Cars & Transportation Getting your car serviced

[JuddsABlue]

Everybody seems to have an opinion on this, and they all seems to have the same point. You're going to get ripped off

Most people tell you to never go to a dealership. Reasons being they rip you off huge etc. I would consider a dealership to be much more reliable in regards to service, and maybe the extra kick is worth paying for?

We've also all heard the story of people leaving a 5c coin sitting on their tyre, returning a few days later when the mechanics say theyve completed the service but the 5c coin is still sitting on the tyre (car hasnt moved for the mouth breathers)

Then theres the mechanics who tell you all these things are wrong with your car and who are you to tell them any different? Im a regular sucker, I cant go toe to toe with these guys.

I once had a mechanic tell me I needed a new steering rack, a week later I took it somewhere else. That different mechanic said he checked over everything and never mentioned the steering rack. When I brought it up, he said he'd have another look. He still said it was fine and didnt need replacing

So, what is the best option to getting your car serviced/a bit of a checkup without getting the major run around? Anybody know of any good mechanics in the west or inner city?

Thanks all

 

[entourage]

Dunno about the west/inner city, but mechanics are so hard to pick. I've been through my share of bad mechanics, let me tell you.
Incompetance, disorganized, take too long, the lot. Not saying anything against mechanics, there are some good ones don't get me wrong. I know of a pretty nice mechanic in faulkner and theres a good one in box hill. Both looked after me pretty well.

From experience, it also depends on what the dealer is. No offense if anyone out there has anything to do with Holden, but they're service is sh*thouse. Not sure what make your car is, but when i took my Holden to them they came back with a $7000 bill. Absolute joke.

They also kept pestering me to bring it in to get it all fixed. No thanks.

Haven't had much experience with any other dealers, but they will always charge more.

I can tell you that I would personally trust an indy mechanic over a chain (i.e. ultra tune etc.). They tend to have been in the business a while, usually family owned, know and love their cars. Depending on where you go of course, but that's my personal preference.

I remember seeing an article once on ultra tune and they took the same make and model with the same problem to 4 different ultra tunes. One of them said they'd fixed it and charged when they hadn't, another fixed it but overcharged (as assessed by another mechanic), can't remember the others but they all failed the test.

Bout all i can help you with, man. Good luck.

 

[Extortion Threat]

It's pretty hard to avoid getting ripped off if you don't know anything about cars. Places like Ultra-Tune/Profix type chains are the worst at this. Dealers are generally less dodgy but more expensive. Pretty much every good mechanic I've used have been independents.

I suggest learning some basics about car/engine parts so that you don't sound like a n00b when talking to a mechanic. You really need to at least know someone who is knowledgeable so you can talk to them when the mechanic tells you all the 'problems' with your car. A lot of these 'problems' are non-urgent and don't require to be fixed in the short-term. So if you can talk to a mate they can tell you what needs to be fixed and what can wait.

eg. last time I took my car to get a service & tune they said I had the following 'problems': timing belt dilapidated, throttle body needed a flush, minor oil leak, parking lights were out, front brake discs needed replacing, brake pads on the low side + some other BS. Was gonna cost $600-700. The only parts that actually needed replacing were the timing belt & brake discs. The rest of the stuff could wait or I could do myself. Ended up costing around $400.

 

[Shell]

My uncle is an ex-mechanic, he services my car every 6 months. I'm pretty sure he just charges me parts, not labour. I'm getting a pretty good deal.


And yeah dealerships do rip you off. My dad told me to get my 100,000km service done there, (cause its like a major one? I dunno..) so I did. Sure enough I get a phone call saying "Oh.... you need to replace your tyres,.." etc etc, extra cost would have made the whole service about $1000

I told them where they could shove it- no actually I told them my uncle who was a mechanic would look at it at the next service.


And then at the next service, he said the tyres were fine, had at least another 10,000km in them at least.

 

[Ninty]

Pretty easy for most (males at least) to do a basic service by themselves. No point going to a mechanic if you feel everything is running fine.

The only vehicle I don't do myself is my ute, which a friend does cheaper at his dealership.

 

[JuddsABlue]

I can get a basic service done through family but need something a little more

I'll have a Look for some Indy mechanics around town thx guys

 

[wmvaux]

What's the car your wanting serviced? Make - Model - Year...etc

I think it doesn't hurt to shop around and ask prices and what they do in their services.

I am leasing a car now so it doesn't affect me, but I used to have a holden and get it serviced at Holden for $175 every 10,000 km's They serviced a lot of cars, so I don't think their likely to say you need to get this done or that fixed unless it needed it, but some dodgey dealers mainly smaller ones try and stich up those who know nothing about cars.

