Citroën UK - feedback on car and van servicing

[Chris]

Seems to be a problem with the site as mine says no results as well. Anyway, looking at the £99 offer and what do I think of it?

I have two main thoughts;

-It does not fit into the service schedule, so you will still need to have the regular/annual services any way. If someone really just wanted an interim oil change I think that they are likely to either do it themselves, or take it to a cheaper local/independent garage.
-Secondly, apart from the oil/filter change, the rest is made up of checks, most of which are quite basic. I think that these checks can largely be carried out yourself. Even if one wasn't very mechanically minded, the checks presumably would be made during a normal service or as part of an MOT test anyway.

Personally I think that Citroen would be better off looking at ways to convince me why I should use a main dealer for regular servicing, rather than promoting something that I think has little real value on its own.

[andy-womble]

Anyway, looking at the £99 offer and what do I think of it?

I have two main thoughts;

-It does not fit into the service schedule, so you will still need to have the regular/annual services any way.
Secondly, apart from the oil/filter change, the rest is made up of checks, most of which are quite basic. I think that these checks can largely be carried out yourself.

I agree with you entirely on this issue, Chris.

I was going to put my points forward earlier but thought I would see what anyone else had to say first.

A bit of a "Tyre Kickers" service and sorry Citroen but it won't be getting my £99.00 vote of confidence....

[jamesf]

Umm, not great feedback from us I'm afraid...

Our Berlingo had a faulty sunroof, so we took it to our local dealer (Cars2 ltd, Crosshills, Keighley), who had a look at it, broke the exterior of the 'roof to the point where once it had been broken but weathertight it was now broken and flapping about letting in weather and any passers by who fancied it :'(

We tried to negotiate with them but they were adamant that they had to break the roof to ascertain what needed replacing, but werenot liable to make it as weatherproof as it had been.

We took it up with citroen UK, who sounded sympathetic but were unable to help.

We took it up with the garage who refused all communications let alone making any repairs or returning it to the state it was in when we took in to them.

We have now had the roof taped up - and that has been like that for nearly three years. To say we hate them would be an understatement...

We love our Citroen but cannot afford to have it repaired (c.£1500 apparently)....:'(

On a more positive note, I called in with another dealer, in Harrogate, who seemed sympathetic but unable to help and they seemed a decent enough garage


Err, I may have gone off topic slightly! Apologies for that...

[adam3rdcanvey]

Have never taken my Berlingo to a Citroen dealer in the 6 years I have owned it. Cannot see the benefits of using a main dealer?? Most garages local to myself offer a service and MOT for £99... or there abouts... find a mechanic and garage you can trust, via word of mouth or the good garage scheme, and stick with them, is how I feel.

I love my Berlingo......... and have heard too many horror stories from collegues in the motor trade about main dealers and their level of service.

On a positive note the parts desk local to myself is brilliant.... top class knowledge and service (Toomey Citroen Basildon)

[Opensauce]

Hello Ben, welcome to the forum. Good to see that Citroen UK is aware of this website. No complaints with you, I have emailed Citroen UK several times & have always recieved a followup phone call.

[CitroenUK]

Hi everyone!

Sorry to take so long to reply, bit of a crazy time over here. Also, sorry for getting the links wrong in the original post! But I've been reading, and thank you to everyone for your replies.

So:

@Chris - Tin hat is firmly in place :-). And thank you for the feedback - both of your points (fitting into the schedule and the checks being things that aren't very useful to you) are really, really, helpful. What sorts of things might convince you to use a main dealer for regular servicing?

@Andy-womble - Sorry for both link and dealer search issues! If you don't mind sending me a PM with your postcode, I'll get it checked out. And thank you for the feedback on the dealers, appreciated! And, like with Chris, thanks for the feedback on the offer - if you can think of anything that would be a valuable service, please let me know!

@Andre - Thank you for fixing that, appreciated! We'll check out the search breaking; as with andy-womble, if you have a specific postcode for me to check out, let me know. The finder is only aimed at official Citroën dealers who have chosen to participate in the offer (though that is most of them!), so it's possible that's what's causing the issues.

