False upselling at service common?

micks_address

Hi folks,
Had my car in for service today. Main dealer covered under service plan. Got a call to say advised to replace wipers costing 70 plus euro. I was like hmmm the car is 12 months old and due to Covid and working from home I spend most days admiring it in the driveway. I politely declined and they said that’s fine. I was starting to doubt myself and maybe thought they were frayed or worn but when I got the car back they are as expected as new. I just thought it was incredibly cheeky of the garage and it kinda annoyed me but I didn’t bring it up with them. It has certainly lessened my experience with them which had been pretty good so far. I wonder how many people would just have agreed with the advice and basically thrown away money? I probably would have agreed in a normal year as I’d have done a lot more winter driving.


Cheers,
Mick

antodeco

€70 for a wiper change? For that price I'd expect someone sitting on the roof whilst I drive around wiping my windows!

mickuhaha

All garages have artistic license when it comes to selling extras. Their are three levels of need.1 the thing is gone past ducked and you really should have sorted that along time ago. 2 it is just about to go and you will be back soon to change it anyway so save yourself from an accident. 3 it is working now and looks fine but I would change it to keep on top of things. As a avarage person you need to find the garage that works on your need.

biko

More common than you think. Don't fall for it

Needles73

micks_address wrote: »

Hi folks,
Had my car in for service today. Main dealer covered under service plan. Got a call to say advised to replace wipers costing 70 plus euro. I was like hmmm the car is 12 months old and due to Covid and working from home I spend most days admiring it in the driveway. I politely declined and they said that’s fine. I was starting to doubt myself and maybe thought they were frayed or worn but when I got the car back they are as expected as new. I just thought it was incredibly cheeky of the garage and it kinda annoyed me but I didn’t bring it up with them. It has certainly lessened my experience with them which had been pretty good so far. I wonder how many people would just have agreed with the advice and basically thrown away money? I probably would have agreed in a normal year as I’d have done a lot more winter driving.


Cheers,
Mick

Was it a VW by any chance ?

Toyotafanboi

Any streaking = advise wipers. You'll always find a streak if you look but that doesn't mean you need wipers.

We would advise our service advisors to ask customers if they are happy with their wipers. It's a much easier way to bring up the topic without looking like you are pushing wipers down their throat.

They are in the business of selling them, let's be realistic, but there are better ways than telling you that you need something that you think you dont. It's not like brakes or tyres where they are either fooked or they are not.

Water2626262

I experienced this with Audi. Wanted to charge me some ridic amount for adblue. If only filled it a month prior and when I said this to them they said “oh well we only know the tank isn’t full, we don’t know how much is actually in there”.

In fact I was quoted for 4K of work in total. Spent 1250 in daltons. I gave them a list of the work to be done and I don’t think more than half it was required.

The only reason I went to Audi is because I had the timing belt and a service done on my previous car and it was smooth enough. The car needing 4K of work was 3 years newer and half the mileage. Turned me off the brand to be honest.

markmoto

micks_address wrote: »

Hi folks,
Had my car in for service today. Main dealer covered under service plan. Got a call to say advised to replace wipers costing 70 plus euro. I was like hmmm the car is 12 months old and due to Covid and working from home I spend most days admiring it in the driveway. I politely declined and they said that’s fine. I was starting to doubt myself and maybe thought they were frayed or worn but when I got the car back they are as expected as new. I just thought it was incredibly cheeky of the garage and it kinda annoyed me but I didn’t bring it up with them. It has certainly lessened my experience with them which had been pretty good so far. I wonder how many people would just have agreed with the advice and basically thrown away money? I probably would have agreed in a normal year as I’d have done a lot more winter driving.


Cheers,
Mick

Second year servicing being told I need to change spark plug wiring harness, walked away from that garage for good. 12 years down the road new spark plugs but wiring harness remains the same.

phelimb

Yeah, it's all too common - main dealers will try and sell you stuff you may not necessarily need but in their handbook are doing their duty and keeping your car in top notch condition...

I've had over the last couple of years:
1) wipers need replacing - I had replaced them just about a week earlier and had the receipt - response was, oh sorry, must have been a mistake our side...
2) battery needs replacing - it was only 3 weeks old (original died during COVID due to lack of use and I replaced it myself) - response was, we tried it again and it seems OK now...
3) aircon needs re-gassing - I declined the offer of 300 euro to re-gas it. On the next service the aircon was "working as expected" or something to that effect.

