Holden Servicing rip-offs

[ACEMonkey]

For the people who take their cars to a Holden Servicing for servicing and getting your log books stamped, how many of you are aware of what work has been done to your car? Do you believe the reports on the receipt given to you at the end of the service to be reliable and reflective of the work that was actually done to your car?

I think it is time that somebody investigates this industry. I am not sure how widespread the problem is, but it certainly should stop because people are getting ripped off. I will be mentioning branches here and I will make no apologies for exposing names because I was a victim here and I believe the sooner this sort of practice is stamped out, the better for all of us.


i. I was charged $37.30 to replace wiper blades. The wiper blades were replaced by myself at my own expense prior to the servicing. The wiper blades were never replaced during servicing nor was there any indication they were changed at all.
ii. I was charged $32.70 to rotate and balance tyres. The tyres were never rotated nor should I believe they were balanced during servicing either.


i. I was told that it would cost nearly $700 to replace the engine mounts when I took my car in for a 110,000km servicing. The only explanation was the mounts sag for a car at this age (10 years). I have told them not to replace the mounts. I will be taking this issue to an independent mechanic for the second verdict.
ii. I was told it would cost me $240 to machine my disc brake rotors. The explanation given here was there were groove marks on the surface on my disc rotors. This would not be possible because I don't drive my car aggressively all the time and my car has never been off-road. I have told them not the machine my rotors and again I will be taking this issue to another mechanic for their verdict.
iii. Part of the cost of servicing included checking all the lights. The driver side front low beam was not working when I picked my car up. I rang them up as soon as I could and I mentioned to them that I believe the service technician probably did not check the lights as required. Thankfully I will be having this light bulb replaced for just the cost of the bulb only $26.
iv. What was supposed to be a regular servicing that I expect to cost me at most $700 was going to blow out to $2400 if I proceeded with the "repairs". As you would expect, I was not impressed.

How many of you have experienced problems with Holden Servicing? Do you notice that you're getting charged for brake fluid flush or a radiator flush at every servicing when it is not actually required? Or perhaps being charged for hoses or clamps or other miscellaneous items that you may have noticed was not actually put into your car? Or maybe even items removed from your car, never replaced or even stolen?

I will be launching a complaint to Consumer Protection here in WA about my case. If we have enough complaints or cases listed here, we could take it up to Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) to investigate the industry.

If we all highlight this issues and we can stop this happening everywhere else, then we all will benefit. Just keep in mind though, I am not referring to rogue mechanics, backyard mechanics, third parties etc. The issue here is Holden Service Department itself.

[kingwalker]

your disc would need machining at thoose kms,have you ran your pads down low, you ca get replacement discs for about $45.00 each, about one hour labour, your wiper blades ive would off argued a bout them.personelly i think you should get off your arse and learn how easily its to do repairs on your car consumer affairs will laugh at you

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Holden service centres are a business just like any other. They want to make money. You didn't proceed with their recommended work. I agree they are expensive, but it is your choice to take your car there. In WA, you don't need to have mechanical repairs done by a licensed premises as in other states. Servicing does not have to be done by a dealer to maintain warranty.

[EvoVIIIJDM]

Your first post on JC is a rant, Welcome.

It is a given that Holden Service leaves alot to be desired. Either continue putting up with it, or go somewhere else for your log book servicing.

[Reaper]

For the people who take their cars to a Holden Servicing for servicing and getting your log books stamped, how many of you are aware of what work has been done to your car? Do you believe the reports on the receipt given to you at the end of the service to be reliable and reflective of the work that was actually done to your car?

