Servicing - Who can you trust?

rasputin · Mar 24th, 2012, 15:08

I have an '08' V50 D5 Geartronic with 54k miles on the clock, I bought it from a local independent dealer when the car was 2 years old and having covered 16k miles.

The dealer had the car serviced by a local indendent Volvo specilaist the day before I collected it. When I got the car home and checked it over it and found that the tyres all had different pressures ranging between 25psi and 36 psi. Not surpisingly this gave me no confidence in the quality of the service and I vowed to get it serviced elsewhere and for the last two services I have taken the car to an indendent volvo specilaist further afield.

Fast forward to this year and when the car was serviced last month I was 'advised' that the rear suspension droplinks should be changed as they were on the way out, not yet bad enough to fail an MOT but most likley would be an advisory. I chose not to have them changed as money is a little bit tight at minute.

Couple of weeks ago the car went to Volvo maindealer for a recall, as usual they also took the oppertunity to inspect the car and look for some business. No mention of the droplinks at all but the offside anti roll bar link 'has play' in it, again not an MOT failure but probably an advisory, can they go ahead and change it for me, again the answer was no - still short of cash.

The only thing the two agreed on was that the rear brake pads were 90% worn, main dealer quoted £160, the idependant specilist£113 - got them done at kwikfit for £75 with a lifetime guarantee on the pads (should have been about £95 but I had a 20% discount voucher)

Anyway I had the car MOT'd last week and it had a clean pass, no advisory's at all, no mention of droplinks or anti roll barlinks.

I find the whole business of trying to find somewhere who can service the car properly and give me accurate and honest information on the cars condition very frustrating.

Just wanted to vent on the subject is all

froggyted · Mar 24th, 2012, 16:09

I get my car serviced and MOT'd at MRG Volvo, Chippenham - very honest and reliable.

I once took an old Capri for three separate MOTs. Each garage failed it on different things with almost no common ground. I went for the cheapest quote and still saved money despite the extra two MOT fees! That was towards the end of the car's life. I had it 12 years, and shortly after i bought it i went in for a tyre service, and the guy beckoned me to look at a shock and said it would fail the MOT. It never failed the MOT on the shocks in the entire 12 years!! Again, towards the end of its life i had some brake shoes replaced and when i came to collect it, it was still on the ramps, and the guy showed me 'leaking' brake cylnders and said they would leak all over the new shoes. Being tight for money i declined and decided to keep an eye on them. Now i was no novice, i'd replaced the shoes myself several times: i removed the wheels occasionally and never saw signs of leakage - they had obviously smeared brake fluid on them to fool me. Beware of the cowboys, if you find a garage you can trust, stick with them. That's why i'd rather pay the extra and use a main dealer. Also, a lot of non-OEM parts don't fit precisely, causing mechanical problems, to say nothing of a shorter service life. Btw i've never used Kwik Fit since they fitted a back-box on that same Capri that never even lasted the year - the replacement fitted under the guarantee failed to last the following year.

EricMe · Mar 24th, 2012, 16:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by rasputin

I find the whole business of trying to find somewhere who can service the car properly and give me accurate and honest information on the cars condition very frustrating.

Just wanted to vent on the subject is all

Short answer is absolutely nobody !

I've used the same small garage for many years - even thought of the proprietor as a personal friend. However, a couple of years ago he announced that the discs on one of my cars was badly warped and had to be replaced so I paid for that job to be done. A couple of months later he said exactly the same about another of my cars. Meanwhile, I'd SORNed the first car a couple of weeks after its MOT but decided that I wanted to MOT it again the following year. Imagine my surprise on learning that the 'new' (??) set of discs had also warped after approx 400 miles of use ! I didn't have the job done but took it home, inspected brakes but found no obvious fault then took it elsewhere for a test. Passed with no mention of brake problems. Passed again following year.

No longer think of first garage's proprietor as a personal friend. !

froggyted · Mar 24th, 2012, 17:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricMe

Short answer is absolutely nobody !

