jezf wrote:The Green Machine wrote:To take a look at ONE brush to judge whether they all need replacing is fairly simple.
Open bonnet and pull one large main battery pack fuse.
From a pit - or put the car on ramps - undo the two bolts that secure the small plastic inspection opening on the bottom right hand side of the Motor - looking from the front and underneath.
With a long allen key or small bent skewer hook under the brush spring and hold it back - slide out the brush and inspect how much carbon is left onthe brush.
You may also see roughly how much you have left by just observing the brush through the hole - perhaps using a small dentists type mirror. Normally the brushes wear evenly between the 4 so if the one you look at is very low in the holder, or if you take it out and there is only about 20mm left then its time to replace.
I have had a call from citroen re my berlingo servicing, this is to be £376 for the service incl maintenance charge (£250), gearbox oil change (£67) and 'battery acid' (£59). The bushes need replacing too at a cost of £120 additional. Was a little more than I was anticipating!! Is this fair?
Errrrrrrr well depends, Maintenance charge is plug in a computer and press a button then walk away from the vehicle for the next 8-10hrs so not exactly labour intensive (bearing in mind Evans EVlite does the same job for £300 or there abouts and you can use it time and time again) Gearbox oil changing ?? never heard of that one before
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yes it needs topping up or at the very least checking but changing
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bear in mind that it takes something like the grand total of 1/4 ltr
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so its not like its going to cost a fortune to top up. I suppose if you wanted to be REALLY anorakey you could change it but I wouldnt normally.
Battery acid !!!!!
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I REALLY hope they dont put battery acid in it
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Nicads use a alkaline solution in them any way, getting acid any where near them will kill them stone dead. This is exactly what worries me about main dealers ......do they really know what they are doing
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I suspect they might be and I hope they are refering to the distilled water thats needed to top the batteries up after the Maint Charge has completed, this is normal distilled/deionised water that can be bought from motor factors for around 10-15 pounds per 20ltrs which is about what you will need.
Brushes thats a fair price'ish , last lot I paid for which where non gen ones where about £60 but I did get a price for Gen ones over a year ago and they where about that price.
So in fairness and as long as they ACTUALLY know what they are doing then its sort of average, the only thing I would really question is the gearbox oil change, check yes , change no, not unless it has had problems or there are issues with the gearbox.
Bear in mind a EVlite and watering kit will cost about £320 and water will be about another £15 , set of brushes non gen will be about £75 now and gearbox oil is say £10 for a ltr
So for something like £420 which is just about £50 more you :-
a) get to carry out the service correctly
b) get to keep the kit afterwards and use it the next time ( which depending on driving will be in about 3-5 thousand miles, and that time you can half the cost of the kit compared to the citreon service costs and each time afterwards as well.
All of the above type of servicing can be carried out by someone who has very basic knowledge, nothing that technical at all.
So its up to you, also it depends how desperate you are to have it serviced ?
ChrisB