Basically if your car has done under 180,000kms I'd be sticking with the major dealers depending on their price, but if the car has done heaps of km's it could have anything wrong that could go anytime if it hasn't been serviced by the book. Servicing in more than changing the oil.

 

[Selective Retention]

The shonkiest place I have ever been to was a chain associated with a major retailer.

I needed new tyres and they had Bridgestones a hell of a lot cheaper than anywhere else I could find a quote.

I booked it in for 4 tyres and when I go in and drop the car off the guy behind the counter gives me a form to sign.

Since being in Melbourne I have been to a handful of different mechanics and have never been forced to sign something before the job so alarm bells are ringing at this point.

I read through the form and notice that the job description is left blank hmmmmm. When I ask him to fill it out before I sign the form the guy got super shitty and tried to talk around it. I explained to him that it is tantamount to signing a blank cheque and eventually he yielded. So he sits down and types in "4 Bridgestone tyres" in the job description then goes to add the extras. Me: Wow hang on a second ******* I just want 4 tyres. Him: But but but we always do x,y&z when we replace tyres

So what the ****er was going to do was add all that shit on without my expressed consent and pass it off as standard practice when I come back and pick the car up. I bet they suck a lot of people in like that. Crooks.

 

[Caesar]

I hate getting my car serviced. I can do the basics (change oil and stuff) but aside from that I know SFA about cars. Always feel like I'm getting ripped off but never know what to do about it.

 

[Simple Jack]

I hate getting my car serviced. I can do the basics (change oil and stuff) but aside from that I know SFA about cars. Always feel like I'm getting ripped off but never know what to do about it.

If you can change the oil and refill the window washer fluid you've just accomplished what 90% of 'services' are.

My advice is get a girlfriend who's dad is a master mechanic out here sponsored by a big dealership on a 457 dealer

 

[raskolnikov]

Just be aware that if your car is still under warranty you have to have it serviced at a dealers. If you have it done by an independent and something goes wrong you have voided your warranty.

 

[Herbs]

^^^no not really, as long as it's serviced by a licensed mechanical workshop, the warranty still stands.

 

[JADED]

Just be aware that if your car is still under warranty you have to have it serviced at a dealers. If you have it done by an independent and something goes wrong you have voided your warranty.

^^^no not really, as long as it's serviced by a licensed mechanical workshop, the warranty still stands.

Exactly. Any licensed mechanic / NRMA/RAA approved etc can carry out log book servicing.

The only time a dealer can exclusively ream you is with extended warranties or platinum type warranty deals on used cars etc. There they usually offer say a 5 year warranty of $2,000 and will fix mechanical failure but you need to get it serviced every 6months or 10,000kms (even if a log book states 12months or 15k as satisfactory)


My girlfriend had a KIA Rio on one of those type of deals (which is pretty much like A warranty insurance and is done by someone else) - was out 1 service schedule by 2 months (but only 400KMS) and they refused to fix a stuffed alternator.
This was two ON TIME services later but they dug out the history and said well, you were late here.
She said they usually send a letter reminding her and she books it in ASAP after that. For some unknown reason they folded and replaced the alternator at no cost (claimed it was a $600 job)

I only like dealer services for their access to factory diagnostic tools and urgent service/repair bulletins. (We own 2 Fords)
The cost is higher but at twice a year for 1 car it isn't to bad (I service my own because its older and I don't care if it doesn't run as good as the family car which is still under finance).

Major dealers service departments don't have to be as dodgy because their price reams you anyway so they don't have to make shit up.

 

[vealesy]

Spend $50 on a manual for your type of car (or download for free if you can) and you will only ever pay for parts costs.

OR

If you aren't mechanically minded and don't want to get ripped off, don't drive a car.

 

[WCErevival]

Quality of the service all comes down to the individual mechanic themselves. Not the dealer/workshop. The reason you get ripped off at dealers is because the mechanics work on bonus systems and get paid extra on how much extra work they can sell. So they are going to pick everything they can see regardless of how minor the issue is. The steering rack may of had a leak not worth worrying about but they have reported it to get the extra money but an independant mechanic wouldnt of cared. The service advisors out the front are just going off what the mechanics are telling them.

Things to steer clear of when taking your car to a dealer is engine flushes, fuel system cleans, carbon cleans etc etc. Most of the time they do nothing and often arent even done at all. Just a money earner for the mechanic and workshop itself.

 

[Prem87]

My mate is a mechanic and he's a legend wouldn't take my car to anyone else other than Chris Judd's mechanic (who's very good too).