AA Rip off

tight_scotsman

I had to call out the AA on Friday because my car an Astra SRI had the engine management light on and it was running as rough as toast.

the AA man diagnosed a faulty coil pack which I believe is quite a common fault in Vauxhalls. new coil pack was fitted and solved the problem.

I was charged £162 for a coil pack. when I checked on line the cost of the very same part was around £65.
the car was repaired outside my home I was never asked if I wanted him to supply and fit the part he just fitted it and presented me with the bill.

my question is do I have any cause to complain to the AA I thought AA membership was to stop you being ripped off when you breakdown.
thanks in advance

vikingaero

I can go online and find any part for my cars at a fraction of the price.
The AA must have told you the cost to replace the coil pack? What were you doing? Holed up indoors? I would argue that the price you paid is not dissimilar to a normal garage rate.

Think of the labour involved, the £60k+ van, fuel to get to you, wages, holiday pay, pension, call centres, computer systems,

BeenThroughItAll

tight_scotsman wrote: »

I had to call out the AA on Friday because my car an Astra SRI had the engine management light on and it was running as rough as toast.

the AA man diagnosed a faulty coil pack which I believe is quite a common fault in Vauxhalls. new coil pack was fitted and solved the problem.

I was charged £162 for a coil pack. when I checked on line the cost of the very same part was around £65.
the car was repaired outside my home I was never asked if I wanted him to supply and fit the part he just fitted it and presented me with the bill.

my question is do I have any cause to complain to the AA I thought AA membership was to stop you being ripped off when you breakdown.
thanks in advance

No, it's to get you going again when you break down, or get you somewhere that can get you going, or get you home.

Which they did.

I'm sure if you'd just asked him to take you to somewhere he'd have been happy to, then you could have bought your own cheaper coil pack and fitted it yourself to get going again, couldn't you?

tight_scotsman

vikingaero wrote: »

I can go online and find any part for my cars at a fraction of the price.
The AA must have told you the cost to replace the coil pack? What were you doing? Holed up indoors? I would argue that the price you paid is not dissimilar to a normal garage rate.

Think of the labour involved, the £60k+ van, fuel to get to you, wages, holiday pay, pension, call centres, computer systems,

I understood my membership fees paid for all of the above. I was never told the cost before it was fitted.
and a garage would never charge 100 quid for what was a 10 minute job

neilmcl

tight_scotsman wrote: »

I understood my membership fees paid for all of the above. I was never told the cost before it was fitted.
and a garage would never charge 100 quid for what was a 10 minute job

But they would have charged more than the £60 for part you sourced online. Bottom line £165 is not an unreasonable amount to have a a new coil pack plus labour at a mainstream garage.

burlington6

tight_scotsman wrote: »

I understood my membership fees paid for all of the above. I was never told the cost before it was fitted.
and a garage would never charge 100 quid for what was a 10 minute job

Your membership fee wouldn't pay for the fuel involved.

I bet you don't work for free so don't expect a company to. They're there to make a profit.

If you'd done it yourself you'd have to order the part and fit it. If you couldn't do that you'd have to pay for recovery anyway.

I'm sick to death of the average joe public in the uk expecting businesses to operate this way.

Profit isn't a dirt word.

tight_scotsman

burlington6 wrote: »

Your membership fee wouldn't pay for the fuel involved.

I bet you don't work for free so don't expect a company to. They're there to make a profit.

If you'd done it yourself you'd have to order the part and fit it. If you couldn't do that you'd have to pay for recovery anyway.

I'm sick to death of the average joe public in the uk expecting businesses to operate this way.

Profit isn't a dirt word.

You are sick to death of people complaining on a consumer forum ???
yes companies need to make some profit I agree but this is a rip off.
my membership pays foe everything except parts all labour and diagnostics are included in my membership.
its the fact they marked up 100 quid on the parts that's whats wrong.
The AA overheads are paid by the membership fees so no matter what the fuel costs or any other cost is irrelevant

vikingaero

tight_scotsman wrote: »

its the fact they marked up 100 quid on the parts that's whats wrong.

I've looked on Eurocarparts and it offers a range of coils from £65.99, the next one £101.00 and the most expensive at £224.99. Are you sure your car takes the cheapest one?

Fact is I can order tyres in advance from Openeo/Mytyres for 40-60% of the cost of UK chains. If I need a tyre urgently then I know that I will have to pay full retail. If I plan things I could buy a wrench for a minor job for £1 from Poundland. Not decent quality but it does the job. If I need a wrench urgently then B&Q/Homebase are normally open until 8pm but I will pay £7.99.

tight_scotsman

vikingaero wrote: »

I've looked on Eurocarparts and it offers a range of coils from £65.99, the next one £101.00 and the most expensive at £224.99. Are you sure your car takes the cheapest one?

Fact is I can order tyres in advance from Openeo/Mytyres for 40-60% of the cost of UK chains. If I need a tyre urgently then I know that I will have to pay full retail. If I plan things I could buy a wrench for a minor job for £1 from Poundland. Not decent quality but it does the job. If I need a wrench urgently then B&Q/Homebase are normally open until 8pm but I will pay £7.99.

Using the exact brand and part number of coil pack the AA fitted one that retails at £65. I would imagine the AA get huge discounts from their supplier I got the old part back in the new box.
my whole point is that I have already paid for everything EXCEPT the part as part of me being a member of the AA

Its just profiteering on the part of the AA

pappa_golf

self fix from now on

Iceweasel

The AA is a business just like any other with the sole purpose of maximizing profit for it's shareholders.

The owners are Acromas Holdings who are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Why are you surprised?

I could give similar details for the RAC.

When your membership comes up for renewal you should consider joining the biggest Motor Club left in Europe which is a non-profit organization which operates solely for the benefit of the members.

I pay €109 for annual membership for Mrs Iceweasel and myself - any car - any country - worldwide travel - even without car.

Hugely more cover than any business or Uk 'motor club' can offer - even fly me home from the US or Canada if I fall ill.

Which club? - the ADAC.