Servicing Blues

[rossi]

2003 Opel (holden for the Aussies) Astra TS City
G'day guys a new member as of today (31/01/07) first thread unfortunatly a gripe with the good ol holden service centres.
First off wondering if its just me or does $1200 sound expensive for the 126 000km/8 year service considering that only 2 weeks ago I got the 2 front tyres changed and the backs balanced and checked.
Which surprised me when the service guy rang me and said they all needed to be balanced and rotated because the front tyres had less tread than the rears. After that he thought it would be a good idea for me to have a throttle induction service ($185) and a throttle body clean up due to carbon build up ($100) i said no i'll price it somewhere else.

I've also had the breaks done about 2 or 3 months ago.

[blueraven]

Holy crap did they see you coming.

Thats at least double what o would expect. I have been quoted by ultratune $630 for the major 60k service, thats including timing belt etc.

if your car isnt under warranty(and even if it is) you dont have to go to holden, go to an ultratune or similar, or even better ask people for a reccomendation for a good mechanic.

holden still have to offer warranty on all of the bigger service centres..

[JohnBu]

its for this reason, i really dont know why more ppl dont ask for the price.

u shouldnt have to pay more than say $800 for it.... call up a few dealers to find what a reasonable price is before taking your car there...

blueraven, why didn't/don't you get the 60km service at the place who did the mods?

FYI paid under ultratune's quote for my 60,000km service at Holden @ mates rates.

make sure you get the tensioners/rollers replaced with the timing belt also.

[rossi]

Well cant say im happy with this lot.
Can i say which dealership this is, not sure on the rules?
They're in perth for now.

1. they rang me half way through the day asking me to do a wheel alignment and rotation, on the grounds that the back tyres had more tread than the front, I played along until i told them i had the fronts done 2 weeks prior. which had the service guy in silence
then
2. they recommended a cabron clean and throttle body flush 285, which i turned down. i got a quote from another crowd who said they'd do it for bout 100 less

3.when i got there not only had they re-gassed the aircon, which id asked for, they also serviced it, 145 all up, about $50 extra on re-gassing, which i have no problem with, had they called me up and asked!!

4.they handed me back the keys to my car, but failed to tell me that they broke the little latch holding the battery inside in place, hence the remote wouldnt work, they'll phone me during the week about what they'll quote 'do' about it

5. i walk out to find my car unlocked, with $200 worth of CD's in it and $100 worth of my g/f's horse riding gear in the back, id cleared everything else earlier (dont trust anybody these days) but we were going straight to the horses after and figured the rest would be ok on the grounds my car was locked in their car park.

6. the windscreen wipers were 'checked' but not replaced, even though they leave streaks on the windscreen, and are slightly sun damaged. (minor but its on the list)

7. on their website it clearly states free car wash and vacum with service, and after i've spent $1003 on a service i'd like a clean car when im done. but no they didnt clean or vacum

8.got the car home and went throught the list, oil, seemed done, whiper fluid done, rest seemed ok until i came to spark plugs which they said they'd changed, now im not 100% sure how you get them out, but i think it involes taking off what looks like a rubber cover, which if it had been taken off, the dust that was sitting on it wouldnt have been there, so when i go to my folks place (they have tools) on the week-end i'll check the sparks plugs.

all in all not happy

[JohnBu]

call the dealer and tell them of your concerns.

speak to the manager and email them each and every complaint.

you'll be surprised most places take customer satisfaction quite seriously, if the concerns are not fixed to your satisfaction, dont go back and/or write to holden.

[rossi]

yeh, when i get home tnite i'll get all the fact and the service sheet together and im email their service centre manager

just not good enough

[JohnBu]

yeh, when i get home tnite i'll get all the fact and the service sheet together and im email their service centre manager

just not good enough

call them up before emailing them.. they will take it more seriously.

[InsaneAsylum]

doesn't a throttle body clean up consist of a $10 can of carby cleaner sprayed in your intake?

