Cambelt Service

[seagull]

I had a cambelt/water pump change with a service yesterday,and am £620 the poorer for it.I was a little miffed when i drove a mile down the road and my car started shouting at me to stop and check coolant.I pulled over and checked and it was about an inch below the minimum mark,so drove back to the dealer.

The promptly topped it up and said that its just because the level had settled after having the water pump replaced,well they could have given me a top up bottle when i got keys back or just checked it again before i drove it off the forecourt.

I would use the dealership again as their fixed price servicing is reasonable and they have a better reputation than my other local dealership.

[spinna]

Which dealer was it out of interest?

[seagull]

Pulmans VW of Durham,they seem a massive outfit the overall service was pretty good i will use them again as its convenient.

The cam belt and replacing of water pump was £415

The service was £139

Then a rear brake strip down and overhaul plus changing a blown rear bulb another £63 these were extra's which i had agreed to before they commenced.

[spinna]

Cambelt and waterpump seems a little expensive imho mate.

I used an independant specialist (all staff ex main dealerships) with a good local reputation and negotiated a reasonable price, got a courtesy car off, them so i wasn't put out and they did remember to fill the coolant to the proper level and the work is warrantied for 2yrs.

I couldn't be as calm as you about the water level situation, it's such a dangerous oversite, you have to question their competency and attention to detail.

Bulbs make me laugh. At my MOT my dealer suggested the orange coaing was becoming a little transparent on the rear indicators and they could replace them at a £5 each fitted. I didn't go for that generous option and bought a pair for 99p and fitted them myself.

If your car is out of Skoda Warranty, you don't need to still go there. Main dealers aren't the only and best options you have.

Edited 27 April, 2012 by spinna

[GeneralPurpose]

Seagull, £415 is actually very very good for a main dealer, especially a VW one. It's fairly easy to get an air bubble in the cooling system which doesn't want to show itself before a customer picks up. Even a short test drive sometimes doesn't reveal it and you can spend ages squeezing hoses, bleeding etc and still not find it. It's not a big deal even if the level was down an inch under the minimum. It doesn't do any damage or interfere with normal running as they always end up 'burping' into the expansion tank. Thats in part what the expansion tank is for. Spinna, what did the independant charge for your cambelt and pump? And did they fit original parts?

[spinna]

Seagull, £415 is actually very very good for a main dealer, especially a VW one. It's fairly easy to get an air bubble in the cooling system which doesn't want to show itself before a customer picks up. Even a short test drive sometimes doesn't reveal it and you can spend ages squeezing hoses, bleeding etc and still not find it. It's not a big deal even if the level was down an inch under the minimum. It doesn't do any damage or interfere with normal running as they always end up 'burping' into the expansion tank. Thats in part what the expansion tank is for. Spinna, what did the independant charge for your cambelt and pump? And did they fit original parts?

Genuine VW Parts

£300, I negotiated!

[Kie]

I had a cambelt/water pump change with a service yesterday,and am £620 the poorer for it.I was a little miffed when i drove a mile down the road and my car started shouting at me to stop and check coolant.I pulled over and checked and it was about an inch below the minimum mark,so drove back to the dealer.

The promptly topped it up and said that its just because the level had settled after having the water pump replaced,well they could have given me a top up bottle when i got keys back or just checked it again before i drove it off the forecourt.

I would use the dealership again as their fixed price servicing is reasonable and they have a better reputation than my other local dealership.

Idiots mate.. it states in the techincal bullitin when fitting water pump's to allow the pump to turn over then check and top up accordingly.. that and it's common knowledge for techinichians (well most) so they have made the error of not carrying the job out to the standard required by skoda. *TUT TUT*

more to my amusement how they have explained it to you as if topping up the coolant isn't common practise! When any water pump fitted to any vehicle should follow the same procedure. It comes down to somebody clearly half asleep with only half a brain cell working

Edited 27 April, 2012 by Kie

[GeneralPurpose]

That's a pretty useless bulletin. You have to 'turn over' the pump after fitting and filling, in fact you have to run the engine in the shop to circulate the coolant and get the bubbles out. The engine really needs to warm up too to open the stat. And if the level was down by just an inch under the minimum, it's self evident they followed procedure, but just didn't free a bubble which may have even been hidding in the heater matrix. Can be buggers to get out. Anyone who has ever refilled a system will know what I mean. Depending on the car, it can prove awkward to release all air. Mind you, any tech should double check this sort of thing. We don't know if he did or not. But some air won't reveal itself until a proper drive. That's why it's always good to check it yourself for a day or two after any work on the cooling sytem. Personally, I never drive my vehicle until I've checked it over at my garage after service, even though I trust them. As the driver it's my responsibility to make sure everything is ok before I drive, even though the garage should have done this.

