Just a thought, when you're going to put the car in for a service etc, how do you know that they don't rag the a$$ off it when your not there...? Is there anyway that you can turn the boost down so the to$$ers don't do it....too late for me cus I get the car back tomorrow, but for future reference.

Regards

kev

I try to take it to a garage that I can trust, but you never can be certain it won't happen. Have been bitten by this before, years back when I had a Renault 19 16v, it was supposed to be in for a service and a mate phoned me to say it was in another town 15 miles away. It never went back there again and made sure I had some money knocked off the service.

not really to do with servicing but when the new cars come off the boat from england to n ireland the guys that bring them off rag the feck out of them donuts n everything in this big car park type thing. just cus the cars new dont mean it aint been ragged is all im saying type thing

Not much you can do, except do a milage check. Having worked for main dealers i can tell you that as high as 10-15 mile road tests are considered normal (more if a fault is found). if you do somthing to slow you vehicle then they may find that fault and you may end up with more mileage added.
As for them red lining your car....To$$ers.

you can keep the petrol to a minimal and write the mileage down on a sticker in you hand writing the stick it to the stearing wheel where they can see it. dont know if it helps but they wont dare driving it to much.

ray

I think Iread a magazine article that said a Motec chip(?) has a service limiter that keeps the car to under 50mph.
or maybe it was a dream...
Andy.

You can always ask for the vehicle not to be road tested.

Lee

I took my BM for a service on a friday, got told fri afternoon they coulnt get the parts till monday so i would be without a car for the weekend, they couldnt put it back to as before as they had damaged the old parts.....

150miles in 1 weekend when it wasnt drivable to be told i must be mistaken ... never trust a garage..
And then they took the pi$$ trying to charge me for petrol as they said there wasnt enough in for the road test..

Empty the tank so that the light is on

Make a note of the mileage

Go to a garage you trust AND have see an Impreza Turbo every day of the week

Take it to some Kwik-Fit outfit with teenage monkies and leave it expect to have the thing thrashed and trashed

There is a service chip which plugs into your diagnostic connector that limits the revs to 3000RPM - but, of course they can remove it!! Unless you buy the keylock version, but thats an extra £10!!

Pete

if you empty the tank, they will only add fuel and charge you for it. Just tell the receptionist you DONT want it road tested and make sure it is noted on your cars job card.

If they put fuel in it then thats up to them - I certainly wouldnt pay them!!

Pete

if you ever want to be put off getting your car serviced find out what roads they use for the test drive & sit & watch, you will be suprised

This is why I service the car myself. Makes it difficult to sell as there are no stamps in the book. If only people realised that in my case at least,it means it's been done properly and usually well before the scheduled mileage with the benefit of the best quality oils and fluids.
OK, so not everyone has the technical knowledge (minimal) or inclination to DIY, but if you have, do it!
Thank God my new car will only see the inside of the dealers workshop once a year! (then I'll still supply my chosen make and grade of oil)
JohnD

There is a device you can buy which works on GPS and can be set so that it will text your phone if the car exceeds you set speed limit, you can then phone the dealership as this is happening and listen to them making excuses.

Mog

i like that idea !

TrakM8

Good device as long as it get get a mobile phone signal.

;)

I took my old rex to ATS to be looked after for minor mechanical things.

Never had a problem......one of the mechanics is a good mate. :D He loved working on my rex and always asked before taking her out and never took her out unless I was in the passenger seat (more for his piece of mind than mine :)).
Always let me see the work he was doing whilst I provided cups of tea and biccies - he never charged me, so I regularly brought a crate of booze round for him or ciggies. :D

i always stay with car, which admitedly is a bit of a mission when doing the likes of 90k service & staying all day but hey aint paranoia great :D lol
Si

i dont know, some people :(

you would seriously sit at the garage all day when it's being serviced just some some "mechanic" don't thrash it up the road?

did you buy your car second hand? if so what about the previous owners driving style? trips to the garage he/she made?

if it is new then are you gonna keep it till it has done 200K ?

on the other side of the coin i have passed a scooby garage at mid morning and seen one of the mechanics pull away from the garage and then immediately give it a foot full - with a great vapour trail behind him!

