Atlas Fonthill any experiences good or bad for Servicing Cars?

Snake Plisken

HI there have a 2010 Ford Focus Diesel that's due a service I like in Lucan so no main dealer nearby but read some good reports on some various Atlas branches, anyone used them for servicing their cars? Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks

Snake Plisken

So no one has any experience with this place? Would I be better going to a main dealer? Nct is due on the car soon and pretty sure I have an issue with back passenger side break as last week left it Down and car wouldn't move heard a ding like a spring and it freed up but for that journey I could hear rubbing sound as if break was still slightly negated that has gone away but is say it might be spotted in nct

R.O.R

Places like Atlas / Fast Fit / Advance are fine for an oil change, but I wouldn't be letting them do anything else.

Ford dealers are usually pretty cheap for servicing. A few years ago I got a Mondeo serviced by Advance Pitstop and it cost more than the previous service in a Ford dealer.

BMJD

There are several Ford dealers within a 20 minute drive of you, they can probably give you a courtesy car, why not give them a ring and see what they can do for you?

jayok

R.O.R wrote: »

Places like Atlas / Fast Fit / Advance are fine for an oil change, but I wouldn't be letting them do anything else.

Well, in their defence, I regularly used Atlas Drumcondra and find the work excellent. I wouldn't tar all brands/outlets with the same brush.

Send a friend there with his Focus and got the TB, pump, etc all done for significantly less than Ford. Also why doing the work they found that the thermostat was dodgy and throw it in to the price of the fix (which was agreed beforehand).

Didn't the lost Nissan Doctor used work there and if anything the posts he made here indicated that they were more than capable of just doing oil changes.

biko

What items are you planning to get serviced OP?

sumo12

Is it the 1.6 diesel? If it is, then go to Ford and nowhere else. Engine must be fastidiously maintained to avoid expensive failures. See lots of other posts on this forum re HDi engines....

Snake Plisken

I'm a bit wary of Dublin Ford dealers I was driving a ford transit for work and I got it serviced by dealer up near swords they charged the fleet crowd I had the van off for a missing hub cap that they had lost and crowd near finglas fixed the van fine but someone had clocked 100km onto it as I recorded the milage before leaving it in! Any recommendations of Ford dealers in west Dublin? How about Ford Tallaght any good?

Guy:Incognito

jayok wrote: »

Well, in their defence, I regularly used Atlas Drumcondra and find the work excellent. I wouldn't tar all brands/outlets with the same brush.

Send a friend there with his Focus and got the TB, pump, etc all done for significantly less than Ford. Also why doing the work they found that the thermostat was dodgy and throw it in to the price of the fix (which was agreed beforehand).

Didn't the lost Nissan Doctor used work there and if anything the posts he made here indicated that they were more than capable of just doing oil changes.

the problem can be the varying levels of service and competence in different places. One of the other apprentices in the garage I was in last year used to work for them. He was never an apprentice with them, just employed as a tyre fitter. He was doing service and other work in the garage though. He left because they were never going to put his through serving his time. He was there 6 months before I started as a first year but Imo was behind where I was knowledge wise. I used to ask him about bits the odd time too about how they did things .

I've used Nissan doctor in drumcondra btw. He's a good guy.

Coolant came up one day when I was getting some for my own and he said that when they were topping up they just lobbed in whatever they had there, regardless of what was in already.

The line that's always thrown in when anyone asks here about getting a service done in a main dealer is that sure all that will happen is a first year will be doing it. Besides not explaining what the qualified lads in main dealers do ( presumably sit in the coke and hooker room all day) while the first years are doing all the work at least if that's the case your getting someone who's actually on the road to being a mechanic.

Snake Plisken

sumo12 wrote: »

Is it the 1.6 diesel? If it is, then go to Ford and nowhere else. Engine must be fastidiously maintained to avoid expensive failures. See lots of other posts on this forum re HDi engines....

It's a 1.6 Diesel TDCI Focus Style, I haven't done a whole lot of KM's on it since I got it 15 months ago. bit of an issue with the handbrake as noted on the 2nd post, otherwise mechanically fine, just want to keep it that way and get it through the NCT. KM wise there is 66697 on it at the moment.

R.O.R

Snake Plisken wrote: »

How about Ford Tallaght any good?

We use Tallaght Ford quite a lot (fleet vehicles) and never had any issues. Have standard service pricing up on the wall in the service department (or did last time I was up there), and Rolph is a friendly chap.

We've also started to use Lillis O'Donnell for servicing and the feedback is positive, but their premises isn't great for parking etc.

