I will not be getting my car serviced in Kildare again

Roaster

Folks,

Just want to let you know that I went to get my car serviced the other day by one of the main car dealers (T) in Kildare town.

Now on the way up I got caught behind a truck and alas loads of dirt spreads all over my windscreen. Needless to say I sprayed the windscreen with water from the jets and cleaned it off.

Well a couple of hours later I picked up the car after its service, I'm told this has been replaced, that has been replaced, etc. etc. Your man then tells me that my front wiper motor is gone and will need to be replaced. I told him it was working fine just 5 mins before I handed the car over and he just shrugs his shoulders and says well it's not working now. I was disgusted as I knew there's no way it was broke going in.

I then had a friend look at my car and alas we found the problem. The power cable/plug which powers the jets had been pulled out. There is no way this plug would just fall out of its own accord, it would have needed to be pulled out. Obviously I haven't got proof that they did this but I'm 99.99% convinced that they did and it has soured my experience of going to a bona-fide dealer in future. Needless to say I won't be going near that lot.

undecided

god that unbelievable! :eek: seems there is alot of this going on with garages Ive heard it a good few time between charging extra for parts or something else!

kikel

Hey Roaster,
Definitely go back. It was working before you went to the garage and then you found it unplugged. Go back to a manager and highlight your concerns. Maybe it was a genuine F up. If it as at least the manager knows about his/her staff making mistakes and won't charge another customer who doesn't have a friend like yours.
My 2cents worth

Roaster

Kikel,

The reason I don't think it was a mistake is because when we found what the problem was all you have to do is unscrew one nut from the bumper to the side and take out this plug or as what we did put it back in (to get it working again).

I took us about 20 mins to locate it but an experienced mechanic could do what we did in 30 secs and they would/should have looked there firstlto see if that what the problem was.

Call me a conspiracy theorist but I defo think they were trying to do me.

kaimera

Moved from Laois -> Kildare

prospect

If your car is out of warranty, get it done in a local/independent place, some where you can trust.

My last service 65,000KMs on a diesel 4x4 cost me €78 in parts (i sourced myself) and €100 in labour, pre-agreed. The mechanic handed me back the fuel filter, said it didn;t need replacing till the next service, and told me the brake pads were also fine till the next time round.

I suppose that is the difference in dealing with a small one-man operation. He depends on a good relationship with his customers.

Saabdub

My wife took her car into a dealers in Kildare to replace a tail light. They had her wait half an hour and said they replaced the light and charged her €20. When she got home she noticed it wasn't working. I checked it and lo and behold it was the same burnt out bulb:mad: Needless to say she never went back there again.

Saabdub

BuffyBot

Think this is better in Motors

Anan1

Roaster wrote: »

Folks,

Just want to let you know that I went to get my car serviced the other day by one of the main car dealers (T) in Kildare town.

This story is kind of useless without a name.;)

L1011

He said T, I only know of one car dealers in Kildare Town and it begins with T, could be a very wrogn assumption being made there!

Anan1

Sorry, I didn't pick up on that.:)

Cionád

MYOB wrote: »

He said T, I only know of one car dealers in Kildare Town and it begins with T, could be a very wrogn assumption being made there!

Isn't there a Volvo dealership (C) there too? I also could be wrong.

Spit62500

And a Toyota dealer - was the T referring to the brand or the first initial of the dealer's name?

King Kelly

I can never understand why people post threads on this board BEFORE going back to the dealership, talking to a manager and explaning they have an issue with the quality/standard/cost of repair carried out to see what their response will be first.

If you are still not satisfied after giving them the opportunity to either resolve the problem or give you an reasonable explanation of their actions you can then complain. Most reputable dealerships have procedures in place to resolve issues like this. While posters from the Kildare area may be able to identify the 'dodgy' dealership from the hints given, it may be that they would be happy to sort out the OP's grievence if given the opportunity.

Like wise it's pointless paying €20 to have a bulb (not) changed and just never going back there ever again. Any company in any industry can make a balls up - its how they deal with the problem that seperates the good guys from the bad .