I think it is time that somebody investigates this industry. I am not sure how widespread the problem is, but it certainly should stop because people are getting ripped off. I will be mentioning branches here and I will make no apologies for exposing names because I was a victim here and I believe the sooner this sort of practice is stamped out, the better for all of us.


i. I was charged $37.30 to replace wiper blades. The wiper blades were replaced by myself at my own expense prior to the servicing. The wiper blades were never replaced during servicing nor was there any indication they were changed at all.
ii. I was charged $32.70 to rotate and balance tyres. The tyres were never rotated nor should I believe they were balanced during servicing either.


i. I was told that it would cost nearly $700 to replace the engine mounts when I took my car in for a 110,000km servicing. The only explanation was the mounts sag for a car at this age (10 years). I have told them not to replace the mounts. I will be taking this issue to an independent mechanic for the second verdict.
ii. I was told it would cost me $240 to machine my disc brake rotors. The explanation given here was there were groove marks on the surface on my disc rotors. This would not be possible because I don't drive my car aggressively all the time and my car has never been off-road. I have told them not the machine my rotors and again I will be taking this issue to another mechanic for their verdict.
iii. Part of the cost of servicing included checking all the lights. The driver side front low beam was not working when I picked my car up. I rang them up as soon as I could and I mentioned to them that I believe the service technician probably did not check the lights as required. Thankfully I will be having this light bulb replaced for just the cost of the bulb only $26.
iv. What was supposed to be a regular servicing that I expect to cost me at most $700 was going to blow out to $2400 if I proceeded with the "repairs". As you would expect, I was not impressed.

How many of you have experienced problems with Holden Servicing? Do you notice that you're getting charged for brake fluid flush or a radiator flush at every servicing when it is not actually required? Or perhaps being charged for hoses or clamps or other miscellaneous items that you may have noticed was not actually put into your car? Or maybe even items removed from your car, never replaced or even stolen?

I will be launching a complaint to Consumer Protection here in WA about my case. If we have enough complaints or cases listed here, we could take it up to Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) to investigate the industry.

If we all highlight this issues and we can stop this happening everywhere else, then we all will benefit. Just keep in mind though, I am not referring to rogue mechanics, backyard mechanics, third parties etc. The issue here is Holden Service Department itself.

Hmmm... I see a big long rant here for what is really $70 in dispute. They say they did, you say they didn't.... I'd probably err on your side of things on that one.

Case 2 is really a non event. The service department have recommended work which may or may not be required and have quoted a price. You always have the option to get a second opinon and of course see if you can get the works done at a better rate. WTF does it have to do with the ACCC?

Reaper

[ACEMonkey]

your disc would need machining at thoose kms,have you ran your pads down low, you ca get replacement discs for about $45.00 each, about one hour labour, your wiper blades ive would off argued a bout them.personelly i think you should get off your arse and learn how easily its to do repairs on your car consumer affairs will laugh at you

I don't think you have even read and understood what I have written. Holden servicing charged me for parts and labour for repairs that I had already done myself prior to servicing. This means they did not carry out the repairs at all and yet I was charged for it. This is wrong for any company to operate in this way.

For example, would you be outraged if you were charged for a loaf of bread at a shop that you bought and paid for at another bakery? Do you see what I am getting at?

The only reason I took my car in to Holden is so I can get my log book stamped. I do know how easy it is to carry out repairs myself and I have done it so many times...replaced ABS module, etc etc. so I don't need you to educate me on that subject.

[9C1pack]

$700 to replace the engine mounts seems a bit severe. It cost me around $700 to have 2 engine mounts replaced and a new Genuine power steering pump fitted at Repco autocare.
The mounts where around $70 each and the pump was about $230

[kingwalker]

I don't think you have even read and understood what I have written. Holden servicing charged me for parts and labour for repairs that I had already done myself prior to servicing. This means they did not carry out the repairs at all and yet I was charged for it. This is wrong for any company to operate in this way.

For example, would you be outraged if you were charged for a loaf of bread at a shop that you bought and paid for at another bakery? Do you see what I am getting at?

The only reason I took my car in to Holden is so I can get my log book stamped. I do know how easy it is to carry out repairs myself and I have done it so many times...replaced ABS module, etc etc. so I don't need you to educate me on that subject.

your car is nearly ten years old its worth stuff all now ,your other mechanic can stamp your book,and if you now how to do repairs why the **** are you bitchin do them yourself and know it done properly to your satisfactoin

[DVS]

OK here goes,

1. Mum takes car for first service. Get's charged $240 for usual checks, replace oil, oil filter etc etc. Mum drives car back home, few weeks later she tells me car is not driving smooth so I go over and have a look.

