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mechanic charges!
no-oneknowsme
Posts: 1,955 Forumite
in Motoring
This is more of a rant on my part than a question.
I left my car into a local mechanic the other day. I was leaving it in on my way to work and after a hectic morning was running a little late.
I knew exactly what parts I needed for my car and so in a case like this would usually go to the carparts shop and buy the parts myself , leaving the mechanic just to fit them for me.
So , when I arrived at the garage I was running late for work and so asked the mechanic to go to the parts shop which incidently is 2 shops down from the garage to get the parts for me which he said he had no problem with.
When I picked the car up I was a bit peeved to find that the parts in question had cost £129 on which I had already been charged VAT by the car parts shop but then on the bill the mechanic had added the cost of the parts to the labour charge and then charged me VAT on the total as well!
This effectively means that I have been charged VAT on the parts TWICE! If I had went into the shop and bought the parts myself then my garage bill would have been approx £25 cheaper!
Im kicking myself and wont fall for this in future. I will bring the parts with me.
This is what I paid for a timing belt change :
Parts £129.80 (water pump , timing kit , antifreeze)
Labour £120
Vat £49.96
Total bill £299.76
:mad:
I left my car into a local mechanic the other day. I was leaving it in on my way to work and after a hectic morning was running a little late.
I knew exactly what parts I needed for my car and so in a case like this would usually go to the carparts shop and buy the parts myself , leaving the mechanic just to fit them for me.
So , when I arrived at the garage I was running late for work and so asked the mechanic to go to the parts shop which incidently is 2 shops down from the garage to get the parts for me which he said he had no problem with.
When I picked the car up I was a bit peeved to find that the parts in question had cost £129 on which I had already been charged VAT by the car parts shop but then on the bill the mechanic had added the cost of the parts to the labour charge and then charged me VAT on the total as well!
This effectively means that I have been charged VAT on the parts TWICE! If I had went into the shop and bought the parts myself then my garage bill would have been approx £25 cheaper!
Im kicking myself and wont fall for this in future. I will bring the parts with me.
This is what I paid for a timing belt change :
Parts £129.80 (water pump , timing kit , antifreeze)
Labour £120
Vat £49.96
Total bill £299.76
:mad:
The loopy one has gone :j
0
Comments
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That's the law - he had to charge VAT on the parts. I'm a management consultant and have to charge VAT on any expenses I incur for my client even though VAT has already been charged by the supplier.0
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That's the law - he had to charge VAT on the parts. I'm a management consultant and have to charge VAT on any expenses I incur for my client even though VAT has already been charged by the supplier.
Our company is VAT registered and when my wife charges on, for example, hotel bills to her clients we charge them the net and then add our own VAT.
This garage IMO should charge the net parts price (plus any mark up) and then add VAT.0 -
normally i would charge retail net price for parts plus vat0
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This garage IMO should charge the net parts price (plus any mark up) and then add VAT.
Seems like they did, I can't see the problem, they had to send someone round to get the parts and pay for them, £25 seems fair to me, what's a mechanics hourly rate? We're not expecting the garage to do this for nothing are we? I'm sure had the OP left the garage to source the parts the mark up would have been a lot higher.I hate football and do wish people wouldn't keep talking about it like it's the most important thing in the world0 -
£120 to fit a timing belt ?
What car was this on ?
If it took him anything longer than an hour on a standard make car then I can see why he works for himself, he would be sacked at a decent garage.
Another point, has he put a VAT registration number ON the invoice/ billHi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0 -
£120 to fit a timing belt ?
What car was this on ?
Yes that's quite likely, with some cars it's recomended you fit a timing belt kit which includes pulleys and adjusters and also water pump as in OP. VW and Audi are examples, plus, most modern cars would need more than an hours labour to replace a timing belt.I hate football and do wish people wouldn't keep talking about it like it's the most important thing in the world0 -
interstellaflyer wrote: »Seems like they did, I can't see the problem, they had to send someone round to get the parts and pay for them, £25 seems fair to me, what's a mechanics hourly rate? We're not expecting the garage to do this for nothing are we? I'm sure had the OP left the garage to source the parts the mark up would have been a lot higher.
"Send someone round"? They hardly had to "send someone round" lol given that the parts shop is literally only 2 shops away
You say that if I had left the shop to source the parts myself the mark up would have been a lot higher...well I rung the shop the same afternoon once I receiced my bill from the mechanic and enquired about the prices.....the mechanic charged me £78.50 for the belt kit - the shop told me it would cost £73.50 . The shop also quoted me £30 for the water pump....the mechanic listed it on my bill as £39.80.
Are you implying that they got the parts cheaper but charged me the full price?
Im in the wrong trade......The loopy one has gone :j0 -
£120 to fit a timing belt ?
What car was this on ?
If it took him anything longer than an hour on a standard make car then I can see why he works for himself, he would be sacked at a decent garage.
Another point, has he put a VAT registration number ON the invoice/ bill
The car is a renault megane scenic . Apparently on this model the water pump needs to be changed alsong with the timing belt.
Yes , there was a VAT number on the invoice.The loopy one has gone :j0 -
no-oneknowsme wrote: »"Send someone round"? They hardly had to "send someone round" lol given that the parts shop is literally only 2 shops away
You say that if I had left the shop to source the parts myself the mark up would have been a lot higher...well I rung the shop the same afternoon once I receiced my bill from the mechanic and enquired about the prices.....the mechanic charged me £78.50 for the belt kit - the shop told me it would cost £73.50 . The shop also quoted me £30 for the water pump....the mechanic listed it on my bill as £39.80.
Are you implying that they got the parts cheaper but charged me the full price?
Im in the wrong trade......
But you said the bill came to £25 more than you thought it should, based on that, someone having to down tools and pop out for parts and pay for them on your behalf, seems reasonable to me, whether the shop was practicaly next door is irrelevant.I hate football and do wish people wouldn't keep talking about it like it's the most important thing in the world0 -
Is it petrol or diesel and what engine size.Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0
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