What cheeses me off

Had my car in for service and rego check today. Failed on tyres - naturally, all 4 of them - and wipers. I already have a set of replacement wipers at home, but just for giggles, I requested a quote. $140!!!

Stop It And You GIF


Next we turned to tyres. Said I would be ringing around and likely go elsewhere (as car dealerships are not known for being charitable), but again, just for a point of reference, quote me please. $1924. Now before you spit your coffee out at the computer screen, this was in the ballpark of reality.

Started shopping around for prices and couldn't find anything at the same cost. Even Bob Jane were quoting $576 per corner. Ended up talking them down to $487 per corner, but even then, the car dealership was ahead and the bloke from Bob Jane was observing he couldn't match the price, couldn't find anywhere else close to it, and couldn't understand how the dealership was selling for that price?

Double and triple-checked with the dealership that we were replacing like for like, in-stock, not old stock and they could do it there and then, I gave them the go ahead and mentioned I was quietly surprised at how competitive they were on price. Quietly, the bloke in the service department admitted he was similarly surprised.

Car finally ready, I settled up and headed out to my car. Took one look at the tyres and.... 🤬🤬!!!!!! Wrong 🤬 tyres!!

Marched back in and explained. Reminded them I had confirmed everything with them prior to giving the go ahead. Service guy goes into the workshop and comes back in a few mins later. To their credit, no arguments, no bickering or excuses.... immediate acknowledgement of the error and that it's on them and they'll fix it. No questions asked. Tyres on order and when I bring the car back to finalise the rego check, they'll do the tyres at the same time. In the meantime, I'm free to drive off with a set of brand new tyres on the car that they can no longer sell (as new).

For the record, the tyres they stuck on the car - whilst very good - are being sold by Bob Jane for $386 per corner. No wonder the dealer was "competitive" on price 🙄
 
Had my car in for service and rego check today. Failed on tyres - naturally, all 4 of them - and wipers. I already have a set of replacement wipers at home, but just for giggles, I requested a quote. $140!!!

Stop It And You GIF


Next we turned to tyres. Said I would be ringing around and likely go elsewhere (as car dealerships are not known for being charitable), but again, just for a point of reference, quote me please. $1924. Now before you spit your coffee out at the computer screen, this was in the ballpark of reality.

Started shopping around for prices and couldn't find anything at the same cost. Even Bob Jane were quoting $576 per corner. Ended up talking them down to $487 per corner, but even then, the car dealership was ahead and the bloke from Bob Jane was observing he couldn't match the price, couldn't find anywhere else close to it, and couldn't understand how the dealership was selling for that price?

Double and triple-checked with the dealership that we were replacing like for like, in-stock, not old stock and they could do it there and then, I gave them the go ahead and mentioned I was quietly surprised at how competitive they were on price. Quietly, the bloke in the service department admitted he was similarly surprised.

Car finally ready, I settled up and headed out to my car. Took one look at the tyres and.... 🤬🤬!!!!!! Wrong 🤬 tyres!!

Marched back in and explained. Reminded them I had confirmed everything with them prior to giving the go ahead. Service guy goes into the workshop and comes back in a few mins later. To their credit, no arguments, no bickering or excuses.... immediate acknowledgement of the error and that it's on them and they'll fix it. No questions asked. Tyres on order and when I bring the car back to finalise the rego check, they'll do the tyres at the same time. In the meantime, I'm free to drive off with a set of brand new tyres on the car that they can no longer sell (as new).

For the record, the tyres they stuck on the car - whilst very good - are being sold by Bob Jane for $386 per corner. No wonder the dealer was "competitive" on price 🙄
Now that is shonky. Bait and switch.
 
Now that is shonky. Bait and switch.
I'm willing to give benefit of the doubt here. I think it was more a lazy but otherwise innocent error. Service guy was saying-without-saying that they were not going to be competitive on price and my intention to look elsewhere was a good call, but ultimately, their quoted price was easily the best I could find. Of course we now know why, but still, I gave them plenty of opportunity to realise the mistake and correct the quote accordingly (in which case I would have been visiting Bob Jane).

And in terms of product names, we're talking about Michelin Pilot Sport 5 (an excellent - albeit cheaper - tyre) vs Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 (which is in a completely different league). So again, if you're being lazy looking at the product names, I can understand the mix up. And again, to give them credit, they're rectifying the issue without any argument or pretense that it was somehow an error on my part.

Saving grace here is that I needed to take the car back again anyway for rego to be finalised, so I'm technically not being forced to make an unnecessary return trip.
 
What tyres were they? Size, profile, width? My cossie will need new tyres soon, but only because of the age, not tread depth.
 
RS Focus Mk.3

Really? Didn't realise you had one. I may have been informed previously, but had forgotten! Are you a member of the RSOCA, or perhaps the UK one?
You must know I'm an RS nut, had twin cams, rs2000, and more.
My mk3 RS has only 24000 on it.
 
Elevate your business spending to first-class rewards! Sign up today with code AFF10 and process over $10,000 in business expenses within your first 30 days to unlock 10,000 Bonus PayRewards Points.
Join 30,000+ savvy business owners who:

✅ Pay suppliers who don’t accept Amex
✅ Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
✅ Earn & transfer PayRewards Points to 10+ airline & hotel partners

Start earning today!
- Pay suppliers who don’t take Amex
- Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
- Earn & Transfer PayRewards Points to 8+ top airline & hotel partners

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Really? Didn't realise you had one. I may have been informed previously, but had forgotten! Are you a member of the RSOCA, or perhaps the UK one?
You must know I'm an RS nut, had twin cams, rs2000, and more.
My mk3 RS has only 24000 on it.
Lapsed member of RSOCA and my first foray into RS territory. My Nitrous Blue RS is my daily driver so is imminently crossing the century. If I recall correctly, you’re not such a fan of the blue? And yep, had an inkling you were an RS nut ;)
 
Really? Didn't realise you had one. I may have been informed previously, but had forgotten! Are you a member of the RSOCA, or perhaps the UK one?
You must know I'm an RS nut, had twin cams, rs2000, and more.
My mk3 RS has only 24000 on it.
I must have forgotten. I only recall they said you were nuts. :rolleyes:
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top