:SURVEY: Servicing Costs/Experiences.

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 8:02 pm

Crouchie, it's got to be 110% then I'd come away smiling...... Smile

Bandwidth Buster Joined: Jun 14, 2008 Posts: 742

Crouchie, it's got to be 110% then I'd come away smiling...... Smile

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 8:33 pm

Crouchie, it's got to be 110% then I'd come away smiling...... Smile

Bandwidth Buster Joined: Jun 14, 2008 Posts: 742

I would and have recommended Paddy Freeborn to hundreds of friends and colleagues and they have all come back and sung his praises.

The garage isn't flash and highly polished, but he knows all his customers and their little foibles, he knows his cars and his team of mechanics are just that a bloody good team, they look after the cabriolet with almost a love that makes you proud to be the owner of the car.......it's good customer service. The other thing I like about him, if he finds something wrong when he's doing a service he'll call and tell you , he also keeps the worn parts to show what the problem was , he also gives you a realistic time frame for failure, ie, "It will need changing in the next 2000 miles" and he's always sodding correct.

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 8:50 pm

That is quality service second to none. Goes to show that good garages do exist!

Bandwidth Buster Joined: Jun 14, 2008 Posts: 742

Well, just picked up the Cabriolet from Paddy Freeborns, MOT'd, serviced and they repaired the washer bottle (the pipe fell off the bottom). Total cost £130.00 car returned nice and clean, bit of happy banter and told that everything was fine and no prblems.

Well chuffed, yet again......... Smile

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 8:15 am

Under normal circumstances you would expect independent garages to be cheaper than main dealers but that is not always the case here in Dubai. I recently had the local Audi dealer to quote on a cam belt change on my S8. Including a new water pump and all the tensioners and rollers they quoted 6000 Dirhams, about £1000. A local independent for the same job using the same parts quoted over 8000 Dirhams, about £1400. Audi got the job.

One of the main problems here is that the quality of the work can vary from reasonable to absolutely diabolical. A lot of the independents out here make our cowboys back home look like good honest professionals. They use Indian migrant workers armed with not much more than a socket set and a hammer and then they pay them 50p and hour to be let loose on your car. A friend of mine had his car serviced by an independent and whilst it was in they nicked some parts off it to put on another customers car. Recently, I wanted a full wheel alignment done. Audi wanted £150 for this but, what appeared to be, a quality tyre centre round the corner said they they could do it for £110. So I let them do it. It was only when I came to pay that I discovered it was £110 PER AXLE!!!! I flipped and would have ripped his scrawny head off his shoulders but that would have resulted in instant deportation. Even then it wasn't done properly and when I took it back to be redone I was told the machine wasn't working. Yeah. Right. So it has now got to go into Audi to be done again. Properly this time.

At least the Indian mechanics at Audi have had some form of formal training and the workshop is also run by two guys from Germany. Oh to be back in England.

Bandwidth Buster Joined: Jun 14, 2008 Posts: 742

Bosigran, you make a good point, whilst living and working in Germany I always used the main dealer network and was always happy with the price and standard, they were no more expensive than the backstreet boys, so why use them.

I did catch something on Radio 2 yesterday about Dealer Workshop charges having to fall into line with European network charges and to expect a reuction in charges (in your dreams), didn't catch the whole thing, I was distracted by some leggy blonde in a miniskirt sauntering up on my blind side..................priorities.... Smile

gary

Inexperienced Joined: Jan 01, 2008 Posts: 22

audi in bury st edmund quoted me after a full service had been done with a MOT that the car had failed it's MOT because a clip was broken on the steering gaitor which was £1.46 and then charge me £20 to fit it. They then quoted me £250.00 to replace me back brake pads Shock

Bandwidth Buster Joined: Jun 14, 2008 Posts: 742

Ouch, I can only assume they wore mask and were singing 'Greensleeves' Sad

Inexperienced Joined: Jan 01, 2008 Posts: 22

Maybe something to do with giving away a free MOT. But they have had my servicing for the past 4 years so i think they have had my money from me

Camped on the site Joined: Aug 20, 2010 Posts: 214

I don't think I have ever taken a car for service, I know it makes sense to have everything done at once but sometimes for instance just oil change will be done or belts replaced if getting to mileage / age.
The guy down the road who is old school charges £35 phr, his work is good and honest.
MOT time is usually when the multiple jobs happen, last time the little brake pressure balance box thingy needed doing, and a windscreen wiper blade which died on a frosty morning. Oddly enough, it had failed at one station but due to waiting for the part to come thru it got tested again at a different station ( time was up and a friend of a friend who knew the guy at the other place etc !!) the 2 places had very different 'views' on paper of the car.
Think the 2nd place liked my car as all the bloody fuel had gone when I got it back Sad

Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:34 am

I wished I'd noticed this sooner....
Tonbridge Audi is not that far from me (although I'd have to hang around all day / until work is done or organise a courtesy car) and I'd consider taking my car to a main dealer if they offered a reasonable deal on the cost of servicing.