For 'cosmetic' stuff like wipers or whatever you'll know yourself if they need to be replaced

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Used to work in a non main dealer brand of repair garages in Dublin

Yes upsell is common but not to that extent. Atleast with the place I worked they upsold stuff you actually needed and they were very well priced for it. Nothing like a main dealer price.

Then again that was a long time ago, could've well changed by now

Water2626262

I reckon there is huge focus on profitability now between dealers slapping on gap insurance and cleaning kits as part of the sale (and charging you for same) and after sales.

After sales makes the most margin and for the most part, cars are way more reliable than they were in the past and service intervals have increased. They probably now operate on a model where if there is any doubt, mark if for replacement. I think the wiper blades and ad blue being automatically added to the lists is evidence of this.

sumo12

Wipers are a funny thing. I can't bear even the slightest streak or smear from wipers so I change mine at least twice a year. Other people won't change them until they've literally fallen off the car and still think they are fine.

As someone above said, see a streak, recommend wipers. It's the customer choice after that and I would never push a customer on it. Depends on the way the Service advisor phrases it too - "You need wipers" V "Wipers are a bit streaky, would you like them changed"

Stark

I get the wipers up-sell all the time. I just say "fine, I'll go buy some myself". Takes about a minute to change them, no need to be paying their ridiculous labour charges.

Most brazen one I've had was a Ford garage charging me €40 in labour fees to "top up windscreen wiper fluid". Kicking myself that I hadn't read through the receipt in full before leaving the garage, otherwise would have kicked up hell. Didn't use them again after that.

ba_barabus

sumo12 wrote: »

Wipers are a funny thing. I can't bear even the slightest streak or smear from wipers so I change mine at least twice a year.

Get your windscreen ceramic coated and live a happy streak free life

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'd be more concerned at the blatant rip off price they're charging for wipers than the cheekiness of suggesting they need replacing when they don't. Wipers are €30 and take 2 minutes to change so at most a tenner for labour although they shouldn't be charging anything for such a simple job.

I hate car dealers, they at the most dishonest people I have ever come across and for that reason, in over 30 years of driving and owning over 50 cars I have never bought a car from one of them. This just re-affirms my beliefs.

ba_barabus

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Wipers are €30

To be fair to the dealers, it can depend on the wipers in question and sizes. €30 ignores a whole load of factors. Also dealers are generally selling original brands which are straight up going to be a premium cost especially depending on the manufacturer.

If you're not happy paying a premium why go to a main dealer?

I've zero issues with my local main dealer, prices are very reasonable, service is great and I've no interest in going anywhere else. I think the idea that dealers are all out to do you over is wildly over blown.

micks_address

I don’t have an issue with main dealer prices just the fact the wipers on my car were pretty much brand new and they tried to convince me that I needed to replace them. I’m sure lots of people including myself would generally say yeah whatever you think is best and work away. Glad I had the cop on when they phoned to refuse. There is zero streaking or wear on mine so there’s no way they could justify saying they might need replacement.

ba_barabus

micks_address wrote: »

I don’t have an issue with main dealer prices just the fact the wipers on my car were pretty much brand new and they tried to convince me that I needed to replace them. I’m sure lots of people including myself would generally say yeah whatever you think is best and work away. Glad I had the cop on when they phoned to refuse. There is zero streaking or wear on mine so there’s no way they could justify saying they might need replacement.

Absolutely right and I'd agree they shouldn't have tried it in the first place.

JimmyVik

We bought a 3 year service plan when we bought a new car.
Year 1 fine.

Year 2- Left the car in and they called me and said it needed new brake pads and a few other things.
I said that id forgotten to say that its on the service plan when i dropped it in that morning.
They said, let us get back to you.
Not a work about new brake pads or all the other things after that. Car was serviced on the service plan.

Year 3 - Left it in for service, told them about the service plan on leaving it in this time.
Not a word still on needing new brake pads. Nothing else reported either. All fine.

Year 4. Service plan expired. Now we needed new brake pads again.

bladespin

Happens all the time but it's not false, wipers are recommended to be changed every 6-12 months, €70 is normal main dealer price for a set.

colm_mcm

bladespin wrote: »

Happens all the time but it's not false, wipers are recommended to be changed every 6-12 months, €70 is normal main dealer price for a set.

