DB9 service Help please.

[cuda]

Standard service - and Stratstones gave me the following wish list:

- front pads down to 3mm - £565 to replace - do they need replacing at 3mm?
- 4 wheels to be aligned - £384! - really?! Can do this at Kwikfit...
- wheel hub refurb x4 - £273 - to make them look nice and not get hands dirty if i have to take a wheel off.........
- new tyre filler bottle - £31 - mine's out of date - do they need replacing?

Any thoughts / comments appreciated.

Thanks

[yeti]

The alignment seems pricey, I used to pay £110 + VAT for my Maserati. Would you really take your Aston to Kwik-Fit??

Everything else seems pretty normal, though some places will paint the hubs for free - I believe DMS used to.

[LordBretSinclair]

Most main dealers will include a list of things that "should" be done - its their way of making extra money.

Every time I go to Grange they tell me things like "door handle adjustment nearing end of travel", "nearside indicator repeater loose" etc. They also quoted £80 plus for each item.

The door handle is still the same (after 3 years of warning from Grange) and works fine. The indicator repeater is a Ford part - £7 on fleabay and I fitted it myself.

[Jockman]

cuda said:

Standard service - and Stratstones gave me the following wish list:

- front pads down to 3mm - £565 to replace - do they need replacing at 3mm?
- 4 wheels to be aligned - £384! - really?! Can do this at Kwikfit...
- wheel hub refurb x4 - £273 - to make them look nice and not get hands dirty if i have to take a wheel off.........
- new tyre filler bottle - £31 - mine's out of date - do they need replacing?

Any thoughts / comments appreciated.

Thanks

Which service is it ??

Rear pads already been done I assume ??

Wheel alignment can surely be done at a local specialist ??

Why do you need a Tyre Filler Bottle ?? I assume that's the repair kit with the Compressor. If so just keep the Compressor.

Hub refurb too expensive.

I assume front pads are Brembos ?? Some on here swear by yellowstuff, less than half the price.

You are taking your own Mobil 1 oil ??

Just a few thoughts

[macpaul]

1. If they're really down TO 3mm, then yes they need replacing. Get them to show you the old ones. Why hasn't the dash warning light come on though? If they're down BY 3mm then you obviously need to do nothing. That seems the price a main dealer will charge.

2. Get the wheel alignment done at Kwik-Fit/wherever. They did mine nice and accurately, before I had the fast road setup done at TDI (which was £110). Stratstone's price is bonkers.

3. Hub 'refurb' is a tin of smooth silver Hammerite (£9.99) sprayed onto the (cleaned) hubs. You decide. I've heard of several dealers that do it for nothing. Both DMS and I have sprayed mine in the past.

4. Never heard of a tyre filler bottle not performing when it had too. My bike ones have been much older than that and been fine. Wouldn't bother.

[michael gould]

cuda said:

Standard service - and Stratstones gave me the following wish list:

- front pads down to 3mm - £565 to replace - do they need replacing at 3mm?
- 4 wheels to be aligned - £384! - really?! Can do this at Kwikfit...
- wheel hub refurb x4 - £273 - to make them look nice and not get hands dirty if i have to take a wheel off.........
- new tyre filler bottle - £31 - mine's out of date - do they need replacing?

Any thoughts / comments appreciated.

Thanks

just say no thanks to all of them......pads... you can buy for £284 and anybody can fit them.......wheel aligned can be done by lots of companies at half that price......wheel refurb....if you want to pay £272 for some grey pain your mad.........and no to the £31 if its dosn't work you have AA memebership or whatever roadside assistance you have

Edited by michael gould on Thursday 2nd February 17:19

[brakedwell]

You can get a new tyre sealant refill for £21.47 on flea bay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Continental-Tyre-Sealant...

[Jockman]

michael gould said:

.........and no to the £31 if its dosn't work you have AA memebership

Do you still have AM Recovery Membership out of warranty ??

Or if you drive without warranty do you need to sort that out yourself ??

