Your thoughs.....

I recently had my car serviced by a Subaru Official Dealer. It was an interim service. All seemed well. Within a few days my wife said there was a noise coming from the brakes and sure enough there was something catching the rim on the rear. I took the car to the local Tyre, Exhaust and brake place near my work for convienience. The result.....

New Rear Disks Required
New Rear Pads Required (to the metal not making contact on inside)
New Hand brake Shoes Required (to the metal)
New Front Tyres Required x2

I have had a settlement offer from my dealer of a free service, but I am not sure this is enough of a gesture for such short comings regarding safety and reporting back to me the customer. The free service does not include parts and therefore does not cost them a jot as the labour is supplied by them. I had to shell out an unexpected £500.

Any thoughts????

P.S. The usual "The mechanic no longer works for the company"

I DO NOT WANT TO NAME AND SHAME AS I DO NOT THINK THIS WILL ACHIEVE ANYTING IN THE LONG RUN FOR ME

 

How do hand brake shoes wear?
Did you not notice the tyres yourself?
If the pads are down to the metal then it doesn't necessarily mean you need disks - maybe the tyre place is trying it on too!!!

 

you dont tell us what MY you have but my initial response to that statement is *my *****

ask for the bits back from the garage and take them to the dealer
you should have noticed the tyres yourself, did they seem ok to you?
sounds like a pads only deal thats been scammed up for your benefit.

mrs Peanuts had a similar experience in her golf.
took car to local centre, £400 brake bill, contested with selling garage, garage got bits back from local firm (after they had supposedly lost them)
long run - local firm admit incompetance and running up the bill horrendously!!!

did the guy at the garage who served you have pen all over the back of his hands?

 

please dont tell me it was kwik-fit or chessingtons

do you not read which? watch watchdog or search on scoobynet for info?
they are an absolute shower who are renown for using child labour and calling them *experts*, jeez, these kids can barely flush the chain on their own!

 

 

Did the local tyre place have a bucket in the corner with 'glee' written on it

Sounds like they were trying it on.

 

The point I am trying to make is...........
The Subaru dealer did not report any of these genuinely faulty parts to me when the car was serviced days before. All of the parts required replacement urgently. I did keep the parts and take them to the Subaru dealer who admitted responsability for the lack of communication rightaway.


The point is we pay good money to franchise dealers to keep us our SH and such like but do they really do a proper job?

 

Andy..

kwik rip... yeah totally agree...

chessingtons.... nope over my way there bloody good..

do my oil changes on both cars.. no probs... even go to the local m/factors to get a filter everytime, cos they dont stock them..

tyres.. i get from black circles, cos my tyres dont help

Mart

 

So wasn't there a nasty noise of the wear indicators screeching even before the car got to Subaru?
When they do squeal, there still a mm or two left of the pads - they squeal to alert you that there's not much meat left and the whole point of avoiding damage to the discs.
I've never, ever heard of the handbrake shoes worn out.
It all sounds like sharp practice by some Cowboys - it could have been as simple as a stone caught ion the rear dust shield.

Nick

 

Does anyone get the point here?

The dealer F*&%ed UP

 

dont you get the point, we are trying to show you how maybe the dealer didnt **** up.

too many things would have alerted you to the point that there was dangerous parts on your car.
tyres is visible, shoes and rear discs will possibly never need replacing all through the cars life.
as for oddly worn (?) rear pads (ie worn out on the inside only) then that smacks of foul play also.
The dealer may well have offered a service because its easier and cheaper than getting into a battle with you.

all we are trying to do is show you that just because someone has said something to you, and the dealer cant be bothered to fight it doesnt make it gospel.

still if you dont want opinion

 

I do.

What your saying is :-

1.The car DID have faults that the dealer missed during the service.That is not in dispute by you.

2.You paid good money for the original service & did not get what you paid for.

3.If the dealer had found the faults at the time of the service you would have been happy to pay for the extra work in order to have the car roadworthy.You just wish that they had FOUND them.

4.The fact that another garage, be it Kwik Twit,the local Rolls Royce emporium or the AA, later found these faults is not your beef.You are just glad someone found them.

5.The original garage failed in its duty of care & sent you off thinking your car was fully serviced,safe & trouble free for the next 10K or whatever.

6.If that service had been part of an MOT & you were pulled for a roadside check that dealer would be no more.

7.If it's not too late to haggle.I would suggest a mention of a visit to "Trading Standards" might be more forthcoming compensation wise.

