Hi,

My car has just been in for a A Service at Jaguar. whilst it what in the engineer has snapped the tyre valve. The receptionist just called and told me that it is going to cost £59 plus vat for a new one plus £70 labour.

A) I think its discusting that they snapped it. on there watch it has become damaged

B) HOW MUCH!!!!!


Anyone else know where i can get a programmable tyre valve fitted for a lot less? maybe kwik fit or something? any thoughts on the service from Jaguar or on the tyre pressure gauges? maybe after market kit?

 

Any local tire shop should be able to replace that TPMS valve at a much lower cost than your dealer quoted. They self-program a short time after being driven.

More important is why they won't fix it if they broke it? Why should you have to pay for their incompetence?

If you have to use a third party, be sure to send their bill to your Jaguar dealer for reimbursement.

 

Why is an Engineer working on your car?
I thought you just took it in for service?
Was there a deeper problem?

Do you mean the mechanic?
.
.
.

 

In the UK dealers we typically don't have mechanics anymore - we have 'service engineers' who are essentially part fitters trained in following the manufacturers step-by-step instructions for replacing old with new when there is a suspected fault. There are a few mechanics still in the staff at some dealers, but the bulk of their work is warranty replacements with set labour allowances so the pay is poor and most have moved on to independents where they can still practise their trade.

At a recent dealer service I was told I needed a new rear headlamp for £530 fitted because the rear sidelight and headlamp was not working (just the red lamps, the rest were fine). I took the car back with the fault and changed a 10p blown fuse to get them working again. Checking the fuse is literally step 1 on the troubleshooting checklist for any electrical symptom, but the service engineer was following their training.

The title 'engineer' is used quite freely in the UK. Unless preceded by a technical trade like civil, mechanical or electrical it can usually been replaced with the title 'worker' without change.

If the dealer broke the valve, the dealer pays for a new valve. TBH they shouldn't even have queried it with you, it should have been done automatically. If they are refusing then any decent tyre fitting shop will have them in stock and can fit a new valve for you assuming you can drive the car to them. If you get it done at your cost get your receipt marked "to replace valve damaged by XXX" and then forward a copy to the dealer principle with a cover letter stating "invoice", the date of the replacement, the amount it has cost you and give them 30 days to settle it. Then never use that dealer again as poor service should not be rewarded.

 

xdave has it spot on. The "engineers" at all our dealers and many of our independents are at best "technicians", but mostly not even that.

Which is why I find it had to comprehend why people insist that any fault should be looked at by the dealer... ...who generally have the lowest end of the technician scale (as better technicians move on). There is only one proven way to know that a job is done correctly, and that's to do it yourself

 

Interesting difference in terminology between the US and the UK. We say trunk and you say boot. In the US, if I'm dissatisfied with my service technician I'd "give him the boot", which is slang for a kick in the ****. What do you do in the UK if you're dissatisfied with your engineer? Do you give him the trunk and send him packing?

In the US, our cars are LHD and we park in the driveway and drive on the parkway. Got it? Since UK cars are RHD, do you drive on the driveway and park on the parkway?

Who says there's intelligent life on this planet!

 

No they would definitely still get the boot

 

In the UK the pavement is for use by pedestrians.

 

Xdave thanks again for a detailed explanation. I just was thinking his problem had turned out to be something much worse and Jaguar summoned an Engineer from the factory to take a look.

Plus I am a real Engineer so I guess it might have hit a nerve! BSME as well as a PE.
.
.
.