A huge bill from the garage

ooobedoo

Yesterday my car broke down, it's a vauxhall astra and I have learned today that the bill is £753....I nearly passed out.

I am 8 months pregnant and I am sure when they told me the price this morning I nearly went into labour!!!!

Is this a record garage bill??

rjm2k1

It's pretty big, did they tell you how much it would cost before starting the work? How old is the car, what's it worth and what was wrong with it?

kathyd_2

We have an X reg Vauxhall car and have spent almost £2000 on repairs in the past 18 months. Getting now that the repairs are costing more than the car is worth, so we will be changing next March and no, we won't be getting another vauxhall. :mad:

pickle

I always ask for a quote before work begins and say that if they need to do anything extra to give me a call. Once they tell me what has to be fixed I also look on the internet for the problem (with my car make) and get an idea of what's a reasonable price for them to be charging and if I think there's some doubt I get a second opinion.

mclaren_2

it depends what needs done - ie if its the gearbox or that - i would get them to give you a detailed report and costs inc vat for each part they fixed and labour.

ukbill69

If they asked do you want to go through with the work and you signed saying yes, then you are liable, if not say give me my car back, otherwise im reporting it as stolen. Dont pay untill they tell you what they have done and then dispute the things on there. Get another garage to check things are right.

alwaysskint96

Sounds quite likely. My OH was charged £700 odd for a sercice and cambelt change on a 2002 Astra

lil_me

Try looking at your local college to see if they do a basic car maintainence course. My friend did one for about £100 and services her own car now, saving her money each time. We do all the work on our cars, DP trained part way as a mechanic and I just pick it up as I go along.

Lillibet_2

We can beat that, for our 1st service on our old Rover we were charged £840 for a service & odds & ends:eek::eek::eek::eek: By odds & ends I mean 2 new tyres, spark plugs, oil change etc, nothing major. Needless to say we changed both our car & our garage & now know a lot better:p

bristol_pilot

I had a £600 bill for an Astra about 7 years ago, it is a lot of money now and was even more then. I would not buy an Astra again.

ooobedoo

The problem is the EC unit, apparently is costs £536 and then they have to get a code from Vauxhall. The mechanic said this is a common fault, and speaking to the lads I work with, most of them have said they have had problems with them and that they wouldn't buy them again.