Surely they’d be included in the service pricing if they need changing that often ?

ba_barabus

colm_mcm wrote: »

Surely they’d be included in the service pricing if they need changing that often ?

You'd need to check whats covered in the service plan but I'd guess for the most part it's oil, filters and top ups

colm_mcm

ba_barabus wrote: »

You'd need to check whats covered in the service plan but I'd guess for the most part it's oil, filters and top ups

It’s never included. My point was if they’re supposed to be changed every 6/12 months then they ought to be pricing the services to include them.

JimmyVik

colm_mcm wrote: »

It’s never included. My point was if they’re supposed to be changed every 6/12 months then they ought to be pricing the services to include them.

Stop by halfords on your way home

ba_barabus

colm_mcm wrote: »

It’s never included. My point was if they’re supposed to be changed every 6/12 months then they ought to be pricing the services to include them.

I'd agree but would they fall under general servicing or ongoing car care.

For example if you cut the living daylights out of them running them to clear a frosty windscreen they'll need immediate changing which is up to the driver to do.

Oil and filter change is specifically time/mileage limited. There's a difference in my mind.

ianobrien

I've had the opposite experience with one main dealer. I have plenty of examples of "na, you don't really need to change that" "you can get better tyres elsewhere" and "we'll keep an eye on it and check at the next service". Needless to say, it's hard to look past that level of service so we have bought 3 new cars off them in the past few years.

On the other hand, I've had another main dealer say that my vehicle didn't exist (and insisted that it didn't) despite it being outside the door of their service dept.....

bladespin

colm_mcm wrote: »

Surely they’d be included in the service pricing if they need changing that often ?

I don't change mine anything like that often but that's what the manufacturer recommends etc etc - the dealer will, of course use it as a revenue stream, but they're not necessarily pulling a fast one either, service plans vary but I'd see wipers as a consumable, like tyres, so they wouldn't be included so far as I'd think anyway.

Casati

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Any streaking = advise wipers. You'll always find a streak if you look but that doesn't mean you need wipers.

We would advise our service advisors to ask customers if they are happy with their wipers. It's a much easier way to bring up the topic without looking like you are pushing wipers down their throat.

They are in the business of selling them, let's be realistic, but there are better ways than telling you that you need something that you think you dont. It's not like brakes or tyres where they are either fooked or they are not.

Upselling brake pads and disc's when not needed is one that is all too common - this upselling seems to be more common where you have a service pack or indeed with more expensive marques especially Audi.

My friendly Volvo dealer told me my tyres were practically illegal and had to changed immediately - my local tyre guy measured them a week later for me and confirmed I had minimum 5mm on each tyre.

I asked Seat dealer to change the battery in the remote key - they changed it alright but stuck in the wrong battery. Upon collecting the car the service manager told me that unfortunately my key needed to be replaced (quoting 180 quid) and that on my car this was quite common when the car hit four years old - i.e. out of warranty. I went to Mr. Price and bought a card of batteries for a euro and guess what it worked perfectly no issues over a year later.

Casati

colm_mcm wrote: »

It’s never included. My point was if they’re supposed to be changed every 6/12 months then they ought to be pricing the services to include them.

As long as you don't use them to wipe ice off your windscreen, and clean them with alcohol wipes every so often you will get years out of original wipers

jimmycrackcorm

bladespin wrote: »

Happens all the time but it's not false, wipers are recommended to be changed every 6-12 months, €70 is normal main dealer price for a set.

People who don't change something as simple as wipers themselves, deserve to be fleeced with the main dealer prices. Like anything, You're paying for someone else's time to do it.

Paul_Mc1988

Can't believe what I'm hearing. €70 for wipers is insane. I paid €15 for a set in a motor factors opposite the entrance to the Coombe hospital and they fit them as they were not busy. A fool and his money as the old saying goes

minikin

Paul_Mc1988 wrote: »

Can't believe what I'm hearing. €70 for wipers is insane. I paid €15 for a set in a motor factors opposite the entrance to the Coombe hospital and they fit them as they were not busy. A fool and his money as the old saying goes

That’s all very well but did they laser calibrate them?
Incorrectly balanced wiper blades can be lethal!