[michael gould]

Jockman said:

michael gould said:

.........and no to the £31 if its dosn't work you have AA memebership

Do you still have AM Recovery Membership out of warranty ??

Or if you drive without warranty do you need to sort that out yourself ??

most people driving AM's have some sort of cover......dont they?

[IanDH]

cuda said:

- 4 wheels to be aligned - £384! - really?! Can do this at Kwikfit...

Wouldn't take any car to those sheisters. They managed to break my bonnet catch when I asked them to quote for new disks and pads on my Vectra. Why they went under the bonnet I do not know. Bonnet opened on me on the A329M. However, £384 is really steep. 1hr's labour cost at most and that'd be for a really troublesome car.
Of course, that's based on the assumption they're not charging £384 p/h.

[Jockman]

michael gould said:

Jockman said:

michael gould said:

.........and no to the £31 if its dosn't work you have AA memebership

Do you still have AM Recovery Membership out of warranty ??

Or if you drive without warranty do you need to sort that out yourself ??

most people driving AM's have some sort of cover......dont they?

Genuine question Mr G. I really don't know the answer.

Under the warranty regime, they throw in AM Assist.

I've no idea what people do if they decide not to renew their warranty

[michael gould]

IanDH said:

cuda said:

- 4 wheels to be aligned - £384! - really?! Can do this at Kwikfit...

Wouldn't take any car to those sheisters. They managed to break my bonnet catch when I asked them to quote for new disks and pads on my Vectra. Why they went under the bonnet I do not know. Bonnet opened on me on the A329M. However, £384 is really steep. 1hr's labour cost at most and that'd be for a really troublesome car.
Of course, that's based on the assumption they're not charging £384 p/h.

i think its about £165/ hour icluding VAT.........personally i dont blame them for trying, thats how they try to make a profit and if people are stupid, or rich enough to pay it .....so be it

[DB9 Ian P]

Jockman said:

Genuine question Mr G. I really don't know the answer.

Under the warranty regime, they throw in AM Assist.

I've no idea what people do if they decide not to renew their warranty

If your car is out of warranty then you have no AM Recovery and need to make alternative arrangements. Mine has just gone outside 3 years old and I have taken extended warranty and they confirmed that AM Recovery was included.

I came to my decision because my roof module went just before the original warranty expired and I was not prepared to take the risk. Since I have taken it one of my tyre pressure monitors went and has been replaced. Time will tell if it is the right decision - but I'm comfortable that if something big does go wrong I am covered.

[cuda]

rather you didn't hijack my thread thanks guys...

DB9 Ian P said:

If your car is out of warranty then you have no AM Recovery and need to make alternative arrangements. Mine has just gone outside 3 years old and I have taken extended warranty and they confirmed that AM Recovery was included.

I came to my decision because my roof module went just before the original warranty expired and I was not prepared to take the risk. Since I have taken it one of my tyre pressure monitors went and has been replaced. Time will tell if it is the right decision - but I'm comfortable that if something big does go wrong I am covered.

[Jockman]

cuda said:

rather you didn't hijack my thread thanks guys...

Apologies Cuda

Is there some useful info above for you ??

[cuda]

yup thanks Jockman - certainly is.

Jockman said:

Apologies Cuda

Is there some useful info above for you ??

[tonyhall38]

do it all yourself.....cheaper and you would probaly get a better job...

[Lunablack]

I painted my hubs with POR-15 High temp paint. £25 quid, and there's enough left over to do em another 100 times...

[IanDH]

There's a place called Pristine near to Milton Keynes that will refirb wheels for about £50. My friend had his Porsche 996 Turbo wheels done there and they look like new wheels again. Don't think that £270 is a bad price for 4 wheels, but they're adding on a bit of profit for themselves.

Ring around and find out where they send them and go direct.

As for the tyre inflation foam stuff, you need it if you're in the sticks with no signal to call for help. Otherwise don't use it. The only issues I can see with buying a non AM one are (a) does it comtain enough foam to fill the tyre, and (b) does it have the pressure to completely fill the tyre?

Probably needs replacing because the compressed gas escapes over time.