(BTW I'm a long way from Kildare and don't work in any dealerships there!)

hiscan

prospect wrote: »

If your car is out of warranty, get it done in a local/independent place, some where you can trust.

My last service 65,000KMs on a diesel 4x4 cost me €78 in parts (i sourced myself) and €100 in labour, pre-agreed. The mechanic handed me back the fuel filter, said it didn;t need replacing till the next service, and told me the brake pads were also fine till the next time round.

I suppose that is the difference in dealing with a small one-man operation. He depends on a good relationship with his customers.

i agree with prospect main dealers charge an arm and a leg for a basic service

Jonny303

King Kelly wrote: »

I can never understand why people post threads on this board BEFORE going back to the dealership, talking to a manager and explaning they have an issue with the quality/standard/cost of repair carried out to see what their response will be first.

If you are still not satisfied after giving them the opportunity to either resolve the problem or give you an reasonable explanation of their actions you can then complain. Most reputable dealerships have procedures in place to resolve issues like this. While posters from the Kildare area may be able to identify the 'dodgy' dealership from the hints given, it may be that they would be happy to sort out the OP's grievence if given the opportunity.

Like wise it's pointless paying €20 to have a bulb (not) changed and just never going back there ever again. Any company in any industry can make a balls up - its how they deal with the problem that seperates the good guys from the bad .

(BTW I'm a long way from Kildare and don't work in any dealerships there!)

Totally agree!! Typical Irish attitude, complain and b***h to others instead of going back to them. (I am irish btw)

E92

hiscan wrote: »

i agree with prospect main dealers charge an arm and a leg for a basic service

Well someone has got to pay for the big expensive showrooms that most main dealers have these days:)!

Seth Brundle

King Kelly wrote: »

I can never understand why people post threads on this board BEFORE going back to the dealership, talking to a manager and explaning they have an issue with the quality/standard/cost of repair carried out to see what their response will be first.

+1 million

pburns

Spit62500 wrote: »

And a Toyota dealer - was the T referring to the brand or the first initial of the dealer's name?

Well the OP said the dealer was in Kildare 'town'. The only dealer I can think of beginning with 'T' is a couple of miles outside the town on the way to Monasterevin. So the 'T' might refer to the marque...

But I guess it's unfair to speculate one way or the other at this point.

Spit62500

pburns wrote: »

Well the OP said the dealer was in Kildare 'town'. The only dealer I can think of beginning with 'T' is a couple of miles outside the town on the way to Monasterevin. So the 'T' might refer to the marque...

But I guess it's unfair to speculate one way or the other at this point.

That's what I was thinking too - my worry is that I was planning to use the dealer in the town for a service (car is still under warranty and I need a service history as the mileage is going up fast). I don't want to use them if there are issues though.

Roaster, would you mind sending me a PM if you don't want to say it publically? (although I think that it'd benefit more people if it was a public post)

hiscan

E92 wrote: »

Well someone has got to pay for the big expensive showrooms that most main dealers have these days:)!

thats true i suppose well it wont be me well not for servicing anyway;)

parsi

Saabdub wrote: »

My wife took her car into a dealers in Kildare to replace a tail light. They had her wait half an hour and said they replaced the light and charged her €20. When she got home she noticed it wasn't working. I checked it and lo and behold it was the same burnt out bulb:mad: Needless to say she never went back there again.

Saabdub

To counter this slightly (though I do believe a lot of main dealers are ****e):

I was waiting in Clarkes Mallow to collect my car and a woman came in looking for a bulb for a sidelight or indicator (don't remember which). They looked after it free of charge (it was a peugeot) - which was obviously a sign that they were going to build up custom by treating folk decently.

Ay Cee

I don't know the OP but just to let people know that the garages in Kildare are
Chapmans - Volvo / Rangerover
Fitzpatricks - Toyota / Lexus
TP Waters - Seat & assorted other brands.

Waters is a couple of miles outside the town.

