Local dealers have a monopoly on the sale of their make of vehicles - fair enough. But our local DAF dealer is taking it to the next level and enforcing a cartel… They charge ridiculous prices for maintenance and repairs, then they do their best to prevent you from going elsewhere. Our truck needed a front bearing the other day - took it in and they sent back a quote for £2000 + VAT for all kinds of unnecessary other repairs - replacing rear brake discs that still have 12mm on them, and lots of others (to give you an idea, they once quoted us £13.50 + VAT for the time (1/4 hour) required to screw a valve back onto a tyre…). We said no problem, don’t do the repairs, we’ll pick it up and take it to a different mechanic. the truck isn’t driveable now of course. This is where it gets interesting.
They said “If you want to have it towed to your mechanic (10 minutes away) it is going to cost you £380 + VAT”. We are in a town of just under 200,000 people, but there is only one vehicle recovery company in the town that can tow commercial vehicles (everyone else can only tow cars and vans up to 3.5t). I called them for a quote, and his reply was “I am not going to quote you. I’m not going to do this job for you. ______ (local DAF dealer) have told me I am not allowed to do this job for you”!!! They literally attempted to lock us in to using them for the extortionate repairs, by forcing the only commercial vehicle recovery company not to recover the vehicle for us. I found out later that he was charging them much less than this - they jacked up the price in order to make the total cost more expensive to us, so that we would just give in and let them do the repairs for their extortionate prices.
Everyone seems afraid of them. Even the mechanic who is doing the repairs insisted that we have to order the parts, not him, because the parts are ordered through this same dealer and he doesn’t want them to know he is involved so that they don’t get offended! This isn’t a problem, but it seems bizarre.
Eventually I found another vehicle recovery company about 20 miles away in another town that agreed to come and do the job. The recovery isn’t cheap - overall we might break even compared to the original quote - but it is the principle of the matter. The whole scenario is ridiculous - calling this a cartel is not an exaggeration.
Are you in the FTA? They do independent vehicle inspections. However even for a DAF 45 12mm doesn’t sound anywhere near right for the minimum thickness of a rear brake disc. The rest of the story sounds like you need to get onto DAF HQ GB.
how far away is your next dealer? why not open an account with them, also is there not a commercial parts factors as they will stock the same parts as your dealer and probably be cheaper aswell.
Thanks for the input. Nearest dealer that isn’t owned by the same company is 27 miles away. 12mm is above min thickness (this was inspected 24 beforehand ago by the other mechanic who didn’t have the parts in stock - hence taking it to the DAF dealer in the first place - they did not tell me their measurement, just insisted on replacing them, along with other things such as a new king pin kit etc).
The bigger issue was the fact that they tried to prevent me from towing the truck elsewhere, literally by getting the only CV towing company to refuse to even give me a quote. Also the fact that everyone is afraid of them says something. By this morning (without me telling them) they already knew which company was coming in to pick up the truck. Oddly, this company also increased his towing price today, insisting on more money before he would collect it (this might be a coincidence but it doesn’t sound like one - everyone in the greater area seems to be intimidated by this dealer).
I don’t know if these are the correct discs for your vehicle or not, but they do give some idea of how thick a new disc for a 7.5 tonne vehicle is likely to be. If they start off new at somewhere near 34 mm they most certainly do not have a minimum (wear limit) thickness of 12 mm.
No one in their right mind is going to let you drive away a vehicle with brake discs worn to the extent of having lost over 60 % of their original thickness.
Do you mean brake pad thickness?
It doesn’t matter whether it is a light bulb, a lens, a split pin or a dust cap, it will have taken 15 minutes to get the job authorised by the workshop controller, the part drawn from the stores and the job card signed off. The fact that part-in-hand it only takes 2 minutes to fit is neither here nor there.
Why don’t you name the dealer in question, or have they got you worried in the same way as the locals, Just a thought, are the said Daf dealer listed as the only maintainance/safety inspectors on your operators licence, this may be why they think they have you over a barrel, which legally they have ?
Whcih town are you in? Being in the recovery game in a former life i know of people who would move a 56 seater coach on a low loader on a 90 mile round trip for under £400… so the only company in town might not do it (i doubt nobody can do anything over 3.5t though as a 12t renault midlum will hold 7.5t.
That aside just because the second closest DAF is owned by the same group doesnt mean they will be just as bent…
Then the recovery company should not have said no to doing your job
Own Account Driver:
Get a mate to ring them posing as a Daily Mail journalist. Say they’re running a story on it and ask them if they’d like to comment.
Get a mate to ring them up as a representative of…‘Don’t Get Done Get Don’…regarding a future programme relating to your dealings with them,
could be fun,I usually just get on to the top man,Mercedes,Renault it usually works.