$390 First Service

[Guest newl]

I queried my dealer today and was told $175 for an A service. Not too bad based upon some of the other outrageous amounts I've seen mentioned here by other dealers.

[bad inferno]

Just make sure they do all works including re-torque for the A service. on a turbo does take 2 hrs "book time" with wheel rotation

[BrianL]

had my XR8 in for service a couple of few ago with City Ford Sydney. On pickup went thru the invoice charged for fuel additives and a whole heap of other additives. when I questioned the guy he said I must have asked for these..I said I didn't and straight away he wiped it of the bill about sixty bucks from memory....I reckon they don't even add the crap.....then just last week took the XR6T in for 30K service itemised invoice said wheel rotation and tyre air as per service book on getting home noticed tyres not rotated and air pressures not done....makes you wonder what they actually did do dealer service is absolutelyu taking us mugs for a ride!

[Guest redgum]

"had my XR8 in for service a couple of few ago with City Ford Sydney. On pickup went thru the invoice charged for fuel additives and a whole heap of other additives. when I questioned the guy he said I must have asked for these..I said I didn't and straight away he wiped it of the bill about sixty bucks from memory....I reckon they don't even add the crap.....then just last week took the XR6T in for 30K service itemised invoice said wheel rotation and tyre air as per service book on getting home noticed tyres not rotated and air pressures not done....makes you wonder what they actually did do dealer service is absolutelyu taking us mugs for a ride!"

Hi Brian,

Under the code that service and repair shops work under (at least in the ACT, which tends to pick up NSW practices) they cannot supply anything that has not be requested. In fact "loading" the account is on the wrong side of consumer law generally.

Its possible that they did include the additives, but since you did not ask for them or agree by other means to their inclusion (e.g. they do not form part of the service items listed by Ford or part of a document telling you beforehand what their service entails) it is not worth the dealer pressing the point. The bigger worry for them would have been if you said that you didn't want the additives and you want them removed!

Its worth finding out if others you know have used the same service agent and had the same experience. If they have... is there a better place you can take your car?

Also, the guys that make up your account are not the guys that work on your car. They just bill what the mechanic has signed off on from the to-do list (like the tyre rotation that never got done). They could have sloppy practices or a couple of "couldn't give a sh*t" type mechanics.

These incidents should be brought to the attention of the service manager. Some dealers will actaully survey their clients immendiately after a service to pick up these sort of issues and feed them back to the service manager. If problems persist, it may be worth bringing it to the dealer's principle attention unless you never intend going back there.

[Guest FatBAt]

I think the only reason why (speculation only) people take their car back to Ford for servicing is that they are supposed to know what to do in a service with their eyes shut. that's what they told me "....we know Fords..."

If they don't complete everything in a schedule that they put together, why would you take it back there.

I used to hate getting charged $10 for them to take my car for a test drive. Getting (and paying for) their luch no doubt.

Putting additives in your car without asking is like McDonalds adding a coke to your order without asking.

Cheers

[Guest newl]

Putting additives in your car without asking is like McDonalds adding a coke to your order without asking.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, TrashDonalds will do that for you probably 8 times out of 10.

[bad inferno]

OK Had a look at my tyres today after my service

they rotated (Charged front to back). Now I've noticed that my front passenger is almost down to its wear markers, with the other three tyres looking like they still have 75% tread left.

1. Is it normal for one rear (passenger side) to have more than double the amount of wear than the other rear tyre.

2. If a tyre is worn more than the other three wouldn't you think they would keep it on the rear of the car and not move it to the front ?

[tab]

1) No, there is definately something going on there - you would hope that the morons would have noticed then when doing the rotation and fixed the issue and mentioned it to you.

2) Yeah the rear is the best place for it, definately not a steering tyre.

Your best bet would be to go to a specialist tyre place for a balance and allignment just for piece of mind. Should only cost you $20-30.