1st problem - and poor dealer

[robbyvrs]

Well on the way to work yesterday the EML came on (no limp mode) so i called into the local NOTrust dealer to ask if they could scan the fault later in the day. They told me i'd have to book it in which they could sort for next Thursday (over a week away).

I said i want to make sure it's safe to drive and numpty said i'd still have to wait over a week and if it was a safety issue they wouldn't release the car back until it was sorted? I asked why it was ok to drive for over a week with the problem (which could be a safety issue?) and he stuck with the week+ booking option

I called the breakdown guy out (turns out it's the AA) and less than 5 mins later fault showed up as 02 sensor - now booked in with another dealer for tommorow

Why if a car has what could be a serious problem can't a dealer at least plug in their machine to check if it's safe to drive until 1st available booking - takes minutes to do and could save a bigger warranty claim or bill if warranty is refused due to continuing to drive?

[DG97]

Sorry to hear you're having issues. That's my big gripe with dealers. Everything needs "booking in" - in your case, something that takes literally 2 minutes they will mostly want an appointment for. Mostly, I would say it's to do with money. It's more difficult to charge you for a bloke nipping out with a code reader than "an appointment" but at the same time, if you're under warranty - it's just rubbish service. 

I tried booking in an oil/filter change at 9,000 miles (not a massive fan of the 18,000 mile intervals) and was basically turned away and told that the car didn't need it so they just weren't that interested in booking it in. I didn't really force myself into a booking but each time I tried to say for them to just book it in, it was a explanations saying no it doesnt need it. So I just went to a different dealer (within the same franchise) where they respected what a customer asks for. 

Only place I have ever really been happy with the dealer is a Toyota branch I used to deal with when I had one. Absolutely fantastic people and really helpful with reasonable prices. 

[robbyvrs]

Even if they just plugged it in and read the fault log they would have made a job card up and when submitted to Ford they would have got paid?

Turning away easy money and customers doesn't make sense?

[MarksST]

Why do people think garages and tradespeople are just waiting for them to give them a job to do? They have other customers who have booked their car into be looked at. 

You told him you had a warning light, until it's plugged into a diagnostic tool there's no way if knowing what the issue is, He said if it was found to be a safety issue it would need to be rectified before they would return it, Until they look at the car, it is down to you if you want to drive it with a warning light on, not them.

Ford would only pay the dealer if it was able to be done under warranty, until the fault is diagnosed they won't know if Ford will pay or the customer is going have to pay.

theyre not turning away work, they are getting the work they have, done in a controlled way, Have you tried getting a doctors appointment on the day you are ill?

People have unrealistic expectations.

 

[DG97]

Just now, MarksST said:

Why do people think garages and tradespeople are just waiting for them to give them a job to do? They have other customers who have booked their car into be looked at. 

You told him you had a warning light, until it's plugged into a diagnostic tool there's no way if knowing what the issue is, He said if it was found to be a safety issue it would need to be rectified before they would return it, Until they look at the car, it is down to you if you want to drive it with a warning light on, not them.

Ford would only pay the dealer if it was able to be done under warranty, until the fault is diagnosed they won't know if Ford will pay or the customer is going have to pay.

theyre not turning away work, they are getting the work they have, done in a controlled way, Have you tried getting a doctors appointment on the day you are ill?

People have unrealistic expectations.

 

I think it’s a fair opinion to have but at the same time, you’re not expecting them to fix it there and then - just something to tell you what is up with the car and of course if it involves 30 minutes of looking at the car then fair enough, you need it booked in but if all it takes to tell you a fault code is two minutes, I think it would be reasonable to think somebody would be able to nip out and have a look for 5 mins. 

No issue with them getting on with things in a controlled way but I can’t image an each individual mechanic being so tied up they are working to the minute. 

About the doctor appointment on the day you’re ill, I have managed to do that quite often at my surgery, just got to nip in for when they open and get a time from the appointment pool for the day 😛 

[robbyvrs]

22 hours ago, MarksST said:

Why do people think garages and tradespeople are just waiting for them to give them a job to do? They have other customers who have booked their car into be looked at. 

You told him you had a warning light, until it's plugged into a diagnostic tool there's no way if knowing what the issue is, He said if it was found to be a safety issue it would need to be rectified before they would return it, Until they look at the car, it is down to you if you want to drive it with a warning light on, not them.

Ford would only pay the dealer if it was able to be done under warranty, until the fault is diagnosed they won't know if Ford will pay or the customer is going have to pay.

theyre not turning away work, they are getting the work they have, done in a controlled way, Have you tried getting a doctors appointment on the day you are ill?

People have unrealistic expectations.

