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111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:03 pm
by mrahead
I've had my 2006 Elise for around 6 months and Murray Motors have kindly telephoned to let me know the car is due a service. I nearly choked when they told me that I require an A service and the price would be £375 :o

I have checked my service book which no longer lists A, B, C service schedules but does detail the various checks that should be carried out at the various service intervals. My car has now completed around 12000 miles and is due a service after 9000 miles or 1 year (in my case) since the last service.

My service schedule as far as I can tell is :-

1 Fit protective covers to seats, footwells, steering wheel and rear body.
2 Renew engine oil and filter.
3 Inspect engine and transmission for oil leaks.
6 Inspect air cleaner element.
9 Inspect auxilliary drive belt condition.
10 Inspect integrity of fuel system.
11 Check for fault codes.
13 Inspect water and oil cooler systems for damage or leaks. Clean radiator finning.
14 Check coolant level.
16 Inspect parking brake adjustment.
17 Inspect brake pad thickness and disc condition.
18 Inspect brake hoses pipes and hydraulic units.
19 Check brake fluid level.
21 Check condition of front and rear suspension.
22 Inspect dampers.
24 Inspect wheel bearings for play.
25 Inspect driveshaft gators.
26 Inspect steering ball joints and gators.
27 Inspect free play at steering wheel.
28 Inspect tyre condition and set pressures.
29 Check battery and terminals.
30 Check operation of all lights.
31 Check adjustment of hinges and latches.
32 Inspect seatbelts.
33 lift mats clean and dry floor.
34 Top up screen wash.

Does anyone else think this is an unreasonable amount to pay for a £10 oil filter and some oil.

I traded in my Subaru WRX to buy the Elise. The car was 5 years old and in immaculate condition. It was serviced by the supplying dealer for the first 3 years and then by an independant specialist for all other servicing. My car had interim oil and filter changes between each "major service". Did this make any difference when I sold the car ? No. I paid almost £21000 for the car and could not get a trade in value any more than £7500 despite its condition and service history.

So what is the point of spending all this money again for a similar net result with the Elise a couple of years down the line.

Am I missing something ?

Can I not take my car to a Toyota dealer and have it serviced and the book stamped ?
Can I not take my car with a Toyota oil filter and my Mobil 1 Oil to any garage and get them to service the car and stamp the book ?

Did I not read somewhere that your warranty is still valid provided the car has been serviced using genuine parts by a VAT registered garage ?

I am just trying to see the point in spending my "hard earned" on what looks like a £375 oil and filter change.

Sorry about the rant. I don't mind £375 for a service provided I am getting value for money. I'm just unable to see how this is good value for money.

Alan

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:05 pm
by meatball
MMC charge roughly £100 per hour!
Andy G will be along shortly telling you an alternative......I won't steal his thunder! :mrgreen:

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:18 pm
by renmure
meatball wrote:Andy G will be along shortly telling you an alternative......I won't steal his thunder! :mrgreen:
I won't be so polite ... :blackeye

http://www.scottishlotusspecialists.co. ... icing.html :thumbsup

Jim

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:20 pm
by meatball
You're no fun Jim......I had PM'd him that though!

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:24 pm
by a4drk
Ali @ SLS gave my car an "A" service 3 months ago.
£160

Bargain.....

David

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:26 pm
by a4drk
mrahead wrote:" on what looks like a £375 oil and filter change.
You are getting your screen wash topped up as well !

:D

David

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:16 am
by ryallm
Are you missing something? Yup. I thought everyone on this forum would have got the message loud and clear by now. It goes like this, and I'll shout just so everyone hears: MMC SERVICE IS PANTS AND THEY COMPLETELY TAKE THE PISS ON PRICE. AVOID! There we are.... :D

Mark

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:30 am
by Gareth
To be fair, MMC are a Lotus dealer and will always charge more. They also supply paperwork too and a nice stamp in your book....
For me, I would highly recommend Falkland Performance. Always had a great service from them.

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:43 am
by Shug
G, also in the interests of fairness, we've had a good amount of horror stories emerging from MMC about bodged work. Although I'm sure the percentages favour those who never have a problem, it needs said.

Like you say though, plenty of smaller performance specialists out there, like Falkland and SLS who can do the work (usually better) for a fraction of the price.

Graeme at MMC is a top lad and I'd never go past him when looking for a pretty new Lotus (did some searching when going for Elaine's, but nothing hit the spot like the ones he had in the showroom at the time) I'd never go there for anything but warranty work though.

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 11:18 am
by gorrie
AFAIK... if you have the "Manufacturers Warranty" (which I guess you do because your car is new) then I am sure that the rules were changed quite a while back to allow customers to get their services done at any VAT registered garage, and as long as original parts (or suitable alternatives) were used then your warranty had to be honoured (EU Block Exemption??). I had a bit of a tussle with Weir Toyota on that very subject a number of years ago (before the block exemption) when a shocky was leaking on my RAV4... it eventually went my way though.

However... if you buy an "approved used" Lotus, you get a 1yr warranty which is not a manufacturers warranty. It is a 3rd party warranty and (I believe) is not bound by that same Block Exemption (which I'm sure only covers manufacturers warranties). My approved used warranty was with AON from memory and the paperwork that came with it basically stated that any work/services had to be carried out by a Lotus main dealer OR an approved Lotus service centre. Lotus are not alone with that kind of practise on used car warranties... Arnold Clark do exactly the same...

To be fair, I almost fell foul of the approved used thing as I hadn't spotted that condition until I needed to claim. Thankfully, there were 1 or 2 understanding people at MMC who were able to get me sorted out.

ETA: I do believe that this may my most ever 'thought out' post ever...

Andy.

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:29 pm
by mrahead
Thanks for the responses, very helpful.
However... if you buy an "approved used" Lotus, you get a 1yr warranty which is not a manufacturers warranty. It is a 3rd party warranty and (I believe) is not bound by that same Block Exemption (which I'm sure only covers manufacturers warranties). My approved used warranty was with AON from memory and the paperwork that came with it basically stated that any work/services had to be carried out by a Lotus main dealer OR an approved Lotus service centre. Lotus are not alone with that kind of practise on used car warranties... Arnold Clark do exactly the same...
This is exactly the position I am in. When I bought the car it had 3 months of the "Lotus" warranty left and I had a further 9 months warranty by TWG services limited. Currently there are 6 months of the TWG warrnty remaining. The small print does state that servicing must be carried out by an approved Lotus dealership or a repairer authorised by the Administrator.

Time to make a phone call to the Administrator.

Alan

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:42 pm
by Shug
Flipside of that is defining what is actually covered on the Lotus Approved warranty. Gorrie, for example, would be urinating in a stiff breeze with his RAV4 complaint, as Lotus define dampers as consumables...

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:49 pm
by mrahead
Time to make a phone call to the Administrator.

Just called TWG services LTD, I asked the about using garages other than MMC for service work. He told me that I can go to any garage provided it is VAT registered. It would appear that they are also covered by simialr conditions to Block Exemption.

Alan

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:04 pm
by Andy G
Gareth wrote: They also supply paperwork too and a nice stamp in your book....
Hi

Give ali a shout on 07961445483 - A service is a mere £170.

Sorted his invoice issues, so you should have that along with a stamp for your service.

:thumbsup

Re: 111R 2 year service - am I missing something

Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:16 pm
by a4drk
£170 ??
He's put his prices up then........

David