main dealer service and windscreen wash

[rascalmaster]

rather than loose faith in them (and them loose your custom...) make your feelings known politely, and also tell them your pet peeve is being taken advantage of.
i told my stealer that at the onset and said i didnt mind paying for what was required but didnt like my hard earned cash being taken from me if it wasnt necessary.
they knew i had been mistreated by mb elsewhere and seen first hand, how i had gone to some lengths to methodically extract every last drop i possibly could out of them for it (but thats another story)... anyways long and short of it is- the service manager deals with me personally and Mb Ipswich have always been first class with me.
... and so they get my custom

 

[fuzzer]

ill bet they charged you for the oil too.... Thats taking the P more than the screenwash.



Now heres a thing ... do they use the winter additive if the car is serviced in winter?

 

[whitenemesis]

ill bet they charged you for the oil too.... Thats taking the P more than the screenwash.



Now heres a thing ... do they use the winter additive if the car is serviced in winter?

They did on mine, I have the bottle in the car!

 

[crockers]

They did on mine, I have the bottle in the car!

+1. But it's the same dealer.

 

[corned]

I can echo DolphiN Tech's sentiments. I always got the screenwash concentrate plus the cleaning paste in the boot after a service with my Jaguars. It was in the service kit, so if not used would be left for me to use. Simple. That was a Jaguar indie.

Local MB indie charged me for screenwash after I topped it up immediately prior to taking the car in (as a deliberate test). They did back off when I saw it on the invoice and confronted them about it, and I have not returned since.

It's a simple matter of trust.

 

[geoffreyw]

Feel bad complaining about that knowing what I earn.

Perhaps if you complained it might help us lesser mortals and pensioners to save a bit and not so obviously be ripped off. Think of others not just yourself.

 

[MarriedBlonde]

Fair point. Feel bad complaining about that knowing what I earn. I wouldn't mind if they just incorporated the charge into the basic price. Why break it down etc.

Eh? What has what you earn got to do with the service you receive?

If you are paying for something you should expect to get it.

 

[Scott_F]

Local MB indie charged me for screenwash after I topped it up immediately prior to taking the car in (as a deliberate test). They did back off when I saw it on the invoice and confronted them about it, and I have not returned since.

It's a simple matter of trust.

Could you drop a hint as to which MB indie it was so that I can avoid them ?

 

[Rory]

I wouldn't mind if they just incorporated the charge into the basic price. Why break it down etc.

I've said that about service bills in the past - and MB are about the worst for itemising everything, which I think makes the bills look bad.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

This is why I like to build a relationship with whomever I'm dealing - dealers or anything else - you don't tend to get stung.

 

[A210AMG]

Sorry but I would have asked why it was on the bill.

You could have given the £5 back to charity.

Does not matter what you earn or what car you drive, being charged for something not used or even left for you to use it wrong no matter how small the amount.

 

[paneraiseeker]

last night topped up the screenwash to the hilt.

Motor went in for 1st service this am.
£270 all in of which £5 was for screenwash which no doubt was not used at all.

Frankly I'm not going to question it but its dissapointing to see such stuff from a main dealer. RIP off Britain

Mug punter if you don't say anything but moan on a forum

 

[mbenz76]

Mine was filled up to the brim! Even if not I wouldn't have caused a fuss because every time it's gone in for anything I have asked them to fill the screenwash - bit cheeky but it hardly breaks the bank for them and as they have always done it without question or chargeit gives me a very good impression of them.

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Just to rub it in - took my 38 year old sl for an M.O.T. last week . Spent a couple of hours winding myself up over what costly repairs may be needed.On the way to the garage the wipers stopped working . Got a phone call a couple of hours later , M.O.T. pass , wipers fixed , total bill £40. Couple of advisories needed to sort before next year. Many thanks CRT , Weston-super-Mare.

 

[BoyracerAU]

In 1991 I bought a new Honda CRX. Service intervals were 5,000kms apart and I was doing quite a bit of driving in those days which meant the car was getting serviced every six weeks.

I must admit it took me awhile to notice new wiper arms and washer fluid top ups were being charged at every service. And even in 1991 the wiper arms were around $50.

I was a bit shocked to find I had effectively been buying new wiper arms every six weeks and ended up telling the service centre to leave this item off for all future services unless I said otherwise. That's when I learnt my lesson.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago and I had a new Peugeot 206CC. I told the service centre that I needed the car back as soon as was possible and they were good enough to accommodate me. They rang me before lunch to say my car was ready. Interestingly, the invoice had a labour charge of seven and a half hours despite their not having had my car for more than four... When I mentioned it, they said the price is the price irrespective of how much time is actually spent on the car. That was my second lessson learnt in car servicing...

 

[Ullevi]

I remember Saab doing this with the screenwash when I had a couple of Saabs some years ago. I'm afraid to say I did not say anything.

Also noticed that I used to get a 1L bottle of Mobil 1 when I took my MR2 roadster to Toyota for servicing which I never asked for. I collected them in the garage as I never needed to top up. Last service I used them for I got home and noticed they had charged me for said bottle but I had not received one.

Needless to say I mentioned it when I went back for them to redo the MOT- this time with the right reg number and they gave me 2 bottles of Mobil1.

I now have enough to do my own oil change- does oil go "off" if sealed in a container? Some of these must be 6 years old.