She tells me about the recent service she had, I then have a look around engine bay I notice it has not been touched. The oil cap still dirty like engine bay with no signs of it being opened.

Look under car the sump bolt still the same not a mark on it. Oil filter still dirty and grimey. Check oil level, oil really dark and definetly not new and needs a top up.

These next 2 I will just add for the sake of venting some anger.
:


2. Mum get's a letter from Holden, your car has been recalled for an airbag clip etc etc. Call up Holden to get car booked for the recall no problems. Mum takes car to the Holden service on the day booked. Staff member says yes car has been booked in and job will take about 3 hours.

Mum says alright see you in 4 hours. After 4 hours she comes back to find out job wasn't done they haven't ordered the part yet. Need to rebook in again. Did not get a phone call to say we ****ed up, come and pick up your car.

3. Take brand new VE SSV for the stereo steering wheel buttons fix. Pick up car in afternoon all fixed no probs. Get home cousin says to me when did you hit your car. I said what, had a look and the front bar was scrapped up pretty bad.

Long story short turns out they took it for a drive, scrapped the front bar and didn't even have the courtesy to tell me. They fixed it in the end.


Cheers,
DVS

[Raging Bull]

Yeah Holden servicing is abysmal and they won't stop at anything when it comes to ripping you off and writing up an essay of a bill for you. The only time I go there is to have something very specific done but other than that stay away unless you know one of the mechanics personally.

[Umai Naa!!]

From the other side of the counter...

Customer roars in, and screaches to a halt. Abandons his car right in the middle of the workshop. Gets out and yells "I've just driven all the way from Cooma (A fair distance from us), and my car has been running like **** the whole time, and I want it fixed now!!"

Me: Um, have you been here for work, previously?

Him: NO! As I said, I'm from f**king Cooma!

Me: Ok. So did you ring ahead and arrange an appointment with our service advisors?

Him: No, because I want my car fixed now, and I'm not leaving until it is!



This is the bull**** we have to deal with from drop-kick customers all the time. We are one of the most under-paid trades in the country, yet we're still supposed to be at everyones beg and call. If you don't like the service, go elsewhere.

As for your wiper blades, if you didn't want them replaced, you should have said so when you dropped it off. Some service departments have policies whereby wiper blades are replaced at every service.

As for your tyre rotation and balance, once again, some service departments have policies on this too.

Perhaps you were blinded by paranoia, and the work was actually carried out, as stated.

Yes, some dealerships do have managerial, and organisational issues, but I highly doubt they are going out of their way to blatantly rip people off.

TT and ACA have a lot to answer for.

- Offended Holden Service Technician.

[mmrdb]

'As for your wiper blades, if you didn't want them replaced, you should have said so when you dropped it off. Some service departments have policies whereby wiper blades are replaced at every service.' and 'As for your tyre rotation and balance, once again, some service departments have policies on this too.'
You've got to be kidding me!!! My local holden dealer always gives me a call to ask me whether I want these sort of things done. Why should I 'the customer' advise the dealership of what I 'dont' want done??? If my dealership did what you consider is OK, I'd be going straight to head office with an official complaint!

[Dayvo]

I took my commodore to the dealer that i bought it from for a service . At about midday i got a call from them telling me that the diff seal was leaking and that the rear universal needed replacing and the power steering pump was leaking ,which i though was strange but gave the ok to fix it .When i went to pick it up they gave me the bill to which i told them i was only going to pay for the service but not the other work .When they asked why i told them that i have had the car back here twice under warranty for the diff seal leak to be fixed and that i could feel a vibration in the drive line at speeds over 60 kays and twice i was told they diff had been fixed , which had only been wiped with a rag because it leaked the next day ,and that they couldn't feel any vibration .
Ended up having screaming match with them but in the end only had to pay for the service.

