MK5 Golf GTI
All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: TomB on June 17, 2009, 02:49:39 am
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http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/offers/price-promise
I don't know if anyone's seen this before but it says they'll match a quote from ANY vat reg'd garage within 5 miles from the dealer as long as genuine parts are used.
This is a great deal...there's a village garage that's 3.7 miles by road from my local VW dealer, and their rate is a super low £35+VAT an hour! Work on my car just got a lot cheaper!
Just noticed in the small print it doesnt cover maintenance and repairs, but that still makes the routine servicing very cheap. I wonder if cambelts fall under servicing or maintenance?
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Now that's interesting! :happy2:
I wonder if it'll stand up to being tested in the real world...
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Sounds great but there's a fly in the ointment.... "as long as genuine parts are used" :confused:
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genuine service parts are cheap
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Thats as maybe, but some garages offering this kind of labour deal will be wanting to maximise their profits on even cheaper components. IMO :wink:
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cam belt I would think is maintenance so this should be covered, come on who's going to try...
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we offer this.. we do like to see a printed quote from garages though..
as we once had a guy get a quote from a garage up the road, then come to us for a quote then asked us to price match.. but when looking at the quote he'd been given at other garage, the part numbers wern't vw parts.. even worse, it said at the bottom of the quote that genuine parts would be used.. :confused:
you do get ppl saying why dont you quote cheaper in the first place.. but tbh, were set to vw's times on jobs.. and also how long the techies think jobs take.. plus for safety aspects, it's better for jobs to be completed in good time and be checked thoroughly, rather than rushed..
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but tbh, were set to vw's times on jobs.. and also how long the techies think jobs take.. plus for safety aspects, it's better for jobs to be completed in good time and be checked thoroughly, rather than rushed..
I expect this from where ever I take my car and its some what irrelevant how long the job takes, it could take him 5mins or 5 days, its price at the end of the day which is being negotiated not the level of service.
I know its difficult out there for everyone and there must be a lot of dealers scratching around for work but its about time prices were rationalised. My dealer is not known for being the cheapest but next time I will be shopping around for the best price then asking them to match as i trust them 100% with there service levels! :happy2:
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I asked my local dealer if they pricematched, they said they would ' within reason'. As Caz said they wanted to see written quotes and this has proved difficult, email requests for quotes from indy's were replied to with ' your estimate has been calculated, please call us to discuss'. I'm sure they are fed up with having their estimates used to loose them work.....
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As far as I'm concerned it's not just about the lowest price you can get. I've built up a very friendly and trusting relationship with my VW dealer since buying my GTI from them in 2005. They don't charge me for lots of small things and also give me discount. I'm a very friendly, patient, and flexible customer and they very much appreciate it - It's all about people.
My dealer has price matched tyres just on my verbal, but they know me very well and trust me. They even told me where I might get the best prices.
VWRacing will now be doing my VW servicing as they now have the official approvals. My VW dealer totally understands this because my car is so modified, but I'll still use them for some minor things because VWR are 170 miles away!
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FRR%2FREDXbowMark.jpg&hash=460f87ac16018f30bdc51df6e1079db73bec3926)
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i always ask for a price match, my golf cost me £99 and the wifes car was originally £180 for the service and it cost me £129 :happy2: :happy2:
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To make sure the genuine part numbers and prices are on your quote, pop to your parts dept and get them to quote you on the service parts, then take that to your independent so they can put the details on their quote. While you're at the dealer, get a quote on the service work and ask them what time VW gives for the work. If it's 1.2 hours, see if you can get your independant to put 1.2 hours on their quote.
I have good relations at VW dealers, but not at the service desk where money is concerned. I've worked service reception in the past so I see everything from both sides, my customers would always try and barter, but the ones with a written quote would get a price match. When I worked for Kia, they set the servicing costs, so all dealers across the country had the same rate. If you wanted a quote, it was no problem, and the quote showed a complete breakdown including part numbers, prices, times and the work they'd be doing. I hope VW do something similar.
