[constipated]

I'm so cynical about dealer services but I'm resigned to them whilst in warranty because I'm getting other warranty issues sorted out at the same time.

Just had my 45,000km service on my FD i30 diesel. I was warned the price would be about $450. This service is just the routine oil and filter change, and coolant system flush. I supplied the oil to try to minimise cost.

Of course 1 hour after dropping off the car there was the obligatory phone call.

1. Your wipers are streaky, would you like us to replace them for you for $67. No thank you I can do that myself.
2. Of course we'd recommend having the throttle body cleaned and injector treatment to keep your engine running smoothly at least every 12 months. Would you like that for $160? No only the standard service please.
3. We've noticed your tyres have more tread at the rear, we can rotate and balance your tyres for $45. Well it's funny you say that because 3 weeks ago when I was at the tyre shop getting my wheel alignment I actually purposefully got them to put the tyres with more tread at the front.  SILENCE. So I'd like you NOT to do a rotation please.

I picked up my car. For the 2nd service in a row, they tried to charge me for the oil before I pointed it out to them and they had to rerun the invoice.

Lastly, to cap it all off, I got home and decided to double check they'd done all they said they had done, and found the coolant reservoir looking like this.



Yes they did change it because it was full from me topping it up last time. But that thin sliver of green is the level you can see. The Minimum line is about 1/2 way up the reservoir and Max is pretty much at the top.

By this stage, my blood was boiling and I was back on the phone with them. The service manager said, Oh if there's an air bubble it may not make its way out until after they have filled it up, and driven around a bit, so just top it up with water. Grrrrr

Is it really acceptable that you can find issues like this straight after they have serviced the car???

[The Gonz]

I don't think so. I went to the dealer for the free 1000K service and then the first paid service but decided to go to elsewhere when I saw that the premium I was paying for dealer service didn't even include a basic wash.

[neptune]

see they have this new product called a Dry Wash(I think).........they just spray the whole car and then let the water evaporate without leaving water marks and saves time because they don't have to wipe the car down

[eye30]

see they have this new product called a Dry Wash(I think).........they just spray the whole car and then let the water evaporate without leaving water marks and saves time because they don't have to wipe the car down

So where does the muck go?

Is it magic muck?

[TheReaper]

see they have this new product called a Dry Wash(I think).........they just spray the whole car and then let the water evaporate without leaving water marks and saves time because they don't have to wipe the car down

So where does the muck go?

Is it magic muck?

magic muck! 

[The Gonz]

... at which point I told the dealer to get mucked.

[Phil №❶]

Yes, highly advise looking over the engine bay after a service. Last time, the cap from the coolant added was lodged in the wiring of the engine. Those with an aviation background, know how dangerous an extra tool or foreign object is in a craft of any sort.

[Lakes]

Con , sorry to hear about your experience, typical dealer, they don't even look at car just phone you up give you a list of ways they can get more out of you. there invoice is normally pre programmed with more extra's. if they asked if i wanted my throttle body cleaned, i would tell them stop the service i'm coming to pick my Diesel up! diesel's don't use a throttle body. they have a full bore of air & control the engine speed with fuel.
I know a lot in here think a car wash should be in the service. but i don't, i say to the service manager don't wash it as i don't want to pay for something i can do. they nod & my bill looks better for it . but in Sydney it would be different. where i go there is no BS just good honest Friendly country service. only gripe i have is i think they pump the oil out ( most do now ) so next service i'll bring that up see if i can get them to drain it out the plug, but they are not too bad. you can tell if they pump as they don't get all the old oil out so don't use the full 5.2L normally they just need 5L. the guy i used in Sydney was the best! he drained it and always needed full hand book listed amount of oil to re fill. oil looked cleaner straight after service. a pump out still looks dirty, but normal for diesel's oil to look dirty ( like a back ally suicide Blonde )
Also remember getting them to wash the car would add $50 to $150 depending location of dealer. but Suttons Sydney advertise free lifetime car wash, or they did, you could drive in anytime & get a free drive through car wash.
cheers

[beerman]

No it is not, Look for a good local guy.

As an aside Hyundai now have fixed price brake replacement $159 for front, $139 for rears.....Not that you'll need it

[mjt57]

but in Sydney it would be different. where i go there is no BS just good honest Friendly country service.

Eh?
Just had our 2011 diesel Captiva service by a "good honest country dealer". Cost $560 for a 30,000km service.

Looking at the invoice it has a lot of "inspected" and "checked" items. ie. a lot of looking but very little doing, other than to change the oil.

The service schedule is 2.5hrs or nearly $300 labor. I think that they charge the scheduled rate regardless of how long it takes (of course if it takes longer then you pay more).

Servicing is a big part of a dealer's revenue stream. However, to gouge the customers like that only risks alienating them.

As for the OP, how can they justify $45 for about 5 minutes work (tyre rotation)?

Finally, back when I was in the game, depending on the service, the car got a vacuum and windows cleaned, or a full wash. My wife half expected the car to be personally delivered to our door following that cost, but was somewhat disappointed that neither was a wash done nor were any of the windows cleaned.

The only reason why we got the service is that in the next few months it will be out of warranty. We don't want the Holden dealer to give us any bullshit should something happen to the car to cause a warranty claim.