Roaster

Ok, I thought the (T) would give it away, so what I will add to that is (F - as per Ay Cee post), now if that doesn't give it away...

King Kelly why the f*** would I go back to a dealer that's already tried to screw me out of money? As I said this wasn't an accident (IMHO) and who do you think he's going to side with, me or his mechanics?

No I will not be going back and I thought I'd just let people know my experience and they can decide for themselves. Sure if you still want to head to that particular garage then fair enough, go ahead.

MarkR

I would go back definitely. What point would there be to you claiming that your car was rigged to look faulty? None. Point to the mechanic doing it? Not sure, but maybe parts to fix it would go elsewhere, or maybe he'd just nap on your buck. Point is that if you don't bring it to their attention then you don't give them a chance to respond.

Ay Cee

I'd definitely say something to them!
As much out of curiousity to see how they'd try to explain it.

Robbin'...

craichoe

If your unhappy with the service, i would go back and give them the chance at least to remedy the problem. They can't fix something relating to their service unless customers let them know about it. Its for the benefit of your and other customers in the future.

ddunleav

Roaster wrote: »

Ok, I thought the (T) would give it away, so what I will add to that is (F - as per Ay Cee post), now if that doesn't give it away...

King Kelly why the f*** would I go back to a dealer that's already tried to screw me out of money? As I said this wasn't an accident (IMHO) and who do you think he's going to side with, me or his mechanics?

No I will not be going back and I thought I'd just let people know my experience and they can decide for themselves. Sure if you still want to head to that particular garage then fair enough, go ahead.

No point in moaning about it if you dont know the def answer & didnt go back to the garage!!! its not warning ppl off the garage it may have happened whilst the mechanic was sorting your car he disconnected it and forgot to reconnect it??!!!
IMOH Benefit of the doubt!!!

-Chris-

Give the dealer the benefit of the doubt +1

a) it was an honest mistake and they deserve the chance to remedy it
b) it was a deliberate mistake by the mechanic, and they deserve to be disciplined for it
c) it was a deliberate ploy on behalf of the dealer to get more money from you and they deserve to be embarrassed by being asked about it

I'm also +1 on the whole "go back to the dealer before bitching about it here" sentiment. Badmouthing a dealer on a public forum and then giving hints as to what dealer it is without having the good manners to go back and let the dealer address/remedy the problem is unfair and probaby libellous.

granturismo

AudiChris wrote: »

Give the dealer the benefit of the doubt +1
Badmouthing a dealer on a public forum and then giving hints as to what dealer it is without having the good manners to go back and let the dealer address/remedy the problem is unfair and probably libellous.

Completely unfair to identify the dealer and not approach them. I've had my car serviced by a branch of the same company in Naas and never had a problem.

After a service in a well known W Dublin garage my car chugged exiting the garage - a HT lead was never reconnected to the spark plug - never stopped me getting a service in Dublin again, just not the same garage after the supervisor refused to accept that his staff were responsible but they reconnected the lead no problem.

Roaster

Why should I give garage the benefit of the doubt? I told the service manager that the water jets were working on the way in, he just shrugged his shoulders and said they're not now. Now tell me what type of customer service is that? Is that good manners AudiChris?

Surely if they knew the jets weren't working they should have

(i) phoned me to say this isn't working and do you want us to fix it
or
(ii) think back to what they've serviced and what could have made this happen.

It won't stop me going to a T garage again but not just that one. I love Toyotas and this won't stop me from buying anymore but as I said Kildare will not be getting my business.

As for libelous, get a grip. I said I was 99.99% certain (as per advice from a friend who looked at it and said the lead just couldn't fall out...) but I can't prove it.

As I originally said, I just wanted to let people know of my experience (isn't that what a public forum is for). If you wish to go there then by all means go.

I'm sorry if you don't agree with my viewpoint but hey that's life!!!

-Chris-

Roaster wrote: »

Why should I give garage the benefit of the doubt?

Up to you, but I've always felt that how a problem is remedied is more important that what happened.

