[finchlean]

A lot of people have reported the poor experience of dealer servicing their EVs. There seems to be a remarkable lack of knowledge. Most dealers expect their mechanics to be able to swap an oily rag for a laptop without any training.
Having purchased a sophisticated car I'm not all convinced that the local dealers are equipped to maintain it. I certainly don't trust them.
There should be some kind of industry code of conduct, an EV Mark, like the Digital Tick when TV switched over from analogue broadcasting.
Without such a scheme we are repeating early car owners taking their prized possessions to the local blacksmith!

 

[Mark Cornwall]

Service is very varied. Some are really good of course. Perhaps we need a pinned thread with just the name/address of good dealer servicing and a star rating, maybe 1 to 10. The problem is making it stay on topic, like all threads on here. Impossible !!

 

[idiotzoo]

Many dealers barely reach what I’d class as minimum levels of competence for any car beyond changing brakes and tyres, and even then they can catastrophically screw it up.

This is a problem because the new EVs are scary with all their voltage but to be honest they’re not all that different other than having a simpler drive train.

if the one message that’s got through to the folk with a spanner is not to chew on the orange cables that’s a start.

 

[Carty]

I think there is different levels of EV tech’s and each level has a certain category accredited to work on high voltage cars.
The senior tech at my local agent has worked for the company for over ten years, he has been trained to work on EV’s.
However, he would never be allowed to completely remove a HV pack from a car.
This requires a higher level of training to perform such a task.
VW are currently running HV battery checks on their models.
The work to remove the pack and check for water ingress has to be carried out at one of the allocated dealers laid down by VW.
This involves a bit of travelling or transporting the car to these dealers.
Two of my closest local dealers are less than ten miles away from our home address, but we had to make a 120 mile around trip in order to get the work carried out.

 

[freddym]

A lot of people have reported the poor experience of dealer servicing their EVs. There seems to be a remarkable lack of knowledge. Most dealers expect their mechanics to be able to swap an oily rag for a laptop without any training.
Having purchased a sophisticated car I'm not all convinced that the local dealers are equipped to maintain it. I certainly don't trust them.
There should be some kind of industry code of conduct, an EV Mark, like the Digital Tick when TV switched over from analogue broadcasting.
Without such a scheme we are repeating early car owners taking their prized possessions to the local blacksmith!

I would not get too bothered about general EV servicing. All you need to worry about is the ONE Kia Frachised dealer that gets your custom. My local Kia offers servicing via a huge multi-marque servicing centers. Mechanics are working on Fiats, Volvos, Toyotas, Peugeots, Kias, Hyundai, Mazda etc etc. No way. So I drove 110mile round trip to get it done by a dealer whose workshop is 100% Kia and a lot of those Kias are EVs. The service manager and mechanics there were very well trained and knowledgeable.

 

[Jimlad]

There is an independent garage just down the road from me that specialises in EV's. Always get great service from Cleevely EV in Cheltenham.

Hopefully we will see more of these popping up

 

[finchlean]

Many dealers barely reach what I’d class as minimum levels of competence for any car beyond changing brakes and tyres, and even then they can catastrophically screw it up.

This is a problem because the new EVs are scary with all their voltage but to be honest they’re not all that different other than having a simpler drive train.

if the one message that’s got through to the folk with a spanner is not to chew on the orange cables that’s a start.

Chewing on orange cables wins a Darwin award

 

[RichA]

EV-friendly garages in the UK

 

[freddym]

There is an independent garage just down the road from me that specialises in EV's. Always get great service from Cleevely EV in Cheltenham.

Hopefully we will see more of these popping up

Not really relevant to the OP just yet as his car will be less than a year old? and unlikely to get serviced out with the dealer network.

 

[dk6780]

All modern cars require more in the way of laptop skills than oily rags, but this is the UK where employers don't provide training and expect employees to maintain their own skills. A significant proportion of employees (across all sectors) don't either through arrogance or lack of commitment to their career. It doesn't help that there is an increasing lack of meaningful manuals and that most information, of variable quality, is now found via Google on the Wild West that is the Internet.

 

[DBMandrake]

I would not get too bothered about general EV servicing. All you need to worry about is the ONE Kia Frachised dealer that gets your custom. My local Kia offers servicing via a huge multi-marque servicing centers. Mechanics are working on Fiats, Volvos, Toyotas, Peugeots, Kias, Hyundai, Mazda etc etc. No way. So I drove 110mile round trip to get it done by a dealer whose workshop is 100% Kia and a lot of those Kias are EVs. The service manager and mechanics there were very well trained and knowledgeable.

What are you driving now ? No more triplet ?

 

[freddym]

What are you driving now ? No more triplet ?

Me and my triplet are still on first name basis.

 

[Scrooge]

Many dealers barely reach what I’d class as minimum levels of competence for any car beyond changing brakes and tyres, and even then they can catastrophically screw it up.

This is a problem because the new EVs are scary with all their voltage but to be honest they’re not all that different other than having a simpler drive train.

if the one message that’s got through to the folk with a spanner is not to chew on the orange cables that’s a start.

That's certainly the case for Arnold Shark. Avoid at all costs, it's simply not worth it....

 

[Tony Carter]

There's a great service center in North Norfolk, Kelly Clarke Motor Services in North Walsham. Very keen and sending all his staff on training courses and getting certified (including himself). This is what all the service centers should be doing, ongoing training keeps quaility standards up and encourages more customers. It's the enthusiasm that makes the heart glow.
There's also a useful Polar Ultarcharger in their forecourt (how can main dealerships have only one 3kW charger? Nissan of Bodham!)

 

[freddym]

That's certainly the case for Arnold Shark. Avoid at all costs, it's simply not worth it....

That's kind of what I was trying to say in a different way. They specialise in free bonus service additions, LIKE A BIG SCRATCH ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD.

 

[Neilew]

EV-friendly garages in the UK

My daughter took her rental Zoe to one near Telford for a service. (it was the renter's had told her to take it to, even though there is a Renault dealer within 5 miles of her). They put the wrong tyres on and the whole car needed a reset before the 'don't drive danger' sign on the dashboard would go out.

I think I'll stick with the proper dealer's servicing for now thanks.

 

[dk6780]

Without such a scheme we are repeating early car owners taking their prized possessions to the local blacksmith!

Interestingly a lot of the smaller manufacturers used a system like the Tesla Rangers up until the 1930s. Of course back in the day only rich people could afford cars so one could put him up in the former Grooms quarters above the stable when they visited (which was often as minor services were every 3,000 miles and 10,000 miles was some major engine work). No way did the manufacturers want some local hick breaking things, and they needed the feedback from the customers cars for their development work.

 

[KenB]

Can you explain to me what a "service" is? Only time you need a garage is for MOT.

 

[Neilew]

Can you explain to me what a "service" is? Only time you need a garage is for MOT.

It's mainly safety checks and an excuse to charge you a fortune to top up your washer bottle.

 

[Scrooge]

Can you explain to me what a "service" is? Only time you need a garage is for MOT.

Yeah, bar recalls and MOTs, either I do it myself or in conjunction with family who are more experienced.

Since the bigger dealerships brought in inspection services and diagnostic fees I’m no longer their bitch, lol.