capped schedule services

[Big Red VF-SII Go-kart]

Bluntly, I put quality and timeliness of service above gimmicks like 'capped service', and other supposed niceties pushed around by Holden: 'once bitten, twice shy' way back when they couldn't even be bothered ringing me to tell me the car was ready for collection! Fast forward 11 years, with the go-kart serviced by a facility where techies from VW, Audi, MB and Holden have migrated to, I have never had cause to quibble. I don't pay capped schedule fees and I don't give two shakes of a lamb's tail for such things: they can be higher or lower at independents. The important bit is all repairs for as long as I can remember with the VZ (and before that, a battered VP Commodore/Lexcen CSi-cross, 1998-2010 onward) and now the VF, have been faultless and the car delivered to me well before the estimated completion time. And things only get better as the years and continued custom go on.

 

[Skylarking]

... I realised they never updated the firmware unless you took it in for a warranty complaint...

Yet they are supposed to check for any firmware updates and service campaigns as part of the scheduled service, along with tyre rotation and other things...

Often stuff that should be done simply isn’t done. I‘ve also seen another manufacturer’s dealer service monkey spin the wheels one revolution by hand when the car was on the hoist and then tick off the “tyre rotation” check box on his paperwork...

It’s sad and deeply lacking in terms of integrity and honesty when a business institutionalises such bullshite, be it listing something in a schedule that is never done or being sly and ticking a box when they know they haven’t met the intent of that item.

It’s also sad that such things are the norm within the industry...

Every day that passes, there are less and less reason to go to these dealer monkeys.

Holden: "You'll never pay more than the capped price!"
*changes cap amount*

Blame the ACCC which allowed Capped (Fixed) Price Service (and not making it set in stone for the duration) while also granting manufacturers an exemption from the requirement to make their workshop manuals available to 3rd party repairers (and the public).

As is, CPS/FPS is just a marketing ploy and it’s anti-competitive (which ACCC simply didn’t recognise). Whats worse is that ACCC isn’t recognising the ant-competitive nature of Mitsubishi’s 10 year warranty on the proviso you service through their dealer network, otherwise you default to just a 5 year factory warranty.

Seems being an independent repairer is going to get harder if other manufacturers jump on to this 10 year factory warranty with proviso bandwagon.

 

[Forg]

Seems being an independent repairer is going to get harder if other manufacturers jump on to this 10 year factory warranty with proviso bandwagon.

I'm watching the Tesla thing with interest ... I fully expect them to change their business model, but at the moment, they seem to be pushing as hard as mobile 'phone manufacturers to have no parts & hence have no repairs, it breaks you throw it away. That plus paying money for options that get revoked when the car's bought by the 2nd owner.
When they don't have dealers, there's no dealer network that needs to make a living ...

If they aren't forced to change that approach, I reckon others will be jumping on board.
And being a repairer of stuff without parts is going to be very interesting ... it might be possible for electronics specialists using generic parts to do some of it, I guess.

 

[Paulymac]

Yet the Holden dealership,,,well was a Holden dealership is now a jeep , Kia , Mitsubishi, Mazda , Suzuki, mahindra etc service centre lol , that I have been going to advertise they service 30,000 cars a year ....

 

[lmoengnr]

We were given 5 year's worth of capped price servicing, when we bought our car at a time Holden were including 5 year's warranty.
Never used it though, the guy I actually trust to work on it is no more expensive than the capped price.
When Holden existed I was mildly concerned I might be missing out of software updates or some-such, but then realised they never updated the firmware unless you took it in for a warranty complaint, so I was missing out on Nothing. And not having the rhesus monkeys smearing their poo all over the inside of a car with "titanium" coloured alcantara trim is a big positive of not going to the dealer.


Heh heh heh ...
Holden: "You'll never pay more than the capped price!"
*changes cap amount*

It certainly doesn't worry me about no more capped price services, now that Holden are non existed...
3 years are enough, it was mainly for firmware updates and system diagnosis. I cant see anymore firmware updates in the future.
By the time its due for its next service, I should be set up with a lap top and VXDiag for diagnosis, so will be servicing it myself.
I do have a 7 year warranty, and the DP at my local dealership knows my qualifications, so does the service manager, so warranty wont be a problem.

 

[VS 5.0]

service 30,000 cars a year

82 cars per day, 7 days per week ?

Or 115 cars per day at 5 days per week ?

They must have a lot of service bays.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

One of the reasons i went back to dealer is because of various issues i had with this car. I did not want to give them that any room to pull the bs argument that the local mechanic did not do something right...

Because you need phd to change oil and filter....

The dealer seems to stuggle with this though as they can never get the oil level right and I always had to drain some after the service...

 

[Paulymac]

82 cars per day, 7 days per week ?

Or 115 cars per day at 5 days per week ?

They must have a lot of service bays.

75k km service when I’ve done 24k km probably wouldn’t leave the car park let alone a service bay

 

[Forg]

82 cars per day, 7 days per week ?

Or 115 cars per day at 5 days per week ?

They must have a lot of service bays.

Oh, I don't know if he means they do oil & filter changes, that sort of thing.
I suspect he was using a euphemism which has a more agricultural bent to it ... they were "servicing" those cars in the same way you might rent a stud horse for your flock of female horses, ie. they were f**king the cars.

 

[Skylarking]

I'm watching the Tesla thing with interest ... I fully expect them to change their business model, but at the moment, they seem to be pushing as hard as mobile 'phone manufacturers to have no parts & hence have no repairs, it breaks you throw it away. That plus paying money for options that get revoked when the car's bought by the 2nd owner.

Yes it is interesting watching Tesla issues.

Already they've had issues that in Tesla's opinion the infotainment was working as designed but the regulators had a different view on how long safety features within should operate, hense backdown and recall

As to removing options on vehicle resale, considering the USA law around "sale of first doctrine" it will be only a matter of time before such bullsite is legally challenged by an individual owner or by some laywers wanting a class action. Probably before such occurs, there'd be a challenge around the saga of paying for a bullshite promise for "full self drive" to be delivered "soon" but continually morphs and gets delayed, myuch like a neverending "bait and switch"... People can only drink at the alter of Musk before they get fed up with the failed promises

There is so much greatness in what Tesla has done but there is so much crap to go with it... Musk is lucky not to be in jail for his share market manipulation via tweets...