Spinna, that a very good price indeed. Independants around my way charge roughly the same as the main dealers and use patern parts. Yes, I'm serious too!

Edited 28 April, 2012 by Estate Man

[Kie]

That's a pretty useless bulliten. You have to 'turn over' the pump after fitting and filling, in fact you have to run the engine in the shop to circulate the coolant and get the bubbles out. The engine really needs to warm up too to open the stat. And if the level was down by just an inch under the minimum, it's self evident they followed procedure, but just didn't free a bubble which may have even been hidding in the heater matrix. Can be buggers to get out. Anyone who has ever refilled a system will know what I mean. Depending on the car, it can prove awkward to release all air. Mind you, any tech should double check this sort of thing. We don't know if he did or not. But some air won't reveal itself until a proper drive. That's why it's always good to check it yourself for a day or two after any work on the cooling sytem. Personally, I never drive my vehicle until I've checked it over at my garage after service, even though I trust them. As the driver it's my responsibility to make sure everything is ok before I drive, even though the garage should have done this.

Spinna, that a very good price indeed. Independants around my way charge roughly the same as the main dealers and use patern parts. Yes, I'm serious too!

The term 'turn over' i used loosely as i do not know the full content of the technical bulletin or technical term's used in it. but all this stuff you explained in the paragraph only re-enforces the fact that the technician should have known that this problem is a possibility and therefore should have either been run in by the technician then topped up, or told the customer of the possible drop in coolant that may happen over the next couple of day's and a ltr of coolant supplied to them as a precaution if this were to happen. leaving the customer unaware of this could cause both inconvenience and possible engine damage. for example say they gave it back and didn’t mention anything about the possible drop in coolant(like they did) and the customer went and took the car away abroad then *BEEP* Stop light comes on in a country you don't know in a language you don't speak.. is this inconvenience to the customer? also what it the customer decided to take the car down the M6 then *BEEP* stop light comes on so they pull over to the hard shoulder now they have to pay for road side assistance because not being a technician they have no clue what the problem is apart from the car say's *STOP*check coolant (which both me and you know what that means but me nan wouldn't no what to check and even if she did where would she get coolant from as they don't sell it on the hard shoulder of the M6)... again is this inconvenience? and who’s paying the roadside charge? and that's if the customer even has road side assistance.... would Skoda or any car manufacturer in proper code of conduct require either the car being run then checked and topped up or the customer being notified of possible things to keep an eye on? Well i know the answer is yes.... so again like I said before............Idiots mate

Edited 27 April, 2012 by Kie

[spinna]

First thing i noticed when i got in the car when i collected was the heater temperature control was on full.

That's evident of them following some sort of procedure.

[GeneralPurpose]

Yep...the tech will have followed procedure. But the service desk, as kie mentions, should really advise customers to keep an eye on the level as it's very difficult to be sure all the air is out. But, if procedure is followed, you won't have any significant problem even if a little air is left in the system. It always finds it's way out as in your case, but the light coming on was unfortunate and may have been triggered by the bubble rather than the actual low level. I believe it's fairly clear the tech thought he had got the air out by following procedure and he will I'm sure have checked it more than once after running up the engine. All techs do. It just shows how hard it can be sometimes to get all the air out. Kie, if you are calling anyone an idiot (not really helpful) it should be the service desk person for not warning the customer to keep an eye on things. I've had many an engine in the workshop where trapped air in the system has proven difficult to get out. There is metres of pipework on some engines and few bleed points. It can take ages and even then you can never be totally sure it's all out.

[Kie]

Yep...the tech will have followed procedure. But the service desk, as kie mentions, should really advise customers to keep an eye on the level as it's very difficult to be sure all the air is out. But, if procedure is followed, you won't have any significant problem even if a little air is left in the system. It always finds it's way out as in your case, but the light coming on was unfortunate and may have been triggered by the bubble rather than the actual low level. I believe it's fairly clear the tech thought he had got the air out by following procedure and he will I'm sure have checked it more than once after running up the engine. All techs do. It just shows how hard it can be sometimes to get all the air out. Kie, if you are calling anyone an idiot (not really helpful) it should be the service desk person for not warning the customer to keep an eye on things. I've had many an engine in the workshop where trapped air in the system has proven difficult to get out. There is metres of pipework on some engines and few bleed points. It can take ages and even then you can never be totally sure it's all out.

Yes your right mate the idiots term was directed to the service dept as either the service advisor or the tech had made the error but they bothe belong to the same dept (the service dept) and it's the same comunication error which ive seen over and over by various dealer's i did 5 years with peugeot before i moved to skoda and there just the same. But as a tech yourself ide expect u to blame the service advisor and the same visa versa but that's not the point i was idiot's to the fact they have caused this avoidable inconveniance to a customer and instead of apologising for the error in comunication they have dis-owned the problem... Although they did sort it out for him which is good but still the term idiots i used as the inconveniance could of and should been avoided especialy considering he payed the extra £40 an hour then fred in the shed would have charged for non-skoda trained expert's to have carried out the same job.