8.A free labour only service is zero cost to them.And can you be sure they would do it with enthusiasm? The "spitting on the returned food by the chef" scenario comes to mind.

Mark

 

At last...

Regards

John Smith
Kwik Fit Customer Relations Officer.......................

 

i've seen what a kwik fit called worn out we had a customer who took a car in for some tyres and they told him that all the discs had worn out along with all the pads and the caliper seals were leaking. when we checked all he needed was some rear pads. needless to say he wasn't happy and vowed never to use them again the phrase "not even for my wheelbarrow" did make me laugh when he said it.

 

Kwik Tit -

"Brake Specialist" - yeah he knows what one sort of does - I am sure there are some good ones but I went there and they told me "Your brakes are worn to 71% of their efficiency sir - we recommend replacing them". I said "they have only 29% left?" - blank look - I said "Brakes can wear down to almost done" - followed by debate and LOTS of blank looks.

Similar experiences by many people.

Although, once I did go in for a tyre check and it did not need front and rear pads an discs, a battery, new shocks, four new tyres etc. That was good!!!

Brian

 

You do expect to get your car back properly serviced, you do expect the car to be safe for you and your family, no excuses here, your safety was put at serious risk. There are a huge number of owners who rely on their garage to keep them safe, sound and reliable, franchised dealers have a duty of care.
This service is not acceptable, doesnt matter where this guy found out his car was a deathtrap, Kwik fit or Macdonalds. He has the duff parts back so they must have made a good call.................

 

I think your dealer is very nice giving you a free service. I do not think rear brakes get stripped at an interim service. This would be an additional operation at additional cost.

Rear discs look rusty and worn after a very short time, but measure fine. Handbrake shoes we have never had to replace. They are made from a metallic substance anyway and might look worn, but are perfectly ok. If the rear brake pads are near the end of their life, a metal clip makes contact with the brake disc. This alerts the driver that attention is needed.

The franchised dealer mechanic could have looked through the wheel to visually check the pads but probably didn't, due to bonus/time constraints.

I think that the fast fit place you took your car to, have been oportunistic and fitted everything instead of just rear pads, therby profitting of your lack of knowledge.

I think, where your dealer let you down was by not explaining what an interim service is.

regards,

Job
You might find that in the future you might want to get your vehicle serviced by an independent garage. The changes in the automotive block exemption laws allows this, without affecting the warranty. This might ensure that even at interim services you get a brake report.

 

How old is the car?

 

So who pays the mechanics wages, lighting, rates etc.? This is far from zero cost to the dealer.

I can see both sides of the argument here. Tyre wear is a visible thing and you should be checking this too if they're that bad it means you haven't. Having said that if a 'layman' is expected to see this, then a mechanic certainly should be able to spot them.

Were the discs worn becasue the pads were down to metal or were they worn due to general use. Again brake effectivenes or noise would be a big indicator here too - to the driver. But agin if they're that bad a mechanic should be able to spot this too.

I think that if you've got a free service (parts and labour) then you've done well and the dealer is making strives to keep your custom.

Too often people are out for what they can get,and I agree that a good will gesture is deserving and welcomed, but if we push for more than is fair somebody has to pay. Car insurance is a prime example - personal injuries cases from the no win no fee slicitors - one of the reason for increased premiums.

All my opinion obvioulsly but I think in the end you have a fair result, afterall if this is an interim service that means the next one is a full one and depending on mileage could include a cambelt.

Max

 

The car is an MY97 UK turbo Wagon with a very extensive service history, so I thought I would just keep it up properly when I purchased the last year.

 

The fact that your service dealer offered you a free service would suggest he is admitting your claims against him. Personally I would tell him to shove his free service and find another garage.

Out of curiosity, what service was your car in for and how much did they charge you?

 

can we see pics of the offending parts?

 

I know nothing in life is free.Except BOGOF offers for windows,doors & conservatories.

What I meant is,no garage I know runs at 100% with fully booked up workshops 100% of the time.That would be the ideal but would rarely be achieved.

You get last minute cancellations.

You get let down by parts suppliers etc.

You get seasonal lulls.

I don't know the economics of running a garage but I imagine they allow something like 75-80% of a mechanics time to be occupied in order to operate at a profit.

All the overheads are relatively constant regardless of how many jobs they have booked in.So if the free service is done in the "slack" 25-20% of the mechanics time it is already absorbed into the budget as a zero cost.