RT Mechanics, Liphook

[GregE102]

Hi All

My T5 R is currently in with RT Mechanics who have been brilliant they are giving my car a full going over, as when i brought it the persons befor had not looked after it.
First i went to my local dealer in Norwich who stuck their heads under the bonnet for 15mins came back and commented that every thing was fine and it just needed their full service (price £385) Hmm, so i mentioned the vibration under heavy braking they told me it was a common trate with 850's cause its such a heavy car, I replyed are you shure i'm willing to spend money on it to get it running sweet. They just said if you dont trust us then take it somwhere else.
So I have and these guy's have been nothing but specialist's
They made a complete list of all the things that where wrong and sent it to so i could agree or dissagree and choose what i wanted done.
You don't get beter service that that.
I have no dought that some of the things they picked up on have and will give my car a full new lease of life.
Cheers RT
Regards
Greg

[imac]

Originally Posted by RTMECH

Hi what you seem to forget is that we will service the car the correct way and not the volvo way ! You cannot make comments like this as you are not comparing a like for like service.The volvo service schedule is a joke as to what is changed/not changed.

We do the job correctly and never have complaints apart from you !

I'm not complaining at all, as I said earlier - you always have replied to my emails very efficiently and politely!

Just out of interest, what do you do on an 84k service for a 163 D5 that Volvo don't? I'll dig out the service schedule thing when I had the Volvo service and compare. Email/PM me if you like - volvot5@gmail.com

PS... When I emailed you asking for a quote on an 84k service you didn't mention you'd do anything different than Volvo, might be an idea to do so as I only discounted your garage on price alone. If I'd known it wasn't just a regular 84k service I wouldn't have compared on a "like for like" service!

[burchi]

Originally Posted by VolvoT5

Hi Ian,

I use Cambridge Garage Volvo in Havant for my main dealer, no idea of their labour rates - but their quote for an 84k service on my car was £50 less than RT. As it happened, they charged me less than the quote so it worked out even cheaper.

Most other local dealers (Hapstead, Kings) couldn't come anywhere near Cambridge in Havant. I would wholeheartedly reccomend them anytime - I always speak to Andrew on the service desk - top bloke.

Hi Darren

On this, I do concur with what you say about Cambridge labour rate being cheaper than Hapstead etc. When I had my '98 V70 R, they were quoting £74.00 per hour versus £90 and Hapstead. I had to get the main dealerto do my transfer box as I was planning some extensive 'discussion' wit Volvo UK as this was the 2nd I was having done in 14 months. And yes, they were helpful. They also said that their labour rates are higher for the newer cars so, I reckon you still got a bargain!

Incidentally, the car ('98 V70 R) had to go back again to them for a warranty claim on their work and they did it without fuss and charge which is great but, RT Mechanics did find a couple of things that they had done which needed resolving. Nothing too major but, things all the same.

So, when RT Mechanics say that they do more than the Volvo service, I wholeheartedly agree. They change the spark plugs every service and use fully synch oil and will always change the air filter too (I don't as I have a K&N). This the Dealer network don't do as this is not part of the Volvo service schedule. I am scratching the surface here and they will I am sure be able to give you the whole picture.

I have recently got a 2003 V70 R and it has full dealer history. The spark plugs were shot to sh*t and the air filter clogged up. I queried this and was told they are not service items until the car reaches 36,000. Oh well that's great then! NOT! Especially with the higher power cars that rely on excellent maintenance. So, while there is nothing actually wrong with the Volvo service schedule as such, it is very lightweight compared with what RT do.

By the way for anyone reading this, I am not on commission with RT nor am I related in any way to any of them but, just believe in speaking as I find.

Anyhow, as long as you are happy with the service and work from Cambridge, that is what is important and along with you, they I am sure have numerous other customers who they do a great job for. I just know I am very happy where I am with RT.

Hope to see you again before too long.

Regards

[imac]

Originally Posted by burchi

So, when RT Mechanics say that they do more than the Volvo service, I wholeheartedly agree. They change the spark plugs every service and use fully synch oil and will always change the air filter too (I don't as I have a K&N). This the Dealer network don't do as this is not part of the Volvo service schedule. I am scratching the surface here and they will I am sure be able to give you the whole picture.

I'm interested to know now what else should have been done to my car! !

I know they used fully synthetic oil (Mobil 1 0w40 for Turbo Diesel), changed the air filter and would have done the fuel filter but I'd already had this done 2,000 miles earlier so it wasn't needed.