[seagull]

well the coolant issue is now a minor problem,as i followed my parents along A720 Edinburgh by-pass i heard a loud thud followed by car losing loads of power,this was on dual carriage in fast moving rush hour traffic.I managed to limp car of road on to grass,the car was in a pretty dangerous place.I had 1st thought the thud was the new cambelt letting go,but since the engine was still running i knew it was not that.The engine temp was ok i had no warning signs on the dash.I had to phone my parents to let them know situation and to tell them we may not be joining them.

I then waited till there was a clearing in traffic and rejoined it at about 25mph and crawled to layby 200yrds up the road.I could then investigate under the bonnet while i waited for vw/Skoda assist to turn up.I could clearly see the boost hose had blown off,so figured this had not been reconnected properly after cambelt.The man from VW turned up and confirmed this was the cause of loss of power and also said it was clear by marks on hose that the spring clip had been on at an angle and not sitting on the plastic tube correctly.So needless to say the dealer got a call,i am just waiting for something else to go wrong,so i retract any compliments i previously made.

Edited 29 April, 2012 by seagull

[GeneralPurpose]

The term 'rushed job' comes to mind. I take back any compliments I may have accidentally attributed to the dealer! Easy mistake to make but shouldn't happen if the motor is checked over properly afterwards. Glad you are ok and it didn't lead to anything more serious. Kie, you may have had a point in your earlier post mate!

Edited 29 April, 2012 by Estate Man

[spinna]

Amateurs....

They should be shamed on here and I would be contacting Skoda uk.

Hope ya ok mate, that a720 is merciless most times, never mind rush hour.

[seagull]

yes all ok thankfully,but i was not feeling particularly safe when perched just off the road with 40ton waggons going by,i was fortunate that i could get to the the safety of an emergency layby.

I am actually just waiting now for something else to fail!

[spinna]

yes all ok thankfully,but i was not feeling particularly safe when perched just off the road with 40ton waggons going by,i was fortunate that i could get to the the safety of an emergency layby.

I am actually just waiting now for something else to fail!

Seagull,

The guys Ive started using are VASSTECH, they're in Darlo and Northallerton.

If you join the VAGCARS forum, you get a preferred rate.

I'm sure they'd take better care of you and your motor.

[seagull]

Seagull,

The guys Ive started using are VASSTECH, they're in Darlo and Northallerton.

If you join the VAGCARS forum, you get a preferred rate.

I'm sure they'd take better care of you and your motor.

cheers for the tip,reason i used who i used was purely because car has a Skoda approved used warranty which runs out next February and in the small print they insist on using Skoda/VW dealerships.

[spinna]

I know what you mean. I was on Skoda used warranty until 3 weeks ago!

I kept using the supplying dealer only as long as I had to.

I'll do routine stuff myself, but tricky stuff i'il use VASSTECH.

[seagull]

well while i was at work today my girlfriend used her negotiating skills to get me a free Service for the car when its next due,this is a result that i am happy with as its worth about £200 as it will be its 6th service.

[spinna]

well while i was at work today my girlfriend used her negotiating skills to get me a free Service for the car when its next due,this is a result that i am happy with as its worth about £200 as it will be its 6th service.

Result! -ish.

You haven't exactly inspired confidence in their work.....

[seagull]

haha very true,maybe i should have said i want a free service at any dealership other than theirs.They said there was no need for the free servicing to be put in writing as they would make a note on my customer file,yeah right i don't think i will fall for that.

I can just imagine going there after xmas for a service and saying its free you should have a note on the computer and getting an blank expression followed by we have no idea what you are talking about.

[Kie]

The term 'rushed job' comes to mind. I take back any compliments I may have accidentally attributed to the dealer! Easy mistake to make but shouldn't happen if the motor is checked over properly afterwards. Glad you are ok and it didn't lead to anything more serious. Kie, you may have had a point in your earlier post mate!

Iol ill just say it again....idiot's mate.. and to think these people represent the company i work for and all's I can say is make sure you write a letter to SUK explaining your feelings on the level of profession you was expecting at nearly £100 an hour.. SUK will investigate this and the idiots will be spoken to. These problems with lax levels of service need to be dealt with if we are to continue to grow as well as we are. With the competition in the market as it is customer service should be second to none!!

[seagull]

the dealer is a VW dealership not a Skoda dealership although they are a recognised Skoda service centre

[Kie]

the dealer is a VW dealership not a Skoda dealership although they are a recognised Skoda service centre

I see... then SUK cannot do anything about it sorry. it's just a VW dealership that has asked for authorisation to carry out work on new Skoda’s and Skoda have agreed on it. The dealership does not represent SUK