is this fraud? money money money with cars :(

trigger_mike

o.k, an alternator can be expensive, for the price you paid i hope it was a new unit and just a re-con unit (a unit which has just been repaired), does your car have air con or power steering?? if you look at this link for euro car parts and at the prices on alternators it will give you an idea what to pay, then plus fitting charges.
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecommerce/Search_Results.asp
As for the clutch unless the pedal or biteing piont is high i wouldn't worry, the rattle is most likely the thrust bearing getting worn, my 106 has been doing it for ages and it still goes fine.

Steve_Herd

I needed a replacment alternator in Jan 2001, for a Peugeot 206, I headed off to my local scrappies, Paid £20 for it, then took it to my local auto electrical suppliers, they put it on test bed and said it was fine, they only charged me a fiver to have a quick look at it.

TOTAL COST £25.........and its still working fine.

MercilessKiller

Seems I got well and truly ripped off... great..

ah well.. Car MOT on tuesday with Kwik Fit. Hopefully they won't be as bad as this other place.

Nationwide Auto Centre - STAY AWAY!

Bossyboots

Is there not an independent garage locally someone can recommend.

We have used the same one for years, so have built up a relationship with the owner. We get preferential service and good prices. We also know we will get a good job done and he knows we will recommend others.

MercilessKiller

I've asked people at uni, but the people who have cars get it serviced at home. My home is about 3 hours away so that ain't an option really!

I'll use quickfit intil i find something better..

JenIttels

Dang. I'm afraid i'm not going be terribly useful either but my experience of changing the alternator on a 1.1 rover 100 (a newer metro) was longwinded. The alternator itself only cost £25 but took a good 4/5 hours to fit - admittedly i don't have a pit or a mechanic's qualification but it was a blummin fiddly job. The engine even had to be lifted off it's mount to get the darned alternator in place.

Ease in changing an alternator varies. I hope you rang round other garages before complaining about nationwide. I think nationwide have a guarantee on their work so if you weren't happy with the cost and had gotten quotes for the same job from a variety of local places then perhaps speaking to the nationwide garage would have been your first step.

I wasn't overly impressed when i had my mot and some work done with nationwide in the past. They wanted to charge me alot of money for some brake cylinders. I ended up buying the cylinders from a car factors place and taking them to the garage. They said that would invalidate the parts guarantee (obviously) but were fine about doing the work in this way.

fwubbar

I took my car for its MOT, and was advised of a 'petrol leak'. Took it to a mechanic aquaintance who said there was no such leak whatsoever. I've also taken cars for work only to find something else go a couple of weeks later, which I find fishy (almost always DIY/friends help now).

Also my best friend took her car for an MOT and was quoted (not estimate - and inclusive of VAT) £200 for the work all-in, she was happy with that, so when she went back 3 days later to get the car they told her it was £260 exclusive of VAT, which she refused to pay the extra...they then said they were holding the car until she'd cough up. she went home and phone the Trading Standards and noted down what they said, then went back with a friend who had memorised all this stuff. She indirectly implied that she was my friend's legal representative and spouted forth - the mechanic had a fit but my friend got her car back and paid £200. Garages cannot keep your car, you only have to pay them what you think it's reasonably worth, and check what you get - quote/estimate, with or without VAT. This was one scam-merchant who didn't get away with it...and he's a former mayor of a Worcestershire town.

Silent_Bob_3

The price you paid for a "new" althernator seems about right. A reconditioned one for my car is about £125 (new from Mitsubishi is £600). Although if the cost you stated including the part and fitting then thats about a fair price and would probably be a reconditioned alternator.

mariejader

Myself and hubby own a auto electical business, I am afraid to say that the costs vary from car to car for any part, what you also need to consider is how difficult it is to get to the item itself before it can be repaired, which will also have a big impact on the cost, regarding clutches some cars have to have the gearbox removed so again you can see where the costing comes from.

Does your invoice break down the cost of labour and parts?

My advice would be always time find your local auto electrican and get them to test the alternator often these faults can be something as simple as a lose wire.

Also on the MOT issue I would not be using a company to do the MOT that sells brakes tyres etc from experience of other forums your car generally fails on the items they sell, find a local independant garage and get the MOT done.

Hebejebe_3

I wouldn't go to Kwik Fit for anything, let alone an MOT.

£400 + for a new clutch sounds about right, you are paying for the time and labour more than anything, because it is such a long job. However, if you haven't noticed any problems with your clutch (is it still easy to find the bite?)then I'd leave it.