13th Jun 2016, 03:12

Interestingly, there are often issues well known in the community of car owners of all brands, and still when going to the main dealer you hear something from the technical advisor: "It's the first time I've heard this, we'll check it out, but first let's do a software update or some other trick". In fact, they know very well the issue, better than the car owners. For some reason they deny to acknowledge, perhaps because they don't have a fix yet or it's too costly. Before going to see the dealer, check the specific brand forums, print the discussions about the specific issue with all the feedback from owners, and put the pages on the counter when the TA says 'You are the first person with this issue".

13th Jun 2016, 08:15

Actually, I'm finding that the dealers in many countries are the last to know. Dealers usually only deal with cars when they're fairly new or under warranty; often common problems which are more to do with long-term design faults come out well after that period and people have been taking their cars to independent garages which are cheaper. The dealer may deal with the odd one or so past warranty, but independent garages usually are the ones who encounter these en mass.

13th Jun 2016, 19:35

As complex as cars are, and I have a family member with a shop, it's not so black and white. Modern cars have many complex components. Some are intermittent. I recall one in which a car would not start. The owner cut a duplicate key without a chip and tried to start the car. It shut it down. It was immobile and totally a key issue. They neglected to share what they had done. I had a somewhat similar situation when a hidden kill switch was hit. Bought a car and the owner neglected to indicate there was one present I replaced 2 starters before tracing that issue. We had a Viper immobilized with an aftermarket anti theft system as if the factory one was not enough. It takes time to trace and diagnose many modern car issues. Some seem simple, but are not that clear.

26th Mar 2020, 03:53

I'm afraid the examples above are much too rare to be relevant to the discussion. Main dealers ARE always very much aware of the typical problems with a car. They see customers with common problems stepping in every day. The problem is, many main dealers are dishonest with customers. They also have a very funny language/lines to deal with dissatisfied customers. The best is to visit several dealers if possible, hoping to find a place where the management is genuinely willing to help customers. In the end, we see main dealerships as being all the same, but that is wrong. Service at a specific dealership location will always depend on the franchise owner's attitude.

22nd Apr 2020, 13:12

I agree. Main dealers are just people, there is good and there is bad. It's all management really, and you need to find a dealer that is good. Same for independent "back street" garages.

I would point out though after having many cars (old and new) in different parts of the world, that main dealers that sell new cars are generally not interested in older ones, certainly when they go out of warranty. It really depends on the car (and whatever deal you got new or used), but generally I would advise anyone to avoid dealers with any car around or over 8 years old, and out of warranty on major mechanical repairs to find a respected independent garage to keep costs down.