 

I only wanted them to check that the car was safe to carry on driving, i didn't expect them to drop everything and fix it there and then

Regarding the doctor - if i went in with a blood pouring out of a severed artery i would expect them to put a couple of stitches in while i was there not expect them to book me in for a week later to see what's wrong?

Well update for today with 2nd poor dealer - car went in after i booked it in, part was ordered weds ready to fit, got a call mid afternoon (i told them i needed it back as i finish work at 3pm which was agreed) to say they couldn't access the ecu as i'd disabled it?

I told them it was just a sticker on the window (says OBD disabled) and they called again saying it was locked out? I told them the AA managed 2 days ago so they went away again then called back to say it was their system that couldn't connect the car to Ford? WTF - excuse after excuse so car has to be booked in yet again

This is the 2nd new model St-line i've had and both with problems, after these 4 weeks of ownership it wont last as long as the previous ones 2 months - badly built cars with shoddy service centres

Oh - any why as soon as the mechanic (well that's his job title) sat in the car did he unplug the dashcam????????????????????????????

RANT OVER - for now.............................

[TimST2]

I'm not surprised they unplug the dashcam - nobody wants to be filmed doing their job.

OBD disabled situation sounds frustrating - I'll have to make sure Ford don't make that mistake with my window sticker...

[Bobr]

Whenever I take my car in to Ford's for a service they always unplug the dashcam.

 

[DG97]

The OBD frustration is definitely understandable and is quite poor on the dealers behalf. 

Regarding the dashcam - not surprised they unplug it but I suppose it's just whatever the mechanic feels like - when I gave my car to my dealer two or three times, they never unplugged it and did not appear to mind. It'd be better for it to be on I guess as I'm not there to watch each one of their steps and then complain but it'd be a safety cushion in case there is something dodgy going on. 

[robbyvrs]

Just seems strange they unplugged it as soon as getting into car - makes me wonder if they have something to hide?

Took last car into this dealer for both headlights changing under warranty as brackets had broken on both, old dashcam was left running and i watched as it took 4 of them to change them over, they chipped the paint under lights and even broke the bonnet stay (yellow holder) which they then replaced with a dirty old 1 from another car (left nice clean broken 1 on engine undershield)

[robbyvrs]

Better check my week old splitter - listen at 10 sec - driver arriving at dealers after picking car up 😱

 

[jbell]

4 hours ago, robbyvrs said:

Oh - any why as soon as the mechanic (well that's his job title) sat in the car did he unplug the dashcam????????????????????????????

RANT OVER - for now.............................

Tbh that I get. If he doesn't want to be recorded on the job that's up to him. At least he unplugged it himself rather than it being a dealer wide policy where they don't let you drop the car off until you unplugged your cameras regardless of if the guy working on it cares

Local garage I use doesn't care and happily leaves it plugged in (and I've never had cause to need to check the footage), local ford dealer insist it's unplugged before they take the keys. 

[DG97]

1 hour ago, robbyvrs said:

Just seems strange they unplugged it as soon as getting into car - makes me wonder if they have something to hide?

Took last car into this dealer for both headlights changing under warranty as brackets had broken on both, old dashcam was left running and i watched as it took 4 of them to change them over, they chipped the paint under lights and even broke the bonnet stay (yellow holder) which they then replaced with a dirty old 1 from another car (left nice clean broken 1 on engine undershield)

Maybe unplugging gives the safety cushion in case something needs to be hidden 😄 

i cant see what the problem would be leaving it on - the car is either in the air or with its bonnet open in most cases so whatever it’ll manage to record shouldn’t really be that good anyway. I would be annoyed if it was unplugged for when they drive it on the roads though. 

[robbyvrs]

5 minutes ago, jbell said:

Tbh that I get. If he doesn't want to be recorded on the job that's up to him. At least he unplugged it himself rather than it being a dealer wide policy where they don't let you drop the car off until you unplugged your cameras regardless of if the guy working on it cares

Local garage I use doesn't care and happily leaves it plugged in (and I've never had cause to need to check the footage), local ford dealer insist it's unplugged before they take the keys. 

Nope - tampering with a customers car isn't acceptable - the camera had nothing to do with the problem so it shouldn't have been touched

I drive a van at work with a dashcam, we aren't allowed to disconnect it so respect that rule, if the garage had damaged the cam then would they admit it? would they pay for a replacement?

[robbyvrs]

8 minutes ago, DG97 said:

Maybe unplugging gives the safety cushion in case something needs to be hidden 😄 

i cant see what the problem would be leaving it on - the car is either in the air or with its bonnet open in most cases so whatever it’ll manage to record shouldn’t really be that good anyway. I would be annoyed if it was unplugged for when they drive it on the roads though. 

