Anatomy of a service

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

I put the Prado in for its 130k service yesterday and forgot to take the Car DVR out. Out of curiosity I've just had a quick look at the recordings

08:00 Dropped the car off

12:00 Taken for 4 minute test drive then into service bay and bonnet lifted
12:10 Put up on hoist for 5 minutes
12:30 Bonnet closed
13:12 Taken out of bay and parked (ignition off)

13:15 Taken for 5 minute test drive and parked
13:20 Into car wash and washed for 10 minutes then parked (ignition off)

14:50 Moved back and forward a few times then parked (ignition off)

15:30 Moved into bay and up on hoist
15:40 Down from hoist then parked ready for collection (ignition off)

So in summary, for my $329 they worked on it for an hour and a quarter, then took it for a 5 minute drive and spent 10 minutes washing it, then spent 10 minutes trying to work out why it ticked going round corners (auto Locker).

No real surprise but it was interesting to see Does this make me Big Brother?

[Melbo Member Find all posts View Profile Close Melbo]

You should have put the DVR in the engine bay. That would actually give the view whether they have done the work worth $329 :-)

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

The thing that surprised me was that for the whole hour and a quarter the ignition was on. I don't know if they stopped the engine and turned the ignition back on - I hope so as during that time they are supposed to have done an oil change.

I wasn't deliberately spying on them I simply forgot to take the camera out.

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

money doesn't seem well spent does it.

I wonder how much oil they actually change in that 5 minutes, as I've left equipment draining for hours before, and you'd be suprised how much you don't get in 5 minutes.

It's always annoyed me how long they take to service vehicles though and how they never call you as soon as its finished. In your case; 8 hours for 30 minutes work. and they probably called you at 1600, 4 hours after it was actually finished.

out of interest, what DVR are you using?

[Guest Close Guest]

So the likely time the oil would have been drained is the 5 mins at 12:10? Then 12:15 to 12:30 is when they changed the filter and refill the oil. Or does your DVR only work with the ignition on or was it recording the whole time? 5 mins seems a bit quick to drop the oil, unless they do the suction method and got the oil out without undoing the sump plug.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

It's always annoyed me how long they take to service vehicles though and how they never call you as soon as its finished. In your case; 8 hours for 30 minutes work. and they probably called you at 1600, 4 hours after it was actually finished.

out of interest, what DVR are you using?

I requested it to be ready at 15:30 and you're right they didn't call me - I called them at 15:30 and asked if it was ready. They said it was and at this point asked me if I had some sort of locker fitted.

I usually don't mind how long they take as I'm at work all day but I do expect it to be ready at the agreed time and to get a call or text to say it's ready.

The DVR is an HD Car Cam from ebay for about $50 - it's in my build thread somewhere. MLC and Mumsrig bought the same one at the same time as me.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

So the likely time the oil would have been drained is the 5 mins at 12:10? Then 12:15 to 12:30 is when they changed the filter and refill the oil. Or does your DVR only work with the ignition on or was it recording the whole time? 5 mins seems a bit quick to drop the oil, unless they do the suction method and got the oil out without undoing the sump plug.

The DVR records when the ignition is on and I have a continuous recording from 12:00 until 13:12. The recorder stores 15 minutes at a time in separate files but with only a second between each one. You can turn the ignition off then on again without the recorder stopping as the recorder stays on for several seconds after the ignition is turned off.

My DVR is set up to time-stamp all recordings so I know when everything happened.

[Davros Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Davros]

Description:

This mini recorder can travel with you. It'll faithfully and vividly record every valuable scenes for you. It can record design and take photo, has LED screen with clear visual experience. When the car starts, automatically record something. It can bring happiness for you.

Quote above from eBay ad.

I guess it is bringing happiness for you then??

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Quote above from eBay ad.

I guess it is bringing happiness for you then??

I guess so. I got it to record my off-road exploits but leave it in place all the time just in case I ever need to prove anything that happens whilst driving

[timmay5.7 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close timmay5.7]

How many hours labour did they charge you?

[Guest Close Guest]

Where was the DVR? Would it have been obvious?

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

How many hours labour did they charge you?

I don't know off-hand, it was a quoted price before the service but I will check the invoice when I get home tonight to see if it says.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Where was the DVR? Would it have been obvious?

It's here:



Should be pretty obvious

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Just checked the invoice - no indication of hours but broken down as follows:

Labour $180.60
Washer Additive $1.85
Gasket (oil) $1.79
Oil Filter $25.68
Magnatec Engine Oil $70.20
Environmental Waste $8.50
Workshop Supplies $10.50
GST $29.91

Note on Invoice to say 'Slight brake pulsation recommend brake skim next pad change'.

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

Just checked the invoice - no indication of hours but broken down as follows:

Labour $180.60
Washer Additive $1.85
Gasket (oil) $1.79
Oil Filter $25.68
Magnatec Engine Oil $70.20
Environmental Waste $8.50
Workshop Supplies $10.50
GST $29.91

Note on Invoice to say 'Slight brake pulsation recommend brake skim next pad change'.

Their hourly rate must be around $250...