Your thoughts about franchised dealers?

[euroserv]

I hope you kind folks don't mind me asking for your thoughts for a change!

 

How do you feel about franchised dealers in relation to getting your vehicles serviced? I am not looking for detailed accounts of bad or good experiences here but i am seeking to guage the mood among owners for how easy main agents are to deal with, get quotes from and get things done.

 

I am trying to figure out what is good and bad about the experience that you have had and how it could be improved; maybe we will make a profile for the perfect service centre between us?

 

I have built a picture over the years of what i expect, and what owners would expect and i have read some alarming stories over the years but without putting words in anyone's mouths, would you be kind enough to help me finish the picture?

 

Enormous gratitude in advance to anyone that can help with this. After any initial questions for me that may arise today; i am not going to contribute to this at all because i don't want to sway the comments in any way. It's got to be about what you think, not what i think.

 

I can't say anything about what i am doing this for, but you know me well enough that it must be for a good reason and that it must be for the benefit of motor-homers.

 

Thanks.

Nick

 

PS.

Play nice! You know who you are!

[Don636]

I have used a local Fiat dealer for the last 4 years for services and find them to be very helpful and prompt. The prices are OK for a dealer. I have also had them fix a leaky scuttle which there was no argument about under warranty. I also had a problem with the remote key not working so they checked that and were able to reset it and charged me £60, which I again thought was reasonable as it was out of warranty.

[pagey]

nick i for one would welcome it judging from my 2 visits to so called fiat professional

[peterjl]

Hi

 

I have used my local Fiat dealer irregularly overvthe last 10 years. Not for regular serving but for one off problems or fixes required eg changing dashboard under warranty when it was faulty.

 

I have always found them professional, slick and very helpful. There were two occasions for major repairs outside warranty and I was again happy with price and service. On the second occasion I had a problem that resulted from there incorrectly fitting the replacement part. I called in on the way home with Moho full and dog on board. They gave us coffee whilst a technician rectified immediately.

 

Last time I used them was about 2 years ago. I would use them again

 

Last year I had to use a fiat professional commercial centre and again excellent service.

 

Also used a fiat dealer near Edinburgh when a minor problem arose when we were away. Again slick professional and helpful service.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Peter

 

[malc d]

My experience of franchised dealers is that they are almost always much more expensive than a " local garage "

 

I assume the main reason for this is the fact that you are paying to support many more staff, including sales staff, than are employed by a small concern, plus their higher business rates.

 

I used a Fiat dealer for the first couple of years but saved hundreds since by using smaller operations.

 

 

 

 

 

[EJB]

Only ever used one FIAT Professional for a new front wheel bearing in France.....700 Euros...but excellent quick service.

 

Local small car and commercial garage used for over 10 years for everything Ducato.

All work including MOTs at a sensible price and we even know each others names!! (lol)

 

The little addons are the real benefit...like inspecting the vehicle, with a mechanic, underneath to ensure everything outside the MOT is also in good order.... straps holding water tanks for example.

[aandy]

I've given up with my local Fiat franchise. Wasn't too happy some years ago when they broke a headlamp mounting while replacing the horn. Rather than replace the mounting they bodged it and said nothing, something that came to light only several months later when the headlamp aim was found to be out at MOT. However, the business can't be blamed for the actions of one fitter, and the reason I stopped using them was that I found them unhelpful when ordering parts and had difficulty getting replies to email enquiries.

 

The franchise I now use are very helpful but expensive. They recently replaced an airbag ECU, which took no more than 45 minutes, and charged £95 + VAT for labour. To be fair, unlike some I've heard about, they did not charge for the five minutes spent initially diagnosing the problem.

 

For routine servicing and anything that does not require Fiat specific diagnostics, I now use an independent commercial vehicle workshop.

 

Probably the best experience I've had with a Fiat franchise was in France last month when an exhaust pressure sensor failed. They were extremely obliging - spent some time ringing around to get the part quicker than their usual supplier could manage - and the hourly labour rate was 70 euros.

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Since I bought my Ducato-based Rapido motorhome in 2015 it has been serviced and MOT-tested (and had safety-recall work carried out) by the Fiat Professional part of Imperial Commercials at Gloucester, about 15 miles from my home.

