Ripped Off?

[mr_smith]

Hi all,

I think my dealer has ripped me off, just not sure by how much and whether its worth complaining or not.
I have LEON FR DSG and 6 months left on warranty.
I've been getting tyre rumble for months now and its been getting steadily worse and 4-wheel alignment didn't resolve it. So i bit the bullet and booked it into a dealers to check it out.. foolish mistake i think.
They called me and told me it was tyre wear causing problem and they could fit 4 new tyres for £94 each.. Tyres and made by Mabor (?) . I'd never heard of them but was told they were made my Continental and were recommended by SEAT, so i agree.

i pick up car later and check bill , skim to amount and it comes to £377 which seems right so I pay. Good news is all noise has gone and i am a happier driver than i have been in months.
However on checking bill when i get home tyres are £67 each and i find a labour cost of £57 for investigation. And have searched web and i can't find anything the Mabor tyres.

Anyone think i have any chance of getting the labour charges back or if the Mabor tyres are any good?

Any advice would be appreciated

Cheers
Rob

 

[NickP]

They are owned by Continental - but that doesn't necessarily make them any good !
http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/productdatabase/continental/continental.asp

 

[hoggy90]

hmm not soo sure mate....i think you may have been ripped a little...best thing to do is go back in and kick up ****

 

[mr_smith]

Ah thanks i found a review from that link, don't seem too bad unless i drive them in the rain, idea for winter use then!

Comparative Weaknesses - dry and wet performance, wear

Comparative Weaknesses - wet braking

Nick the dealers are based in Colchester have you used them before?

Cheers
Rob

 

[robdf2]

Hi all,

I think my dealer has ripped me off, just not sure by how much and whether its worth complaining or not.
I have LEON FR DSG and 6 months left on warranty.
I've been getting tyre rumble for months now and its been getting steadily worse and 4-wheel alignment didn't resolve it. So i bit the bullet and booked it into a dealers to check it out.. foolish mistake i think.
They called me and told me it was tyre wear causing problem and they could fit 4 new tyres for £94 each.. Tyres and made by Mabor (?) . I'd never heard of them but was told they were made my Continental and were recommended by SEAT, so i agree.

i pick up car later and check bill , skim to amount and it comes to £377 which seems right so I pay. Good news is all noise has gone and i am a happier driver than i have been in months.
However on checking bill when i get home tyres are £67 each and i find a labour cost of £57 for investigation. And have searched web and i can't find anything the Mabor tyres.

Anyone think i have any chance of getting the labour charges back or if the Mabor tyres are any good?

Any advice would be appreciated

Cheers
Rob

hi mate
2 things here spring to mind , are they saying normal tyre wear cased the problem? or was it something that will raise its ugly head again?
second thing you should not be paying labour charges while your car is under warranty unless it was agreed prior to them doing the work on your car.

 

[GunnerCP]

I would rather have done my own research and picked my own tyres, can't say I've ever heard of Mabor nor seen a Leon with Mabor tyres if Seat reccomend them?

As Rob says, surely they shouldn't be charging you for checking something out under warrenty.... £57 for someone to tell you that you need new tyres is certainly a rip off.

As for tyres..... I suppose you agreed to them at that price....

How worn were your tyres anyway? Did they tell you how many mm you had remaining and if it was even wear?

I'd at least query the invoice though and the breakdown of it.

 

[mhill]

Nick the dealers are based in Colchester have you used them before?

Miller & Middleton?

 

[mr_smith]

Thanks guys

In answer to a few questions, i had a knock in the car back in February in the ice and had most of the front car replaced.. After which i had the noise from front of car which was resolved by accident repair people replacing a front wheel bearing.

I then got a similar noise at back of car after a couple of thousand miles and after reading and posting on here got the alignment checked and corrected. It was better initially but after a couple of months it got unbearably loud. I did check tire wear and knew that i may need new front tyres and rears were worn uneven but i didn't think it could cause such a loud noise! It was unbearable.

hence booking into dealer and expecting to be told a new wheel bearing, so was caught a little of guard when told tyre's were issue. i knew i would be paying top draw prices for tyres but i had had enough and just wanted it sorted.

What i wasn't expecting was "value.." tyres and a whopping labour charge.. I would have swallowed paying extra for reasonable tyres but feel they have done me twice on tyres and labour.

I am going to give them a call tomorrow and ask about the labour charge, then I'll be onto SEAT customer service asking about choice of tyre they apparently recommend

Cheers
Rob

 

[Nath.]

Rear tyre wear and rumbling noises on the mk2 leon can come from poor rear camber setup from new. Lots of people on here have had this problem and lots have had it adjusted under warranty to stop it doing the same to their new tyres.

I'm keeping an eye on mine and if I see any saw toothing on my rear tyres the car will be straight down the stealers for the rear camber to be looked at.

 

[mr_smith]

Its looks like i am not going to get much joy with this, just called SEAT and apparently as it was not warranty work i would be liable for diagnostics costs, and as to tyres SEAT do not recommend specific brands so as long as it fits it ok.

I got 4-Wheel laser alignment done a couple of months ago so hopefully that would resolve the camber issue.

Oh one quick question, does anyone know if a 2007 FR DSG had a washer fluid sensor fitted?
The dealer told me not, but i am sure it used to work on car

Cheers
Rob

 

[FAST AL]

Not all the mk2's have this problem Nath.Got my car at 6 months old and rears are still wearing perfectly admittedly only at 16k now at 2 years old.

 

[Bedlam]

Oh one quick question, does anyone know if a 2007 FR DSG had a washer fluid sensor fitted?
The dealer told me not, but i am sure it used to work on car

Mine does NOT have one

 

[mr_smith]

Thanks Bedlam at least they got something right!
Could have sworn it used to work must be a mental block on my part.

I e-mailed SEAT customer service to complain about dealer, doubt if it will achieve much but it still felt good to do if nothing else. I guess I'll have to chalk this one up to experience and just not use that dealer again.

Cheers
Rob

 

[m0rk]

Take care on the ditch finders in the bad weather too....

 

[robdf2]

Just a quick but have you spelt the tyre name backwards?

robam


doesnt bode well

 

[mr_smith]

Funny you should say that about a ditch as i did that back in Feb with proper tyres!
Doesn't bode too well for my new Robam slicks...

 

[stevesulsh]

Mine does NOT have one

no sensor on mine either just whirr squirt ... nothing ....

 

[nathan.]

Mabor's are budget tyres but a better quality budget, (if that makes sense). They are made by Continental and recommended by SEAT dealers.

 

[m888khn]

i paid £377 for mich pilot sport