Is this car repair price reasonable?

toby_puppy

My mum bought a 1.2 2003 Vauxhall Corsa last month.

The car is MOT'd until June next year. The seller did mention an advisory about a CV boot.

The other day I noticed the car had a what looked like water leaking on the drive. I put my hand under the front of the car and there were drips of clear liquid but it was hard to see where it was coming from. My husband checked the coolant level and that seemed OK. The driveway took over a day to dry out, which made us think it might not be just plain water that had come out of it, it was quite a large patch. She hasn't used the airconditioning at all so we ruled that out.

So, my Mum took the car to a local mechanic (who specialises in Vauxhall) and she has always used over the years for her previous astra.

He has got a pit in the garage and we hadn't told him about the cv boot (we were just getting the water leak checked)
The first thing he mentioned was the cv boot, which was fair enough as we know this is true. Then he said he couldn't see any water leaks but after a while, said there was a very small leak from the radiator but he could use something to repair that, I can't remember the name. Then he mentioned that the brakes seemed quite low. He said it's not urgent but they could start making a rubbing sound quite soon.

So, because my Mum is quite a worrier, she decided she wanted all the items fixed - the cv boot, the radiator leak and the brakes.
She also mentioned "brake shoes" and I know he must have said that to her because she wouldn't have known that term otherwise. My husband says the brake shoes are the back brakes and there is no way that the mechanic could have checked these in a pit without taking the wheels off.

The mechanic has now come back with a price of £190 total to repair all the above. Now I don't know if this is reasonable or not. I don't want to think he is ripping is off because before when she had a hole in her exhaust on the astra, he said she should run the car for a while like this, that she could get another few months out of it. If he was touting for work, surely he would have encouraged her to get that done straight away.

Could anyone give their opinion on a cost for this work please-we live in North Wales.
Thanks.

NeverEnough

Firstly, the CV boot should really be done asap so the joint isn't damaged by getting rubbish into it. The mechanic doesn't sound as if he is touting for work, actually, or he would probably have said the brakes need doing right now? But your mum would prefer it all done now, even if the brakes are not an immediate concern, hence the quote.

What is the breakdown of the quote? Ie does it include all parts and labour? You can always ask him what his labour charge is and questions like which brakes and is it pads and discs or brake shoes, front or rear?

I would ask a few more questions about these things. The CV boot should be done asap, you could ask how much that would be - the part is usually cheap and the job not a long or difficult one. If he is only going to chuck a bottle of radweld or similar into the radiator, there is little labour involved and brakes front or rear are generally very straightforward and not too expensive, so if I were you, or your mum, I would get a breakdown of the estimate as it may be a bit on the high side given that the labour costs for this should be fairly limited.

Best to clarify the costs first.

toby_puppy

Thank you Never Enough.

He didn't breakdown the price, but we will ask the question.

The £190 was for parts and labour in total. He isn't vat registered so no vat element.

Thank you again.

spacey2012

I think you should post the name of the garage up, he is going to have lots of work at those prices.

OddballJamie

Could the fluid on the driveway be from the aircon?

marlot

OddballJamie wrote: »

Could the fluid on the driveway be from the aircon?

I was just thinking the same thing!

[In which case it is normal and not a cause for concern - a bit like defrosting the fridge]

paddedjohn

spacey2012 wrote: »

I think you should post the name of the garage up, he is going to have lots of work at those prices.

Not round here he wouldn't. Shoes £45, cv boot £45/£50 and radweld in the rad at the most £10 so total about £100/£105 ish. I would expect to pay that sort of price if it was main dealer but a back street independant would be lads cheaper.

salubrious

It sounds a little on the high side to me, mainly due to him not replacing the radiator, only adding some radweld and not being vat registered.

But then again, would need more information on what brake parts he is actually replacing. If it was shoes, pads and discs, then it suddenly isn't so bad.

toby_puppy

thanks for replies everyone, I too was expecting more around £100 - £125.

my husband said the brakes can't be that bad or else it would have failed it's mot in june, he said you couldn't wear them down that much in a month to the point where they'd need replacing.

also, he said mechanic would have only be able to see front brake pads in the pit without taking the rear wheels off, so why would he mention replacing brake shoes?

maybe I'm just being sceptical.

vaio

toby_puppy wrote: »

.....my husband said the brakes can't be that bad or else it would have failed it's mot in june, he said you couldn't wear them down that much in a month to the point where they'd need replacing........

the brakes don't *need* replacing now, didn't the mechanic say they weren't urgent?

The MOT often doesn't check brakes other than to test they work on the day, so they could well pass today and be totally worn out in 3 days/weeks/months time

Joe_Horner

The MOT requirement for brake pads is a minimum of 1mm of friction material. If they were near that you'd hope that the tester would put an advisory for them, but they don't have to. 1mm of friction material can easily become metal-to-metal in a couple of months.

One thought on whether he's ripping you off or not:

Just have a read round here and see how many people will tell you that when a boot (CV or balljoint) fails you simply have to replace the whole joint because dirt's already got in and if you don't you'll be killing nuns and polar bears before you know it.

He's not quoting to replace the whole joint. Nuff said.