 

https://www.imperialcommercials.co.uk/fiat/locations/fiat-gloucester

 

The’ve done what I’ve asked them to and not done what I’ve asked them not to do. I’ve no complaints about the quality of the work, the cost does not seem excessive and I’ve been able to book a service/MOT at quite short notice.

 

Some while ago Imperial Commercials, Gloucester were complimented in a letter in MMM magazine and, according to their service manager, this resulted in a lot of people bringing their motorhomes there for attention, even from a long distance away. Nowadays a large percentage of their work is on motorhomes.

[colin]

As you know Nick, I've driven 70 miles (each way) to your workshop to firstly get my van fixed, and secondly to get some work done, I think that speaks volumes about the service I've received from our nearest three Fiat (un) Professional workshops.

[Guest pelmetman]

Stopped using franchised main dealers in the last century :-| ........

 

Overated would be a polite comment ;-) .........

 

Shysters would be more accurate >:-)...........

 

That said finding a decent mechanic who is honest and genuine is probably just as difficult........

 

That is where I now find myself......... as mine of the last 15 years has decided to retire and buy a motorhome and travel 8-) .........

 

 

[aandncaravan]

From our Dealings with all garages that ask for our help, you can tell those that have skilled technicians, and those that have not. Literally within minutes of them explaining the issue.

 

You can also instantly pick out a technician who knows the vehicle, like a Fiat Professional garage, because they have experience of a myriad of different and particular issues on that particular base.

 

They know the common problems and what causes them, etc.

 

 

We don't mind supporting a Garage where the technician knows his stuff. I hate it when the guy doesn't have a clue.

 

 

For changing the Oil you probably can't beat the cost effectiveness of a Local Garage.

For anything slightly out of the ordinary, you can't beat a Garage with technicians who have a stack of knowledge. They can save the vehicle owner a lot of money by identifying the fault quickly without swapping out six hundred different parts.

 

 

If you can find a Local Garage that specialises in your particular base vehicle, you probably have the best of both.

 

 

One aside, recently on here there have been a couple of threads from people waiting weeks to get work done or be told their parts are ready, etc.

I would suggest that those companies that are good at problem ownership and following up waiting work/parts, probably have a dedicated person doing that job.

That has to be paid for from all the work that is carried out, as does all the other little jobs that get done behind the scenes.

A small garage that is very focused on fixing vehicles may not be so good at the none 'mainstream' fixing vehicles work.

Therefore, should you deal with this type of company I would guess you need to think about whether you are prepared to put extra effort into the relationship.

Some are and some are not.

 

 

 

 

 

[Matrix Meanderer]

Travelling to southern Germany in December our ABS system packed up as we ploughed through snow and motorway surface grot in the Vosges mountains.

 

Took our Fiat Ducato to a Fiat Professional agent in the Black Forest area. Without an appointment he sorted it out while we had lunch. Only salt and general moisture in the electronics, no mechanical failure.

 

He even cleaned the outside of the van as well.

 

So our experience was excellent service by a competent, family run garage at an acceptable hourly rate.

 

But being southern Germany - cash or local cash card only No credit cards. 8-)

[laimeduck]

All my dealings with large dealers/chains have been problematic. Usually invilves poor service at inflated prices and unnecessary work advised or carried out at inflated prices. I have now found down near me in Kent an old school garage with a mechanic who has done it all and seen most problems He does it - not some weekly waged youth who doesn't care. We have built up a personal relationship and I trust what he says and does. Before i moved here four years ago I have the same in South Oxfordshire.

I am sceptical about corporate organizations whose main motive is profit, not service.

[flicka]

Almost all motirhome owners want good service at fair prices & good customer sevice.

Some are fortunate a find one who they will stick with, building a relationship to becone a valued customer. Others are less fortunate & try as many different one's as practical, never finding satisfaction.

 

Not forgetting that like it ir not an odd customer, can be a right pain in the neck.

 

Where a francised dealer should gain the advantage is access / support from the francise manyfacturer, but again it's about relationships.

 

Most Fiat Proffessional dealerships fall down on customer satisfaction due to them being commercial vehicle minded, where

A) cleanliness of the workshop & reception areas (would I want my van to go in there ? - often the answer is NO.