I've used the same small garage for many years - even thought of the proprietor as a personal friend. However, a couple of years ago he announced that the discs on one of my cars was badly warped and had to be replaced so I paid for that job to be done. A couple of months later he said exactly the same about another of my cars. Meanwhile, I'd SORNed the first car a couple of weeks after its MOT but decided that I wanted to MOT it again the following year. Imagine my surprise on learning that the 'new' (??) set of discs had also warped after approx 400 miles of use ! I didn't have the job done but took it home, inspected brakes but found no obvious fault then took it elsewhere for a test. Passed with no mention of brake problems. Passed again following year.

No longer think of first garage's proprietor as a personal friend. !

Why not report him to Trading Standards or Watchdog? Firms like that should be shut down.

Btw, i've never had brake discs warp in 30 years of driving, and i doubt very much that Volvo ones would!

EricMe · Mar 24th, 2012, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by froggyted

Why not report him to Trading Standards or Watchdog? Firms like that should be shut down.

Btw, i've never had brake discs warp in 30 years of driving, and i doubt very much that Volvo ones would!

I guess there's still an outside chance that he might have been right and subsequent testers sloppy. Walking away seemed much easier.

Neither car was a Volvo. First was a Polo. Second a C-max (so probably same discs as a Volvo). I thought a disc warping was pretty unusual the first time - but trusted my 'mate'. Deeply suspicious second time and downright disbelieving third.

On the whole, I'm strongly in favour of MOTs. Done properly they'll take at least half an hour and a whole host of safety-related components should get a thorough check. Try costing that at Volvo main dealer rates and see how much change you get out of £40 !

froggyted · Mar 24th, 2012, 17:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricMe

I guess there's still an outside chance that he might have been right and subsequent testers sloppy. Walking away seemed much easier.

Neither car was a Volvo. First was a Polo. Second a C-max (so probably same discs as a Volvo). I thought a disc warping was pretty unusual the first time - but trusted my 'mate'. Deeply suspicious second time and downright disbelieving third.

On the whole, I'm strongly in favour of MOTs. Done properly they'll take at least half an hour and a whole host of safety-related components should get a thorough check. Try costing that at Volvo main dealer rates and see how much change you get out of £40 !

None - i probably paid about £54 for the last MOT. But then, i'd rather pay the extra and know that what they're telling me is the truth. It probably works out much cheaper for me in the long run!

A lot of cheap MOT garages are just trying to lure you in to find work to do on your car.

feemackenzie · Mar 24th, 2012, 18:50

Currently trusting a new start guy (East End Volvo) in Glasgow after having issues at another indy garage (always too busy or running late with work).

So far fully recommended - the bonus is the guy Paul, is time served in the local Volvo main dealers so has the knowledge.

kebab10 · Mar 24th, 2012, 19:27

I trust few people and garage wise, no one. As for warped discs, in 36 years of driving all manner of cars; not one warped disc EVER. Must be an urban myth.

v40bart · Mar 24th, 2012, 20:14

I trust no one - I do all the work myself.

SIAMBLUE · Mar 24th, 2012, 20:41

Only one person i would personally trust with any of my cars, that is Tim Williams in Coleville.

