all electric service center halesowen AVOID

[jay the spark]

ok then im not one for moaning but last week had my car booked in for a service having the car just over a year i thought it was time for a treat the car is a 2006 1.6vvt phase 1 megane
so i drop the car off tues night ready for the service wednesday and also since owning the car its always had a kind of whiring noise when turning right at speed like smooth rights on the motorway not much of a noise just thought get everthing done while booked in.
get a nice call on wednesday morning saying would i like the air con checked over i said yes as its always giving off an eggy smell on the odd time its turned on and then im given a call later on wed saying that the whiring noise is a faulty wheel bareing did i want them to change it at a cost final cost of £222.22 just for the baring as it took so long to find the problem the labour charge was so high i said yes do it and it would be ready for collection on thurs.....long story i no!
thursday come get a call saying cars done i can pick it up from 5 so i sort out my lift to pick it up get there and i notice its still up on the ramps! go in side oh hello sir 10 mins and it will be ready (odd havent they got to road test it im thinking) have a sit down then oh sir theres been a incident with your car on trying to put on the read disc they have cracked it into 2 peices parts not in stock very sorry sir well definatly have it ready for friday at this point im a bit peed off but we all no mistakes happen so fair enough there goin to fix it.....
friday get a call at 11 right then sir your cars is fixed comes to £761 im like wft can you break that down for me ok service 350 dear i no i agreed it so happy with that wheel 222.22 agreed that again then they say rear discs 190 i was shocked thinking as they broke it they just fix it for free i did have a call after the service saying no problems otherwise wouldnt they say the rear discs needed doing?
a bit peed off talkin to the lads at work they agree there is no way i should pay it so i call citizens advice who then put me intouch with consumer direct who also agree its neglect and bad practice its the same as me going into your house breaking something and then billing you for me to fix it they compared it to
with this i call the garage back talk to my adivsor who deals with all renos he basically tells me im wrong and must pay it!
thinkin the prices are a bit steep i call reno wolvohampton who tell me rear disc only cost £151 but they come with at that price all the bareing needed to do that job i was charged 222.22 for so at this point i see im being ripped off 222.22 for parts and labour but im paying again with the disc for another set of bareings that will probably sit on there parts dep shelf
reno wolvohampton said it was very odd to have a megane with only 18k on the clock have badly worn rear disc and even odder if they break if there removed how renault adivise if it was a case with them they would have to do the job free of charge again it took time for them to tell me this with the understanding there dealership wouldnt be mentioned as to where i got all the info from
finally i come to pick the car up there are other customers collecting cars too so im thinkin they wont want to much fuss
so i sit down state my case of what consumer direct advise and what else ive found out and my young assistant goes whiter then his shirt still telling me im wrong he trots off ill see the manager comes back this is what ill do i redeuce costs on labour by 3 hrs there for reducing your bill by 300 pounds!
he couldnt understand the point if they broke it they should fix it all this fuss just left me stressed but not 700 quid out of pocket so my advice avoid
all electric service center halesowen unless you want to be ripped off

[AlexB]

Jay the spark,

I guess, we are talking about the rear wheel bearing. These bearings are supplied assembled with the discs and ABS rings. If one bearing fails, this necessitates replacement of both rear discs (for symmetry of braking). They cost about £150 (plus-minus a few quid) for a pair from a dealer. The installation is simple, but they would still charge you for an hour of labour, which brings the cost to about £200.

Breaking a new disc in halves is very difficult -- they, probably, just dropped it and damaged the ABS ring. So, you had to wait for the new order to arrive.

I hope that at this price they have changed the rear brake pads (MUST be done when the discs are replaced), brake fluid (MUST be done every 2 years), air and pollen filters. Please also make sure that they used a good quality engine oil (You don't want dephaser problems, do you?) and not a mineral from a drum. Another point to check is the use of the insulating grease when reinstalling the ignition coils (as officially documented by Renault in one of their Technical Notes -- I wrote about it earlier). This grease is expensive and must show in the bill. If it is not in the bill, then start sourcing the new coils...

