheels off or even lift the car in the air. They are 100% cowboys i dont know how they're still going.

maidhc · 14-10-2012 11:19am

What is your complaint exactly?

You paid for a service and you got it? Bit pricy may (maybe only, I don't know).

Now you know from the NCT there is a schedule of work to be done to your car. Get the work done and move on....

Mar4ix · 14-10-2012 11:23am

expensive though, for nearly same money would get dealers do the work.

colm_mcm · 14-10-2012 11:24am

This seems to be their €129 service

Up to 5 litres of fully synthetic oil (VAG, BMW, Mercedes specs)
Replace oil filter
Check and top off fluid levels
Power Steering, clutch and brake fluid
Transmission and Differential fluid
Battery Water
Radiator coolant
Windscreen washer fluid
Inspect lights and wipers
Check air, cabin/pollen, and fuel filters
Check and adjust tyre pressure
Clean battery terminals
Visually inspect brake pads and tyres
Visually inspect belts and hoses
Chassis inspection
Lubricate doors and windows
Reset service interval indicator
Provide continuous service history

Difficult to check brake pads with the wheels on. If I was very suspicious I'd be checking that the extra items ordered were fitted to the car.

http://www.autofast.ie/node/2

Mar4ix · 14-10-2012 11:26am

op, what car do you have ?

colm_mcm · 14-10-2012 11:32am

This place came up here before, they seemed to have used the wrong spec of oil in that thread.

paul.28 · 14-10-2012 12:43pm

maidhc wrote: »

What is your complaint exactly?

You paid for a service and you got it? Bit pricy may (maybe only, I don't know).

Now you know from the NCT there is a schedule of work to be done to your car. Get the work done and move on....

My complaint is that i paid over €200 to get my car serviced and checked over for the nct. Now my car went to the nct and failed badly on some serious safety issues that should of been picked up on the service but weren't. Which only leaves me with one question. Was my car serviced at all? Wouldn't you be annoyed

paul.28 · 14-10-2012 12:45pm

Mar4ix wrote: »

op, what car do you have ?

It's only a 03 1.4 golf nothing special. As far as i know a 10w40 semi synthetic oil would do it. But even if it did need fully synthetic oil it still shouldn't cost that and thay still should have found the safety issues with the car.

maidhc · 14-10-2012 12:50pm

paul.28 wrote: »

My complaint is that i paid over €200 to get my car serviced and checked over for the nct. Now my car went to the nct and failed badly on some serious safety issues that should of been picked up on the service but weren't. Which only leaves me with one question. Was my car serviced at all? Wouldn't you be annoyed

No, what you got was a run of the mill oil change. You might have paid about €50 over the odds, maybe, I don't know.

The NCT is a bargain for what it does. You get excellent diagnostics on a car for 50 something quid. You now know the car has defects, and you can get them sorted... it will cost well more than €200, but such are the joys of motoring.

Nissan doctor · 14-10-2012 12:54pm

That's a crazy price for an oil change on a basic car like a 1.4 golf. In pretty much any other independant garage you would have actually got a full engine service(oil + filter, air filter and spark plugs) for the €129 price on that car and that would always include proper inspection and written report of suspension/brakes etc.

There is no specialist equipment needed to test the items you failed on other then a functioning brain and pair of eyes.

Nissan doctor · 14-10-2012 12:57pm

maidhc wrote: »

No, what you got was a run of the mill oil change. You might have paid about €50 over the odds, maybe, I don't know.

The NCT is a bargain for what it does. You get excellent diagnostics on a car for 50 something quid. You now know the car has defects, and you can get them sorted... it will cost well more than €200, but such are the joys of motoring.

This attitude really gets me, if you are looking after your car properly with correct maintenance etc then you won't have any defects for the NCT to find. The job of the NCT is to check that your car is correctly maintained, not tell you what's wrong with it.

Technoprisoner · 14-10-2012 1:01pm

paul.28 wrote: »

It's only a 03 1.4 golf nothing special. As far as i know a 10w40 semi synthetic oil would do it. But even if it did need fully synthetic oil it still shouldn't cost that and thay still should have found the safety issues with the car.

i think the listed oil is actually a 5-30 fully synth

Nissan doctor · 14-10-2012 1:08pm

Technoprisoner wrote: »

i think the listed oil is actually a 5-30 fully synth

It would any oil that conforms to the correct VW spec(VW501.00, VW505.00 etc) as opposed to simply 5w30 fully as not all 5w30 fully synthetics will be of the correct spec.

maidhc · 14-10-2012 2:25pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

This attitude really gets me, if you are looking after your car properly with correct maintenance etc then you won't have any defects for the NCT to find. The job of the NCT is to check that your car is correctly maintained, not tell you what's wrong with it.

I agree completely, but the point is for €50 you get your car checked by equipment far outside the reach of all but the biggest of workshops. I do all my own maintenance, and have only failed once for a dodgy rear wheel bearing, a fair cop I never noticed

And to be honest, for €129, by the time VAT and materials are paid, I can't see any mechanic spending too long looking at the underside of any car, and if they do they will be accused of money grabbers. I am saying this, as just a punter... I can't see the money in it at all.

Mar4ix · 14-10-2012 2:41pm

here - 99 euro with dealer . including this , and plus more if dig more ..

Op , i think you well overpaid for those services, next time.. shop around.

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