Questions Car Thrashed By Dealers?

defrece · 29th February 2008, 14:23

Took my car to the dealers on tuesday night for some warrenty work and for the 14 mile drive there i reset the trip computer and averaged 42mpg. When i picked the car up today the dealers had driven the car a total of 8 miles to their bodyshop, but in those 8 miles who ever had driven it had got the mpg down from 42 to 33.6!!

in those 8 miles there would have been traffic on hills but does this seem as though my car had been thrashed about?

i had a go at the service manager but he just said that it would be normal!

alanwalne · 29th February 2008, 14:26

The engines are often left running, still annoying, but not likely to have abused the car.

TTDegs · 29th February 2008, 14:33

yep - engine left running, car stationary = quite normal, and knackers the reported mpg.

It should go back up fairly quickly though (as long as th engine wasn't running for hours and hours!)

defrece · 29th February 2008, 14:36

yep think you've got a point with leaving the engine running!!! i'd not thought of that! plus i suppose a short trip on a cold engine will further reduce it!

its me being paranoid about these dealers

angie4m · 29th February 2008, 14:41

It doesnt take much to have the mpg drop when there is a good bit traffic about. You also mention hills which means more fuel usage. Remember your used to driving you car in a certain way which helps the car get a more accurate mpg. Put someone who's not used to your car, your driving style and will drive differently from you and the car will put out a different mpg, usually lower.

Also if there was traffic then maybe more shifting about the gears was called for. Dont think they've been thrashing it

alanwalne · 29th February 2008, 14:57

Thinking about it, you were giving it some beans if you only got 42 out of a CTDi

illegalhunter · 29th February 2008, 16:29

the same happend to me aswell

cnicolini · 29th February 2008, 16:52

Lucky its not a Ford, my mate had his car smashed in a head on collision during a test drive. The funny thing was that the other car was also being driven by another mechanic from the same garage. They used to cane there cars. I would not except the car back if it happened to me, I would request a new car or the market value, no repairs!

If it was a CTR like mine then I'd worry! There's really no point in thrashing customers cars, they drive many cars all day!

If I saw them thrashing my car I'd refuse to pay them for any service, etc.

Charles_Harding · 29th February 2008, 17:19

All the guys want do, I expect, at every garage is to get their work done and move on to the next task.

I wouldn't expect them to trash you car as such.

I don't reckon that they hold similar thoughts to yours when it comes to driving economically though so a little increase is often expected.

Long, long time ago one of my pals was a paint sprayer in a major Jag dealers and the first, that he'd seen, E Type came in for some body work repairs to be carried out.

My mate got very excited in being allowed to touch this beast.

Unfortunately he could not control his right foot sufficiently, and in moving it around in the garage he put his foot down just a little to hard and the machine moved sideways as the back kicked out!

As far as I am aware the owner was never told of the 'extra' damage to his beloved car, but there again, they never charged him for the other repair either!

.....those were the days of customer service!

"It's spreading like wildflowers!"

angie4m · 29th February 2008, 17:37

Unfortunatley some of the younger guys tend to thrash cars a bit. I was almost knocked over by my Mini when I went to pick it up from the garage who had called me to tell me it was ready. So I was suprised to turn the corner and have the guy swerve to miss me, he then tanked it up to the round-a-bout at the top of the road and didn't even stop for traffic.

I then went in, guys know who I am, says he'll just get my keys and I have to say no you won't considering i've almost been run over by my own car! I then got a huge apology from the dealer principal and a assurance it wouldn't happen again. But I think that was something to do with Him and my father having an disagreement many years ago about BMW replacing his car for him and my Dad took his business to their rivals as well as every other person who owned a BMW at the time. One Family alone having 13 BM's not the kind of thing you want to lose business over now is it. And I never bought my Car there because of it.

I really hope that this wont be the case when I take my car in for a service. If there is any funny goings on then I will not be happy and the salesman I bought my car from knows excatly how unhappy I can be

Topcat · 29th February 2008, 19:41

The final straw for me changing from Chiswick to Ruislip was after they bought my car back to me one night and the next morning is stank of stale smoke and then to add insult to injury there was a cigarette end on my mat !! I went absolutely mad, took a photo of it and spoke to my neighbour who worked there, the guy who bought it back to me called me an insisted it must have been stuck on his shoe and sounded so worried as he said he could get dismissed if he had been smoking in the car so I did nothing about it but I was so mad I never went there again.

FWH · 29th February 2008, 19:47

I know some one who had left his car with the dealer for service.
They said it would not be ready until late.
Being winter it was dark then, and it was parked in the darkest corner of the dealer car park.

Turned out they had crashed it off the road and hoped he would not notice....

You are right not to trust them!

Dimplyred · 29th February 2008, 19:50

I hate taking my car into the dealers for services, etc...

