Holden Servicing.

[sooty]

Long story short...here's something to check.
Had my 30k service, heard the rumours about people not replacing pollen filters, i wrote the date on mine, and put a piece of sticky tape over the top of one of the screws to get to it (a glovebox screw on the AH). Got the car back, checked, sticky tape was still there, they hadn't replaced it :mad:, exactly as i assumed they wouldn't!!!! more than happy to charge you $43.21 for it but will only change it if you actually bend their wrist to do it!
Moral of the story....check through what is to be done on the service, and make sure they actually do it...too many stories like this are hanging about...
Even the Holden "technician" now realises what a stupid mistake it was to make...

[MK]

Long story short...here's something to check.
Had my 30k service, heard the rumours about people not replacing pollen filters, i wrote the date on mine, and put a piece of sticky tape over the top of one of the screws to get to it (a glovebox screw on the AH). Got the car back, checked, sticky tape was still there, they hadn't replaced it :mad:, exactly as i assumed they wouldn't!!!! more than happy to charge you $43.21 for it but will only change it if you actually bend their wrist to do it!
Moral of the story....check through what is to be done on the service, and make sure they actually do it...too many stories like this are hanging about...
Even the Holden "technician" now realises what a stupid mistake it was to make...

apparently you can access the pollen filter through the engine bay also...dont quote me on this but im sure i heard it on one of the Opel Forums.

[sooty]

apparently you can access the pollen filter through the engine bay also...dont quote me on this but im sure i heard it on one of the Opel Forums.

The "technician" admitted he didn't do it. His excuse was he ran out of time and the invoice had already been printed.
I checked my pollen filter yesterday and i see no way of changing it through the engine bay as it's behind the firewall (passenger side) but that's not to say it's not possible.
He was of course severely reprimanded

[USC]

yeh and I heard they also dont change oil filters etc. Thats not just Holden...lots of other dealerships do it...they charge a fortune to stamp the warranty book but dont do shit.

[Originaldoc]

yeh and I heard they also dont change oil filters etc. Thats not just Holden...lots of other dealerships do it...they charge a fortune to stamp the warranty book but dont do shit.

Yeah dont i know i work for one dealership and they charge $99 for a basic service , BUT because i bought my car from the dealership i used to work for i have to pay $189.00 for a basic service , IE : oil change safety check and book stamped :( or i lose my warranty

Bloody daylight robbery i should of bought the car from where i work now.

[stevedee3]

...because i bought my car from the dealership i used to work for i have to pay $189.00 for a basic service , IE : oil change safety check and book stamped :( or i lose my warrantyI take it that you're talking about one of those "extended warranties"? If so, consider whether the "extended warranty" is really worth looking after...

[Originaldoc]

I take it that you're talking about one of those "extended warranties"? If so, consider whether the "extended warranty" is really worth looking after...

So far its save me almost 4 grand so yes it has been worth looking after lol most of the crap thats happened to my car has happened in the last year :(

[CNBLU]

your fault for taking it to holden ain. what did you expect???

[Vectracious]

I dunno whether I'm just lucky or if its standard with Subaru and Honda dealerships, but the service departments at my local dealers are light years ahead of Holden in terms of customer service, quality of work and price. I had the pollen filter issue with both the Astra and the Vectra at 2 different Holden dealerships. Every time they charged me for a new one. Every time there was some ridiculous excuse that never made any sense.

[xplosv57]

Comes down to the mechanic working on the car, would be good if everyone did what Ain did by marking the parts that need replacing, then complained when not done and after a few complaints that mechanic would be sacked.

Unfortunately most people just give the car in and have full faith that it's all being done.

The dealership i work for has a good rep and in order to keep that, we have taken measures to make sure everything that needs to be done gets done cos a happy customer is a repeat customer.

[sooty]

Comes down to the mechanic working on the car, would be good if everyone did what Ain did by marking the parts that need replacing, then complained when not done and after a few complaints that mechanic would be sacked.

Unfortunately most people just give the car in and have full faith that it's all being done.

The dealership i work for has a good rep and in order to keep that, we have taken measures to make sure everything that needs to be done gets done cos a happy customer is a repeat customer.

Well said.
Not all dealerships are going to be bad, and there are the good mechanics around, just don't put complete faith that they're going to do exactly what they say. Something as simple as the pollen filter and air filter are a 2 second job to check and allows the dealerships to weed out the lazy mechanics to improve the overall quality :)


your fault for taking it to holden ain. what did you expect???

Yeah yeah i know :p only took it there because i had to get my warranty work done at the same time (which they didn't do because they hadn't ordered the parts in that i had already told them to :mad:), so third time lucky when i drop it in they'll actually fix it....

[Wraith]

Long story short...here's something to check.
Had my 30k service, heard the rumours about people not replacing pollen filters, i wrote the date on mine, and put a piece of sticky tape over the top of one of the screws to get to it (a glovebox screw on the AH). Got the car back, checked, sticky tape was still there, they hadn't replaced it :mad:, exactly as i assumed they wouldn't!!!! more than happy to charge you $43.21 for it but will only change it if you actually bend their wrist to do it!
Moral of the story....check through what is to be done on the service, and make sure they actually do it...too many stories like this are hanging about...
Even the Holden "technician" now realises what a stupid mistake it was to make...

