Cheap mechanic in SE london , Pensioners car with fault.

taffyjac

Hello !
My dad is a pensioner and uses his car as a means to get out and about easier because of feet problems he cannot walk too far without considerable pain. He has a fault with his peugeot 405 estate car , he believes it is a cam belt or timer that needs replacing or repairing. He has called a few garages and been quoted anything from £300 onwards. Being on a pension this is quite hard for him to come by especially as it also needs taxing at the end of the month.
I just wondered if there was anyone in the SE london area who would know a good mechanic who has realistic prices so he might be able to fix the car and keep on the road. Have asked neighbours and called various suggestions but again all too expensive.
Any suggestions or help would be great , thanks for reading

sassy_one

Firstly, I would consider how much work and money needs to go in to the current car etc before going ahead with any work.

How long is the current MOT?! - Will it need any work that you are aware of on it's next MOT?!

What is the current condition of the car?!

Ask yourself these questions first, then if you think it needs lots of work, scrape it.


Now, I don't know a garage that you could use in London, however go to one that is Bosch approved for starters.
Regards labour costs, ring a round a few garages, you may even find, if you can get to one, ringing a few outside London will be cheaper.

Hope he is able to get it sorted!

newbie007_2

PM me and I'll give you the number for a good mechanic I use in deptford.

taffyjac

Yes the car is worth it , aside from this problem he has owned it for quite some time and been able to keep it up to date with servicing and what not , so without this small problem the car is a dream usually. MOT is just under a year , but yeah i get the point like he said why pay so much to fix as the car's not worth that much, but he has to add that against losing it totally. Thanks for all the help anyways

sassy_one

taffyjac wrote: »

Yes the car is worth it , aside from this problem he has owned it for quite some time and been able to keep it up to date with servicing and what not , so without this small problem the car is a dream usually. MOT is just under a year , but yeah i get the point like he said why pay so much to fix as the car's not worth that much, but he has to add that against losing it totally. Thanks for all the help anyways

You could also look on line at reviews against garages in London - but my advice would be to go to one that is Bosch approved so you have some peace of mind !

Flying-High_2

sassy-one wrote: »

Firstly, I would consider how much work and money needs to go in to the current car etc before going ahead with any work.

How long is the current MOT?! - Will it need any work that you are aware of on it's next MOT?!

What is the current condition of the car?!

Ask yourself these questions first, then if you think it needs lots of work, scrape it.


Now, I don't know a garage that you could use in London, however go to one that is Bosch approved for starters.
Regards labour costs, ring a round a few garages, you may even find, if you can get to one, ringing a few outside London will be cheaper.

Hope he is able to get it sorted!

Explain why Bosch approved?....

skiddlydiddly

So they can sell you their spark plugs?I can't say I've ever heard of this either.

withabix

So they can charge you more?

Zanzibar

skiddlydiddly wrote: »

So they can sell you their spark plugs?I can't say I've ever heard of this either.

You have probably not seen it as you dont look around at many garages. Look at this months Which? magazine and it explains it and other garage schemes (codes). As it happens Bosch ones were the best overall but charged more and still missed a fair bit in their mystery car tests.

Car maintenance is still one of the service industries with a bad name due to all sorts of slimy practices and cowboy operations (some at big chains) - a personal recommendation is still the best way.

Which? - Sept '10:

"Comparing our findings across the codes, Bosch garages scored highest, fixing 64% of our introduced faults. Motor Codes came a close second with 60% of faults fixed. But its bad news for the (ironically named) Good Garage Scheme; its score of 39% is actually worse than the 43% achieved by independent (non-code) garages."

mcjordi

can your friends/family not recommend a good cheap back street type garage?? i dont use mainstraim "bosch approved" ones id rather use a local trusted backstreet one man band garage who is a hell of a lot cheaper than a mainstream garage..