I would quite happily wait in the car while they do the work, keeping an eye on them.

Bog · 29th February 2008, 20:04

I had pug 307 and it was in a Directline recommended body shop for 4 weeks after an accident.

As well as being poorly repaired, It came back with both front seats reclined, all radio presets tuned to hip-hip stations (which I can't stand!) and an extra 140 miles on the clock! No doubt that it was thrashed during those miles too!

Anyway after many months and threats to take DL to court, they finally bought the car back off me at FULL retail value!

lippy · 29th February 2008, 22:13

I am also wary of car mechanics etc, but not because of what has been done to my car, but to someone elses.

This happened some years ago but I have NEVER forgotten. I had the misfortune to be hit (on bonnet/near side wing - I was turning right) by a car travelling fast on the wrong side of the road followed by his mate (down past a traffic queue). The police let me know that the cars involved were customer cars left at a garage about 60 miles away. Because of this I always note the mileage on trip meters just in case - made me a bit paraniod I suspose.....

PS the mechanics lost their jobs and got a short prison term for their trouble.

29th February 2008, 14:23	#1 (permalink)
defrece Wheelnut Join Date: 11th January 2008 Location: Chesterfield, UK Posts: 66 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	Car Thrashed By Dealers? Took my car to the dealers on tuesday night for some warrenty work and for the 14 mile drive there i reset the trip computer and averaged 42mpg. When i picked the car up today the dealers had driven the car a total of 8 miles to their bodyshop, but in those 8 miles who ever had driven it had got the mpg down from 42 to 33.6!! in those 8 miles there would have been traffic on hills but does this seem as though my car had been thrashed about? i had a go at the service manager but he just said that it would be normal!

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This thread is about: Car Thrashed By Dealers?, it's in Buying, Dealers and Servicing at the Honda Civic forum Civinfo; Took my car to the dealers on tuesday night for some warrenty work and for the 14 mile drive there i reset the trip computer ...

29th February 2008, 14:26	#2 (permalink)
alanwalne Who needs a 4x4?? Rocketship door handle Join Date: 11th June 2007 Location: Kent Posts: 1,762 Thanks: 24 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts iTrader: (0)	The engines are often left running, still annoying, but not likely to have abused the car.

29th February 2008, 14:33	#3 (permalink)
TTDegs Super Moderator Civinfo master Join Date: 4th August 2006 Location: Cardiff Posts: 5,634 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader: (0)	yep - engine left running, car stationary = quite normal, and knackers the reported mpg. It should go back up fairly quickly though (as long as th engine wasn't running for hours and hours!)

29th February 2008, 14:36	#4 (permalink)
defrece Wheelnut Join Date: 11th January 2008 Location: Chesterfield, UK Posts: 66 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	yep think you've got a point with leaving the engine running!!! i'd not thought of that! plus i suppose a short trip on a cold engine will further reduce it! its me being paranoid about these dealers

29th February 2008, 14:41	#5 (permalink)
angie4m Naughty but nice Civinfo guru Join Date: 28th September 2007 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 3,336 Thanks: 25 Thanked 50 Times in 50 Posts iTrader: (0)	It doesnt take much to have the mpg drop when there is a good bit traffic about. You also mention hills which means more fuel usage. Remember your used to driving you car in a certain way which helps the car get a more accurate mpg. Put someone who's not used to your car, your driving style and will drive differently from you and the car will put out a different mpg, usually lower. Also if there was traffic then maybe more shifting about the gears was called for. Dont think they've been thrashing it

29th February 2008, 14:57	#6 (permalink)
alanwalne Who needs a 4x4?? Rocketship door handle Join Date: 11th June 2007 Location: Kent Posts: 1,762 Thanks: 24 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts iTrader: (0)	Thinking about it, you were giving it some beans if you only got 42 out of a CTDi

29th February 2008, 16:29	#7 (permalink)
illegalhunter RELOADING FOR ELK Civinfo guru Join Date: 10th May 2007 Location: FILLING THE HILLS WITH LEAD Posts: 3,235 Thanks: 7 Thanked 39 Times in 38 Posts iTrader: (0)	the same happend to me aswell

29th February 2008, 16:52	#8 (permalink)
cnicolini Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 15th August 2007 Location: Hertfordshire Posts: 587 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts iTrader: (0)	Lucky its not a Ford, my mate had his car smashed in a head on collision during a test drive. The funny thing was that the other car was also being driven by another mechanic from the same garage. They used to cane there cars. I would not except the car back if it happened to me, I would request a new car or the market value, no repairs! If it was a CTR like mine then I'd worry! There's really no point in thrashing customers cars, they drive many cars all day! If I saw them thrashing my car I'd refuse to pay them for any service, etc.

