Halfords We Fit - Vent.

Edwood_Woodwood

photome wrote: »

What if the bulb change takes 30 minutes or longer is it still a scam

As I indicated in my first post, there may be exceptional circumstances where it may be warranted.

However, I've never once in 30 years been unable to change a bulb in a car within a few minutes.

Edwood_Woodwood

thespiderspeed wrote: »

My front side lamp has gone on my Ford Fiesta MK6 (08 reg) and as I work during the week find it hard to get to the mechanics.

I've looked into how to replace the bulb myself as I am quite capable at DIY, etc. But as a novice to cars I am quite cautious at doing it myself. You have to remove the front grill and then remove the headlight unit to get into the bulbs. One of the screw fixings is right behind the bumper, so you need a ratchet wrench and specific T30 drill bit which I don't have and would have to buy if I was going to do it myself.

Too right you are a novice.

Your motor's bulb replacement is similar to the Mondeo where one also has to remove the grill and headlamp but you don't need to remove any screws at all, even less use any tools whatsoever.

It takes about 3 mins to replace.

Bennifred

Edwood_Woodwood wrote: »

................
It's like being charged in a cafe for a plastic teaspoon to stir my tea.

Pathetic.

:eek::eek: Say no more.

Money-Saving-King

Edwood_Woodwood wrote: »

No garage has ever charged me for either a bulb or fixing it if I'm having work done on my motor and I hadn't noticed a bulb had blown

They'll tell you that but they'll charge you £50+ an hour for labor & I bet that actually did include the time it took to change the bulb. And whatever else you've had done to your car a bulb is probably 0.05% of the cost so I'm not surprised they'll let that one go.

You're theory that you get bulbs done for free does have the slight flaw that it gets swallowed into the hundreds of other pounds you're paying. That then still makes Halfords good value, you probably only came out with the word pathetic to help delude yourself!

Money-Saving-King

Edwood_Woodwood wrote: »

However, I've never once in 30 years been unable to change a bulb in a car within a few minutes.

You obviously have never owned a 97 reg Ford Fiesta!

ThumbRemote

Edwood_Woodwood wrote: »

Too right you are a novice.

Your motor's bulb replacement is similar to the Mondeo where one also has to remove the grill and headlamp but you don't need to remove any screws at all, even less use any tools whatsoever.

It takes about 3 mins to replace.

It only takes about 3 minutes if you know what you're doing. Otherwise its going to take significantly longer.

Edwood_Woodwood

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

They'll tell you that but they'll charge you £50+ an hour for labor & I bet that actually did include the time it took to change the bulb. And whatever else you've had done to your car a bulb is probably 0.05% of the cost so I'm not surprised they'll let that one go.

You're theory that you get bulbs done for free does have the slight flaw that it gets swallowed into the hundreds of other pounds you're paying. That then still makes Halfords good value, you probably only came out with the word pathetic to help delude yourself!

If changing bulbs was a significant problem for motorists then I could open up a business called something like Motor Bulbs Changed Here Ltd, in a unit right next to Halfords and charge a pound or two less and expect to be rushed off my feet.

But it's not going to happen as I wouldn't last more than a few days because there would be very little demand for it.

Halfords prob can't believe their luck that gullible people use this scam.

bod1467

Some bulbs can be very awkward to change ... e.g. for the C3 I mentioned earlier in this thread, the NS bulb needed someone with long, slender, flexible hands to be able to do it without removing the battery and battery tray. That's why I was happy to pay the (then) £3.99 to get Halfords to do it - nothing "gullible" about it at all. (The OS bulb was a piece of cake).

Edwood_Woodwood

bod1467 wrote: »

Some bulbs can be very awkward to change ... e.g. for the C3 I mentioned earlier in this thread, the NS bulb needed someone with long, slender, flexible hands to be able to do it without removing the battery and battery tray. That's why I was happy to pay the (then) £3.99 to get Halfords to do it - nothing "gullible" about it at all. (The OS bulb was a piece of cake).

But some bulbs are a cinch to replace, like on my Mondeo.

It wouldn't be so bad if Halfords charged accordingly rather than one blanket price, after all, all other aspects of motor repairs are.

They must know that if some old biddy in a Mondeo, for eg, needs a bulb replacing then they are vastly overcharging for the bulb in the first place and then, not content with that, they vastly overcharge for fitting it.

It's a scam worthy of Watchdog where eg plumbers vastly overcharge for simple work.

Money-Saving-King

Edwood_Woodwood wrote: »

It's a scam worthy of Watchdog

Phone Watchdog up then. You'll probably get sued by the person who takes the call, all that damage they'd do to their ribs whilst laughing would do them some serious injury!