Upselling at services

[ergonomist]

Originally Posted by Clan

1 , There is no such thing as an Air conditioning service according to volvo , it is a sealed system , the only service item is the pollen filter which is changed on each service at great cost , and the drive belt . That is outrageous wanting to charge you £250 when there is nothing whatsoever wrong with it and showing no fault symptoms .

2, Volvo coolant has NEVER had a service change interval , in fact it lasts many many years . Again £100 for £25 coolant and half an hour labour ? ask what their reason for changing is ? Yes coolant IS a service check item , I expect you will find it checked as OK on your service check sheet ,they only need to check the freezing point and condition on each service .

3 , What do YOU think of the wiper blades ? smearing is usually dirty blades , are they shredding ? Did you have a complaint with them ?
I am willing to bet they are checked as ok too on the service check sheet as will be the air conditioning .

Thanks Clan. The air con service seemed to include re-gassing, but given that I leave the air con on all the time and have not detected any problems, it clearly isn't suffering from dry seals or loss of gas... Wiper blades are not smearing - or I would have replaced them myself. Resisting all these enticing opportunities to part with cash was surprisingly easy

The only one I was mildly interested in was the coolant change as we're off to the Alps soon - but if the check antifreeze strength as part of the normal service then I would expect them to base a need to change on that result.

A chat with the Aftersales Manager is now on the cards...

[Clan]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

Stoneacres have taken over my dealership and have are doing this un-required upselling when booking a service, they are cowboys


Genuine volvo parts from Mill Volvo Newcastle.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Engine-OI...-/322579645934
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-V...-/202219986457
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-V...-/202456103425

you need to report this practice to customer services otherwise they will not know this is going on .. It will get picked up on their quarterly mystery shops eventually .

[Clan]

Originally Posted by ergonomist

Thanks Clan. The air con service seemed to include re-gassing, but given that I leave the air con on all the time and have not detected any problems, it clearly isn't suffering from dry seals or loss of gas... Wiper blades are not smearing - or I would have replaced them myself. Resisting all these enticing opportunities to part with cash was surprisingly easy

The only one I was mildly interested in was the coolant change as we're off to the Alps soon - but if the check antifreeze strength as part of the normal service then I would expect them to base a need to change on that result.

A chat with the Aftersales Manager is now on the cards...

well done to you .. The front counter get a bonus for doing this , It is all very wrong .

There as a batch of factory coolant going around from about 2012 to 2017 which went browny yellow after a couple of years indicating the corrosion inhibitors were weak however the freezing point of -37C was never affected ,
As long as the coolant is clear and a bright green/blue colour it is fine . This is what is checked on the service .
Have you read your service checksheet signed by the technician?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by GMeilack

I am fortunate in that we have a local specialist, Camberley Independent Volvo Centre, who I cannot recommend highly enough. Having completed a full 4-year service on my XC60 2.4 at £279 they then spent 15 minutes explaining everything they found having, as requested, checked the entire car from top to bottom.

They dismissed most of the reported fault codes (which they had reset) and simply pointed out that the front tyres had 3-5mm and would need changing in a few thousand miles. Excellent service

Thats excellent for a air filter and fuel filter service did they use genuine volvo parts ? And are they aware of the Aux belt change at 54000 miles ?

[nu11eaf]

Originally Posted by Clan

you need to report this practice to customer services otherwise they will not know this is going on .. It will get picked up on their quarterly mystery shops eventually .

Good idea, we should all report this cowboy practice that has been imported from the USA.

[ergonomist]

Originally Posted by Clan

There as a batch of factory coolant going around from about 2012 to 2017 which went browny yellow after a couple of years indicating the corrosion inhibitors were weak however the freezing point of -37C was never affected ,
As long as the coolant is clear and a bright green/blue colour it is fine . This is what is checked on the service .
Have you read your service checksheet signed by the technician?

Part of my concern was that the check sheet is ambiguous. It says 'check and adjust coolant' - but is that 'visually check the level and adjust' or 'check the strength using a hygrometer and adjust'...?

I've just come off the phone with the Aftersales Manager - very useful conversation. He's taking steps both to stop the technicians from over-stating (the Air Con and Coolant change recommendations were Dealer recommendations not Volvo) and to amend how information is reported back to the customer. He's also offered to carry out a hygrometer check for me. He did seem to be genuinely unclear about whether the coolant check is level or strength (he's new to Volvo, but seems to have concluded that the requirement is only a level and 'colour' check). Sounds as if I will need to specifically ask for a strength check at the next service.

It shouldn't have needed my intervention - but their response feels good.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by ergonomist

Part of my concern was that the check sheet is ambiguous. It says 'check and adjust coolant' - but is that 'visually check the level and adjust' or 'check the strength using a hygrometer and adjust'...?

I've just come off the phone with the Aftersales Manager - very useful conversation. He's taking steps both to stop the technicians from over-stating (the Air Con and Coolant change recommendations were Dealer recommendations not Volvo) and to amend how information is reported back to the customer. He's also offered to carry out a hygrometer check for me. He did seem to be genuinely unclear about whether the coolant check is level or strength (he's new to Volvo, but seems to have concluded that the requirement is only a level and 'colour' check). Sounds as if I will need to specifically ask for a strength check at the next service.

It shouldn't have needed my intervention - but their response feels good.

A good fair result , I felt there some lack of experience there somewhere , the coolant check is level , condition visually therefore corrosion inhibitor quality and yes they should be using the volvo special tool spectrometer to measure the freezing point and should jot the freezing point down on the service checklist . The tool is a mandatory tool they must have to comply with their franchise standards .. He is in a position to apply Volvo standards now rather than their own low standards .