[pablo]

HA HA HA, great reading all this woeful stuff, HA HA,..Makes me realise what fun I have been missing out on all those past years by ALLWAYS doing my own servicing and repairs.
Believe me, there is nothing hard about dropping the oil, spinning a filter on, slipping a new wiper blade in, diff pinion seal, uni joint, what ever. All first year apprentice stuff, surely all you petrol heads have a little interest in the workings of the car that you thrash and hoon around in.
Motoring, as an interest, is more than slamming the foot flat to the boards and spinning the tyres.
Saw a monkey in the circus drive a car once, though, I don't think he could change the oil either!!

[Flat_White]

Why do you guys seem to be defending holden? ACEmonkey makes a good point.

[Umai Naa!!]

I love these threads...

[pablo]

I love these threads...

LOL, you get my 'drift?

Pablo

[Flat_White]

same here.

[Ado]

I'm a service advisor at a Holden dealer and im quite shocked to hear of some of the issues which have taken place at different dealers, like replacement of wipers without authorisation from the customer, service costs and repairs etc etc. I cant speak for any other dealer but at the end of the day i'd never give approval to any of the techs to proceed with extra work if the customers unreachable. However there are exceptions as far as i see things. Such as.. customer's history do they bring the car to us for servicing all the time.. yes right if so, we find the car has a couple of blown globes and wipers need changing. If i know the history of this customer im confident enough to make a decision based on necessity im not gonna allow the customer to pick the car up and say oh found both ur no. plate globes and ur RHF headlight globe blown didnt do them today as we couldnt get hold of you, customer gets ****ty which would be fair enuf customer brings their car to Holden and lives 50k's away.
So at times i can justify doing extra work within reason of course. In your case ACE thats somewhat different. Just one more thing i must ask Dayvo u had issues with the car whilst still under warranty then were charged for it. Your first mistake.. How does the advisor you've been dealing with know ur not paying for it or know that the complaints have been issues in the past. if they need to do extra work under warranty they dont ring you, as they dont need approval full stop, unless of course they need the car for longer period of time. You should have clarified then that there should be no cost in regards to the vib at 60k's or woteva and the pinion seal leaking, what about the power steering pump leak, Who pays for that? Holden? Why? Cmon man.

[Dannyxv]

I had my vx serviced with a Holden dealer a couple of months ago, and it will be the last time. They will rip you off to no end if you let them. They rotated 2 bad tyres, put them on the front? I mean who does that. I took it to Bob Jane and showed them and they were horrified. They tried to tell me I need new this and that when I knew there was nothing wrong with them. I'll be taking it to the local mechanic from now on. At least I know that way he will not try and rip me off and actually do all the work that is needed. They only good thing I can say about Holden is they do a good wash, that's about it.

[Longman]

Very interesting thread to say the least. There are always 2 sides to every story. I was advised during a minor service by a holden dealer that my brakes desperately needed doing and that I shouldn't be driving the car at all! They quoted a ridiculous price to replace them. As usual I declined the offer and took it to my usual brake place - they refused to do them, stating it would be ripping me off, I'd get at least another 50,000 out of them! My brake place got the job and changed them 2 years later than holden wanted to!!

The other side though is the business thing. I used to work as a service technician at a non-dealer chain in W.A a long time ago. Being dodgy was expected and I was trained to do so and threatened with my job if I didn't. Brakes and gearboxes were the most common thing as most people could not check them as they didn't know how (used to just clean the brakes up and slap a coat of blue paint on a gearbox to make it look recon). We very rarely replaced spark plugs, just ran them under the wire brush then invoiced a new set. The biggest thing though was women by themselves, the culture was attrocious, and ranged from replacement engines (though not actually replaced or needed) to emptying the coin tray when giving a courtesy vacuum. It was appalling and I only lasted 1 month before I quit in disgust. No surprise they aren't operating any more. Keep in mind this was 20 years ago and I was a naiive teenager, but I still knew it was wrong.

