£650 for a Year 2 service

[taz777]

I think it's 57.50 + VAT for coolant change and 80.50 + VAT for brake fluid change.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by harveys

The oil cost is OTT £111 + VAT
is that really £80 + VAT labour to change coolant. That's 3/4 hours time .

If Taz has a new VEA 2.0 4 cyl diesel oil is exactly 5 litres , any more and you get a overfull warning in the dash . The oil is a volvo rbs0-2ae specification oil
0w/20

This will do :

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-114451-m...e-engines.aspx

[100K+]

Originally Posted by taz777

Here's a breakdown of the work supposedly done:



All of that plus 20% VAT on top. Total = £644.08

I honestly feel I've been totally ripped off today. The labour charges for the coolant and brake fluid change seem high given that the car was ready so quickly after I gave the go ahead for that extra work that I now realise I didn't need at all.

At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask

Cheers

Bob

[iain cooper]

this is a total rip off, and I very much doubt if all the items have actually been done.

2 years old and just over 13K miles, come on Volvo.

my feelings are this is Volvo's way of recouping costs of new showrooms and may be the norm now?

Iain

[Simon Jones]

Originally Posted by iain cooper

... I very much doubt if all the items have actually been done.

If that claim can be substantiated, then I'm sure Trading Standards would be very keen to see the evidence. More likely, the work has been carried out exactly as invoiced and it just costs what it costs. Of course the average DIY mechanic could do a lot of the work himself, but the car then does not have a fully stamped up service book when it comes to selling it on (so you take a hit on the price), & it misses out on the software updates that are included with a main dealer service, some of which like TCM updates can help improve & prolong life of gearbox.

[krzemien]

Which (assumingly?) London dealership it was?

[tt82]

A: Did you go to the Service Price Indicator before booking your car in for a service? If you did, did not question the price difference? I had a dealer try this with me. When I questioned their price being over Volvo's indicated price the guy started waffling about regional variations. I then pointed out to him that the first thing you do on the SPI is choose your region. In short I voted with my feet and went for a dealer who did it for £35 under the SPI price! It does sound like a bit of naivety on your part has let this dealer have you over a barrel. We all learn from our mistakes, I imagine you won't make this one again.

B: They shouldn't perform any additional work without your consent. If they phoned you and you agreed to have the work done the refer to A.

I would however consider discussing the coolant change with VCUK. They may find the dealer was wrong to suggest it was recommended to be changed at that interval and give you a full or part (labour costs) reimbursement!

[taz777]

I did discuss the service price variation and I was given a vague response. They did mention regional variations, so, yes I've been naive as you have to select your region first. I reluctantly accepted £442 price versus the £379 shown by the Volvo Service Price indicator.

After the initial standard service was done I got a call from the service advisor saying that there are two additional items recommended by Volvo that should be done every two years and that these combined will cost an additional £202, over and above the £442 for the standard service.

I did express shock and question this as to why these items are not included in the standard service.

The service advisor suggested that I can pay the £442 for the service now (which itself was an inflated price compared to the £379 that it should have been) and then they can come and collect the car again in a month or so to get the coolant and brake fluid done at a cost of £202.

It was this that implied that I had to get this additional work done fairly quickly. Given that they were pushing me to get it done quickly and were prepared to collect the car in a month or so, it indicated to me that I had to get it done. Very reluctantly I agreed to get it done as I didn't want to be without my car for another day in a few weeks time.

So, yes, some naivety on my part but I'm dealing with a Volvo dealership, not some backyard dodgy workshop!

The matter is with Volvo Customer Relations now so I'll see what comes of it. Lesson learned, I will use a different Volvo dealer for future servicing.

[krzemien]

If this can be of any consolation...

All VOLVO dealership I used in the past (and I used a few) usually tried this game with me since I bought my car in 2010. Some were more pushy than others, for example they insisted that I have my aux belts changed on service #3 (54k) or campbelt changed on service #6 (108k) despite my milage not being there yet. I won't even mention allegedly worn tyres, wiper blades etc.

They way I approch it is this:

0. I have service sheet for my car that clearly shows what's a serviceable item and what's optional on each service interval
1. I check Service Price Indicator first
2. I obtain some kind of a quote from delership I want to use and question price difference / shop around (i't not easy in London though, was far easier in Hampshire and could have been used to play one dealership against the other)
3. I book my car and get it done

Surprisingly, sometimes the final price is lower than what's quoted...!

[tt82]

Taz, It's also worth mentioning that most dealerships offer a discount for VOC members. Next time ring around a few and get a few prices first.

I hope you have good luck with Volvo Customer relations. I would expect the labour charge back on the coolant service as despite what you were told, it wasn't neccesary. Anything more will be a bonus.