Snake Plisken

Was onto Tallaght branch and they are looking for €300 as they want to replace fuel filter rang barlows in Clonmel they didn't change it as they bought car from the now out of business Kilkenny dealership, there is a record in the service book of fuel filter being replaced but it was a non-ford dealership and no name of the company who carried it out! I suppose it would be better to get it done to be on the safe side.

Craazysteve

Hi Snake, just wondering if you got the handbrake rear passenger side issue resolved? My focus is giving the same problem at the moment, usually after the car has been parked up for a day or two. It's a pretty bad metal-on-metal type sound as it frees up. Have the NCT coming up in few days too, was it noticed in yours?

Snake Plisken

Craazysteve wrote: »

Hi Snake, just wondering if you got the handbrake rear passenger side issue resolved? My focus is giving the same problem at the moment, usually after the car has been parked up for a day or two. It's a pretty bad metal-on-metal type sound as it frees up. Have the NCT coming up in few days too, was it noticed in yours?

Haven't had the Nct yet due scheduled at end of month, I brought the car into ford tallaght last month and specifically asked them to look at the issue two days later and it stuck again, so much for main dealers! If I were you I'd let it go through the Nct, I'm sorry I didn't wait, let us know if it passes.

Craazysteve

Hmmm, good to know. NCT on friday so I'll keep you posted.

Craazysteve

No mention of it in the NCT thankfully, hasn't happened since last weekend, tends to only happen after car has been sitting up after driving in wet conditions. Read somewhere before that it's something rusting together.

Failed on left headlight alignment though annoyingly, everything else was grand.

Snake Plisken

Craazysteve wrote: »

No mention of it in the NCT thankfully, hasn't happened since last weekend, tends to only happen after car has been sitting up after driving in wet conditions. Read somewhere before that it's something rusting together.

Failed on left headlight alignment though annoyingly, everything else was grand.

Yeah noticed that on mine seems to be random days, I'm hoping mine doesn't play up when I get mine done on the 28th.

Do you have to do the 28 euro re-test then re the headlight alignment?

Craazysteve

Yup, have to pay for a re-test alright, bit of a pain. At least it should be an easy fix.

robnet77

I know this thread is old, but for anyone who needs to use Atlas in Fonthill in the future, I'd like to advise you to avoid them at all costs.
Not only did they charge me 444 euro for a gear linkage issue, they also did not call me to let me know my car was ready and I had to ring them myself to find out.
Because I could not find a taxi sooner from my workplace, I called them to advise I would be there at around 18.02-18.03 based on google traffic, but they said they could not wait that long as they would close at 18 o'clock at the latest! They were not willing to wait like 3 minutes more.
To add to this, after I got off the taxi near my workplace and decided to collect my car tomorrow instead, they rang my girlfriend at 18.15 asking if she would collect the car today!!!
I will never use them again or recommend them to anyone, by the way another branch of them (on Old Naas Road) had previously quoted me a ridiculously high price for a disk brake replacement and I had not used their services on that occasion.

shietpilot

Generally any king of branched/heavily commercialised place should be avoided, IMO.

You either fork out a big amount at the dealership or take it to a small indie. It's a lot nicer dealing with indie garages since it's a lot more informal and you can treat the mechanic like a friend.

Snake Plisken

shietpilot wrote: »

Generally any king of branched/heavily commercialised place should be avoided, IMO.

You either fork out a big amount at the dealership or take it to a small indie. It's a lot nicer dealing with indie garages since it's a lot more informal and you can treat the mechanic like a friend.

I always go to main ford dealers for servicing as I always believe (maybe wrongly) that they have the correct tech for engine diagnostics, latest tech alerts for particular models etc

deandean

shietpilot wrote: »

Generally any king of branched/heavily commercialised place should be avoided, IMO.

You either fork out a big amount at the dealership or take it to a small indie. It's a lot nicer dealing with indie garages since it's a lot more informal and you can treat the mechanic like a friend.

And this is why I service my own cars.

3rd car in a row now I have spent 100 - 200 each on the software pack, and I do all work myself.

The only need I have for main dealer is if I need a new key.

I don't use the quick service places. They are salespeople selling you (a captive audience) stuff.

DIY or an Indy you know.

166man

deandean wrote: »

And this is why I service my own cars.

3rd car in a row now I have spent 100 - 200 each on the software pack, and I do all work myself.

The only need I have for main dealer is if I need a new key.

I don't use the quick service places. They are salespeople selling you (a captive audience) stuff.

DIY or an Indy you know.

You'd DIY even if it was a brand new car? And people wonder why Irish cars nearly always have non existent service histories. Of course on a €1500 a DIY/Indy makes sense but not on a new/nearly new car.

biko

Old thread lock.
robnet77, you can use Consumer Issues if you need advise.