[rossi]

yeh was talking to a mate who had trouble with a ford dealer, he emailed them and nothing happened, then he walked into the store and demanded to see the manager, they appologised with a 150 fuel voucher and a free minor service later on, although i didnt ask wat they did/didnt do to warrant it.

will find out about the carby cleaner
cheers

[imay]

Understand only too much how you are feeling, mate.

I am still amazed that after buying 2 new Astras from the same dealer (TS 5 door and convertible = $70K+ in 4 years) I have been treated very poorly by their service department and will NOT go back.
Started back with the 1500 km "service" on the 5 door. They left it in a terrible state (windscreen smeared, greasy hand-prints on the bonnet, engine cover, door handle, steering wheel), unlocked and parked near an open gate. Gave them another chance when the first 12-month service was due, but I took a copy of what they were "supposed" to do first. The only thing that I could really determine had actually been done was the oil changed (as it was clean). Nothing else had been touched. Complained bitterly to the service manager, who "understood my disappointment" and arranged for the car to be re-checked (another wasted RDO). He also tried telling me the pollen filter is located under the bonnet in a very awkward place, and probably wasn't changed because it didn't need it. After this re-service when I got it home I opened the bonnet to find a spanner left in the engine bay. Dropped that off when I was next passing and again complained about the poor service standards and was assured it was a "one-off incident and unlikely to ever happen again" (poor apprentice obviously was going to get a right bollocking!).
Convertible was taken in for its 1500 km "service." Guess what! Same crap!
Took it back for some cosmetic warranty work that was noted at pick-up, and after lengthy arguing the point over what they and I consider to be unacceptable trim work. It was returned to me (unlocked) with scratches in the paint (yeah, right, prove it was them!), poorly amended items, a very unhappy owner, and a service manager who could not understand why I didn't think he was bending over backwards to be co-operative.
And the only contact the entire dealership has ever had with me over the past 4 years is for this service manager to keep sending me computer generated service reminder notices.

I'll not be back for more of the same . . . but I still love my Astras.

[blueraven]

i put $10 on BGH.

Cannington? Useless idiots looked at my astra when i first got it, will never take it back there.

[WLD-18L]

doesn't a throttle body clean up consist of a $10 can of carby cleaner sprayed in your intake?

$10 Carby cleaner and an old tooth brush makes it brand new again. i service my car myself these days as i just dont trust idiots like this working on my car. my unlces a mechanic so i just buy all the stuff take it round to the workshop and he shows me how to do it properly.

[Charlatan]

Dealerships are for free waranty work only. Find yourself a good trustworthy local mechanic. I've never had a problem since I found my guy.

[JasonGilholme]

Seriously, just learn how to do it yourself. Buy a maintenance manual for your car and buy some descent tools. You'll find that you won't have any wasted RDO's and that you'll cut your servicing costs by hald.

You'll also be able to diagnose problems with the car quicker and easier without having to speak to the dumb****s that we call dealers.

The only thing i get done at holden is the timingt belt but i'm even considering doing that the next time cause i've been doing alot of work on my cars and i'm becoming more confident and understanding.

[platypus]

just one small point that everyone has missed



don't be a **** about it - there is nothing worse than the guy who goes in and abuses people because... no one wants to do **** for these loud pricks!!

be calm but firm all the same and my favourite line... i've paid for this (insert item here) i'd like to know when i can have it back in working order. i don't care if it will take a month, just give me the correct timeframe then give me a call when its ready


be careful with them spark plugs... they will rip through ya if you take those covers off.... tell them you didn't trust it had been done and had another mechanic look at it

[rossi]

thanks alot for all the input guys, heading down there today to sort this stuff out. will update on the progress.
cheers

