[Grale]

My wife took our car into have what the dealer thought was a squeaky exhaust.

Now on Sunday i purposely only put £20 fuel in so i could see how many miles i got from that amount. We have had the miles around town at 32mpg, and that is what it was when she dropped it off.

Now she waited an hour and a half for the car to be fixed, as soon as she got in the car and eventually got the seat back into position, she started the car and was greeted by fuel reserve!

I had been logging how many miles we had done and it was only 49 miles. But when she left the BMW garage it was showing 68! and at 26mpg! and only 40 miles left in the tank.

Where the hell did the 19 miles come from and how did the mpg drop so drastically? My wife just drove home as she wasn't sure of her facts at the time.

I have rang the garage for an explanation but message was passed on as everyone had left for the day.

I remember from my old e90 everything was supposedly logged on the keyfob. Will the possible journey be logged and will information on that journey be available?

Sorry for ranting but i'm very angry at the idea that someone has been out on a possible 19 mile trip and driven my car harder than i would and reached 26mpg.

[RobUK]

Well I know dealers will often 'road test' a car following some work to ensure that everything is in order, but for a squeaky exhaust I would expect that only to be a quick trip round the block - not 19 miles!

[Grale]

Sure a 'road test' is to be expected, but if am wrong about my calculations on my journeys, a trip around the block wouldn't leave a 26mpg reading from 32mpg would it?

[f1swk]

you can recall the historical mpg and mode in vehicle info on the idrive

[NISFAN]

Don't forget, they often keep the car idling in the workshop, especially when hooked up to the diagnostic machine. They may have done some software updates whilst in for the exhaust. Idling of course gives poor mpg figures.

[Grale]

Yeah, probably over reacted as everything went downhill when i got home

Still doesn't account for the mileage covered

[ZigmundUK]

Originally Posted by Grale

Yeah, probably over reacted as everything went downhill when i got home

Still doesn't account for the mileage covered

How sure are you about the mileage before going in? I recall someone else having a similar issue in a brand new performance car where the dealership had it for a few days and drove it for hundreds of miles... Not sure how that one ended - think it was a pistonheads one...

[dopper99]

@Grale, I think you have to get used to the fact that if you leave your car at the dealer they may do anything they like to it and there isn't a lot you can do about it unless you insist you go out on the test drives with them.

You might want to check your alloys too, if they have been doing those miles in it...

[Torque of the Devil]

Top dealer tip, always make the service agent come out and walk round your car when you drop it off, get them to agree there is no damage to the car or wheel kerbings, then if they damage your car you have got somewhere to go. I dropped my M3 CSL off once and did this, came to pick it up and one wheel had been completely kerbed half way round, result new wheel from dealer no argument. if I hadn't got them to view when leaving the car I would have had a hell of a time proving it was them

[-AndyH-]

Originally Posted by Vanguard

Top dealer tip, always make the service agent come out and walk round your car when you drop it off, get them to agree there is no damage to the car or wheel kerbings, then if they damage your car you have got somewhere to go.

I also do the same when getting tyres replaced.

The number of times I have had alloys damaged by careless people changing tyres is beyond a joke.

I have a piece of paper with a drawing of the car and I get anyone doing work to the car to sign it. If it comes back with marks/scratches/dents etc., then there is no dispute.

Another tip is never never never get a dealer to clean your car (even if it is for free). Washing a car is a bit of an art and I am a big fan of detailing. Dealers will put swirl marks (or worse) onto your paint when they clean it.

[kitster]

Originally Posted by -AndyH-

Another tip is never never never get a dealer to clean your car (even if it is for free). Washing a car is a bit of an art and I am a big fan of detailing. Dealers will put swirl marks (or worse) onto your paint when they clean it.

Couldn't agree more. I've seen their car washers in action and the state of the water they are using!