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Hi All,
I bought a used Skoda Octavia RS yesterday in Sydney, and flew up to drive it home to Melbourne.
I'd had a pre-purchase inspection which picked up that there wasn't a lot of oil registering on the dipstick. The seller hadn't driven the car much this year, and supposedly had the 45km service done earlier in the year, but it wasn't stamped in the book, so I figured I should get an oil change before driving it home to Melbourne. I then planned to get a dealer service done when I got home. Essentially I just wanted to make sure there was oil in the car so I didn't cook it driving home.
I rang Camden GTI on the basis that they seem well regarded on this forum. The woman I spoke to said they could do an oil change, and to just drop in. So I did drop in yesterday afternoon. The boss wasn't there, only the mechanics, and I explained the situation and that I just wanted an oil and filter change.
They didn't have a hoist free, so they jacked up the front and about 45-50 mins later they were done.
When it came to paying, the mechanic asked if I'd be given a quote, but I explained I'd only been told labour is $110 per hour plus the cost of the oil and filter etc. I figured I'd be up for $200 or so.
I was then told that their fixed price oil service is $315. I questioned this, and he phoned the boss who confirmed that's their fixed price.
So I was given an invoice for $315, which included the following items:
exhaust system inspection - not done
electric system inspection - not done
engine belt wear inspection - not sure if it was done
Engine oil flush - done
OEM filter replacement - done
VCDS on-board diagnostics - apparently done
air filter clean or replacement - not replaced, don't think they cleaned it either
service reminder reset - done
30 point safety check, including brake system, tyre inflation, suspension components, system fluid levels, lighting systems - not done
So not only did they charge me for work that I didn't want done, they didn't even do the work anyway! My instructions were clear, I just wanted an oil/filter change. But their attitude seemed to be that they only do a fixed price service, and if I only wanted half the service I was still going to pay for a full service. If they had explained this to me first I would have gone elsewhere.
As it turned out the sump plug wasn't tight, hence the low oil. But I now wish I'd just bought a litre or two of oil from the servo to get me home, and then had a full dealer service in Melbourne, as I would rather have put the $315 towards a proper dealer service.
You can draw your own conclusions about whether I was ripped-off blind and taken advantage of, and whether this is the sort of business you'd want to deal with. I know what I think!
I bought a used Skoda Octavia RS yesterday in Sydney, and flew up to drive it home to Melbourne.
I'd had a pre-purchase inspection which picked up that there wasn't a lot of oil registering on the dipstick. The seller hadn't driven the car much this year, and supposedly had the 45km service done earlier in the year, but it wasn't stamped in the book, so I figured I should get an oil change before driving it home to Melbourne. I then planned to get a dealer service done when I got home. Essentially I just wanted to make sure there was oil in the car so I didn't cook it driving home.
I rang Camden GTI on the basis that they seem well regarded on this forum. The woman I spoke to said they could do an oil change, and to just drop in. So I did drop in yesterday afternoon. The boss wasn't there, only the mechanics, and I explained the situation and that I just wanted an oil and filter change.
They didn't have a hoist free, so they jacked up the front and about 45-50 mins later they were done.
When it came to paying, the mechanic asked if I'd be given a quote, but I explained I'd only been told labour is $110 per hour plus the cost of the oil and filter etc. I figured I'd be up for $200 or so.
I was then told that their fixed price oil service is $315. I questioned this, and he phoned the boss who confirmed that's their fixed price.
So I was given an invoice for $315, which included the following items:
exhaust system inspection - not done
electric system inspection - not done
engine belt wear inspection - not sure if it was done
Engine oil flush - done
OEM filter replacement - done
VCDS on-board diagnostics - apparently done
air filter clean or replacement - not replaced, don't think they cleaned it either
service reminder reset - done
30 point safety check, including brake system, tyre inflation, suspension components, system fluid levels, lighting systems - not done
So not only did they charge me for work that I didn't want done, they didn't even do the work anyway! My instructions were clear, I just wanted an oil/filter change. But their attitude seemed to be that they only do a fixed price service, and if I only wanted half the service I was still going to pay for a full service. If they had explained this to me first I would have gone elsewhere.
As it turned out the sump plug wasn't tight, hence the low oil. But I now wish I'd just bought a litre or two of oil from the servo to get me home, and then had a full dealer service in Melbourne, as I would rather have put the $315 towards a proper dealer service.
You can draw your own conclusions about whether I was ripped-off blind and taken advantage of, and whether this is the sort of business you'd want to deal with. I know what I think!
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