29th February 2008, 17:19	#9 (permalink)
Charles_Harding Civinfo guru Join Date: 14th August 2006 Location: S.E. London Posts: 3,298 Thanks: 113 Thanked 27 Times in 26 Posts iTrader: (0)	All the guys want do, I expect, at every garage is to get their work done and move on to the next task. I wouldn't expect them to trash you car as such. I don't reckon that they hold similar thoughts to yours when it comes to driving economically though so a little increase is often expected. Long, long time ago one of my pals was a paint sprayer in a major Jag dealers and the first, that he'd seen, E Type came in for some body work repairs to be carried out. My mate got very excited in being allowed to touch this beast. Unfortunately he could not control his right foot sufficiently, and in moving it around in the garage he put his foot down just a little to hard and the machine moved sideways as the back kicked out! As far as I am aware the owner was never told of the 'extra' damage to his beloved car, but there again, they never charged him for the other repair either! .....those were the days of customer service! *"It's spreading like wildflowers!"*

29th February 2008, 17:37	#10 (permalink)
angie4m Naughty but nice Civinfo guru Join Date: 28th September 2007 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 3,336 Thanks: 25 Thanked 50 Times in 50 Posts iTrader: (0)	Unfortunatley some of the younger guys tend to thrash cars a bit. I was almost knocked over by my Mini when I went to pick it up from the garage who had called me to tell me it was ready. So I was suprised to turn the corner and have the guy swerve to miss me, he then tanked it up to the round-a-bout at the top of the road and didn't even stop for traffic. I then went in, guys know who I am, says he'll just get my keys and I have to say no you won't considering i've almost been run over by my own car! I then got a huge apology from the dealer principal and a assurance it wouldn't happen again. But I think that was something to do with Him and my father having an disagreement many years ago about BMW replacing his car for him and my Dad took his business to their rivals as well as every other person who owned a BMW at the time. One Family alone having 13 BM's not the kind of thing you want to lose business over now is it. And I never bought my Car there because of it. I really hope that this wont be the case when I take my car in for a service. If there is any funny goings on then I will not be happy and the salesman I bought my car from knows excatly how unhappy I can be

29th February 2008, 19:41	#11 (permalink)
Topcat Supporter Civinfo guru Join Date: 11th May 2006 Location: Middlesex Posts: 2,753 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts iTrader: (0)	The final straw for me changing from Chiswick to Ruislip was after they bought my car back to me one night and the next morning is stank of stale smoke and then to add insult to injury there was a cigarette end on my mat !! I went absolutely mad, took a photo of it and spoke to my neighbour who worked there, the guy who bought it back to me called me an insisted it must have been stuck on his shoe and sounded so worried as he said he could get dismissed if he had been smoking in the car so I did nothing about it but I was so mad I never went there again.

29th February 2008, 19:47	#12 (permalink)
FWH Super Moderator Civinfo master Join Date: 3rd June 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 6,469 Thanks: 20 Thanked 84 Times in 77 Posts iTrader: (0)	I know some one who had left his car with the dealer for service. They said it would not be ready until late. Being winter it was dark then, and it was parked in the darkest corner of the dealer car park. Turned out they had crashed it off the road and hoped he would not notice.... You are right not to trust them!

29th February 2008, 19:50	#13 (permalink)
Dimplyred Super Moderator Civinfo master Join Date: 24th August 2007 Location: Staffordshire Posts: 5,680 Thanks: 21 Thanked 211 Times in 204 Posts iTrader: (0)	I hate taking my car into the dealers for services, etc... I would quite happily wait in the car while they do the work, keeping an eye on them.

29th February 2008, 20:04	#14 (permalink)
Bog Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 5th October 2006 Location: Romford, Essex Posts: 898 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts iTrader: (0)	I had pug 307 and it was in a Directline recommended body shop for 4 weeks after an accident. As well as being poorly repaired, It came back with both front seats reclined, all radio presets tuned to hip-hip stations (which I can't stand!) and an extra 140 miles on the clock! No doubt that it was thrashed during those miles too! Anyway after many months and threats to take DL to court, they finally bought the car back off me at FULL retail value!

29th February 2008, 22:13	#15 (permalink)
lippy Bournemouth Belle Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 10th January 2007 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 506 Thanks: 3 Thanked 10 Times in 10 Posts iTrader: (0)	I am also wary of car mechanics etc, but not because of what has been done to my car, but to someone elses. This happened some years ago but I have NEVER forgotten. I had the misfortune to be hit (on bonnet/near side wing - I was turning right) by a car travelling fast on the wrong side of the road followed by his mate (down past a traffic queue). The police let me know that the cars involved were customer cars left at a garage about 60 miles away. Because of this I always note the mileage on trip meters just in case - made me a bit paraniod I suspose..... PS the mechanics lost their jobs and got a short prison term for their trouble.