Should I complain? Overcharged at garage

molar

Hi

Recently I took my car (Renault Clio) to a garage where it had a new coil pack and leads. They charged me £80+vat for the part (coils/leads come all as one unit) plus labour and time spent on diagnosis. I thought this was a bit steep and have since found the part was around twice the price (or more) that it costs from both motor factors and Renault dealers.

I didn't expect them to supply the part for free and also realise they had to source the part although it is a common problem so it may well have been kept in stock.

The total cost for the job was around £145 after VAT.

Should I complain?

Thanks.

HopeAndDriftWood

You could, but I don't think it'll do any good. You could have checked other prices before you agreed to having the work done, and found a cheaper deal. You agreed to pay what they charged, so complaining afterwards probably won't make much difference.

mikey72

They'll probably have had to source the part, but they'll also get a trade discount on it, so knock 20% or so off the price you were quoted by Renault. Ask them were they got it from.

hewhoisnotintheknow

no,in future ask them to call with the prices as they do the work

goldspanners

so you were charged £80 plus VAT for parts, then roughly £55 labour,probably about 1 hour labour rate to diagnose fault,get part and then replace said part.

if it was such a rip of why not just diagnose it yourself and source the part yourself then fit it yourself?

as other said you were free to shop around, was the garage holding a gun to your head.

every buisness puts a mark up on things they sell, garages are the same,they are a buisness not a charity.

molar

Thanks for the replies. I should have asked for a quote first. Lesson learnt!

I think I was blinded by the fact that:

* I'd read lots of recommendations for this garage.
* I'm pig sick of my car, its got so many problems and just wanted to get it sorted!
* I had no transport home from work on the day and no viable public transport.

goldspanners wrote: »

every buisness puts a mark up on things they sell, garages are the same,they are a buisness not a charity.

I did try to say in my post that I realise they are not a charity.

The garage I normally visit doesnt charge anywhere near this markup on parts but on this occasion it wasn't convenient to go there so I took some recommendations from elsewhere.