I'm thankful that the i30 has a 5 year warranty. It's nearly 4 years old now and only done 29,000 km. So, in the next 18 mths we hope that it will continue to be reliable before it's replaced.

[constipated]

Con , sorry to hear about your experience, typical dealer, they don't even look at car just phone you up give you a list of ways they can get more out of you. there invoice is normally pre programmed with more extra's. if they asked if i wanted my throttle body cleaned, i would tell them stop the service i'm coming to pick my Diesel up! diesel's don't use a throttle body. they have a full bore of air & control the engine speed with fuel.

If that's so (re throttle body), it's one more thing I'll put on the Hyundai feedback form whenever it reaches me.

[Just Rick]

Con that just blows me away,I have had a few services done by dealers,I was never charged for a wheel rotation,fuel treatment after checking receipts was never more than $30,I've had the coolant changed twice in mine,never had the reservoir look like that though and you certainly don't have to use Hyundai for servicing to keep your warranty,as long as you have servicing done by an accredited Mechanic who signs and verifies the servicing and use all compatible parts and consumables,your warranty is safe.

Plus you certainly DO NOT put water in your coolant,if they have in fact used a water based coolant in your car,I personally would be going back and demanding they drain flush and change it to a full glycol coolant,green coolant is good for two years and the red is good for five years

[rustynutz]

Plus you certainly DO NOT put water in your coolant,if they have in fact used a water based coolant in your car,I personally would be going back and demanding they drain flush and change it to a full glycol coolant,green coolant is good for two years and the red is good for five years

I've got a water based coolant in my car, Rick. 
In fact I'm sure it comes standard with it as the hand book mentions only using deionised or soft water when adding coolant.

[Lakes]

but in Sydney it would be different. where i go there is no BS just good honest Friendly country service.

Eh?
Just had our 2011 diesel Captiva service by a "good honest country dealer". Cost $560 for a 30,000km service.

Looking at the invoice it has a lot of "inspected" and "checked" items. ie. a lot of looking but very little doing, other than to change the oil.

The service schedule is 2.5hrs or nearly $300 labor. I think that they charge the scheduled rate regardless of how long it takes (of course if it takes longer then you pay more).

Servicing is a big part of a dealer's revenue stream. However, to gouge the customers like that only risks alienating them.

As for the OP, how can they justify $45 for about 5 minutes work (tyre rotation)?

Finally, back when I was in the game, depending on the service, the car got a vacuum and windows cleaned, or a full wash. My wife half expected the car to be personally delivered to our door following that cost, but was somewhat disappointed that neither was a wash done nor were any of the windows cleaned.

The only reason why we got the service is that in the next few months it will be out of warranty. We don't want the Holden dealer to give us any bullshit should something happen to the car to cause a warranty claim.

I'm thankful that the i30 has a 5 year warranty. It's nearly 4 years old now and only done 29,000 km. So, in the next 18 mths we hope that it will continue to be reliable before it's replaced.

Sorry to hear of your bad experience, but the country dealer i go to has a good rep, i can remember when i lived in Sydney & got my first Hyundai in 08.
we had a member called Thumper from Canberra Area, he phoned around & got a Service at this Dealer & i is a good three & a half hour drive from Canberra. but he went there, the hourly rate the parts charges little add on's can make a big difference. they all charge a lot more than a local garage would, but you have more chance of getting warranty on the more expensive bits like injectors if you always use a dealer always get filter changed on schedule, use only quality fuel keep all fuel dockets. just how i see it.

[mjt57]

With regards to country dealers, country service, where I live there are a number of major dealers, all next to each other. A few mates at work own Prados or Land Cruisers. Instead of taking their cars there, they head over to a town called Leongatha to get their cars serviced there (they also bought from there).

Apparently they do a good job all round (sales and service).

As I work in an industry where novated leases are popular, many go as far afield as Melbourne, or use car brokers to source cars for them, given that the "buying experience" at these local dealers has been less than pleasurable.

I'm the exception. I purchased the i30 from the local dealer, mainly because (a) they had the model that I wanted and (b) their pricing was as good as any about the place. Plus, they've dealt with EPAC Salary Solutions (the novated lease management firm owned by RACV) so they knew how the process worked. A lot of the other dealers didn't and wanted full payment from me and expected me to deal with EPAC post-sale.

Finally, whilst the Captiva service (in the dealer next door to the Hyundai one) cost a fair bit for a 30k one, the Hyundai's 30k service is about half that.

[constipated]

Well that Hyundai feedback form does work.

Filled it out. Next day (a Saturday) get a call saying dealer principal will ring me.

Today. Get a call noting my concerns and cost of service is being refunded.

Can't really ask for more (apart from better service next time).

The cynic in me wonders whether they really are so customer focused? Reason being, when I bought the car, the salesman practically pleaded with me to give a very positive vote for the sales experience (he did do a good job in retrospect). I'm a bit fuzzy regarding the reason but I seem to remember that if the dealer didn't get sufficient positive reviews, they may be stripped of the Hyundai selling rights.

I did have a very poor view of this service, and reported it as so, and it did surprise me how quickly they sought to rectify things.

[Surferdude]

Thanks for the feedback.

[Dazzler]

  Great result