Poor servicin

As I hadn't received a call from the service manager, I started to write an email to him but just before I completed it, he rang.

"I understand you have some problems over your service".

"That was yesterday".

"Oh I have only just got your message."

Now call me softy but having spoken to the receptionists at 3 other local Suzuki dealers I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, he was as disgusted as I am at the standard of service received and he will have the car back on Tuesday to give it a thorough check over, plus he will fit a set of TPMS sender units supplied by me.

Thank you all for your support and advice.

Roger

As agreed, I took the car back for rectification work, but before the due date I decided to check to see if they had ticked off the "valve clearance check" on the schedule. No they hadn't because that item did not appear on the sheet! Further investigation showed that the technician had been working to the schedule for an Ignis, not a Jimny

Anyway they had the car from 08.30 until 16.00 at which time I rang them. "I think they have had a problem getting the TPMS units to talk to the ECU". Viv and I drove to the Dealer to investigate.

Question:- Are staff trained in the art of talking rubbish.

It wasn't the unit talking to the ECU, it was that they couldn't physically fit the TPMS senders to the rim, or at least that was the story they told us. Even Viv, who is not mechanically minded said "that sounds like rubbish to me".

We took the car home and in the morning I checked it over.
They told us the new oil had been drained and the filter replaced and then oil refilled. Why? all they had to do was drain a mug full of oil and then check it. Why replace the filter?
Oil level in master cylinder lowered to correct level (full on marker) OK.
This was basic as all the other points I had rectified. The overspray was photographed and copies sent to the service manager. He emailed his comment that this was unacceptable.

This morning I took the motor to Mr Tyre and they fitted the units without any problems. A short - 1.5 mile trip - and the ECU agreed with the TPMS units that all was well and the warning lights went out. Back home I dropped the pressures that Mr Tyre had pumped them too - 40 psi - back to a reasonable 24 psi.

I feel knackered. The service I received from Startins is beyond belief. On the way home I found an independent garage and asked for a quote for a 12 month service. "About £90" was the reply.

All I need to do is get a quote for the 12 month anti corrosion warranty which will probably need to be done at a Suzuki dealer but you can guess which one I wont be going to.

Oh, by the way, I checked with 3 other fairly local dealers as to the cost of a 24 month service.
Worcester...£258...same as Redditch, but they are a Startins.
Stratford.....£450...to be expected, Bills got a lot to answer for!
Kidderminster...£475...now I didn't expect that.

Roger 

What's your mileage? The valve check is due at 24,000
lt's pointless doing it after two years if the vehicle has only done 8,000

All it means is you'd need to do it a second time at 24,000

lt's easy to spend a lifetime stressing about valve checks, cam belt changes, brake fluid changes, oil change intervals etc

The Jimny check sheet has valve clearance inspection at the second service which is 25,000 miles or 24 months. Bearing in mind Martins comment that cam cover gaskets were in short supply, I mentioned to the service manager that inspection at 6,900 miles was superfluous as the engine was quiet and running correctly. He just nodded. It was only after the debacle of the service that I decided to check to see if the technician had actually ticked the relevant box to say he had done it and it was then that we found that they were using the check sheet for an Ignis.

I wasn't stressed but I was perturbed that the technician could overfill engine and master cylinder oil levels and spray waterproof grease onto carpets, rubber matting and plastic trim and over inflate tyres by by up to 8psi. Any technician who is this sloppy in his work cannot be trusted to carry out critical inspection to ensure the safety of the people using their cars. My worry isn't just for myself, but other people who don't know enough about their cars to realise that checking tyre pressures every week is all about being safe. To my knowledge, TPMS units don't measure over pressure.

Roger

Yeah the whole experience does sound poor, l would just sack that dealer and take it elsewhere next time.

The dealer has offered me a £75 discount on the next service, so my options are.
a) We have provisionally accepted the deal so use it and check the motor at the dealership before going home. Get service book stamped incl. anti corrosion check. Benefits are all parts are OE, and dealer supplied MoT should be a formality.
b) Go somewhere else and pay around £100 for service and hope parts are ok and pay dealer to do anti corrosion check at unknown price. MoT should still be a formality due to low mileage and being looked after.

I have a year to think about it.

Roger