[rossi]

well, the dealership got back to me, the head guy there was pretty good about it, said he had a service meeting the following morning with his crowd about the issues (i doubt it but hey) he said the lack of service was due to lack of staff members, (all text book answers) all in all i just couldnt be bothered with it all, i just wont go back and will tell everyone i see not to go there. he replaced my key for me after they broke it, over the phone they told me 10-15mins max to reprogram the car, almost an hour later i got my keys back, lets just say the holden guys in leederville are useless.
went and spoke to another mechanic and he said i should run a bottle of injecta clean through the tank, and to clean the throttle body was simply a case of spraying carby cleaner through the intake.
total cost for that $20
total cost for holden to do the same thing $250
nuff said

[Clint]

Seriously, just learn how to do it yourself. Buy a maintenance manual for your car and buy some descent tools. You'll find that you won't have any wasted RDO's and that you'll cut your servicing costs by hald.

You'll also be able to diagnose problems with the car quicker and easier without having to speak to the dumb****s that we call dealers.

The only thing i get done at holden is the timingt belt but i'm even considering doing that the next time cause i've been doing alot of work on my cars and i'm becoming more confident and understanding.

timing belt is an easy one :p dad bought a new timing belt for mine the other day, cost $50

[JasonGilholme]

timing belt is an easy one :p dad bought a new timing belt for mine the other day, cost $50

Yeah it doesn't sound too hard. and 50 bucks is alot better then paying 300 + (or whatever it is to get them to do the friggin belt)

Did you get the tensioner as well??

[MatsHolden]

well, the dealership got back to me, the head guy there was pretty good about it, said he had a service meeting the following morning with his crowd about the issues (i doubt it but hey) he said the lack of service was due to lack of staff members, (all text book answers) all in all i just couldnt be bothered with it all, i just wont go back and will tell everyone i see not to go there. he replaced my key for me after they broke it, over the phone they told me 10-15mins max to reprogram the car, almost an hour later i got my keys back, lets just say the holden guys in leederville are useless.
went and spoke to another mechanic and he said i should run a bottle of injecta clean through the tank, and to clean the throttle body was simply a case of spraying carby cleaner through the intake.
total cost for that $20
total cost for holden to do the same thing $250
nuff said

Write a letter to Holden themselves mate if you're not happy, as Holden doesn't actually employ the monkeys working at the dealers. The dealers are private companies with the license from Holden to be a dealer. Holden don't like it when they hear a dealership is dragging the chain.

[Clint]

nah didnt need the tensioner, just the pulley. a while back a small flat piece on the end of one of they pulleys that is supposed to hold the pulley in place came off, this slightly damaged the side of the belt and since then it has worn a little bit.

[rossi]

just get ticked off when these idiots in the bigger companies think they can treat customers the way they do with out any consequences, email to holden doesnt sound like a bad idea, hopefully put the wheels in motion to sort this mob out.

[JohnBu]

just get ticked off when these idiots in the bigger companies think they can treat customers the way they do with out any consequences, email to holden doesnt sound like a bad idea, hopefully put the wheels in motion to sort this mob out.

dont email it.. write to holden customer relations directly.

complaints are taken more serious when in writing..

here's a tip..

send out 2 letters, one to the holden and a copy to the dealer manager, cc the dealer so they know you've contacted holden..

it ****s me to get bad customer service... even though holden are a large company as MatsHolden stated, they dont like any bad PR..

i.e. customer gets good service - they'll tell 1 or 2 ppl..
same customer gets bad service - they'll tell 10 ppl..

[rossi]

haha they'd be lucky if i only told 10 people.
but yeh i can see how writing will be taken more seriously will post the progress

[JasonGilholme]

Good work man.

Definately CC that letter to the manager as well. Just to let him know that the **** might be hitting the fan.

Also, CC it to us here. I'm sure we'd all like to see it :D:D

[rossi]

haha yeh i'll post my first one, his reply and then the latest once i get to the home email

[rossi]

haha if anyone in perth happened to walk past their TV at around 6 this evening they would have seen the mob that stuffed me around defending themselves after a customers brand new HSV club sports started accelerating byitself, on more than one occasion. so now he's sueing them for the price of the car. haha thats karma baby!!