Roaster wrote: »

I told the service manager that the water jets were working on the way in, he just shrugged his shoulders and said they're not now. Now tell me what type of customer service is that?

That's poor customer service, and your statement makes me think that he's not a very good service manager.

Roaster wrote: »

Is that good manners AudiChris?

Absolutely not.

Roaster wrote: »

Surely if they knew the jets weren't working they should have

(i) phoned me to say this isn't working and do you want us to fix i

Did they need to order parts, did have a wiper motor in stock, did they have time to repair it that day - i.e. was fixing it within their power?
Was any of this part of the conversation you had with the Service Manager?

Roaster wrote: »

or
(ii) think back to what they've serviced and what could have made this happen.

They definitely should have done this, and any garage worth their salt should be worried that one of their mechanics are doing shoddy work.

Roaster wrote: »

It won't stop me going to a T garage again but not just that one. I love Toyotas and this won't stop me from buying anymore but as I said Kildare will not be getting my business.

Based on this one mistake and no opportunity to fix it...

Roaster wrote: »

As for libelous, get a grip. I said I was 99.99% certain (as per advice from a friend who looked at it and said the lead just couldn't fall out...) but I can't prove it.

You're making statements in a public forum that lowers the reputation of a person/business in the eyes of others. That's the only reason I'd be concerned.

Roaster wrote: »

As I originally said, I just wanted to let people know of my experience (isn't that what a public forum is for). If you wish to go there then by all means go.

General consensus seems to be that you should go back to the garage and see how they recover the situation. If they treat you badly again, scream it from the rooftops and we'll all make sure to tell our friends and neighbours not to get their cars serviced there.
If they treat you well, you should say that here too - not enough dealers are giving excellent service, I'd love to see a good news story on here for once.

Roaster wrote: »

I'm sorry if you don't agree with my viewpoint but hey that's life!!!

I don't agree or disagree, I'm curious to see what happens next!

Saabdub

King Kelly wrote: »

I can never understand why people post threads on this board BEFORE going back to the dealership, talking to a manager and explaning they have an issue with the quality/standard/cost of repair carried out to see what their response will be first.

If you are still not satisfied after giving them the opportunity to either resolve the problem or give you an reasonable explanation of their actions you can then complain. Most reputable dealerships have procedures in place to resolve issues like this. While posters from the Kildare area may be able to identify the 'dodgy' dealership from the hints given, it may be that they would be happy to sort out the OP's grievence if given the opportunity.

Like wise it's pointless paying €20 to have a bulb (not) changed and just never going back there ever again. Any company in any industry can make a balls up - its how they deal with the problem that seperates the good guys from the bad .

(BTW I'm a long way from Kildare and don't work in any dealerships there!)

The main reason my wife didn't go back to the Kildare dealer is that she works in Carlow and had to use a days leave to take the car in the first day, she wasn't going to use up a second day to go back. Which is why I picked up a bulb for her on my way home from Halfords and installed it myself and got the brownie points for it:D

Saabdub

astraboy

At the end of the day people have every right to complain about poor customer service, especially when you are paying so much per hour for labor on your car! I found from living in the US before, people complain LOUDLY:D and often if they get poor customer service, in fact they won't stand for it and demand it.

Don't take shoddy customer service, we live in a free country and you have the right to demand it, don't complain on the internet about it, go to the Garage manager!

I got my car serviced by a local guy this week, something fell off a shelf and put a tiny dent on the door. He apologized over and over and will arrange a time to suit me to fix it for free, on the plus side they will fix a piece of the back bumper at a discount rate, fair enough all in all.

dubtom

I have to disagree about complaining on the web,in my opinion outing rip off merchants,and my local dealer is one big one, is a public service. In my case it's the usualy little things likes 'replacing' working bulbs and filling washers vessels with water that don't need any,little things that cost pennys but add an hour on to the labour charge, at €90 + vat p/h it adds up. If they are doing it to me,they are doing it to everyone.I'll be buying my genuine parts and getting a local I can trust to fit them in future at about 1/3 of the cost.