B) minimal interaction with the majority of their customers i.e. white van man who more often than not, has no financial interest in the vehicle, whereas motirhome owners have a substantial financial & emotionsl investment in their vehicle. (Maybe I should have put this as 1st priority)

 

What IMHO motorhome owners want is the benefits a francise dealer should be able to offer via manufacturer's support, etc., with premises to the standards seen in francised car dealerships at a reasonable price & be valued as a customer.

 

Is it achievable ?? They do say nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But product knowledge & respect of those on this forum gives a good solid base from which to explore the possibilities NICK

 

[TeamRienza]

I am in the fortunate position that my dealer (Donaghey’s of Letterkenny, Ireland) are both Hymer agents,along with Carado, Knauss, Carthago and Dethleffs. They are also Fiat professional commercial sales and servicing franchises. Best of both worlds.

 

They have a very high standard of customer service and are renowned and praised throughout Ireland for it. Based on this and personal benefit from this care, I feel that they are a trustworthy outfit and charge for work carried out and will be open to negotiation on prices of fault repairs. This of course is more expensive because of the support staff employed, but I am happy with the relationship. You can chat to the mechanic who will carry out the work before and afterwards. All of the staff know your name, and equally you know all of the staff by name too.

 

On the Fiat side, during warranty, they replaced a wiper control unit, the instrument panel and fixed a few minor issues without quibble and continue to be approachable on any issue.

 

The Hymer side is also dealt with efficiently by Donaghey’s, although they are at the mercy of their suppliers. I had to wait nearly 5 months for a part from a Thetford oven and hob combination and to be fair Donaghey’s discounted the work due to the inconvenience. I also lost an A class windscreen, there was a bit of delay as they get deliveries once a week and we had just missed an order deadline. The following week a screen appeared and was found to be damaged, so back to square one. Delay, but not of the dealers making.

 

The parts and accessories side is efficient too wether visiting in person or ordering remotely.

 

Perhaps an unusual combination of Fiat and Hymer dealers with a great customer service and attitude. Worth paying for and they thrive because of it.

 

Davy

[Geeco]

Nick, The workshop that I use is approved for warranty work and repairs for the Auto-trail end. They have in the last year been appointed as a Fiat Professional service agent. They are 15 minutes from home and 5 minutes from the storeage area I use. They only repair motorhomes,caravans & horse floats and they are a pleasure to work with. They get all my MH work, they are not cheap but offer a very personalised service that must be worth a little extra. My comments I know will not assist your data collection in the UK but it is too good a story to not tell. Cheers,

[Deneb]

I have limited experience of Fiat Professional dealers, but my experience of franchised dealers in general over more than 40 years on the occasions when I have had to use them as a private customer has been overwhelmingly negative.

 

In my professional dealings, I know that there are invariably knowledgeable and competent technicians employed at most dealerships, but in my experience they are not the people who will be working on your vehicle during routine servicing or minor repairs.

 

My experience of work carried out on my own vehicles more often than not ranges from carelessness and incompetence to downright lies.

 

My only experience of a FP dealer to date was buying an oil filter from my local dealer's parts department last year, when they tried to sell me an unboxed item that had been laying about on a shelf for goodness knows how long, and appeared to be covered not only in dust, but also small metal filings, both inside and outside of the filter. The employee didn't seem to understand my concerns and in fact was downright annoyed that I didn't want it. It may well have subsequently ended up on another unsuspecting customer's vehicle, but not mine as I won't be going anywhere near them in future.

 

I have just spoken to my next nearest FP dealer (a different franchise) about booking my van in for its first service, and have to say that the telephone conversation was friendly, helpful and informative. I do baulk though at being quoted £250 for what amounts to little more than an oil and filter change to keep the third year of my warranty, when I am both professionally competent and capable of doing it myself for less than £70 and an hour of my time, but not a VAT registered business, which is what they require.

 

Having previously had a sump plug cross-threaded on a one year old Mondeo by a Ford franchised "highly trained technician" (their words on the service invoice) and with knowledge of the state of the Fiat oil filter, I'm afraid I even feel uncomfortable entrusting my vehicles to dealers for such simple tasks now.

