The Great 'How much should you pay for common car repairs' Hunt

Former_MSE_Rose · 29 July 2013 at 2:43PM

Great 'How much should you pay for common car repairs' Hunt

A study's found quoting a price to car mechanics can stop women getting duped over garage repair costs (source: Times). We want to tap MoneySavers' experience for how much you've paid for tyres, servicing, oil changes and more, to help others know how much is too much.

Just click 'reply' below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply. If you aren't sure how it all works, watch our New to Forum? Intro Guide, or view all past Great Hunts.

Thanks,

MSE Rose

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scottyqt · 31 July 2013 at 9:29AM

I now use a garage near to my in-laws that they have been using for years and have been nothing but pleased with his services.

For example, I recently needed new discs and brake pads for my two front wheels and this cost me £125 (inclusive of VAT and labour).

Also my exhaust was a bit wobbly and he just fixed this for free, what a legend.

Croc_Mad · 31 July 2013 at 9:29AM

Had my service and MOT a month apart. Got 10% off the service price just by asking because I'd had my MOT there a month before.

Shop around for basic stuff like brake disc replacement, MOTs, servicing, air con repair, etc. I emailed loads of garages and found a good price at a place I didn't know existed, ten minutes walk from my house. Don't be afraid to haggle or say that you'd rather use a local garage.

worried_jim · 31 July 2013 at 9:35AM

If you know something needs replacing then use-

http://www.eurocarparts.com/

Put your reg in and it will give you an idea of how much the parts can cost then when you get a price from the garage you will be able to work out how much they are quoting for labour.

Of course stay away from fast fit chains unless you want your pants pulling down and spanking.

Kwik-fit Car Rip-off Watchdog- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHYrn6F4_LI

http://www.bristoleditor.co.uk/kwik-fit-for-whom-the-bell-tolls-via-bbc-watchdog/

jase1 · 31 July 2013 at 10:26AM

The problem with something like this thread is that no two jobs are the same.

For example, the part cost of a rear brake caliper on my 2002 Mitsubishi is less than half that on my 2007 Mondeo. Labour is about the same, of course, but it's still a fair chunk of cash.

Tyres, brakes, even servicing are all the same in this regard.

Weird_Nev · 31 July 2013 at 10:30AM

I'm sorry, but I don't see how this can work. It's just too dependent on the car.

Someone might boast of getting tyres at £35 a pop - in 185/65R14. Not useful to someone who needs 235/30/R18's.

Likewise, some jobs like clutches are pennies (relatively) on some cars, but an absolute pig on others and cost a huge amount.

Even labour rates can vary massively. Up North I found a decent garage charging £40 an hour. In London? Nothing under £60 an hour, and that was cheap.

This is the kind of research people should do before buying a particular car. There is no point buying a car, having common wear items fail, and then wondering if you're getting ripped off.

gemando · 31 July 2013 at 10:52AM

Weird_Nev wrote: »

I'm sorry, but I don't see how this can work. It's just too dependent on the car.

...

This is the kind of research people should do before buying a particular car. There is no point buying a car, having common wear items fail, and then wondering if you're getting ripped off.

Perhaps we should redirect this thread into the things to look out for when getting a car serviced, repaired etc? Although most of that is probably covered by shopping around for prices.

OddballJamie · 31 July 2013 at 11:50AM

This really is a pointless exercise. It's gonna cause chaos when people demand £30 tyres for their X5 because someone got that price for an Aygo on here.

olias · 31 July 2013 at 11:55AM

Agree with all of the above, sorry MSE Rose, not really a helpful post.

Olias

Joe_Horner · 31 July 2013 at 12:11PM

Surely it depends on what MSE plan to do with the information, and how accurate the posters are in their posts? I'd suggest adopting a standard format for posts, maybe something like:

Year, make and model of car
Dealer / chain / independant garage / DIY
Specific work done (eg: replaced front pads and disks, not just "brakes sorted out")
Price including (if available) breakdown of cost into parts and labour.

So, for example:

1995 Peugeot 405 DT
DIY
Replace driver's door window regulator
£30.00 (£30 parts, 1 hour at £0 per hour)

Set out something like that, quite a useful database could be developed. lthough the forum team would no doubt have to keep on top of the thread to keep it tidy enough to be useful!

jase1 · 31 July 2013 at 12:19PM

I think the only useful figure that could be gleaned is approximate number of man-hours, at a garage, for various tasks.

The problem is that very often cars go in for multiple faults at the same time (I know that if my car has a minor problem, after initial investigation if I find that the fix can wait, I'll just put it on the list -- saves on labour that way).

For example; at recent MOT I knew that the car was due for service at the same time, one of the rear calipers on the Mondeo was binding intermittently, and I also knew that the front tyres were down to just over 3mm. It was around a month before the MOT, so I reasoned that I'd just get the lot done at the same time.

The Great 'How much should you pay for common car repairs' Hunt

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