Does anybody else share a distrust for the motor industry?

norm

norm

norm

Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2003
Posts
5,594
I feel like from the very moment you enter the world of motoring someone is trying to fleece you;

-from the salesman trying to disguise a cars true history,
-the mechanic performing a half assed job for the highest price they can,
-franchise dealerships inflating prices just because they can,
-insurance companies ripping you off at renewal,
-hell even fellow motorists will do you over by damaging your car when parking and leave without a word.

Is there any honesty and integrity left, or is it really all about money now?
 
Not really. I tend not to deal with people I don't trust.

My local dealers seem very nice, which is a bonus. But then I am buying franchised when buying from a dealer, not a sleazy back-street garage. But I don't necessarily see them as inflating prices. They do have more overheads than the sleazy garage.
I have two mechanics I use, and both are excellent. Charge only as necessary, and have in the past undercharged.
Insurance companies don't profit from the policies they sell, so I generally don't feel ripped off. If the renewal is more than I was expecting, I get cheaper quotes, and either get my current insurers to match it, or I move. Loyalty is not required in this aspect of motoring.

Fellow motorists, I agree though. There are too many scumbag see you next tuesdays out there. Sure, there a many decent, respectful people too. But they generally don't prang you car in the car park anyway.
 
In my experience, the value and mid line garages are the worst because they attract the least interested staff. Nissan, kia etc it's like walking into a high street phone shop, greasy gelled hair, body odour pushy salesmen. Hyundai kept telling me I really wanted the basic model, which I didn't, even bought out a cheesy American salesman from the back room on me because I was taking my time, although I went in researched knowing exactly what I was looking for so really I was playing them. I pity the average Joe who goes in unprepared, and comes out many grand lighter because of a `limited time offer`

Tldr, industry is sleazy as hell
 
xs2man said:
I have two mechanics I use, and both are excellent. Charge only as necessary, and have in the past undercharged.
Click to expand...

Lucky for you, but unless your car is a prestige model which requires due care and attention, I'm of the opinion most other mechanics merely see a car as a number, they want a quick turnaround because the longer it's in the shop the lower the turnaround, so stands to reason they'll cut corners to get the job done.

It was on here, the thread about pollen filters, several reported it never having been changed despite being in for service,, the garage quite happily bills you for the part though. Sheer crookedness that ploys on the ignorance of your average motorist.
 
Don't like garages and don't like car dealers. Most indy garages (that I've encountered at least) have a very "that's the way we've done it for the past 20 years so it's the correct way" attitude and act like they're doing you a favor by working on your car whilst simultaneously doing sharp intakes of breath through their teeth when they see the car is anything other than a Focus etc.

Very limited experience of main dealers other than our local BMW dealer (who have a brilliant parts department, but sales are too busy dealing with Superdry wearing white 118D M Sport+ x-Drive EfficientDynamics buyers), but most others either seem to be an individual trader who has a good knowledge of their specialized stock and will be happy to accommodate you, or a garage with various staff who are the rejected salesman from everywhere else pretending to be flash driving round in the cars from the stock whilst wearing cheap suits and oversized watches, although with these types I don't think car sales are their primary business if you know what I mean...

Edit: I'll also add that 90% of dealers are completely useless at taking photos of cars. I don't expect amazing ones shot with a DSLR, but why on earth would you look and see that the photo you just took is completely out of focus and then still choose to upload it to AutoTrader? Sheer incompetence.
 
Last edited:
Not had a problem with a dealer (yet) but mechanics can be a right joke, still trying to find one I can trust. They seem to be good the first time or even second time I use them, then they always manage to let me down after that. Annoying more than anything else.
 
Yes, I find it utterly ridiculous that finding a garage who don't lie and rip you off is considered as some kind of achievement, when really they should all be like that.
 
Even some so called specialists can let you down or not be quite as special as you thought. ..

But then again i have a small time toyota specialist 3 miles away and without him my MR2 owners experience would have been a bit uncomfortable.
 
I've mostly given up on independant garages now especially anyone that claims to be a "specialist". Our Punto goes to the main dealer once a year for service and MOT which I think is quite good value as they throw in a years breakdown cover with every service via the free "my Fiat" scheme. MX5 gets my attention once a year and goes to the garage in the village for MOTs.

As for buying... I don't have too much of a problem with dealers. They make their money by shifting units, they aren't there to be your mate, that said the good ones do a good job of pretending they are. I've only bought at a dealer twice and the last time I just put my cards on the table and told them what I wanted as a cost to change and it was as simple as a yes or no. Deal was done very quickly and I was on my way.
 
lordrobs said:
I've mostly given up on independant garages now especially anyone that claims to be a "specialist". Our Punto goes to the main dealer once a year for service and MOT which I think is quite good value as they throw in a years breakdown cover with every service via the free "my Fiat" scheme. MX5 gets my attention once a year and goes to the garage in the village for MOTs.

As for buying... I don't have too much of a problem with dealers. They make their money by shifting units, they aren't there to be your mate, that said the good ones do a good job of pretending they are. I've only bought at a dealer twice and the last time I just put my cards on the table and told them what I wanted as a cost to change and it was as simple as a yes or no. Deal was done very quickly and I was on my way.
Click to expand...

Best way to do it really. Just bought a new fiesta ST and basically said to my local dealer that if you can match the broker price from drivethedeal you have my business. They did so i bought it from them. Very simple.
 
I had a nightmare when getting the engine of my car rebuilt. 3 separate places dropped the engine, everybody seemed to overcharge and under deliver or fail to spot the problem, that was even after I told them what the problem most likely was.

It ended up laid up with garages for months at a time who always seemed to be waiting for parts, in the year or so it was off the road bodywork got damaged, roof got ripped and parts got lost. In the end I got most of what I wanted done by the 'Professionals' and now I spanner away on it myself.

The engineering place that worked on my heads, they were easy to work with let me know what was happening and considering the amount of time they say they put into my cracked cylinder head, reasonably priced. That is assuming I am not being a massive cynic and trusting that the time spent was genuine.

So yea couldn't agree more really, finding places that are trustworthy seems to be a bit of an issue.

I did find a brilliant little body shop though, I had my front bumper sprayed and it ended up costing peanuts (£100) for a really nice job. They were great guys to deal with as well and even met me on one of their days off when I couldn't pick the bumper up due to work commitments.
 
There are a great many cowboys and chancers in the motor industry, but I've totally failed to find fault with my local Glyn Hopkin Honda dealership.

Professional, polite and utterly devoid of drama in the way they dealt with the following:

- Minor cosmetic repair at 6 weeks old.
- Recall for MAP sensor replacement.
- SW upgrade to fix false triggering of tyre deflation indicator.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom