Over the years I have had many new and second hand cars of all different makes, but one thing has been a common factor; the salesmen have always been fairly dodgy. Normally I have found the technical people to be fairly straight but my dealings with my nearest two Skoda dealers have shown them to be much the same.

I recently needed my Roomster serviced (first 10,000 miles) and so called around and got a fixed price of £75 all inclusive from the dealer in Chesterfield, which I was very happy about.

While it was being serviced I had a call to say it would be a bit longer as they needed to adjust the handbrake. No problem.

On picking it up I was told I qualified for a 10% extra discount and so I was a happy chappy until I was told this then meant the bill was only £113. Hang on a minute, how does £75 less 10% come to £113! As soon as I expressed my opinion it was immediatly reduced, so clearly showing they were just trying it on. But not to £75 obviously, because it was an extra £20 to adjust the handbrake. They hadn't actually asked me if I wanted this doing of course, they just said it would take a bit longer and I assumed that adjusting the handbrake on an almost new car was either free or part of the service. After another discussion it was reduced again, this time to the price originally agreed.

I wonder three things:-

Do they all do this?

Do most people,just pay up?

Do they not realise that this just alienates me and so I now look for another dealer?

I suppose the 4th thing I wonder is "can anyone recommend who I can try next"?

I'm sad to say they often do. On my old Puegeot I had a routine service done. I was told that the front discs & pads were shot & needed replacement along with the exhaust. I was horrified at the price quoted so I got the parts for the brakes myself. There was nothing wrong with the discs at all, & the pads had about 5mm of friction material left - several thousand miles of driving easily. The exhaust lasted another 2 years before developing a hole. When questioned, the garage stated that because the car had 20 000 mile service intervals, they were meaning that the parts would wear out within the next service period so the new bits were preventative maintenance!

A friend of mine worked in the workshops for a Rover dealer. They had an old Mini in for service. The apprentice made a balls of driving it onto the lift & the car fell off. It had damage to many panels as well as the underside. They fixed the bits underneath, put it in the body shop & gave it a re-spray without doing the service. The owner wasn't told & still got charged for the service!

Halfords got into a load of bother when they had the service contract for Daewoo. Cars were being driven round doing handbrake turns & doughnuts in the car parks. They lost the contract when the importer found out.

Always ask to have the old bits back - you have every right to have them. Question any parts that are replaced without your specific permission look at the service schedule. It is in your owners pack, it will tell you what gets checked at each visit. Don't be fobbed off by garages inventing work for their staff to keep the tills full.

5mm on a brake pad is usually well below where they are supposed to be replaced. Just because there is meat on it doesn't make it right. Think of your tyres, do you let them get to the point the MOT guy says you need new or do you fit new ones in advance?

It's far better to fit in advance and often cheaper

For the OP, all Skoda dealers aren't like that; have a look at the Review Centre (under "the Site"), and make comments in the appropriate thread.

Stephen, I'd replace brake pads with only 5mm left on them if it was going to be 20_000 miles before they were looked at again. Oh and I've heard that story about the Rover that the apprentice drove off the ramps too, except that it was a Jaguar one time, and a Vauxhall the second time. Point taken?

I've found it the other way around, front line staff at my previous local dealer all faultless... the mechanics were mostly bread-dead f*cktards...

Some dealers are struggling, and will use everything possible to squeeze the unknowing motorists.

Naturally they'll have a reputation for this, and hopefully fellow members have posted accordingly in the dealer review section

Handbrake adjustment is part of the service, the mechanic will only adjust it though if it's not within tollerance, i.e the car can creep with it on, well that's how it is with VX anyway, assuming you had a service and not a special offer winter check one that is.

5mm on a brake pad is usually well below where they are supposed to be replaced. Just because there is meat on it doesn't make it right. Think of your tyres, do you let them get to the point the MOT guy says you need new or do you fit new ones in advance?

It's far better to fit in advance and often cheaper

Exactly, If you have your car MOT'ed and the tester can see through your wheels enough to see your pads are under half worn they will advise it or if they are lower than that they will fail it as the pads in there VOSA trained heads will not see the year out which is the same was what technicians do with servicing, they should advised them....I'm guessing the discs were solid on this peugeot so probably the min thickness is 8mm, if they were near this they should also of been advised to be replaced as the last thing you want is the caliper pot coming out too far to return or worse still the pads dropping out of the carriers when they get thin.

Prevention is better than the cure.

With a growing 'it's not my fault culture', dealers have a duty of care towards their customers.

We once had a car fail it's MOT test on a dodgy rear brake, the drums were removed to reveal a leaking wheel cylinder and saturated brake shoes. The customer thought we were trying to rip him off by us insisting that we change the shoes on both sides, he instructed us to replace the shoes on one side only. After alot of hassle we did manage to persuade him that they should be replaced as an axle set.

The horrifying thing was that there were two child seats fitted in the back of the car.

What the dealer should have done in post #1, was to phone and advise of the extra cost, or not phone and not adjust the brake and the advise when collecting the car, either way the dealer could be construed to be at fault. I expect that they had to remove the wheels to adjust the hand brake, which isn't in Skodas service schedule, hence the extra labour charge. In all the car warranty documents that I have read, it always says that adjustments are not covered under warranty.

What the dealer should have done in post #1, was to phone and advise of the extra cost, or not phone and not adjust the brake and the advise when collecting the car, either way the dealer could be construed to be at fault. I expect that they had to remove the wheels to adjust the hand brake, which isn't in Skodas service schedule, hence the extra labour charge. In all the car warranty documents that I have read, it always says that adjustments are not covered under warranty.

The bit with the handbrake adjustment was only part of the story. Regardless of this, the dealer was attempting to charge me a completely different rate to that agreed on the phone. Had my wife collected the car she might well have paid assuming that was the correct figure. I also suspect that you only get offered a fixed rate if you ask in advance, which is sharp practice at best.

I'm less than impressed with my local Skoda dealer but the dealer in Devon that my car was recovered to after turbo failure was completely different. They negotiated goodwill on the turbo (over a grand) and I just had to pay the labour (£300). I had my cambelt changed by Impossible Performance back here in Kent though as they have a good reputation amongst local Briskodians. If your car is out of warranty and you can find a good indy, I would use them. They value your business more I think.