Henry Ford III

Why not trim your wiper blades? Streaks be gone.

whiterebel

Audi Cork were terrible for it when I had the A6. Wiper blades about 6 years ago they were looking €55. Couldn't get them in Halfords or anywhere else so went online and got them for €27.00. Tyres next, "barely legal" - My tyre guy - 5+6mm left on them, they're fine. Told Audi Cork not to mention wipers or tyres to me again.
Then the big one. In for service, they came out with a shopping list - brakes, belts (Not timing, can't remember) Control rods(?). All told about €2800.00. I rang George Daltons, €1300.00 including labour. Booked in with them for the day. Got a loaner went to Midway to settle in for the day with tha laptop and a book. About 2 hours later, Daltons ring - Can you come back?

Fearing the worst, they showed me the belt.
I said, "Why haven't you put it on?"
"That's the old one"
"You're joking, it looks like it came out of the box"

They had checked everything on the Audi list. Nothing required. Absolutely nothing. Brakes were at least 60%.
I felt really bad at having booked them for the day, so I got them to do the brakes, and they were ok to return the parts they had ordered.

Back down the road, straight to the service manager of Audi Cork. Told her of me taking a day off, Daltons booking me in for a day, previous with wipers and tyres. She went bright red, apologised profusely and said it wouldn't happen again......Offered the next service for free.

ba_barabus

Well I've literally just left a main dealer as the battery in my car died.

Completely disgusted, they point blank refused to rip* me off and claimed that their battery tester was recommending the at least 8 year old battery just needs a recharge and retest before they'd recommend a new battery.

Miscreant

ba_barabus wrote: »

Well I've literally just left a main dealer as the battery in my car died.

Completely disgusted, they point blank refused to rip* me off and claimed that their battery tester was recommending the at least 8 year old battery just needs a recharge and retest before they'd recommend a new battery.

How very dare they!

I have had the upselling done as well so I think it is just something garages tend to do. In fairness to my current garage though, once I politely decline and they mark that on the service docket, I don't hear anything about it again.

I find that building a good working relationship with the garage is useful. Chat to the service manager if there is an issue or just to have a general chat if they are open to it. I found this approach worked wonders for me with a Volvo garage in the past and they even did little jobs for me for free when I asked them as part of a service. Same with Suzuki and Toyota to be fair (I know, I have had a varied motoring brand career).

@OP: Charging 70 lids for wipers is madness considering they can be got for around half that and installed in less than 10 minutes as already pointed out. Get new ones yourself and use a product like RainX or a ceramic coating on your windscreen instead... I find that the wipers last a lot longer as a result.

For Forks Sake

Water2626262 wrote: »

I experienced this with Audi. Wanted to charge me some ridic amount for adblue. If only filled it a month prior and when I said this to them they said “oh well we only know the tank isn’t full, we don’t know how much is actually in there”.

Wife has a Kia Sportage, she usually tops up the AdBlue as necessary from the pump at service station locally at less than €1/litre, she forgot about it recently before the car went in for service, €2.50/litre Kia wanted.

They're always at it with the wipers as well, the car is serviced every 4 months, it don't need wipers that often. :rolleyes:

Psychedelic Hedgehog

I would imagine it all comes down to how well that particular dealership is doing, and whatever pressure is being applied to the sales and service departments to balance the books.

JimmyVik

JimmyVik wrote: »

We bought a 3 year service plan when we bought a new car.
Year 1 fine.

Year 2- Left the car in and they called me and said it needed new brake pads and a few other things.
I said that id forgotten to say that its on the service plan when i dropped it in that morning.
They said, let us get back to you.
Not a work about new brake pads or all the other things after that. Car was serviced on the service plan.

Year 3 - Left it in for service, told them about the service plan on leaving it in this time.
Not a word still on needing new brake pads. Nothing else reported either. All fine.

Year 4. Service plan expired. Now we needed new brake pads again.

My sister unfortunately signed my dad up for service plan and she covers it. Left it in for the first service, got a bill of €110. For 2 brake pads. Apparently they're not covered by the service plan, kinda gotta wonder what is if they're not. :rolleyes:

Casati wrote: »

Upselling brake pads and disc's when not needed is one that is all too common - this upselling seems to be more common where you have a service pack or indeed with more expensive marques especially Audi.

My friendly Volvo dealer told me my tyres were practically illegal and had to changed immediately - my local tyre guy measured them a week later for me and confirmed I had minimum 5mm on each tyre.