Mar 24th, 2012, 15:08	#1
rasputin Junior Member Last Online: Sep 17th, 2016 12:30 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: basingstoke	Servicing - Who can you trust? I have an '08' V50 D5 Geartronic with 54k miles on the clock, I bought it from a local independent dealer when the car was 2 years old and having covered 16k miles. The dealer had the car serviced by a local indendent Volvo specilaist the day before I collected it. When I got the car home and checked it over it and found that the tyres all had different pressures ranging between 25psi and 36 psi. Not surpisingly this gave me no confidence in the quality of the service and I vowed to get it serviced elsewhere and for the last two services I have taken the car to an indendent volvo specilaist further afield. Fast forward to this year and when the car was serviced last month I was 'advised' that the rear suspension droplinks should be changed as they were on the way out, not yet bad enough to fail an MOT but most likley would be an advisory. I chose not to have them changed as money is a little bit tight at minute. Couple of weeks ago the car went to Volvo maindealer for a recall, as usual they also took the oppertunity to inspect the car and look for some business. No mention of the droplinks at all but the offside anti roll bar link 'has play' in it, again not an MOT failure but probably an advisory, can they go ahead and change it for me, again the answer was no - still short of cash. The only thing the two agreed on was that the rear brake pads were 90% worn, main dealer quoted £160, the idependant specilist£113 - got them done at kwikfit for £75 with a lifetime guarantee on the pads (should have been about £95 but I had a 20% discount voucher) Anyway I had the car MOT'd last week and it had a clean pass, no advisory's at all, no mention of droplinks or anti roll barlinks. I find the whole business of trying to find somewhere who can service the car properly and give me accurate and honest information on the cars condition very frustrating. Just wanted to vent on the subject is all

Mar 24th, 2012, 16:09	#2
froggyted Master Member Last Online: Dec 27th, 2023 13:19 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Bristol	I get my car serviced and MOT'd at MRG Volvo, Chippenham - very honest and reliable. I once took an old Capri for three separate MOTs. Each garage failed it on different things with almost no common ground. I went for the cheapest quote and still saved money despite the extra two MOT fees! That was towards the end of the car's life. I had it 12 years, and shortly after i bought it i went in for a tyre service, and the guy beckoned me to look at a shock and said it would fail the MOT. It never failed the MOT on the shocks in the entire 12 years!! Again, towards the end of its life i had some brake shoes replaced and when i came to collect it, it was still on the ramps, and the guy showed me 'leaking' brake cylnders and said they would leak all over the new shoes. Being tight for money i declined and decided to keep an eye on them. Now i was no novice, i'd replaced the shoes myself several times: i removed the wheels occasionally and never saw signs of leakage - they had obviously smeared brake fluid on them to fool me. Beware of the cowboys, if you find a garage you can trust, stick with them. That's why i'd rather pay the extra and use a main dealer. Also, a lot of non-OEM parts don't fit precisely, causing mechanical problems, to say nothing of a shorter service life. Btw i've never used Kwik Fit since they fitted a back-box on that same Capri that never even lasted the year - the replacement fitted under the guarantee failed to last the following year. __________________ 08 S40 2.0D Powershift SE Lux Last edited by froggyted; Mar 24th, 2012 at 17:27. Reason: 'OEM parts' should have read 'non-OEM parts'.

Mar 24th, 2012, 20:14	#9
v40bart Master Member Last Online: Jun 14th, 2015 13:09 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London	I trust no one - I do all the work myself. __________________ 2008 V50 2.0 D, silver, off-black leather interior, plod spec 320mm brakes and suspension, says 140 ps on the sticker but flies like proverbial off a shovell. NICE...

Mar 24th, 2012, 20:41	#10
SIAMBLUE Premier Member Last Online: Jun 8th, 2024 01:50 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ilford, Essex. View Photos By: SIAMBLUE	Only one person i would personally trust with any of my cars, that is Tim Williams in Coleville. __________________ V70 P2 facelift D5 6sp manual E4 Sport SE Ocean Race Blue pearl (2005) 97k, standard.

Mar 24th, 2012, 18:50	#7
feemackenzie Junior Member Last Online: Jul 28th, 2020 15:08 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: glasgow	Currently trusting a new start guy (East End Volvo) in Glasgow after having issues at another indy garage (always too busy or running late with work). So far fully recommended - the bonus is the guy Paul, is time served in the local Volvo main dealers so has the knowledge.

Mar 24th, 2012, 19:27	#8
kebab10 Premier Member Last Online: Jul 24th, 2015 16:09 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: oxford	I trust few people and garage wise, no one. As for warped discs, in 36 years of driving all manner of cars; not one warped disc EVER. Must be an urban myth.

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