Brake Fluid Test in Health Check

Bit like checking the coolant / antifreeze , Peugeot tried that one on me £24.00 to check it and £24.00 to change it. I hadn't even requested it as part of the service.

We came to a compromise in the end i wasnt going to pay for it, i would be more than happy for them to remove it and put the original back . :)

At the time you could buy anti freeze for around £3.00 . like topping up the washer bottles, always appears on a main dealers service sheet as an extra item , i always point out its supposed to be part of the service.

Another one they pull now they don't fill your oil right up any more they fill it just below half way on the dipstick yet they charge you £65.00 for the oil available elseware at £35.00 .

and charge 12 pounds plus vat for environmentally friendly disposal of the used oil.

Used oil which is sold on to be recycled

The best one was 35 pounds plus vat for fan belt grease (and that was some 30 years ago, at a Merc. dealer)

Maybe fair enough to change it - but to test it? You can buy a tester for a few quid and do it in seconds.

My Main Ford dealer wanted £35.

I understand it as an owner responsibility, but after my recent service I was surprised to discover that they had done it, (Not mentioned as an extra).

My Ford dealer irritates me by filling it slightly over the top mark. ;-)

Dealerships generally use a machine to dispense a fixed amount from bulk, by vehicle type.

An over-fill may indicate either failure to properly drain the old oil, or failure to replace the oil filter.

Chris

I think that is a bargain for the average owner.

I've been driving for nearly 45 years and apart from DIYing the brakes (many years ago) have never changed the fluid. Guess what? I'm still here and have never had brake failure. Load of bollocks in my opinion. Still, it's your call and your money.

If all you do is drive down to the shops once a week, no susprise. If on the other hand you make high demands on the brakes through perhaps towing on hilly country with the car fully loaded, you might not be keen on the brake fluid boiling due to being old.

Other thing is how long the components in the braking system last before failure. If you change your car often, may not matter. But on a keeper, could save money in the long run.

I know; irritating isn't it?

That could well be the case.

It was fun when my BMW main dealer told me this immediately after an oil service, but the dipstick said different. Before I'd even started the car, on collection. It was below the minimum mark.

The implication being if their machine couldn't make a mistake, the oil hadn't been changed. So they were committing fraud.

Perhaps that's why newer Beemers have no dipstick. ;-)

Chris

and bleeding mercs, they are a right pain to get right. Putting in the right amount does not cut it, somewhere near and then top it up by one litre when it complains, which seems crap compared to a dipstick.

Except in some cases, when it can be found behind the steering wheel.

(Present company excepted, of course). ;-)

Years ago I spoke to the head mechanic of a Merc dealership. He was pissed up. He told me that they do not put in fresh oil, they filter the old stuff. Customer is charged for new. He said that spark plugs are not changed unless they are on their last legs, they are just sand blasted. Customer is charged for new. Oil filters are taken off and cleaned up. Customer is charged for new.

I sometimes have dreams about my old Mk 3 Cortina. I have very odd dreams.

It depends if they let the oil in the tanks drop to low, when it refills you can get airlocks or it foams up being fed through the pipes

I remember being a passenger when my dad drove up it in an Austin 1800, towing a Sprite Musketeer. It really didn't like it! A few days later, we found that the warning sign at the bottom was completely overgrown and that's why we'd missed it.

SteveW