I asked Seat dealer to change the battery in the remote key - they changed it alright but stuck in the wrong battery. Upon collecting the car the service manager told me that unfortunately my key needed to be replaced (quoting 180 quid) and that on my car this was quite common when the car hit four years old - i.e. out of warranty. I went to Mr. Price and bought a card of batteries for a euro and guess what it worked perfectly no issues over a year later.

Tyres are a funny one. I dropped a car in and failed the NCT, also had 2 advisories for tyres. I had a look and they both had at least 6 months left on them. Took it in for the re-test and got 1 advisory for a different tyre. :pac:

CoBo55

sumo12 wrote: »

Wipers are a funny thing. I can't bear even the slightest streak or smear from wipers so I change mine at least twice a year. Other people won't change them until they've literally fallen off the car and still think they are fine.

As someone above said, see a streak, recommend wipers. It's the customer choice after that and I would never push a customer on it. Depends on the way the Service advisor phrases it too - "You need wipers" V "Wipers are a bit streaky,would you like them changed"

Bosch Aerotwin not the standard ones they’re rubbish, best wipers you’ll ever get guaranteed to last at least a year and believe me I’m like yourself I’m ocd about wiper streaks.

CoBo55

On my last service I got stung for 9.50 for a few litres of ad blue, like the op it was a pre-paid service I was livid!! On the next service I’m leaving specific instructions that there’s to be no extras tacked on as they won’t be paid for on collection.

TylerRyan28

micks_address wrote: »

Hi folks,
Had my car in for service today. Main dealer covered under service plan. Got a call to say advised to replace wipers costing 70 plus euro. I was like hmmm the car is 12 months old and due to Covid and working from home I spend most days admiring it in the driveway. I politely declined and they said that’s fine. I was starting to doubt myself and maybe thought they were frayed or worn but when I got the car back they are as expected as new. I just thought it was incredibly cheeky of the garage and it kinda annoyed me but I didn’t bring it up with them. It has certainly lessened my experience with them which had been pretty good so far. I wonder how many people would just have agreed with the advice and basically thrown away money? I probably would have agreed in a normal year as I’d have done a lot more winter driving.


Cheers,
Mick

Probably one of the most easy things to change yourself on a car dont let anyone charge to put them on

FrankieB29

Was in fast fit a couple of years ago first car getting the tracking done. They come out and say I need 4 new tyres and cant let me out of the premises on my tyres like that.

I laughed told them to take my car down or I ring the guards they moved pretty fast. Thinking because I was a young lad I didnt know anything.

JimmyVik

ba_barabus wrote: »

Well I've literally just left a main dealer as the battery in my car died.

Completely disgusted, they point blank refused to rip* me off and claimed that their battery tester was recommending the at least 8 year old battery just needs a recharge and retest before they'd recommend a new battery.

That reminds me of another thing that happened to me.
My battery died in the winter so I got the garage to put a new battery in.
About 6 months later car was in for its annual service in the same garage.
Got a call saying. Battery failed the battery test and we will have to put a new one ion for you.
I said that battery is a new one that you put in 6 months ago.
Silence at the end of the phone and then "Let me check that again".
No battery required after all.

mloc123

Skoda told me I needed new rear discs last year... Car was 3 years old. The discs were "corroded"... Mainly because it was the first time I had driven the car in a month (initial lockdown).

CoBo55

mloc123 wrote: »

Skoda told me I needed new rear discs last year... Car was 3 years old. The discs were "corroded"... Mainly because it was the first time I had driven the car in a month (initial lockdown).

In their defence, sitting around is a killer on discs and the discs on my Superb corrode very quickly especially after washing the car I wouldn't like to leave it sitting for a month after washing.

Casati

CoBo55 wrote: »

In their defence, sitting around is a killer on discs and the discs on my Superb corrode very quickly especially after washing the car I wouldn't like to leave it sitting for a month after washing.

Small bit of surface rust showing won't affect how they function. Loads of cars sit on dealers forecourts for 3 or 4 or even 9 months before they are sold and I'd bet very few if any get new disc's fitted as a result

CoBo55

Casati wrote: »

Small bit of surface rust showing won't affect how they function. Loads of cars sit on dealers forecourts for 3 or 4 or even 9 months before they are sold and I'd bet very few if any get new disc's fitted as a result

I understand that but Skoda discs particularly the rear ones can corrode very badly and surprisingly quickly too especially on the inner unseen faces.