Main dealer aftersales service. value or not

gunner099

Just wondering what the views are on prices at the moment for
labour rates. Seen as the motor trade is on its knees and relying
on the workshops for most of their income. What rates are
being paid around the county for the likes of mercs and bmw
bearing in mind we are probably payin top rates foe apprentices
working on our cars.Some of the prices are still around E90 an
hour.
I thought they would try to generate more work with more offers.

-Chris-

Nearly every garage I see at the moment has offers or fixed price servicing or similar. Dig around.

Fishtits

First and foremost on my list is the Mechanic, there is absolutely no way I'd hand my car over to an unknown.

Anecdotally, most main dealers are staffed by relatively inexperienced guys.

The natural progression seems to be that the good guys set up on their own once they've qualified, lower overheads, closer contact with the punter, why would you use a main dealer once out of warranty?

I use an independent, we source genuine parts, either through a dealership or elsewhere, ie Bilstein from a factor. Dealer is often cheaper in my experience (BMW)

BostonB

Out of curiosity tried a main dealer for a quote during the week. Labour was 80+ vat per hour. Parts were about 200% more expensive than just buying it via car parts shop. Parts were OEM too.

Stevie Dakota

I was interested to see posters at VW dealer offering €169 for a first service and next door the Audi dealer (same dealer for both) was €195. Probably the same parts for both cars. The joys of 'prestige' car ownership.

beam99

Some of them vw have a DPNF filter in the exhaust system so you have to use a low sap oil when servicing. That can run the price up.