Prosperous soul in the making

Bargainhunter30

Well done Savingholmes, you're doing an amazing job!

savingholmes

Hi Stripey and Bargain hunter

Well I got a shock today. My just under 3 year old car failed its MOT!!! :eek::eek::eek:Although I was in a swanky waiting area - free coffee, brownies and flapjacks on tap with nice big leather style chairs... the bill was huge!

TBF I got there and the person told me that it would fail with the seat belt problem it had. I asked why they hadn't pre-warned me when I booked the test. I had travelled an hour - and I had told them at booking that there was a problem with the seat belts - if they had told me it would fail I would have got them fixed more locally to me. Now I would have to come back for a retest. The guy came to find me when it was done - and said we can loan you a car to come back Tuesday but there's a bit of work that needs doing. :eek: He also said he had overheard me when I came in and I should have been warned that the seat belts would cause it to fail the mot so he said they would do this mot for free and leave the money sat in the scheme to pay for my next one instead. Saving me around £39.:beer:

Initial quote

• Air con refill £148.99 - I said I wouldn't do so £0 as its working fine:money:
• 2 New seat belts £357.46 -:eek::eek::eek: I asked where's my 10% discount I am supposed to get on the scheme so knocked down to £309.31
• Brake fluid £60 - required
• Front brake pads ad discs £375.14 - :eek::eek::eek: after I challenged it he discounted itdown to £264.55. I rang DH in front of the customer services person and asked DH to get a quote from Nat Tyres - they said could do them for £220. I asked the dealer if there was anything more they could do - given that we had just bought a second hand car for what they were trying to charge me in a single day! He said he'd go and see if they could fit economy parts - they didn't normally when a car was less than 3 years old but since I was only 2 weeks away they would bend the rules. Got brake kit for £202.72

So original quote was £920.59 (including MOT) and free car loan - and now after taking off the air con of 148 - and the various discounts the revised payment £572.03 cf £771.7 for the same work. A saving of £199 or close to £350 if I included the work I'm not doing.:money: All to say - thank God I had topped up the EF this month as although I was lobbying for a saving at least I knew where the £ was coming from! :money:

MovingForwards

My goodness, I never expected that kind of bill SH! If your warranty is up shortly then don't use a dealer for any further repairs as that's too much x

I do hope the brownies etc were nice

Drawingaline

This happened this year with my car service, but it's 10yrs old! £700, then another £300 a month later for new starter motor and battery. I hate cars, and hate how reliant I am on one. I cash flowed it all, but it still hurt.

WelshKitty85

Oh no, sorry your car failed the mot but well done on getting the bill down.

savingholmes

Thanks all. It was a shock I can tell you. Never been more grateful that the EF was in place. Will try to keep EF as in tact as possible. Will potentially need to top it back up next month - plus our savings in general or won't have enough to pay for Xmas. That could sadly slow down CC4 repayment but shouldn't lead to new debt. Weirdly it made me feel so much better about buying DH's car.... DH got to use his car to see DS today while I went in the opposite direction. Things could be a lot worse.

doingitanyway

A shock of a bill but you kept your cool and beat that bill down. Go you!

jwil

What a shock about the car, but amazing reduction :T

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Amazing reduction, well done for questioning everything.
Stories like this are why we've veered towards a lease this time, I just can't be doing with the unknown and associated hassle

girlatplay

Well done on that reduction. I'm using a dealer for services, etc, at the moment because my car is still under warranty but I have a reliable local garage who I speak to for the truth. Dealer was trying to squeeze unnecessary money out of me but I was able to fight back. When my car starts needing MOTs (next year) I'll just go to the local garage again like I did with my last car. Had the last one for 13 years and it was 16 years old when I finally had to let it go but actually, it was still a great motor for someone who knew what they were doing and could do it up. Local garage have been brilliant the whole 11 years I've been using them. I'm so impressed with what you managed.