I left my wagon at MAN Swindon this afternoon for it’s six weekly inspection, having never taken a truck to a dealer for one before. How reliable are they at sorting things? I left a note that the horn has broken, air con not working properly and that in true MAN style, the centre draw has broken. Staff were polite and helpful, shame parking space was hard to find.
if they are anything like luton daf,then expect to get it back exactly how you left it!!
andrew.s:
expect to get it back exactly how you left it!!
+1^^^
Our local MAN dealer at my old job were completely useless & attitude towards drivers picking/dropping trucks was appalling(our TM & maintenance manager used to ■■■■ each other off I’m sure), nothing was ever fixed if we reported it until someone wrote one off…
Used two different branches of the same dealer.
One branch was great with top notch mechanics where nothing was too much trouble and all work requested was done. The other branch were useless.
Guess which one got shut down?
Same as the one we use then Andrew. Went in for tacho calibration one year I put the keys in when I picked it up half the ■■■■■ dash fell off!. Office girls are brilliant pretty much same girls for the 8 years I been going in and they help as much as they can but from the keys leaving their hands and finding there way to the workshop it seemed to go downhill especially over the last few years. Maybe we’re just small fish in a big pond now but after nearly 30 years off my boss using them he has lost faith. We bought a couple off scanias instead off man’s I don’t even think my boss prefers them tbh but I don’t think he wanted to give man his money. They still do work on our 2 older trucks but I’m glad my scania isn’t sent over there.
Muckaway:
I left my wagon at MAN Swindon this afternoon for it’s six weekly inspection, having never taken a truck to a dealer for one before. How reliable are they at sorting things? I left a note that the horn has broken, air con not working properly and that in true MAN style, the centre draw has broken. Staff were polite and helpful, shame parking space was hard to find.
so the horn is the only thing that needs sorting for the 6 week inspection!
Moose:
Muckaway:
I left my wagon at MAN Swindon this afternoon for it’s six weekly inspection, having never taken a truck to a dealer for one before. How reliable are they at sorting things? I left a note that the horn has broken, air con not working properly and that in true MAN style, the centre draw has broken. Staff were polite and helpful, shame parking space was hard to find.so the horn is the only thing that needs sorting for the 6 week inspection!
And it’s probably the only thing that will get done, I had a faulty horn replaced by a garage and they stuck a scooter one on.
Jobs i request are always done at the main dealer, however i keep the lorry clean at all times and whenever possible steam clean the chassis just before dropping it in for service/inspection, oh and dealer reception are polite and the mechanics seem a decent crowd…maybe reflecting the drivers attitude to them?
If the vehicle looks cared for and is clean to work on its more likely to get considerate servicing than a pile of crap, just as most lorry drivers take care of someone elses well looked after regular lorry if they use it.
Id imagine they would only replace or repair things covered by the inspection. Any aditonal things would have to be authorised by your firm as they are chargeable.
as above, guess its down to what type of maintenance contract they have, if any…
either way the parts have to be paid for out of someones pocket
If the vehicle owners bosses who pay the bill do no authorise repairs then nothing gets done ,no matter how often the driver defects it…
But from the dealer side ,I go a job and the drivers defect said " Digital Tachogaph" the driver who dropped it off was “only dropping it off” and their transport office knew nothing about it …Vehicle was only 8 weeks old …So told them to take it back the tacho worked
all our trucks are on full R&M but it seems to be that the dealers want to take your money but then only do the bear minimum required always been an up hill struggle with scania, as yet my Iveco been in twice with 2 different dealers and never had a problem mind you its still brand new, will see how it goes as things get warn 
R&M probably the ‘BIGGEST’ con this industry of ours has had to contend with. Personal experience,an R&M contract plus visits to a trusted privateer to actually
have the work done.Now if Vosa wants to really impress,a tractor unit put into the dealers for repairs/servicing with pre set faults, failure to service/repair the vehicle
adequately/properly…CLOSE THEM DOWN.
I think you will find they will do what the firm that owns the vehicle tells them to do, if there’s a problem with anything you will have to get Earthline to tell MAN Swindon to do it as they are paying. I would have thought that a company as big as Earthline would have had their own workshops, so it’s not there kit then, the MAN’s must be on lease hire then, that’s why they look so good compared to the rough old Scanias.
Scania Bellshill used to be bloody awful. We started taking the R500 to Scania Dumfries. Chalk and cheese difference. 
altitude:
I think you will find they will do what the firm that owns the vehicle tells them to do, if there’s a problem with anything you will have to get Earthline to tell MAN Swindon to do it as they are paying. I would have thought that a company as big as Earthline would have had their own workshops, so it’s not there kit then, the MAN’s must be on lease hire then, that’s why they look so good compared to the rough old Scanias.
All trucks are contract hire on Earthline, John. They do have workshop staff that do the plant aswell. The daycab Scanias do appear the roughest, the sleeper cabbed ones are immaculate. The MANs are all tidy, must be driven by people who like them (got to say that as there are new ones coming…) 
I must be doing alright John- I’m driver trainer next Monday, not bad for 2 weeks service
Muckaway:
I left my wagon at MAN Swindon this afternoon for it’s six weekly inspection, having never taken a truck to a dealer for one before. How reliable are they at sorting things? I left a note that the horn has broken, air con not working properly and that in true MAN style, the centre draw has broken. Staff were polite and helpful, shame parking space was hard to find.
The 6 week inspection is a safety inspection only. You won’t get the aircon fixed nor the drawer fixed. They’ll advise the horn to your employer but unless the employer tells them to fix it, that won’t get done either.
mds141:
Scania Bellshill used to be bloody awful. We started taking the R500 to Scania Dumfries. Chalk and cheese difference.
Made me laugh this, Bellshill used to think a six week service took six weeks to complete! Dumfries is better, but it takes about six weeks to clean the cab after they have finished!
One of my pals took his unit into Dumfries for a service, complained about the mess ie mud on floor, footprints over engine hump etc. Ended up with the manager out cleaning the cab for him! He then took my unit in. The manager went out and cleaned it out, without being asked, while my pal stood drinking coffee.
Bloody grease monkeys.
Conor:
Muckaway:
I left my wagon at MAN Swindon this afternoon for it’s six weekly inspection, having never taken a truck to a dealer for one before. How reliable are they at sorting things? I left a note that the horn has broken, air con not working properly and that in true MAN style, the centre draw has broken. Staff were polite and helpful, shame parking space was hard to find.The 6 week inspection is a safety inspection only. You won’t get the aircon fixed nor the drawer fixed. They’ll advise the horn to your employer but unless the employer tells them to fix it, that won’t get done either.
Surely a horn has to be fixed, or what is the point in a safety inspection? If the aircon is ignored, I guess I can get away with a dusty interior? I wonder if they’ll look into the engine management light that comes on?
It isn’t often I agree with Conor, it may even be a first, but this is a 6 week inspection, a paper exercise to keep to the operators licence conditions, it doesn’t even have to be 6 weeks, it could be 4 weeks on a muckaway tipper and 10 on a night trunker.
Any motor vehicle must have a working horn otherwise it is an immediate prohibition and a £60 fixed penalty. The horn is one of the daily checks, if it doesn’t work, the truck doesn’t leave the depot or parking area.
Surprise surprise, the mechanics who do a 6 week inspection do not top up your oil or water, blow your tyres up or fuel it up either