Oh why oh why did I change to new shape S Class. Problems. Problems. Problems.

[jgevers]

I hold these garages in very high regard, but feel there are certain limitations to what can be done. Do you rember how I asked about active headlights? Or resolving issues simply by using a flash upgrade which is usually a free improvement.

If I went to a Bosch Service Agent (NOT YOU ) and asked them to give me the facility to play Mp3's in my car, would they have the expert knowledge to say, "Certainly sir, I have a flash DVD that will give you a free upgrade to the system you have!" Or would they install a piece of entertainment equipment that would play these musical files? I can guess the answer and hopefully so can you.

I am NOT criticising you, or any of the excellent independant garages out there. Hopefully I am simply being realistic? Independants can do an excellent job, KLP has illustrated that.

Regardws,
John

Hi John,

A lot of independents are now running Star or equivalent with manufacturer contracts and are therefore quite able to re-program entertainment systems or provide engine and gearbox flashes etc. (we were doing them on Vauxhall Vectras with the Tech2 GM dealer tool and TIS in the late nineties as well as various coding jobs on VAG cars with the 1551 dealer tool from the mid nineties!).

Over the next few years you'll find more and more independents specialising in 2 or 3 makes in order to be able to keep up with all the latest tooling and subsciption costs from the vehicle manufacturers. I do think that the 'general' repair business will be a dying breed in the next few years.

Cheers

 

[glojo]

Hi John,

A lot of independents are now running Star or equivalent with manufacturer contracts and are therefore quite able to re-program entertainment systems or provide engine and gearbox flashes etc.

I understand that, and I am a great believer in the detail. Hand on heart... be truthful......... How many CD\DVD flash upgrades have you got for the latest range of Mercedes-Benz?

No waffle, no... 'Well we can get them'

You would need the service bulletin to know the defects that need upgrading. No service bulletin, then perhaps no knowledge, then many hours of investigation which the customer will quite rightly have to pay for..

Like I said, how many independents would even know about what these upgrades can do. I have a long list of service bulletins and I could be rude and pose a question! That would be disrespectful to a person whose knowledge, experience and expertise I hold in very high regard.

I would guess it might not be profitable for you to obtain all the seperate CD flash upgrades for all and every vehicle, plus of course the service bulletins that would inform you of the need to do the upgrades. (These would run into hundreds if not thousands??).

I am NOT trying to be a smart alec, I respect your skills and of course abilities and am not trying to belittle you.

Yours very sincerely,
John

 

[jgevers]

Hi John,

The vehicles we support fully in my garage (ALL dealer tools and the latest software) are VAG, GM and Renault with full support for BMW being completed by August (hopefully).

We have partial support for all the other makes except Aston Martin, Jaguar and Ferrari. This means that we are normally a couple of years behind with flash data and special tools.

The reasoning for when I decide to go for full support for a manufacturer is by the volume of that make in the workshop and whether we get a lot of diagnostic work in for that make from the local franchised dealer.

So in the case of MB, our total work on MBs is approximately 7% of the amount of vehicles taken in. The total turnover on MBs is about 15% of the workshop turnover. This means that the MBs have an above average repair cost (which does not mean better profitability by the way), which in turn means customers being unhappy about their bills (while still being happy with the work). This is more stressfull for the frontline staff (not good, I like an easy life). This coupled to a high special tool cost and only the odd job coming to us from the 2 locallish franchised dealers, means that MB will be one of the last makes that we will support fully.

I like MB from old, but it pains me to say that modern MBs are not up to scratch and in general can not provide us with a customer base that consists of happy customers. To make a point, I was in my garage last week (I am not there myself very often now) and there was a W203 on the alignment lift. Pat, my workshop manager, was showing the customer why it was pointless doing a full alignment on the car as it had a few ball joints with play and a broken rear spring. The customer also noticed the the rear cross member was very rusty. Apparently, this car had the big service only about a month before (with a huge bill) and was advised a geometry check. The customer did not want to pay the dealer's prices and subsequently came to us as we have the John Bean 901 with full MB software. The customer was not happy although our service was fine.

So to come back to your question, yes we can do some uprgrades to your car but not the latest although I do have access to the latest software. As with all not fully supported makes that come into my workshop,we check with the manufacturer if there are any outstanding re-calls or flash upgrades but that is it.
But if your car has a fault with any mechanical, electrical or electronic system we will be able to diagnose it properly and will not fit parts that are not needed.

I hope I have answered your question adequately.

Cheers

Job

 

[jgevers]

Hi John,

A point I forgot, You are lucky enough to have a franchised dealer in your area that has been able to attract good technicians who are interested in cars and service advisors that want to provide good customer service. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not in that position. It seems to be quite common for a francised dealer to be lacking in the tecnical department (TSBs don't even get read) or the service advisors are lacking (or both).

In these areas the good independents can perform a better service than the franchised dealers quite easily.

Cheers,

Job

 

[glojo]

Hi Job,
I just hope that members read these posts and see how dedicated you are. Unfortunately customers tend to always want to pay peanuts for a walnut service.

I would not hesitate in using your excellent services for looking after the everday running of our vehicles.

I pay top dollar by going to a dealer and I demand a top dollar service, I do fully accept that there will be workshops where staff do not read these TSB's and they are NOT doing themselves any favours by this type of atitude.

Take care,
John