Nightmare car bill please help..

AdrianHi

The engine breather is a simple DIY 5 minute job on my car.
Rubber plug which is a vent for the engine crankcase, can get gunged up with oil deposits, remove it, clean with a bit of petrol or meths and refit. No way that is costing £200.

vaio

£360 for brakes is a main dealer price, using an independent will bring that down to under £200, DIY parts cost would be under £100

Front & rear oil seals are maybe £10 each but there is a lot of dismantling involved to fit them particularly the rear. If the breather is blocked then that could be the cause of the seal leaks in that the crankcase pressure which should be exiting via the breather isn’t and is forcing oil out past the seals.

Clearing out the breather MIGHT cure the oil leak and has got to be worth a try. The breather is a system of hoses which can generally be poked or washed clear together with a oil separator canister which might be takeapartable or might need replacement

gabyjane

thanks guys you do make it seem quite simple but to be honest neither me or fr have the time or knowledge to do it, i am wary of taking it somewhere else incase i get hammered again..will wait to see what frined comes back with and as soon as it is done i will sell! love the car but as we were selling anyway that's that!

michaels

Get the pads (and discs although they probably don't need doing) on ebay and look up a mobile mechanic in the yellow pages - total cost about 130 (inc discs, 80 without) and while he is doing it ask him to look at oil leak / breather

Ginger_Nuts_2

Really if you continue to use a main dealer for such things then be prepared to get 'stroked' with a bill. Drive to an independent garage, as someone else posted, say where you are, maybe someone else can recommend someone local, Brakes shouldnt really cost more than about £150 for discs pads and rear shoes in an independent, the breather can be cleaned out and reused unless of course it's split, and the seals arent a huge item either. Really you should be looking at around a £300 bill, I know thats what I would expect from my local garage. So get offa yer !!!! and find a decent local garage;)

gabyjane

Ok thanks for the replys..

I can see what you are saying about taking it somewhere else which is fine but i am obviously wary of getting hit with another £80 bill to look at it and be no better off than if i took it back to the dealer? that will then be £160 for 2 checks and no work done.

There is no way either of us will do the work ourselves and tbh the one thing i definately wouldn't touch is the brakes!
I will ring round some mobile mechanics on monday and get some quotes and go from there..thanks again.

jeannieblue

It gets confusing with all of us giving you 'advice' - sorry!

And doesn't help saying that paying £80 for diagnosis is too much either.:o

I'm not going to give you a hard, I'm really hoping that you can find some where to repair the problems, which are not major, for a sensible amount.

Someone said earlier to you - give a clue to your area - and may be able to direct you to a garage that can help and not rip you off. That is not a bad idea, and if you decline, I understand. We have to be careful these days.

Ginger_Nuts_2

I havent heard of an independent garage charging any money to give you a quote, go in with what you've been told what needs doing, and ask them for a price, dont hand any money over, they shouldnt ask. If you go to the main dealer it's nobodys fault but your own your being over charged. Phone a mobile mechanic and ask him over the phone how much to change the discs and pads and adjust the shoes, rear shoes dont need replacing anywhere near as often as front brakes and probably just need adjusting. If you dont take a proactive approach to phoning around, dont be surprised to pay too much, i'm sure you do it for insurance, electric, gas, phone, why not do it for your repairs;)
Not having a personal dig at you by the way:)

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Unless oil is dripping out the engine, I wouldn't really bother about those seals.

Anyone can do the brakes, you don't need a dealer for that.

steveo3002

jeannieblue wrote: »

And doesn't help saying that paying £80 for diagnosis is too much either.:o

whats that mean?

id say its disgusting being charged £80 to be told whats wrong, any decent place offers free quotes especialy on something simple like brakes

to be honest...and im not having a bash , if you cant afford to get consumables replaced on this car what makes you think buying another used car will make things better, brakes wear out on all cars and id expect any used car to need several jobs doing to make it right