Hi guys, looking at costs of car servicing, prices are going up. I have very limited technical experience in cars, and yet I'm very paranoid, having read horror stories of garages not doing the work they are supposed to, on a full service for instance. Without xray eyes, what questions or things do I have to look for, to ensure that my car is serviced properly?. I know most on here say get a reputable local garage and some say main dealer is best, but I just want to know if there is anything I can say, check on the paperwork they give me, to ensure they have serviced it as described?.
How do you know, a car service garage has definitely done the work.
- Thread starter tsobo
- Start date
Ask for the used parts back.
I had a bag experience at a main Ford dealers, had a full service done, then a week later I wanted to use one of those AC cleaning bombs so needed to remove the AC filter.
Went to do that expecting a new filter but nope it was the same filter I had fitted a year ago.
Straight on the phone and they accused me of lying as they definitely changed it.
Got in touch with the manager and he checked the CCTV and confirmed the tech guy never even opened the passanger door to access the filter.
Now having zero trust I took it to a friend who found they also have touched the fuel filter as it was as dirty as the rest of the engine bay.
Had a full refund on the end and got it serviced else where, checked it over and sure enough nice shiny fuel filter.
So if you don't trust them ask for the old parts.
I had a bag experience at a main Ford dealers, had a full service done, then a week later I wanted to use one of those AC cleaning bombs so needed to remove the AC filter.
Went to do that expecting a new filter but nope it was the same filter I had fitted a year ago.
Straight on the phone and they accused me of lying as they definitely changed it.
Got in touch with the manager and he checked the CCTV and confirmed the tech guy never even opened the passanger door to access the filter.
Now having zero trust I took it to a friend who found they also have touched the fuel filter as it was as dirty as the rest of the engine bay.
Had a full refund on the end and got it serviced else where, checked it over and sure enough nice shiny fuel filter.
So if you don't trust them ask for the old parts.
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Hahaha, would they definitely give them back?
Yes of they're honest, make sure it's marked down on the paperwork and explain why you're asking for them.
If they're not there at the end, don't pay.
They might look at you a bit oddly but usually a garage will give back any used parts if you ask for them and/or ask to see them.
Most of the garages with better reviews and/or main dealers will usually carry out the work they say they do - very easy for them to get caught out if someone does go to the bother of checking.
I've had friends and family using cheap places though who've found out later things like air filters haven't been changed while they've been charged like £40 each for "servicing" them though (sometimes with some crafty wording on the paperwork so they can put it down as "inspected" rather than replaced).
Sadly this doesn't seem an unusual story but generally with less reputable places in my experience - especially when they charge like £20-40 each for average OEM cabin filters when you can buy a whole set of good quality ones for under £10
even when they do replace them.
As I mentioned above some of them are crafty as well and avoid specifically mentioning replacement while charging you as if for a replacement while using some vague "serviced" notation.
Most of the garages with better reviews and/or main dealers will usually carry out the work they say they do - very easy for them to get caught out if someone does go to the bother of checking.
I've had friends and family using cheap places though who've found out later things like air filters haven't been changed while they've been charged like £40 each for "servicing" them though (sometimes with some crafty wording on the paperwork so they can put it down as "inspected" rather than replaced).
Sadly this doesn't seem an unusual story but generally with less reputable places in my experience - especially when they charge like £20-40 each for average OEM cabin filters when you can buy a whole set of good quality ones for under £10
even when they do replace them.As I mentioned above some of them are crafty as well and avoid specifically mentioning replacement while charging you as if for a replacement while using some vague "serviced" notation.
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A lot of garages won't bin them till the customer has been. Some I've been to have shown me, probably out of accusations in the past, partly that my car was so bad they wanted to give me grief
Associate
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- 27 Apr 2018
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Ask for the used parts and changed oil back.
And the changed oil? Haha, parts I can understand but oil I think is a bit far. Do you ask for brake fluid too?
You can LOOK at the fluids easily enough to tell whether they have been changed or not.
Not with oil you can't.
It's nice and golden on the way in, but it pretty much turns instant black.
It's an odd one really, you could ask the garage to show you the old parts at the end, but there's nothing stopping them from digging out a used air filter /oil filter/fuel filter etc to show you, because unless you know what was already in there, then you won't know for sure if they're your parts. If you're going to the lengths of checking whether the filters have been replaced then you may as well do the service work yourself.
Edit: you wouldn't get the changed oil back anyway, they use a small tank that they wheel under the car to catch it coming out of the sump plug. By then it's mixed in with dozens of other cars that have had oil removed.
Unless your garages are ragging your car around after a service the oil will still be obviously fresh within a drive home or even checking before you leave.
No, it pretty much colours instantly. You could probably do a dip straight after it's been swapped, but as soon as the engine is started, the oil will flow around and change colour from a mixture of old oil remnants and from the various parts - an oil flush doesn't clean the inside.
Your engine will also have been started several times during the service, for one if the fuel filter gets replaced then that'll need priming before it can be given back.
Soldato
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- 22 Aug 2004
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- 7,607
Diesel oils go black fairly quickly. The oil on my MGB stayed golden for ages.
It will discolour, but petrol motors won't turn it instantly black so will still be noticeably different. Diesel perhaps this would be correct but I don't recall my oil turning instantly black from running after changing it
Soldato
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- 25 May 2008
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- North Wales
I've always checked the oil asap to make sure its golden looking and not black still, you can put a mark with a felt tip on the oil filter to make sure it's been changed.
Then if its been a big service i always ask to 'see the condition' of the old spark plugs as it seems a nice non confrontational way to make sure they actually changed them.
Then if its been a big service i always ask to 'see the condition' of the old spark plugs as it seems a nice non confrontational way to make sure they actually changed them.
A lot of garages won't bin them till the customer has been. Some I've been to have shown me, probably out of accusations in the past, partly that my car was so bad they wanted to give me grief
this
when i ran a garage i always had a box allocated for each vehicle and old service parts went in them obviously old oil didnt because that normally would go into the drainer, but all other parts unless service exchange were kept till the customer checked them if they wanted. odd occasions customers wanted them back so they were sealed in a bag and placed in the boot. at the end of the day they are the customers property after all.