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at the end of the day, independant garages will always be cheaper as they dont have a high set labour rate.. bob jst works for £30 £40 an hour.. our labou rate is £66 + vat. thats one of the factors that add upto the cost of the service..
parts prices we'll always agree on as they should be ours, we wont fit anything else..
plus, most garages dont offer or do an inspection, its just a basic service.. I go mentsl at my mam, as she has a company car and has to take it to Boro Tyres for her servicing and its called a service, but its a basic oil and filter change.. 2 weeks after her service was done and being told nothing on collection, she had to have two front tyes repalced as they were below legal limit.. i was appalled..
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Pay peanuts and you get monkeys!
A Service at a good VW dealer involves more than just an oil change. ESI = Extra Saftey Inspection - And it's free of charge.
If you've got a modern car like a Mk5, don't feck about! It's simply not worth it.
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I agree RR, I just dont like being bent over by them on price. My dealer is charging over £100 p/h inc VAT! :scared: If I can use this price promise to my best advantage I will but I will not substitute it for quality or service.
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Pay peanuts and you get monkeys!
A Service at a good VW dealer involves more than just an oil change. ESI = Extra Saftey Inspection - And it's free of charge.
If you've got a modern car like a Mk5, don't feck about! It's simply not worth it.
Sorry for trying to help people save money RR, buts thats what this post is all about.
I don't know why you think you'll get a worse service by getting a competitive quote, the technician doesn't know how much you're paying, all he knows is he gets £10 of whatever I pay the dealer per hour, the rest goes to the business.
If you use VWR for your work, good for you, but I've made this post to help people who get work done at their dealers.
I'm not trying to promote the devils work, this is a Volkswagen offer taken from their website! Please stop the negativity.
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^^^^
Yep, a 'ton' per hour is taking the Arthur Bliss! "Bunse" as Del Boy would say.
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Pay peanuts and you get monkeys!
A Service at a good VW dealer involves more than just an oil change. ESI = Extra Saftey Inspection - And it's free of charge.
If you've got a modern car like a Mk5, don't feck about! It's simply not worth it.
A premium price does not mean a premium service at all. You seem to be blessed with a fantastic dealer nearby which is great, for you, but, like the vast majority I have a mediocre to piss poor dealer on my doorstep and I very much grudge paying them over the odds. For now I do use them as they have the best knowledge of mk5 gti's but as they are getting older and more common that may change soon...
For my old car and my g/f's car I use a small family run garage that charges half what VW charges but gives 1000 times better service. The mk5 may be getting their business in the near future.
In the mean time, my dealer don't miss a trick to screw me out of more money so I shan't be missing any trick to screw them out of more money :happy2:
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I've made this post to help people who get work done at their dealers.
I'm not trying to promote the devils work, this is a Volkswagen offer taken from their website! Please stop the negativity.
....You've got the wrong end of the stick. I'm not saying that this price match offer is a bad thing at all. I was just responding to other comments.
Besides, what's wrong with adding some balance to the discussion? - Not being negative by a long chalk, buddy! I suggest you read my posts more carefully.
8)
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A premium price does not mean a premium service at all. You seem to be blessed with a fantastic dealer nearby which is great, for you, but, like the vast majority I have a mediocre to piss poor dealer on my doorstep and I very much grudge paying them over the odds. For now I do use them as they have the best knowledge of mk5 gti's but as they are getting older and more common that may change soon...
For my old car and my g/f's car I use a small family run garage that charges half what VW charges but gives 1000 times better service. The mk5 may be getting their business in the near future.
In the mean time, my dealer don't miss a trick to screw me out of more money so I shan't be missing any trick to screw them out of more money :happy2:
....I never said that paying a premium price is a guarantee, did I.
You've hit the nail on the head in that ANY garage ANYWHERE, whether VW, big or small, etc etc, can be either excellent or piss poor.