I guess what I'm saying is that the culture has definitely changed for the better but there will always be bad apples in any sector. The simplest thing is if you are not happy, take your car somewhere else or get a second opinion before committing.

Oh, and I always love the rounding up dealers do to the nearest $10 and invoice for "ancilliaries". He he. I believe that should cover your bulbs and wiper blades.

here endeth the rant.

[WestieVYLS1]

whenever I have taken my car to holden for a service, I find, generally, they complete the work i wanted done or they said they have done. Yes I do sometimes feel my car doesnt run quite how I expected it would, but I am a perfectionist and not a mechanic, but the simple fact is, the car runs. So im neither here nor there with Holden dealer service. However......everytime I have taken a car to a local mechanic or some jonny nobody mechanic, i've been ripped off hard. Similar to the first story, I had recently replaced items and the ******** charged me for it anyway.....so theres my lesson.....don't go to the little guys unless you know them.
At the end of the day, my car is now out of its warranty period, so i shall be carrying out all the minor services on my own.

cheers,

[Steery]

i would never go to holden, ever. ever.

and when i have the money to buy a recent model car, it will not be a holden because of their appaling service. it will be a toyota or a ford.

[Nanos]

I think everyone has a tale about holden dealers.

I took a VS wagon i woned several years back to a holden dealer for servicing. ( this was due to be warranty).

The car had been lowered only about 2 weeks prior with new shocks all the way around. Told the dealer i had heard some clunks from the rear and hoped they could locate it and get back to me.

When i went to pick up the wagon the service manager told me it was a shocker. I informe him it could not be a shock as they had only done about 1000k's. after a few words later i got him to put it on the hoist and show me. When he went to show me the shocker fault he noticed it was actually the Pan hard rod (adjustable type) that had come loose at the adjuster.

the look on his face when i told him that iwas not paying for the new shocks he had fitted was priceless. He could not give me a good reason to why this was not noticed by whoever was working on the car. Never went back to that holden dealer again

I have to agree though with others. Mechanics are paid **** all. For the work they do i think they should get paid more. I mean i pay $185 for a minor service. mechanic doing the work gets paid $15 per hour. takes him half hour to drain oil change filter and give car quick look over. tell me who is at fault here. the dealer or the mechanic. because for $15 a hour i would not care for my work either.

[Dayvo]

I'm a service advisor at a Holden dealer and im quite shocked to hear of some of the issues which have taken place at different dealers, like replacement of wipers without authorisation from the customer, service costs and repairs etc etc. I cant speak for any other dealer but at the end of the day i'd never give approval to any of the techs to proceed with extra work if the customers unreachable. However there are exceptions as far as i see things. Such as.. customer's history do they bring the car to us for servicing all the time.. yes right if so, we find the car has a couple of blown globes and wipers need changing. If i know the history of this customer im confident enough to make a decision based on necessity im not gonna allow the customer to pick the car up and say oh found both ur no. plate globes and ur RHF headlight globe blown didnt do them today as we couldnt get hold of you, customer gets ****ty which would be fair enuf customer brings their car to Holden and lives 50k's away.
So at times i can justify doing extra work within reason of course. In your case ACE thats somewhat different. Just one more thing i must ask Dayvo u had issues with the car whilst still under warranty then were charged for it. Your first mistake.. How does the advisor you've been dealing with know ur not paying for it or know that the complaints have been issues in the past. if they need to do extra work under warranty they dont ring you, as they dont need approval full stop, unless of course they need the car for longer period of time. You should have clarified then that there should be no cost in regards to the vib at 60k's or woteva and the pinion seal leaking, what about the power steering pump leak, Who pays for that? Holden? Why? Cmon man.

My gripe was that i had the car back twice to be repaired under warranty and got no satisfaction on both occasions ,Then when i booked it in for a service and they rang me to tell me that it needed aditional work done to it thats when i thought it was strange that they rang me because it was still covered under warranty and my understanding was that i shouldn't be charged for it