[jay the spark]

hi there
the break fluid was changed but as for the pads i was told in his words "there was no need to change the pads as there is loads of meat on them" i did question this as i no you can change pads but not discs but i didnt no u could change discs and not pads have i been done over again?

my main problem with all this insisted i paid for 2 lots of bareings the 1 set at 222.22 then the 2nd that came with the discs i no they wouldnt fit the ones that came with the discs! and my other problem is how can any one be charged for damage done to a car when done by someone else carrying work out for you my point being that if they knocked my wing mirror off and broke it would i be charged for a new one ?? no there is no way any one could so the same thing goes for my disc this was agreed with by consumer direct but not all electric

any advice would be great do i need to complain my pads werent done?
and i cant see any insulating grease on my bill is this something else i need to look into?

cheers again
jay

[AlexB]

This is what I wrote before about the grease:
"The sticky stuff is the grease part number 82 00 168 855 applied according to the technical note 3789A. As I understand the coils must not be removed unless one is prepared to renew the grease coating.

The Green Note 4242A is about the coil types. It says that if a SAGEM coil fails and its production date is before "330-3", then all four coils must be replaced by DENSO. It is emphasized that the dates must be checked without removing the coils. If a single DENSO coil fails, then just one coil is replaced."
These are the official documents and the dealer's actions must not contradict them.

As for the pads, there is no such a requirement in the manual/notes. However, it is a common knowledge that it is extremely important to let the discs and the pads to bed-in. This is why better pads, such as EBC GreenStuff, have a layer of a special material on their surface. If bedding goes wrong, then disc glazing may take place, which means new discs. So, if you carry on with the old pads -- be very careful for the first 200-400 miles.

I understand your anger, but I don't understand something else... Does the receipt show more than 1 pair of rear discs? Does it include extra hours of labour to do the job twice? BTW, all labour times are listed in the Renault Dialogys system -- one can always check them (search ebay for Dialogys, it is cheap).

[pumpkin7]

meh i'm not suprised you got ripped off, i used to work there!
your renault service advisor, jon, is a 22 year old, self loving prick who thinks he knows best. he trots everywhere in his white shirt thinking he owns the place, just because he was a vauxhall tec and has owned a few renaults. he used to be the parts boy, until he stuck his head right up the bosses arse and got his position on the front.
they are the type of garage who know that there is nothing wrong with the car, and that it has just gone in for a service, yet they will still gladly get you to change the brake fluid, have an engine flush, change your tyres, pads, everything, because they GET COMMISION. they all had spread sheets and had competitions of who could get the most upsell. i know they get at least £500 extra a month from commision. i know everyone wants to earn a pretty buck, but not by ripping people off.
the first phone call you probably got was from the workshop manager. he was the worst. he sometimes had £2000 a month commsion.
the other thing they like doing is saying they have done something, and then not doing it all and still charging for it. i'm completely not suprised that they broke your discs and then charged you for them. just so you know, you aren't the only one they screwed over.
once, my fellow driver backed into the car i was in, we were both in customers cars, but they T cut the one car, and the other ccar, which had it's drivers door completely concaved, they poped the door back, and sent it back, dents and all. they also charge for labour time they haven't done. coding a key, for instance, takes, what, 10 minutes? they will charge you half hour.
i'd never take my car there, eventhough i used to work for them.

[jay the spark]

hi there
you have definatly hit the nail on the head with jon! i would never think of ever using them again even when he went out the office to see the "manager" about what id done i had some other silly pr!ck telling me its a good job that my discs hadnt broken while driving as i said to him then when breaking you dont have some over paid grease monkey with a hammer trying to get them off.
i look back and think why did i use them but you learn from my mistakes,scary thing is the cowboys are recomended by renault uk

[IainMW]

Are Trading Standards aware of these rogues?

It strikes me if Renault want to improve their brand image and customer service standards then they need to sort out dealers who treat people like this

[pumpkin7]

i'm sure trading standards are aware of them. i've heard enough people say they are going to report them anyway.

OH but you will be glad to hear that jon is departing the end of the month, so maybe things will improve lol!