Servicing with Holden dealer or reputable local mechanic.

[theott]

Wow this dealer sounds first class!!! They will get torn a new one by holden and possibly trigger and audit. If they are found to be doing this on a lot of cars they are screwed!! I remember a warranty part audit ford did on us at the dealership i worked at cost them about 200k

 

[zero_tolerance]

Personally I don't understand why people use dealers. Both of mechanic mates who have their own businesses have worked in dealerships previously and one of them used to be a service manager also, and says the environment is shocking.

In fairness, there are good dealers out there and there are bad, unfortuantely the bad ones like Martyr's tarnish the reputation of all the good ones out there.

 

[BlackVXGTS]

From the Holden web site:

E. What services are covered under the Holden Lifetime Capped Price Servicing Program?
For Recent Model Holden Vehicles, the Scheduled Services covered under the Program are all service items listed in the "standard service schedule for normal operating conditions" for each Eligible Vehicle, as specified in the Service and Warranty Booklet for that Eligible Vehicle, including parts, labour, fluids and any applicable workshop charges.

Holden will use genuine Holden parts for all relevant Scheduled Services, except where genuine Holden parts are no longer available.

F. What services are not covered under the Holden Lifetime Capped Price Servicing Program?
Additional service or maintenance items which are not Scheduled Services and are not covered under the Program:
For Recent Model Holden Vehicles, include (but are not limited to):

1. items which require additional servicing depending on the operating conditions as detailed in the Service and Warranty Booklet for that vehicle;
2. normal wear and tear items requiring periodic maintenance (e.g. fuses, brake pads, wiper blades, batteries, tyres, wheel alignment adjustments);
3. air conditioner pollen filter;
4. any servicing required as a result of the fitment of non-genuine Holden parts or accessories;
5. additional fluids and additives not specified in the standard service schedules for normal operating conditions set out in the Service and Warranty Booklet for that Eligible Vehicle;
6. accident damage to any body, chassis or driveline components;
7. adjustments not specified in the standard service schedules for normal operating conditions set out in the Service and Warranty Booklet for that Eligible vehicle; and
8. additional maintenance and repairs recommended by the customer's Holden Dealer to suit individual driving characteristics.

I guess they could argue that posting 90,000kms in such a short time puts you into the additional servicing category. Have all your other services been performed at the 15,000km intervals?

 

[Martyr]

I guess they could argue that posting 90,000kms in such a short time puts you into the additional servicing category. Have all your other services been performed at the 15,000km intervals?

Every service was as per the handbook.

So I just got a call from holden customer care. They have spoken to the dealer who gave the excuse that they had processed it as a 2015 VFI 90,000km service, which has a capped price of $590 if the vehicle was a 6.0L first registered up until feb 2015 (mine was built dec 2015).

The manager has offerred me the difference in price as a discount on my 115,000km service. The Holden Customer Care rep said it was up to me to negotiate other terms (I want the $289 refunded in cash). She basically said talk to him about it and closed the call.

Edit: I have just talked to them, twisted their arm a lot to get the cash refund. He went on about it taking two months and having to take it high up for approval and he will call me back because they will ask him 100 questions about it.

What a bunch of thieves.
I will name and shame just as soon as they perform these warranty repairs. I'll also slap them with a letter of demand for payment the same day.

 

[ITOONS]

A discount on your next service with them? Sounds more like a ploy to get you to return, which they know you won't be doing after essentially stealing from you.

Im glad you talked them into the cash refund. It's YOUR money after all, not theirs.

 

[Dayvo]

When my son bought his vy about 8 years ago part of the deal was he got 3 free services . Well the dealer conveniently forgot and charged him for the first service but said the next three Would be free. As he didn't have much cash on him and i worked 5 minutes down the road from the dealer i came and sorted it out . Their excuse was that they had already entered it in the system and printed out the invoice. Pretty much told them it was their problem we are not paying and can we have the keys.

 

[Eterno]

Checking and topping up fluids is part of the capped price service offering and should be performed.

Last week I took my GEN-F2 GTS in for a 15,000km service (had only done <9,000km but the 9 months since purchase were up). My instructions and the results were as follows:

1. When I booked for in the service (online) I specified "No test drive and and the vehicle was not to leave the premises". I have no reason to believe this was not followed.
2. When I took the car in (7:30am), I said to the service person that I didn't want the wheels to be rotated. Normally, service rotation involves moving the front wheels to the rear and vice versa. Because the GTS wheels are a different size front and back, rotation involves moving left wheels to the right and vice versa - I wasn't keen on this happening, and also because of the risk that the tyre pressure sensors wouldn't be updated correctly. The comment on the service invoice "Could not find lock nut key in vehicle so could not pull wheels off in service" indicates that my instruction didn't get through to the mechanics.
3. I also told the service person that I wanted the Mylink software updated because I wasn't seeing the speed camera alerts on the menu. The answer was along the lines "Oh no, that function hasn't been available for years", which is the same comment I received during the 1,000km inspection. Based on the posts in this forum on MyLink/Maps/Alerts etc. I said to him "That's not true" and left it at that. About an hour later I received a telephone call to say that "Yes, we can do that, but because it's classified as an upgrade and not warranty, you will have to pay $70 to have this done". I told him "No thanks". Thinking about this later, I would have thought that the labour time saved through not taking the car for a test drive, and not having to rotate the wheels, would have saved them at least $70, but I didn't think about that at the time.
4. I told the service person that I would wait for my car to be completed and went out to find breakfast. I had forgotten to confirm that I didn't want the HSV recommended Mobil 1 to be used for the oil change. Firstly, it was only an HSV recommendation (due to sponsorship no doubt). Secondly, the engine itself is pure GM, with no HSV added-value components and therefore the standard GM mandated Dexos1 (all synthetic) oil should have been more than adequate. Thirdly, since I intended to change the oil at 5000km/6 monthly intervals, it was another reason why the Dexos1 oil should have been more than adequate. However, when I had a look at the invoice after arriving home, I found that the oil used was Mobil Formula S, which is NOT Dexos1 certified (and costed at $87 within the capped price!!!).

The next day, I had a call from a lady, whose job was reviewing whether customers were happy their service the previous day (which I think was a good initiative by the dealership to get feedback from its customers). I explained the problems mentioned above, and she offered to replace the oil if I returned the car to the dealership. I didn't accept this kind offer (in fact I was surprised that she was able to offer it at all on the spot). I'll be draining the oil myself and replacing it with a Dexos1 certified oil this weekend. Once trust is lost, it's hard to get it back.

I mean how much clearer could you have been with them? and how much money would they save if they didn,t even have someone having to ring you the next day asking if you were happy with the job?? Every time I go there they are rushing about and making out they are so busy and I know they are not even really listening to my requests and what about not offering a courtesy car? poor form I reckon.

 

[Eterno]

I prefer dealer servicing for a couple of reasons. Mainly because they work solely on Holdens every day and know them inside out, they have the correct tools and equipment specific to these cars, they use only 100% genuine parts and they are trained by GM in correct procedures and specifications. They are also kept up to date with tech bulletins, software updates etc.
While I have no doubt there are some great independent mechanics out there, I haven't really found one that I can trust, nor am I game enough to try my chances with a brand new 60k car for the sake of saving a few dollars.
Having said that, I am generally happy with my dealer's service department but still think there is room for improvement.
I recently had my 1 month inspection and when I got home discovered a few things which annoyed me. There were drops of oil left on my engine cover from when they pulled out the dipstick, they topped up the coolant reservoir but overfilled it resulting in overflow dripping out from under the front bar, and they scratched my bonnet protector while fitting it. All small issues and not really worth kicking up a fuss about, but I just wish they could have more attention to detail and treat a customer's pride and joy as if it were their own and not just some random fleet car.

I agree with all you have said about being specialist with the product as they are a Holden dealership but sometimes the service and quality of work as well short of specialist. I was not so much mentioning this about saving money as that I was concerned about the workmanship and things i asked to be done not getting done.

 

[Eterno]

F

Just had 90,000 service done on a VFII SS yesterday. Came in at an eye watering $1134;

$356 for the service (I thought it was capped at $299?)
$234 for parts related to the service (oil, o ring, oil filter, intake element, cleaner, brake fluid, 'workshop supplies')
$88 checked wheel alignment of front and back and adjusted the front
$148 throttle body service
$158 fuel line carbon flush
$150 replace radiator coolant
I politely declined the offer to replace front wipers at $140.80

Not sure if the last three were required... who am I to argue.
The two things I wanted fixed under warranty (and the reason I got a service there in the first place) had to be rebooked because the parts aren't in stock... so yeah people don't go to dealers because they're absolute ripoffs.

Farking hell that is just outrageous... Over 1k for a service on a car that has not yet done 100k.

 

[woooo]

I don't agree with your last paragraph. I run a busy inner city workshop in Brisbane. We have a pretty varied range of cars coming thru the door. Every vehicle is checked on a database and the correct oil only is used. We have shelving with about 20 different 20 l containers meeting different specs.

I am quite anti dealerships and capped price servicing. Obviously people will thi nk I am not objective in my role but I did my trade in a dealership so have been from both sides. We have a company we service with about 30 hiluxs. A few times they have been to dealerships if out on the job. The come back to us as soon as they are homes as they have so many bad experiences. One case a 40k service done "capped price" on the hilux. This service gets quite a bit. When we looked at it a week later only oil and filter had been done. Air,cabin and driveline oils not touched, and filthy. To top it the brake pads were cactus and not noticed at all. This is what bought it in to us.

When I did my trade there were 3 techs to 3 mechanics in each team. The numbers are certainly not that anymore and I worry apprentices getting rushed thru their time as they are cheap.

I say give your local a guy. You might be surprised the knowledge and passion he puts in to every car.

To give a range of cars we work on today we had a 89 corolla 2 weeks ago we had a 900k rolls Royce and before that a full rust removal(suspension) on a lotus. So it shows the little guys are more than capable