Does look as though they are doing something dodgy (or nothing at all)? next time it goes in i'll fit the other dash can on the rear window facing the drivers seat so he can't see it and maybe catch him out 👍

[Ad@m]

Out of courtesy I would disable mine.

 

[Mavroz]

I would unplug a dashcam or not want to be filmed while I was working. It is like your employer filming you at work without you knowing in a way.

I don't think it is right to covertly spy on people, watch the playback and scrutinise exactly what is going on.

Just my opinion.

[DG97]

I personally don’t think it’s covert as it’s stuck to the windscreen in plain sight so you’d be more than aware it’s there.

I can’t really see the difference between the dash cam recording and having multiple cctv’s in a workshop recording the same thing. 

In my eyes the purpose of such a recording wouldn’t be to play it back and watch exactly what the mechanic was working on but - should there be anything odd with the car such as any damage or an abnormally higher mileage, I would want to know what went on. 

[iantt]

I don't have a problem with dash cams on while I work on someone's car. I got nothing to hide. Think the problem is the audio, you may or  may not  be offended by the banter in the workshop therefore to avoid any possibility of that occuring they could be unplugged. What doesn't offend one person, may do another. No expert but you could be listening to confidential information about another customer( names, addresses, etc. ) Doesn't have to be the tech in the workshop,managers,receptionists. 

 

[DG97]

6 minutes ago, iantt said:

I don't have a problem with dash cams on while I work on someone's car. I got nothing to hide. Think the problem is the audio, you may or  may not  be offended by the banter in the workshop therefore to avoid any possibility of that occuring they could be unplugged. What doesn't offend one person, may do another. No expert but you could be listening to confidential information about another customer( names, addresses, etc. ) Doesn't have to be the tech in the workshop,managers,receptionists. 

 

Yes, I agree - the audio recording ideally should be turned off. I wouldn't necessarily get offended by workshop banter but if I was the technician working on the car, I would feel a little bit odd if I knew that all that I say is being recorded. 

[Mavroz]

It is sad times when people feel the need to position rear facing cameras to be front facing in the hope that a mechanic doesn't see it and films him or her doing their jobs in the hope it catches them out or picks up on or hears something a customer may or may not agree with.

I fully trust a qualified mechanic and the dealership to take care of my car and not abuse it without feeling the need to watch them. If I didn't feel I could trust them, I would simply go elsewhere.

I have to chuckle.

[DG97]

3 minutes ago, Mavroz said:

It is sad times when people feel the need to position rear facing cameras to be front facing in the hope that a mechanic doesn't see it and films him or her doing their jobs in the hope it catches them out or picks up on or hears something a customer may or may not agree with.

I fully trust a qualified mechanic and the dealership to take care of my car and not abuse it without feeling the need to watch them. If I didn't feel I could trust them, I would simply go elsewhere.

I have to chuckle.

Hiding the camera with the objective to catch them out is wrong and you're right, if the mechanic can't be trusted - just go elsewhere. 

Boils down to what people think is acceptable or not - some think switching the dashcam off completely is the best, others (such as myself) will think that leaving the dashcam as it is recording any drives taken is fine in case something is wrong afterwards and others will want to record the process in any way they can for various other reasons. 

I think as long as the person is aware there is a dashcam there, I can't see the problem with leaving it in. 

Worth noting that even the most trusted mechanic can let you down though. Plenty of times I have seen news reports of people handing their car in for a service and then a technician taking it out for a spin at 100mph on a bypass. That is the stuff I would want my dashcam to record, not really that bothered about how they go about doing the job itself as long as it's done correctly. 

[iantt]

Funny thing is most of the time the bonnet is open so you get an hour's viewing of that. Lol.

We chat alot at work and some things I don't think you would want to listen too. And worst of all is radio 2 being listened to in the workshop  by us rough techs . The stuff Jeremy vine discusses is enough to switch dash cams off!! 

[DG97]

Which goes back to what I mentioned earlier, the car is either up in the air or with its bonnet up. It's good to record should there be any damage or other concerns related to driving the car and I'm personally not interested in watching the footage if there isnt anything wrong. 

 

 

[ElliotReid]

1 hour ago, iantt said:

I don't have a problem with dash cams on while I work on someone's car. I got nothing to hide. Think the problem is the audio, you may or  may not  be offended by the banter in the workshop therefore to avoid any possibility of that occuring they could be unplugged. What doesn't offend one person, may do another. No expert but you could be listening to confidential information about another customer( names, addresses, etc. ) Doesn't have to be the tech in the workshop,managers,receptionists. 

 

With the recent GDPR implementation I wonder if a company could be held liable when they were technically being recorded covertly. I also wonder if the liability could fall on the customer.