It's a common thing and an age old story this is, not just pollen filters but all manner of items and it's the private grease monkeys doing it as well as the dealer service branches...

It's unfortunate, but yes you must check over your vehicle and make sure things are done, if it's being serviced by anyone other than yourself !!!

What I do/have done and suggest to you all, is to tell (not ask) them to supply you with all the replaced components, obviously oils and fluids can easily be checked if they're new, but still have other measures put in place like D145 did above for the pollen filter, just is case they give you someone elses used parts, you'll catch em out every time and they won't do it again !!! ;)

[MK]

The "technician" admitted he didn't do it. His excuse was he ran out of time and the invoice had already been printed.
I checked my pollen filter yesterday and i see no way of changing it through the engine bay as it's behind the firewall (passenger side) but that's not to say it's not possible.
He was of course severely reprimanded

koorva! :( thats all i have to say :( lef mee know if u rquire assitnce in kiking hes ars :)

pss. WYBOROWA nigt again :D

[chrissn89]

I get my astra serviced by my local private mechanic. I drop in on surprise visits and go out the back and see how here going with it. I know most of the guys that work there, and there happy to let me have a look and ask questions. I also supply all parts and ask for my old ones back.

[gman]

That's why I do it myself. At least that way i know its done RIGHT and better than some 1st year apprentice can do..

I had two services I HAD to have with Holden, with two separate dealerships and I had the below problems:

Dealership 1
1: not changing pollen filter (marked)

Dealership 2
1: not changing pollen filter (marked)
2: not changing oil filter (marked)
3: not changing fuel filter (marked)
4: not re-filling with oil (checked before I left the dealer!!)
5: not rotating tyres (marked)
6: not replacing brake pads (marked)
7: not replacing brake fluid (easy to see visibly)
8: not tightening sump plug (checked before leaving dealer)

All of these things they charged me for parts AND labour. Add to that Dealership 2 smashed my front bumper, as such I have NO FAITH in Holden Service.

In the instance of Dealership 2, I threaten legal action and filed with the courts (not the small claims tribunal as it was a breach of contract, mis-representation, failure of duty of care and failure to provide services as charged for.

They settled out of court.....I now do my own servicing....

[AH Sri Turb04]

I feel a bit nervous now considering i just booked my car in for service on tuesday - its done 18,000 but i believe its maybe due for the 20, 25 or 30 I am not really sure which one?!!!

[DirtyHarry]

i think the goverment should introduce a law and a test, that if you pass, and are knowledgeable about doing these simple services than, that shouldnt void your warranty.
seriously, all these services are very very very simple, and doing visual inspection is easy too. In end i think youll find if people did it them selves they would pay more attention to the car, then a dealer would.
Dealer servicing is just way over priced. for eg hearland holden wanted i think $250 for a 15,000km service on a barina. what a joke? seriously, all they would have done is a oil change and thats it.

[GreyRex]

I take mine to my local mechanic for Services; he actually does what is required. And he'll tell me if I do or don't need anything done in addition. Only take mine to Holden for warranty work as a last resort

Way way way too many bad stories heard about all dealerships... not just Holden

Obviously as Steve said, some dealerships make an effort.

My dealership has also contacted me after some previous visits to make sure im happy with the work that was done

[lithium]

i think the goverment should introduce a law and a test, that if you pass, and are knowledgeable about doing these simple services than, that shouldnt void your warranty.
seriously, all these services are very very very simple, and doing visual inspection is easy too. In end i think youll find if people did it them selves they would pay more attention to the car, then a dealer would.


interesting idea. i think the main problem is in the visual inspection part, because owners usually don't have the experience to do a good check of all the systems in a car. do they know what a leaking suspension boot looks like, can they tell if a CV joint is going bad, if there is an exhaust leak, what a broken engine mount looks like, when a suspension bush needs replacing, when the right time is to change a brake pad, the correct thickness of a brake rotor, how to identify a coolant/oil/fluid leak...missing any one of these and a hundred other little problems can result in expensive damage which the manufacturer can't be expected to cover.

hence why the law says you can keep your factory warranty provided if your car is serviced by a non dealer licensed mechanic (who should know what problems to look for) with geninue parts....

[DirtyHarry]

thats why the test/licence should would be given to people who can prove that they can find those issue for example..like a computer test which you have these and other kind of common check problems displayed and you have to choose which one is correct.
and mind you..do you think the dealer does those inspections during each visit..rubbish..they quickly change the oil and if they notice something out of the ordinary which they can make money out of, then they will mention it.

the dealer is constantly trying to push through as many cars as possible, cause they are trying to make a killing at the end of the day.

[stevedee3]

i think the goverment should introduce a law and a test, that if you pass, and are knowledgeable about doing these simple services than, that shouldnt void your warranty.I'd be willing to bet that if you kept some evidence that you'd performed the servicing properly with genuine parts (e.g. oil and filter receipts) that Holden would still honour their warranty. Remember that it's Holden and not the dealer that supplies the warranty. Of course, the dealers wouldn't want to encourage this...