garage services

[whitey]

hi, hope someone can help, we may need some work done on our 1.2 renault clio, think radiator or pipes may need attention. does anyone know of a decent garage near to rancon (87290). preference would be around the area..........bellac, chatauponsac, etc and if possible with a little english because as yet my french is a little ropey. if anyone has had a good experience then could you let me know. thanks in advance. mel.

[Ford Anglia]

Can't help with specifics, but I can offer a couple of bits of advice?

Firstly, ask the locals who they'd use.

Secondly, stear clear of dealerships, they tend to be expensive. As an example, our first Xantia needed suspension work, it was done by Garage Brun in St Mathieu, cost £120, took three days, one to get the parts.

Three years later, our next Xantia, (wife wrote the first one off[;-)]), needed the same work done, but we were in the UK. Citroen dealer was the only person who would even look at it, and it cost me..........£300!

 

[Benjamin]

[quote user="Ford Anglia"]

Secondly, stear clear of dealerships, they tend to be expensive. 

 

[/quote]

This is always going to be one person's opinion versus another but I always stick with the main dealer even when the warranty has expired.

You are paying for specific training on a specific make/model and you should avoid the problems of dealing with a non franchised mechanic when they change one part after another trying to trace a fault which would be blindingly obvious to a dealer with access to a manufacture's database of recommended solutions.

[Onion van man]

[quote user="Benjamin"]You are paying for specific training on a specific make/model and you should avoid the problems of dealing with a non franchised mechanic when they change one part after another trying to trace a fault which would be blindingly obvious to a dealer with access to a manufacture's database of recommended solutions.[/quote]

I would have to disagree after the Citroen dealer we bought one of the cars from failed miserably to diagnose a dead fuel pump, It took them weeks to sort it out and they had 'ponsed' about doing all kinds of things. Even more amusing was the AA man that towed it there also had written on his sheet "Suspected fuel pump failure".

I worked in the motor trade in the UK when I was younger and some of the most knowledgeable(and Honest) people in the trade worked from railway arches. You can't judge a book by its cover as they say!

[Bugsy]

I think that the decision as to use a main dealer or not depends on the age of the vehicle.

Parts fitted by a main dealer normally carry a full dealers warranty that cover not only the part(s) being fitted but also, in the event of failure of those items, they will also cover associated parts found to be damaged due to failure of those parts.

A replacement cam belt is a good example of this as a failure of this can, in some cases,  result in catastrophic engine damage.

As regards prices, well it pays to check both the main dealer and a local independant.

Once a vehicle reaches a certain age (probably around four to five years old) it will usually be more economic to use a good local garage (or DIY if you are able, of course).

IMHO...............................[:)]

[tracteurtom]

In support of the main dealers, always ask for a price and they will (should !!) stick to it.  Local garages can't do this as they have to ring around for prices of the parts first and that always means a revisit, so they much prefer you to just leave it to them - very risky me thinks.   Main dealers always fit original parts and thats a big plus. 

So find a main dealer that gives good service and good prices (much easier if you  have a french car ) and you're on to a winner !

[Will]

Garage services are one area where labour rates are rather less in France than in England. Also, there are a lot more small franchised dealers. And in France they seem far less tied to one make, whereas the only garages near us in England that will repair my Renault are the official main dealers. We have bought both Peugeots and Citroen from our nearest French garage, which is a Renault franchise, and had them maintained there too, at around 35€ per hour, whereas in the south of England you can easily pay twice that figure in pounds at a Renault main dealer.

[Onion van man]

Does anybody remember that some years back brits were booking their French cars in for servicing near to the port in France and having a day in Calais while their car was serviced and/or repaired. They said it was still cheaper than getting it done here in the UK and they did a better job of it as well (can't be difficult compared to the dealers abilities here).

For a rough Idea of why I don't like dealers heres an example......

Purflux diesel filter from Citroen dealer £26-37. Exactly the same Purflux filter from a very small motor factor £3- 00.  Yes, over £23 cheaper for exactly the same thing. [:@]

[Will]

I quite agree, but that applies to dealers in any country. Whether French, German, Swedish or whatever, main dealers all do the same, not just British ones. I suppose it can be argued that there are certain warranty issues with repairs undertaken by independents, which have to be offset against the cost savings.

I remember back in the 1980s when I worked on a boating magazine we highlighted the difference in cost between the engine builder's official spare parts such as filters, and the same thing bought direct from Fram. The percentage difference was even greater than the example above. As a result, we were threatened with the withdrawal of all advertising from not only the engine company concerned, but also all of the boatbuilders it had stitched up into exclusive cheap engine supply deals (from which the engine company made hardly anything on the engines themselves, but an absolute fortune on after-sales). So it must have hit home.

 

[Bugsy]

[quote user="Onion van man"]Does anybody remember that some years back brits were booking their French cars in for servicing near to the port in France and having a day in Calais while their car was serviced and/or repaired. They said it was still cheaper than getting it done here in the UK and they did a better job of it as well (can't be difficult compared to the dealers abilities here).

[/quote]

It still happens. I have friends with Audis and BMWs who come to France for a main dealer service. London main dealers charges are anything up to £125.00 an hour.

A thirty thousand mile service on an Audi A4 in the UK will set you back around £400.00. In Poitiers the same service with the main dealer will cost around 400 euros.