Serviceing costs/Dealership differences

[EightBall]

My 172 had its 12k service today. The dealerships customer service was once again, poor. For the service which only required a single wiperblade on top of the usual consumables, they have charged me a total of £235.

I was a bit taken back, I only expected it to be £150 - £170 (and on phoning other dealers I have discovered that the above prices are indeed what they charge including labour, parts and VAT). I called the dealer who did the service and explained to them my annoyance, and was told that their hourly labour rate was possibly higher than other dealers because they consider themselves to be in a "London catchment" area (Tunbridge Wells), but all the materials and other services have been charged at standard Renault rates.

I know that I really should have checked their rates before having the work done but I assumed all my local Renault dealers would charge more or less the same. Do you think that it would be reasonable to ask them to refund me some of my money (say £60 to bring their charges more in line with the other quotes I got).

I would welcome other peoples opinions as to what they think of this situation, and I would particularly be interested to hear from the Renault employees that use this forum, as to whether there is a Renault standard for servicing and parts- or if it is down to individual dealers.



PS - Bigmoose, I recall you saying that you knew the Whitehouse Renault people. Do you have an email address for any of the service managers or directors. Cheers.

 

[Griff]

Mate thats way too expensive! Mine was done last month for £135 in Brum!

 

[telford_mike]

£152 in Telford for my 12k (but didnt replace the air filter as I have a PiperX).

 

[Just Bob]

The times for doing any job on any Renault are set by Renault. The prices of the parts (RRP) are set by Renault.

However, they have no control over labour rates and its down to the individual dealer to set the labour rate. This is calculated on many factors. Size/location/overheads etc.

Shop around for the best deals but always ask what the retail labour rate is and the time for doing the job. A little bit of homework may pay dividends.

Hope that helps

Bob RTE

 

[Leigh]

As bob says the hourly rate is down to the individual dealer.

All parts should be the same costs and the time allowed for each job is governed by Renault.

Bigger dealerships have higher overheads/ renault management fees ( by this i mean costs paid to Renault themselfs, not the dealer managers)

Therefore cheaper quotes can be found at smaller dealers and dealers outside the big cities.

 

[GR7]

Eightball

THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE RIP-OFF. Even the dealers in expensive Edinbugh dont charge that amount for the 12k service. I think the nearest dealer to me, Abercromby Renault, Edinburgh only charge just over £100

Can you scan your invoice and post it here so that we can see the breakdown of charges?

 

[ak_uk]

£150 Renault London West........

 

[Mike Wright]

It is a complete RIP OFF however the labour charges do differ considerbly and are set by the individial franchise. A major service for a diesel clio plus brake disks I was quoted £550 by BRISTOL MOTORS at EXETER. I had the job doen for 190 inc vat and parts etc by a very qualified garage.

I always check the cost up front and ask for a quote not an estimate. Sorry to see you got a high bill. I doubt the garage will refund the difference as there is no governing body i know off who sets the higher or lower levels for cost or service.



Good luck

 

[GR7]

Maybe Bob RTE will see this later and add his comments.

 

[Just Bob]

I went to Sainsburys today and bought a pound of fillet steak.

I then went to Tescos and found it was cheaper.

I then went to the market and bought 2 pounds of fillet steak for the same price as Tescos but it wasnt that good!

Just me being sarcastic and having a bit of fun -)

OK back to reality!!!!!

I also think £235 for a 12k service is a bit steep! I will check what we would charge at Driveline, including a replacement rear wiper and post the official result tomorrow evening.

Bob RTE

PS I would also like to have a look at the invoice!

 

[GR7]

Eightball

I have a copy of Dashs 12,000 mile V6 service, and including new brake pads the total was only £202 and that included the pads at £50.55 (incl VAT).

It is best to ring round two or three garages to compare costs and let the individual garages know that you are doing this. After all, they should all be trained to the same standard, so quality SHOULD be the same, there will just be difference in the cost.

 

[Leigh]

Bob

I know what you mean mate !! Gosh theres some dodgy supermarkets out there !!

You really have to shop about these days !!

You know i went and bought some milk and to my suprise i saw a advert in my local paper saying that there milk was 10p cheaper. I was really pisssed off 4 being charged more buty a supermarket that was only 5 mins down the road.

 

[BenR]

i wont even bother tell you our hrly rates then! lol

eventhen, they are still extreemely competitive in HK, being one of the lowest (of any manufacturer/dealer)......

 

[EightBall]

Thanks for all your comments.