 

I know you didn't want individual examples Nick, but one more as I don't think I can fully convey the reasons for my lifelong mistrust without it.

 

A recent first service of my new Volvo at the franchised dealer. I was reminded three times prior to and on handing over the car, to ensure that I gave the locking wheel nut adaptor to the service rep along with my key, as they couldn't complete the service without it. Fair enough.

 

On collecting the car, I was led through the service paperwork on which the depth of pad material on both inner and outer brake pads at each wheel had been stated to the nearest tenth of a millimetre. When I went out to the car, I found that two of the wheel nut cosmetic covers were missing. I went straight back to the service rep to report it, and was told that they must have fallen off at some time in my first year of ownership. I was told that it couldn't possibly be their responsibility, as they wouldn't have needed to remove any of the wheels for the first service. Only after reminding him that he had asked me for the locking nut adaptor three times, and enquiring how their mechanic had managed to measure the brake pad thicknesses so precisely without removing the wheels, did he agree to replace them.

 

Unknown to me at the time, but discovered after returning home, I realised that when the car was connected to the diagnostic equipment in the workshop, it caused the power sockets in the car to be activated, switching on my dash cam. Very entertaining video of their mechanic servicing my car, mostly one-handed as he was constantly eating with his other hand throughout the service.

 

The battery cover, which is secured by two clips that should each be pulled outwards to disconnect the cover, according to Volvo's workshop procedure (VIDA), was wrenched swiftly upwards with one hand and tossed onto the scuttle panel. The VCI was tossed onto the top of the dashboard, hitting the inside of the windscreen and skittering across the dash top.

 

The engine oil refill was carried out whilst the technician had his head tipped back emptying a packet of crisps into his mouth with his other hand. As expected, when I removed the engine cover the top of the engine was covered in oil. The engine undertray had also been incorrectly refitted, so I removed that and fixed it myself.

 

Strangely, after presenting them with this evidence, the customer satisfaction survey that I had been prompted to expect (and encouraged to complete in a certain way that would show the franchise in its best light to Volvo UK) never materialised!

 

Another example (sorry). Several years ago I was restoring an old car and after nearly two years of searching managed to track down and acquire a new set of six pistons from Germany. I took them along with various other components to a highly reputed engineering shop some distance away, to have the pistons and gudgeon pins pressed onto the rods. When I picked them up, one of the pistons had been deformed and gouged during the fitting process, causing the pin to bind. Obviously I only found that by checking every item before paying; the company that did the work weren't intending to make any mention of it.

 

I could go on, and on, and on. Luckily, I do have a local independent garage that I can trust if necessary, but I do my own maintenance and repairs wherever possible as my experience over many years has been that competent work by many garages is the exception rather than the rule.

 

It leaves me wondering how many people who believe that their dealer does good work on their vehicles, think so because they are either unable or unwilling to check the work that has been done? I admit to being a bit of a perfectionist, but is it too much to ask that components are put back together to the same standard as before they were dismantled, in line with the manufacturer's procedures, without various fixings being damaged, discarded and not replaced, particularly where they are out of sight of the customer at the end of the job? Frequently, that is not the case in my experience.

[Brock]

My franchise dealer is easy to deal with. I ring up, explain what I want, it refers to my vans record on the Fiat system and gives me advice on what they think I need rather than what I think. On one occasion I insisted on a full service at three years and they tried to persuade me that I should wait until four years. In the end they did a service that met me half way and cost less.

 

They are not keen on A-classes and will seek extra money as the work takes longer. I refuse and they do not push it.

 

All services over the last 15 years or so have been carried out by the same technician to a good standard. He talks me through what he has done and why - he does not undertake additional work without my permission. I have confidence in him. He knows his Fiat Ducatos!

 

The staff are all personable and willing to help.

 

Downsides are the cost, the technician is at retirement age, and the dealer’s distant location. For urgent work, I have used a local garage which has done the work to the required standard and modest cost but not instilled confidence in them.

[Keith T]

I have limited experience of franchised dealers, though on the occasions in the past I have used thte local one in Exeter. However as both the previous and current MH were bought from the MH dealer who is also FIAT service centre, and is only 30 miles from me I have tended to have any work required done by them.