The question you also need to ask is how well equipped a garage is to deal with certain cars. That's regardless of the excellence of their customer service or ability with other cars. Would you put your DSG in the hands of any old gearbox mechanic?
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....I never said that paying a premium price is a guarantee, did I.
Not in those words but
Pay peanuts and you get monkeys!
Does suggest that.
You've hit the nail on the head in that ANY garage ANYWHERE, whether VW, big or small, etc etc, can be either excellent or piss poor.
The question you also need to ask is how well equipped a garage is to deal with certain cars. That's regardless of the excellence of their customer service or ability with other cars. Would you put your DSG in the hands of any old gearbox mechanic?
Absolutely. With VW their mechanics are trained with the latest knowledge straight from the horses mouth, so to speak, and I agree this is, theoretically, worth a premium. The frustration many of us have is despite paying a premium you don't get a return on your money. VW can afford to buy all the respect they need whereas all independents have to earn it.
As the technology gets older and independents get hands on experience of it it will become less important to have VW do the work. This is always the way with any kind of technology. That said there will always be jobs that its better to have someone with intimate knowledge of the car and its technology do.
To me its not a question of cash, its a question of value. Even the fact that they price match suggests they know fine they are taking the customer for a ride - if they can afford to do the work at the same price as an indy, why the hell are they charging so much more in the first place?
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^^^^
I agree, ub7rm - Good value and skill is what a car owner needs.
Like I say, in my opinion, there's good and bad out there, whether a local oil-rag garage or a swanky dealership.
Whoever they are, hard-nosed business people charge as much as they can get away with and so this VW Servicing Price Match thingy is a good idea. Unfortunately, as already pointed out, there's plenty of unscrupulous people who will try and screw others, whether they are a garage business or a customer.
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Lets not forget though that VW are a business and the bottom line on anything is money.
In my addmittedly short time working (13 yrs) i have learnt a very important fact. If you price high you can make people think they are getting a deal by dropping you price to 'match' others, price low and you have no where to go and cannot compete (generally) with the more expensive service at a great price (realistic price)
Still a great offer that i will be taking full advantage of in the near future :happy2:
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It is a good offer and it should be mentioned more at dealers rather than ppl finding it out through the website..
I cant argue that vw are better than other garages, technician wise etc.. but my personal opinion is that, kinda agreeing with part of RR's comment that with having souch a new vehicle, I (personaly) couldnt take it to bob round the corner, bob and his crew maybe trained mechanics, but id be happier having my car looked at and fixed by technicians that are 100% qualified to work on vws, are reguarly trained and updated on new info.. plus, I vw dealerships, like most brands, are nice places to sit and wait if needed, free tea and coffee, proper cups, plus i could have a car for the day if needed, a new car at that, or be dropped at home.. sure, argue that that might not add up to the expensive prices that you may think, but, for me, certain things add up to a feel better moment.. :smiley:
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I cant argue that vw are better than other garages, technician wise etc.. but my personal opinion is that, kinda agreeing with part of RR's comment that with having souch a new vehicle, I (personaly) couldnt take it to bob round the corner, bob and his crew maybe trained mechanics, but id be happier having my car looked at and fixed by technicians that are 100% qualified to work on vws, are reguarly trained and updated on new info.. plus, I vw dealerships, like most brands, are nice places to sit and wait if needed, free tea and coffee, proper cups, plus i could have a car for the day if needed, a new car at that, or be dropped at home.. sure, argue that that might not add up to the expensive prices that you may think, but, for me, certain things add up to a feel better moment.. :smiley:
....That's exactly how I feel about it - A feel-good experience and seeing one or two friends while I'm there.
However, I didn't really appreciate it when they lent me a Toyota Yaris for a joke!! Quite the worst car I have ever driven by a loooong way!! Latest version too. So bad that I couldn't even bring myself to write a review of it - I simply wouldn't have one good word to write! Could be a laugh though.