I agree that I should have made sure of the cost before I had the service done. As I said, I would have expected it to be around the £150 - £170 mark, but £235!

GR & Bob – I don’t have the ability to scan the invoice, but for all you who are interested I can tell you that they have charged me:

Labour 117.88 (£57.50 p/hour)

Disposal of hazardous waste (old oil I presume) 4.95

Screen wash 1.12

Washer (sump?) 0.78

Pollen filter 14.50

Oil filter 6.20

Air filter 14.40

Oil 33.60 (56 units @ 60p p/unit)

Rear w/blade 7.00

V.A.T. 35.08



TOTAL 235.51

I am going to see how much a large dealership like Renault Croydon would charge. I then may call Whitehouse again tomorrow and will appeal to their better nature to give a refund of some kind, although I agree with Mike and doubt I’ll have any luck. As the saying goes “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”.

I will certainly be checking costs more carefully in future and can positively say that I will not be returning to Whitehouse Renault as this is not the first time I have been cheesed-off with them.

On a slightly different note, my girlfriend phoned up sh*tehouse earlier this afternoon to ask how much to do the 12k service on ‘her’ Clio 172. They told her £260 inclusive of parts labour and VAT. When I called 45 minutes later and asked the same they told me £180 - £220 inc. So ladies beware when asking for quotes.

 

[craigy172]

simkins southampton £125 inchape southampton £175 thats for a clio 172

 

[GR7]

Isnt it amazing the amount dealers charge for a little sachet of screenwash, when often the car owner has a big bottle of it in their boot!! My husband was charged £3.00 for the stuff in his Beemer!! My local garage charges 35p for it. Often you can get a litre for what they charge!

As Quentin Wilson calls them "Ali Baba and the forty thieves"

 

[geordiepaul]

Looks well pricey to me! Ive just had my 12,000 mile service and it only came to £111 inc VAT which is less then your labour charge!!!

But its not just that:


my oil was only £15
Screenwash only 76p
Your oil filter though was cheaper than mine!!
Dont add up to me!!! It would be cheaper for you to drive to newcastle to get it serviced!!!

 

[McBunny]

where in newcastle are you ??? as im in york and dont think i wanna use dixon

 

[Griff]

My labour was £68.40

BTW that pollen filter they charged you for, Renaults very own "Service Programme Check Sheet Petrol and Diesel" shows it doesnt need changing until 36k!!!

 

[geordiepaul]

I live in Gateshead but the dealer I use is on the outskirts of Newcastle! They arent that good, but they are cheap.....and their are some quite nice ladies who work there!!

 

[GR7]

Quote: Originally posted by griff_90 on 26 February 2003

BTW that pollen filter they charged you for, Renaults very own "Service Programme Check Sheet Petrol and Diesel" shows it doesnt need changing until 36k!!!

That is precisely what my garage said. I suppose by fitting a new pollen filter (that is if they HAVE fitted it!!) gives Renault an extra £16.55 in their thieving mitts!

 

[EightBall]

I had wondered about the need to change the pollen filter. On the Service Programme Check Sheet I have, it says to "replace parts according to the parts repacement programme", but I cannot find any reference to the pollen filter amongst the various booklets I have. If anyone can point out where exactly I can find this information I will be very grateful.

I called Renault Croydon this morning. Their hourly labour charge is £66 + VAT p/hour, and they charge £145 inclusive for a 12k service on a 172. If this is the case then their labour charge for 2 hours (which is how long sh*tehouse have charged me for) would be £155 inc VAT. This means they would be making a loss on each service at this price. in fact this is the case for at least 3 of the other dealers I have contacted, and I find it very hard to believe that any garage would do this.

Bob or Leigh - Could you tell me how much time an A service on the 172 should take? This time is set by Renault?

Im not sure what my next course of action will be. If the pollen filter info is correct, then maybe I have the beginings of a case to try and recover at least some of my money.

Thanks again everyone, for your comments and advice.

 

[Griff]

The pollen filter is refered to as a "particle filter".

 

[Leigh]

You will find that Renault allow a certain ammount of time to do a job !!

So if renault say a service on a 172 takes 1.5 hours then thats how long you should get charged for. However some Renault dealers use their heads and not their accountants. So if they know that a decent technition can do the service in a hour, they only charge for an hour + parts. Therefore giving the paying customer a better deal.

Therefore they have a HAPPY CUSTOMER who returns to them, rather than going to john smiths down the road who charges everything he can !!

