WHATS A GOOD PLACE FOR SERVICING ???

[PRIYAM]

Well ... i have been trying to locate a good place where i can get my car serviced at regular intervals . I drive a 2006 toyota corolla and for the first three services i went to al futtaim...where they said they will give the car back in 1 hour . Well you do get your car in an hour but is it any good ??

They only change the oil and filters and over that one cannot see what they r doing since they keep you waiting in the lobby for an hour . Also being al futtaim they charge more .

Stuff like wheel alignment , brake testing etc will cost you a bomb.

So is there a better alternative service centre where the rates are reasonable and the owners can get the servicing done as per their requirement . All this being reliable also

[root]

PRIYAM...you bring up a topic close to heart. Why should I pay over rate to Al-Futtaim when I can get it done cheaper elsewhere.

Well...the way I see it is that during your warranty period its good to go to Al-Futtaim. Why? Because they do a bit more thorough checkup than your average joe garage place. They go through a list of check-up points per mileage and will atleast make sure that your car is in proper order. In case something is wrong, you can always blame them as well and get it fixed within warranty period.

During this period there will be occassions where Al-Futtaim will try to over-sell you things that you might not really need right that time. They are good in trying to sell you rust-free coating, full-cleaning, but also things like changing brake pads and disks, and tires.

So, this is what I do:
- For regular service and check-up, always go to Al-Futtaim - that gets me the stamp as well and actually go away with a lot more mental satisfaction that the car is fine underneath. The regular cost of oil+filter service at Al-Futtaim is slightly higher than outside, and you make more of that money back when you sell with a full service history from the dealer.

- If during service they ask for any additional changes, I get them done outside, and also get second opinion. For example, there were another 10-15k in the tires when Al-Futtaim wanted to change them, the brake pads were still good for another couple of months, etc.

For service of Toyotas you can basically go anywhere as most garages can do those. However, there are those that specialize on brakes and wheels and those that specialize on others...you need to hence take your car to the right one.

Try Al-Awir on Al Khail Road. There are about 3-4 blocks of garages next to each other. Going through that road will find you one that you like and can do your work. You can also get spare parts there (cheaper than Al-Futtaim for some reason).

[PRIYAM]

Well thanks for your time and advice on this matter . Going by second opinion ,our sponsor who is owning toyota's for the last two decades .....told me that he had stopped giving his vehicles to al-futtaim when he discovered that they were not satisfactory at their work .
According to him , they fill up oil levels such that the it lasts only 5000 km . And they insist on changing tyres every 40000km.

Instead he said that he gets his servicing done from grand service station , every 10000 km where he is very happy with the the services and he can always get back to them if there is a problem .

He changes tyres every 60000 - 70000 kms and wheel alignment only after 80000 km .

The most important point here is that , being a toyota corolla there should be no real worries selling the car , personally i feel that there would be no real loss of value if i decide to sell the car say after 4 yrs and without FSH .

Anyway what do you make of all of this ??
Im sure you have a better understanding of all this than me

[T.N.T]

FSH can get you atleast 2-3k more for Jap cars. That's because there are many 'cheap' places they can be serviced, so FSH matters. But, if you are satisfied with the service you are getting elsewhere, then who cares?
BTW, in my case, I don't buy cars considering resale, reliability etc. I buy them from my heart, if I really want a car, I buy it. Even if its an Alfa. I own 2 cars (3 if you count my wife's), and I bought them because I just couldn't resist NOT buying one .

[root]

how do you decide which car to drive today?

[T.N.T]

That is the best question anyone has ever asked me on this forum! Depends on my mood actually.

[PRIYAM]

If i may be a bit inquisitive , what are the three cars that you own . Just as a matter of fact question .

Do you prefer japanese or German cars ....omitting the resale factor ??

In the sense of maximum driving pleasure

[T.N.T]

Its O K if you ask me anything about cars.
A 350Z, EVO VIII and a Toyota Fortuner.
I prefer any car which makes my heart beat. Depends on what you are talkin about. For eg. if you say CL65 AMG and M6, I would go for the M6. If you say 545i or Infiniti M45, then the Infiniti.
Maximum driving pleasure can be obtained from any car as long as you understand the car and know how to drive it. (Well, a Picanto isn't exactly 'driving pleasure' but I am talking in general)

[root]

Yes! There is also a forum called My Rides.

Some one start loading their own rides as well.

My digital camera broke down otherwise I would have probably had to go first.

[PRIYAM]

HEY TNT you;ve got my wish-list of cars so as to say ....Dammn An EVO ...is my ultimate dream ride ..

350Z , is also nice i guess it must be tiptronic ....no way can u drive a manual in the dubai traffic ...and hows the fortuner ??

We wer planning to buy that car last year but ended up buying a SKODA SUPERB

[T.N.T]

Dude, I think I mentioned in some other forum that my 350Z is manual. Fortuner is great. Took it off-road just once and had a lotta fun.