yes it's second hand & yes it's probably had a few full throttle moments long b4 i bort it & i aint Pete Lewis & do also drive with enthusiasm when appropriate & warmed up etc & yes i do use a garage i'm totally happy with the work they do & woodnt expect them to thrash it in a silly stylee as the only do rally cars etc... BUT yes i has 90k just over a month ago & did stay there all day while work was carried out. The way i c it is if i'm paying sum1, any1 best part of £50 an hour then i like to see what i'm getting for da money. I find it interesting to see what they do to all the bits & if as did happen they come across sumin a bit awry then i am on hand to see it & let no wot i wana do about it, sure a phone call wood do the same but well is it so sad to luv a car like this? ;) lol
Si
PS they did let me use internet & dribble on all the other performance cars they had there also so i wasnt board :D

see I hate this, Im a service tech for BMW and I hate the thought that I just wana "rag" customers cars. We aint all out to kick hell outa your cars guys, I know it can happen but please dont tar us all with the same brush eh.
BTW i kid you not if you do stuff like try and empty your tank and leave notes that would prolly entice some techs more as we then feel like we aint being appreciated.
I appreciate you guys spend loads of money ( as will I no doubt) on your car and you can rag your car but most techs appreciate it ( especially with Subarus and BMW's etc) and dont wanna ruin your car. Spare a thought for us techs at times when we get some numpty complainin of a misfire at 130+ and wants to demo this fault on the public highway, or during a "ride and drive day" some idiot not used to driving a RWD 400bhp M5 in the wet.
anyways Rant over
Laters
Spooks

This may be of interest to you - it's a BMWM3 thread and it's a long one but a cracking read and very relevant to the discussion.

http://www.bm3w.co.uk/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=1,2,4,9&Board=UBB1&Number=81589&p age=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

Sorry but no idea how to make it clicky

Unfortunately i know about this, and it is indeed relevent. I was just saying we aint all like this, the person actions were stupid and I cant believe that he still has a job but ther ya go. I admit I cant defend my position too well with this kinda thang happening but I know that we are not all that stupid, come on guys we have to let some people drive our cars too at times, last thing I would want is the same as this story.
Laters
Spooks

Did anyone see the huge row on one of the Ford Mustang boards last year? A Ford SVO tech was bragging about how he'd taken some womans Mustang Cobra out and done 150mph (or something) and was insulting this woman and calling her a bitch and actually used her licence plate in his post. Unfortunately, she was a member of the same board. The dealership fired him and Ford revoked his SVO qualifications, it was hilarious.

But as said above, not all service techs are like that, especially if they're used to the cars.

i agree with spooks do you all only do this sort of thing at a garage what happens if you go for a meal at a restaurant do you take your own sauce! do you ask to see the chef cooking it ! probably not. i don't have anything against people supplying their own oil but to purposely leave the tank empty or wait up the road it seems very sad. i'm lucky enough to drive turbos and p1's every day and you get so used to the speed, to a point where it gets boring and you just stick to the limit not the limiter!

i had my wrx in for some warranty work when i dropped the car at the garage it had £35 worth of optimax in it and when i picked it up 3 days later it was totally and utterly empty and the garage refused to pay me back for the lost tank of fuel,well thank god my warranty ran out as it cost me more than the garage[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

The thread about the Mustang is here for those interested ;)

Spooks, I was a technician too and have tried sticking up for us loads of times, you just can't get through though mate so I've given up trying:rolleyes:http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/images/icons/icon14.gif

Bob

PS I bought a Mars bar earlier, I think it might of been a Snickers that some cnut at the factory stole the peanuts out of, where do I stand, can I sue the shop?

I kicked up a big fuss when I noticed the excess speed on the turbo timer after taking my STi8 in to the dealers for a respray of the back bumper and wing. I was really not ahppy about it because the car was not properly run in yet. They gave me a free second service and reprimanded the guy who did it, but still, it's not very nice [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] (what a twatt not to know what a turbo timer can do!)

Subaru Reprimand: "you bleedin' idiot, next time you rag a customers car, make sure you clear the turbo timer like the rest of the monkeys here!!"