That bill you got does sound high !! Even bob said he thought it was high.

Remember just coz a dealer has RENAULT above there door, it doesnt mean they are owned by Renault. So Renault Croydon, Renault Ilford, Renault London West, Renault Leeds, Renault Manchester, and so on .......... are owned by Renault.

But someone who is called Darlingtons Renault or Fred West Renault isnt, They are franchaised, so they are part of a group of dealers who Renault sell cars to. They in turn sell cars to the public.

They may have their own ideas about what they wanna charge for their time and parts.

 

[Just Bob]

As promised I have done some research into what Driveline Ashford would charge for a 12k service on a 172.

Labour 1.5 hrs @ 59.95 = £89.92

Parts

Sump washer £0.78

Air filter £14.40

Oil filter £6.20

Screen wash £1.12 (250ml not a sachet)

Engine oil 5lts £34.75

Sundries etc £9.75 (including enviromental disposure - used oil/filters) We get charged for the safe recycling of these items!

Add Tonys bit (VAT) £27.50

Grand total of

£184.62

As you can see, the parts prices are the same - these are RRP set by Renault - all dealers sell at the same retail price.

Your issue maybe with the labour charge. It would appear they have charged you just over 2 hours for a 1.5 hour job. You also said they didnt change the air filter, so why have you been charged for one?

The pollen filter did not need to be changed at this mileage so there is another unjustified cost. They may have charged you to fit it as well!

At Driveline, we do not charge for certain replacement items during a service. EG: bulbs, wiper blades and mirror glasses. These have a standard Renault time but as we are servicing you car we fit these for free. We also wash and hoover EVERY car that comes in for a service. The use of a courtesy car (subject to availability) can also be had for free. We will charge for insurance cover at £11.50 per day or alternatively give you the opportunity to provide your own insurance, which most insurance companies will provide free of charge.

I hope you can see that although servicing costs are high, we do try and give you the best possible deal everytime.

Cant say fairer than that!

Bob RTE

 

[Rallye-King]

Quote: Originally posted by geordiepaul on 26 February 2003


I live in Gateshead but the dealer I use is on the outskirts of Newcastle! They arent that good, but they are cheap.....and their are some quite nice ladies who work there!!

It isnt Benfield Motors Scotswood Road by any chance???

 

[EightBall]

Thanks very much for that info Bob (and others). An invoice for £184 would have been much more in line with what I was expecting.

Just to confirm, Renault say that it is a 1.5hr job for the service? and the pollen filter should not have been replaced at this service?

It has also been suggested to me that garages have to display a "price list". Im not so sure that this is a requirement and although Ive certainly seen them in other garages, Whitehouse did not have one (that I could see). If anyone knows if this is true or not, again, I would be grateful for your comments. Failing that, a call to trading standards will be on the agenda.

I think Im going to get in touch with Renault UK (for the good that itll do) to get their written confirmation of the info I want, and then Ill be writing to the service manager at whitehouse with my complaint.

Again, thanks everyone.

 

[m@thew]

I had my 12k service done at renault Leeds, they said it was £160 but i got them to price match another local renault garage at £120. When i went to pick the car up they forgot about our deal, but I soon got that changed. They billed me £122.50. £2.50 for screen wash funny as Id washed the car and re filed it the day before. So i then made him knock that off as well.

As soon as my warranty is done my car will NOT be seeing another renault garage

 

[geordiepaul]

Quote: Originally posted by Rallye-King on 26 February 2003

Quote: Originally posted by geordiepaul on 26 February 2003


I live in Gateshead but the dealer I use is on the outskirts of Newcastle! They arent that good, but they are cheap.....and their are some quite nice ladies who work there!!

It isnt Benfield Motors Scotswood Road by any chance???

Yep thats the one!

 

[EightBall]

OK, as I suspected garages do NOT have to display a price-list.

As for Renault UK, again, as suspected they couldnt give me any straight answers to my questions and said I would have to talk to the service manager at the dealers. The only piece of information given was that each dealer set their own times for jobs! This is contary to what Bob & Leigh have said.

So before I go back to the service manager I just need confirming (one last time please) that:

Renault UK set the time for jobs, and the time for the 12k service on a 172 is 1.5 hours?

The Pollen (particle) filter should NOT have been replaced at this service? If so when? Is the pollen filter the same as the passenger compartment filter?

If the answers to the questions above are in my favour, then I will be asking for a refund of £55.14 , so all your help is much appreciated.

Thanks