Referring to a "Dealer" as someone who steals

[Crasher]

Zollaf, those words could have been typed by my own figures. I have seen the overheads a main dealer has to pay and I honestly wonder how they survive. You should see what they pay for just software, ETKA alone is £100’s a month and ELSA is scary.

[zollaf]

its just that it annoys me a little bit when people want a luxury car costing 20k, but then moan about having to pay for its upkeep. they want all the mod cons and electric everything, along with reduced fuel consumption, but still with loads of power. the manufacturers give this in their cars, but it all needs looking after. how many people get their air con serviced every 2 years?, how much brake fluid is out there thats 4 years old etc etc...then they moan because the air con has packed up and needs a new compressor costing a grand.when did you last get it serviced???????.
then their is a change of mind over how long a cam belt will last. whats the response, not ok thanks for telling me so i dont have to fork out for a new engine for 3k, is it. no its moan moan moan.

[Crasher]

I get annoyed and perplexed by people who buy an old big luxury car for say £1000 that cost say £25K to £30K when new and then whinge like crazy when it costs £1K to fix one individual major issue, they come at me with the “but I only paid £1K so why does it cost £1K to fix it”. They just can’t get it into their heads that a car, no matter how much it costs to buy, doesn’t cost less to repair as it ages, it costs more! They aren’t even paying repair bills on a new expensive luxury car, it is an old expensive luxury car, the second hand value is irrelevant. What did a magazine recently say “there has never been a better time to buy a supercar, for the love off God don’t!”

[Sam]

Which one of you two is Jack Lemmon then?

[Hex69]

Which one of you two is Jack Lemmon then?

Some like it hot

[Crasher]

I look far better than that in a dress, my legs are longer.

[peteo]

I've definitely learned a lot from some of the recent posts. When you look at the capital costs, they are horrendous and I have changed my mind a bit - maybe the labour charges aren't excessive after all.

In my time I've had good and bad service from garages and dealers. The best garage by a country mile was an outfit in Altrincham called Autotechnic that serviced BMWs over 4 years old. It's called something else now. I had an old 3 series and they would positively discourage you from spending money. If they spotted something, they would say, yes this needs doing or, more often, something to bear in mind - no point in doing it now. I found my Honda dealership very good too. I have mixed experience of VAG. Some good, some not so good. The VAG independents I have used in the past have all been excellent and I'm desperately trying to find one now.


But I have heard of some horrendous rip off stories. Spraying WD40 on shock absorbers then telling the punter that they needed changing. The worst seem to be the fast fit tyre places for this. The "Which" reports show numerous stories of faults not being diagnosed or uneccessary work done.

But fairs fair - we shouldn't tar everybody with the same brush.

[Sam]

Some like it hot

<heaves> Close, but no cigar

Reminds me of the two lads on the Bounty (now Plenty) Kitchen towel adverts!

(I meant Grumpy Old Men btw - which I'm sure you knew - sarcasm lost!)

[Crasher]

The VAG independents I have used in the past have all been excellent and I'm desperately trying to find one now.

Well I am just down the road from you.

Spraying WD40 on shock absorbers then telling the punter that they needed changing

Never thought of that one, might come in handy…

[onzarob]

Never thought of that one, might come in handy…

You wouldn't be able to sleep if you did that