Incidently, I also have my car looked after by Stuart @ SW Autos in Kent. I only use the main-dealers for the service to keep them sweet if I want them to contribute towards a major failure like the diesel injectors etc in the future. Stuart has the car a couple of times a year to make sure it's all ok and do additional oil changes etc.

Hope to see you again before too long.

Regards

Absolutely. I wouldn't mind a look over of your new V70R actually. If everything goes to plan, my girlfriend will have my D5 sometime over the next 18-24 months and I'd like to buy either an 04/05 S60R or V70R. In the meantime, I'm having my D5 RICA'd.

Maybe we should attempt a Sussex VOC forum meet?

[AdamskiC70]

Originally Posted by RTMECH

Hi what you seem to forget is that we will service the car the correct way and not the volvo way ! You cannot make comments like this as you are not comparing a like for like service.The volvo service schedule is a joke as to what is changed/not changed.

We do the job correctly and never have complaints apart from you !

This makes me laugh Volvo have spent years developing their cars and improving the parts they use so the later cars can go 18k before needing a sevice so your saying you know better?????????

[pyaap]

Originally Posted by RTMECH

The volvo service schedule is a joke as to what is changed/not changed.

Hi Russ,

I'm quite interested to know why you feel quite this strongly about the Volvo service schedule (and what you change which is not indicated in the schedule) because even as someone who frankly over-services my own car (due to the fact its very nearly producing double its original power output), I've always found the service schedule to be reasonable for the 'average' street driven Volvo. If you're talking about the schedule relating to a highly tuned Volvo, then I agree that it would probably be inadequate.

I know of many Volvos where owners have stuck to the service schedule (i.e. dealer only servicing) and have run their cars well past 100,000 miles, which to me indicates that the schedule can't be all that bad.

[MissDMeanor]

Surely a Volvo dealer, or any garage, will only be as good as the staff and mechanics who run it.

I know of a Volvo enthusiast who worked for Volvo and was shocked at the level of incompetence/inexperience as they ordered the wrong parts etc.

There is good and bad in every area of life. I remember being treated appallingly by an Audi dealer garage. Three times the car was specifically booked in to have the rocker cover gasket changed. All times when I went to collect the car they advised that it needed doing and had only carried out investigatory. Smoke was pouring in the air vents when sat in traffic

Yet the Chrysler dealer whom looked after my PT were fantastic. They were pricey but I could not fault them in their care of the car.

[1997 t5 cd]

very interesting comments coming up here.
I worked for a volvo dealer before the S and V models where launched and the service schedule's were 10k intervals.
In recent years i joined a sussex dealer and the servicing is all over the place.
There are various service sheets now for each model.
Example:-) v70 97-98 99-2000 2000-2002 etc
So a 60k service for a june 2000 v70 may NOT be the same as aug 2000.
So unless the staff are on the case at the dealers you may not get the correct service due.
I now work for peugeot and there servicing is the same.


I also have my own little customer base and most of them have once a year work service/mot,,end to end check over and report,however if i get a new customer i like to give their ride a full inspection and report.This gives the owner a clue on condition and makes the next time i look at the car easier as i know what has been done previous and what may need looking at in future.

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

A very contensious issue as has been noted in several posts above... Thanks MissD..
But there are things that official Volvo dealers will not check/examine in the official service schedules.

AIr con is, I believe, one thing that does not get mentioned in the schedule...
There are any number of body checks and grease-ups that should be done, but do not always get done...
There may well be other things.

The service you get will only be as good as the people who carry out the service. Generally, you pay for the service you get..

Getting value for money and a good, well carried out service is something many of us here want.
Hence our list of good independants, there are also good main dealers.
There are bad too, on both fronts..

Hence these forums, and guiding information from us as users of different garages. We can recommend where things are done well. Consistently.

Just my thoughts..

Des. . .

[RT Mechanics]

[QUOTE=AdamskiC70;145244]This makes me laugh Volvo have spent years developing their cars and improving the parts they use so the later cars can go 18k before needing a sevice so your saying you know better?????????

Hi Adamski

I have been a Volvo mechanic for over 14 years so i would say that i do know better than most people, as you can see from some of the other replys by people that actually work on cars in the trade that the modern service schedules for just about any make of car are a very odd way to service a car,

Eg When the 850 models where first brought out the first time in the cars life a fuel filter is changed every 70 k !,or an air filter is only changed every 40 k!
We decided many years ago to change all filters,plugs,and check all items on the car at every annual service,and have very few problems with the cars we maintain.

RT