- Joined
- Mar 12, 2006
- Messages
- 2,608
- Car
- Mini Cooper S, BMW M140i
Well, it's service time for the SLK and I've no objections to that, I look after my cars. So I ring the dealer, ask for a quote for the B service and an MOT while it's in - that's due next month. The warranty also runs out at the end of the month and I was thinking about renewing for peace of mind, so I'm prepared for a reasonably big bill.
Got the quote back for the service, raise an eyebrow at the cost of oil (as it takes 8 litres it's a fair few quid) but I suppose I could supply my own. There are a few "extras" on there, change of brake fluid - not a big ticket item and safety critical so fine, a couple of filters which aren't especially cheap but I'm not too bothered as it's coming up on 5 years old now and these sort of things have a service life. All in all, it's not looking too bad, I knew before I bought it that it's not a cheap car to run.
Then we get to the plugs.
Apparently, my car needs new plugs (all 16 of them!) despite having only covered 14000 miles. This is a £300+ tickle, and I object to having to pay for something clearly not needed. Yes, the car is 5 years old and if it was on average mileage it probably would have racked up 60K and the plugs would need changing. This isn't the case, and as spark plugs are made of metal and ceramic (neither particularly short-lived) their service life is determined by the number of sparks they produce not the passage of time. Correct me if I'm wrong.
So I ring the service manager and explain my disappointment that I'm expected to pay for work that is clearly unnecessary. He agrees with me, but tells me there is nothing he can do, if I don't pay for everything MB's computer tells me I need I won't get my service book stamped and I can forget about Mobilo and warranty (and although he was very polite, that was the message he was putting across).
I've really got the hump about this, mostly because it's a stupid business decision by MB (a company I expected better of, from past experience). Try and screw your customers and they won't come back. Yes, I can afford to pay for the plugs if I have to but it's a point of principle as this is nothing to do with engineering excellence or customer care, it's just about MB's bottom line.
I will be looking at my options now, I am seriously considering taking the car out of the MB network. Yes, it will affect residuals to some extent but as I've no intent to sell the car in the foreseeable future that's not a concern at this point.
Grump over, I just needed to let off some steam.
Cheers,
Gaz
Got the quote back for the service, raise an eyebrow at the cost of oil (as it takes 8 litres it's a fair few quid) but I suppose I could supply my own. There are a few "extras" on there, change of brake fluid - not a big ticket item and safety critical so fine, a couple of filters which aren't especially cheap but I'm not too bothered as it's coming up on 5 years old now and these sort of things have a service life. All in all, it's not looking too bad, I knew before I bought it that it's not a cheap car to run.
Then we get to the plugs.
Apparently, my car needs new plugs (all 16 of them!) despite having only covered 14000 miles. This is a £300+ tickle, and I object to having to pay for something clearly not needed. Yes, the car is 5 years old and if it was on average mileage it probably would have racked up 60K and the plugs would need changing. This isn't the case, and as spark plugs are made of metal and ceramic (neither particularly short-lived) their service life is determined by the number of sparks they produce not the passage of time. Correct me if I'm wrong.
So I ring the service manager and explain my disappointment that I'm expected to pay for work that is clearly unnecessary. He agrees with me, but tells me there is nothing he can do, if I don't pay for everything MB's computer tells me I need I won't get my service book stamped and I can forget about Mobilo and warranty (and although he was very polite, that was the message he was putting across).
I've really got the hump about this, mostly because it's a stupid business decision by MB (a company I expected better of, from past experience). Try and screw your customers and they won't come back. Yes, I can afford to pay for the plugs if I have to but it's a point of principle as this is nothing to do with engineering excellence or customer care, it's just about MB's bottom line.
I will be looking at my options now, I am seriously considering taking the car out of the MB network. Yes, it will affect residuals to some extent but as I've no intent to sell the car in the foreseeable future that's not a concern at this point.
Grump over, I just needed to let off some steam.
Cheers,
Gaz