@j90xxx - Sorry about that! Could you PM me your postcode, so I can check?

@eame64 - That's great to hear, I'll be sure to pass that on, thank you :-).

@pch - Sorry to hear that; I hope that your next experience leaves you happier!

@jamesf - That's a real shame, I so sorry that you've had such a saga. If you've already had a chat to Citroën UK, then there's not much more I can do. But I do appreciate you sharing, and I will tell the team your story.

@adam3rdcanvey - Thanks for the feedback! Is there anything you can think of that would appeal to you at an offer level? Or is it all about the word-of-mouth for you?

@Opensauce - Thank you! I've not needed a tin hat at all, you've all been lovely :-). And I'm very glad to hear that things have gone well for you with servicing!

Thank you all!

Ben

[Chris]

Hi Ben

Regarding main dealers,

Basically, if all things were equal then I would rather go to a main dealer instead of an independent. A main dealer should know the product inside out and have all the diagnostics, tools, parts and experience to do any job as per the manufacturer's specifications. That is in an ideal world, however a number of things might (or do) put me off using a main dealer.

1) Price. Main dealer labour rates and parts prices will usually be the highest.

Where dealers do sometimes offer cheaper servicing on older cars, it is usually because items are left out and only "essentials" are dealt with. I don't see the point of this. I would rather see an invoice from an independent with more items done, than a main dealer stamp that in reality, maybe only covers an oil and filter change. Just because my car might be older, does not necessarily mean that I want items left out or going unchecked.

2) Level of service. Main dealers often appear to take work for granted (cars under warranty, fleet/contract vehicles, blind loyalty, ignorance of choice, etc.) and appear to not be overly concerned about competing for other work. There is little real incentive to try harder for what is otherwise taken as guaranteed income. If I am going to pay a premium, then it is not unreasonable to expect a premium service from start to finish.

Do Citroen follow up servicing or repairs with a customer questionnaire for feedback? In my experience (not with Citroen admittedly) if dealers know that head office is reading these, and they have a consequence, then the dealer is much more likely to stay on the ball and get any issues resolved and look to score 10/10

Basically, I would rather see offers on major servicing where large or more complex areas are covered. There might be more of an inclination to go with a main dealer this kind of work if it was competitively priced, rather than an oil change, which can be done yourself or at any fast-fit or indy.

Do Citroen offer any discounts to groups such as owners groups? Plenty of manufacturers do this, and I think that it is an excellent way to encourage people to remain loyal to the manufacturer and good experiences or deals will quickly be shared.

I have had good and bad experiences with both independents and main dealers so neither is perfect. I think that a lot comes down to to local experiences, and unfortunately, trial and error and a fair amount of luck.

[adam3rdcanvey]

Ben,

Thanks for the reply.

In all honesty I don't believe that I am your "target audience" so to speak. I do all my servicing and maintenance from the comfort of my own home and my vehicle is not worth investing labour charge fees on in any case.

For others with newer cars the offer looks reasonable at first sight, but as Chris stated not all areas are covered, a full service should be just that and not a potentially costly half job.

Overall, word of mouth and reputation will always be first for me and price second...

[jamesf]

Ben

Thank you for replying - I think chris' reply hits several nails on head (as far as I am concerned anyway) - not just relating to Citroen UK but main dealers in general.

In regard our own situation, the person we spoke to (several times) in Slough was sympathetic, said he'd put a mark against the garage for future discussions, try to contact them himself (which he said he did but failed to get anywhere himself!) and finally said that was it.

One of our arguments was that the garage was representing Citroen and that this garage at this time had done this very badly and that it'd have been nice if Citroen had been able to be a bit more proactive both with resolving our complaint and also the shoddy 'service' both we and the bloke at citroen UK had received from the managers at this garage.

There is still time / opportunity for Citroen to help us get our sunroof repaired - don't expect total repair by the way, just either back to a weatherproof roof, or possibly help (financial or physical) to have it repaired at a reduced cost. Preferably not at the stated garage though... ;-)

[ron]

I bought my Berlingo new in '07 & was so unimpressed with the handover I never went back after the 1000m check.