Have over the period of more than 10 years been very pleased with their level of service and in terms of the recalls over recent months have had no delays in getting these done - in fact they have been ahead of the game, getting the work done even before FIAT paperwork has reached me!

[Muswell]

I used non-franchised garages to service Ford and VW for a couple of years, mainly for convenience. They were OK for routine stuff but struggled when it was more complicated, especially on the diagnostics side. So now I only use franchised dealers. It costs around £4000 a year for tax, fuel depreciation etc. to run a vehicle so what's a few hundred more in the grand scheme of things? The dealers I have used since have been very easy to deal with and certainly been very good on keeping me informed.

[StuartO]

The only franchised Fiat dealership I have used for many years was a small town family garage in France, when I broke down - they were fantastic!  They put aside planned work and pulled out all the stops to help me get home and their charges were more than reasonable.

The last time I approached a Fiat Dealership in UK was an enquiry about replacing the clutch - what would it cost?  "We'll get it in for a diagnostic check and that will cost a maximum of £100, then we'll tell you what the clutch replacement will cost, and any of the £100 diagnostic charge not already used will be credited to the job.."  They simply would not quote or estimate without one of their diagnostic checks, even though a clutch change is presumably a standard job, listed for the time taken in their dealership info from the manufacturer.  I didnt take it any further - and my clutch is still going strong!

[Tracker]

We only used vehicle franchised dealers for service and warranty work whilst the balance of a new vehicle warranty ran it's course, and only on the basis that it was easier, albeit more costly, to not have to negotiate with the maker regarding liability due to work being carried out outside the dealer network.

We never had any grounds for complaint, indeed on a couple of occasions Peugeot dealers were particularly helpful - in particular Warners at Tewkesbury who twice helped us out late on a Friday afternoon / saturday morning.

However wherever we lived we always found a good local independant garage - sometimes via this forum - and they were at least as good and usually less expensive than the franchised dealers.

So whilst we had limited experience of both, both have their place for us.

One thing that used to irritate me was the Peugeot charge of £50 to reset the engine management light after a fault had been registered, but this was negated by the purchase (for about £12) of our own OBD fault code reader and reset device.

[euroserv]

Some wonderfully detailed replies there, and a couple of compliments, for which i am very grateful. I thank you all for your time and assure you that every moment that you put into this will be of benefit while i formulate a strategy for the future.

 

Please feel free to add to this if you can. The positives are showing some dealers in a much more favourable light than expected; which can only be good news and the negatives are highlighting the points that i would seek to remedy in the industry. I think that one of the main areas for improvement is in the personal nature of the experience and the ability to spend a little time with the mechanic in the workshop. I also thought that having a single contact throughout the booking, repair and billing is of great benefit. I have always found that even if the contact is not completely technically aware of all that you need to discuss; at least if they seem interested and make notes before getting back to you when they say they will would instill a lot of confidence.

 

I didn't want to sway you to begin with but my focus is on engagement with customers and inspiring confidence that your vehicle is going to be in good hands and that your money will be well spent. An appreciation that you have invested a lot in your vehicle and that if you want to know it better over a long time; someone that will talk to you about it and show you what they are doing can be very beneficial.

 

Once again, i thank you.

N

[Tracker]

Everything you say strikes a chord with me Nick but then I always was mechanically aware and very interested in what is happening to my vehicles, if for no other reason that should there be a problem in the future, work carried in the past may beome relevant.

We do live in different times now to those of years ago and vehicle reliability and general affluence have dramatically improved over the years to the point where many people don't understand or want to know what is or is not being done to their vehicles as long as it does not let them down, and even if it does let them down all they want is to get it fixed and get on with using it.

In that context the customer's point of contact needs to be able to adjust their level of communication according to the customer's needs and what I have found most irritating is the lack of information from so many large dealer's point of contact which is often the receptionist with all other people, especially those with any kind of real knowledge, very hard to get to talk to.

[malc d]

One of the faults that I think a lot of garages have, especially large organisations, is that they assume that the customer knows nothing about the mechanics of their vehicles - possibly this is because the mechanics never meet the customer.

 

One test I used to use was to top up the windscreen washers before getting the van serviced.

 

The LAST time I used a franchised dealer was when they included a charge of two pounds fifty for "topping mine up".

 

;-)