Car service cost

Car_54

fred246 wrote: »

When they meet me they can see a garage full of tools and equipment.

Just like the dealers you don’t trust?

daveyjp

fred246 wrote: »

Unbelievable. The only time you should pay that sort of money is if they change the cambelt. Mercedes parts are a little more expensive but I would love to see a breakdown of that charge. Must be inflated parts prices, inflated times and ludicrous hourly rate.

Car servicing costs are proportonal to the initial cost of the car, not the actual cost of the work done.

7,000 miles at its second service. Well on the way to wrecking a modern diesel engine. Dread to think how mcuh depreciation has been compared to £700 on a service.

fred246

daveyjp wrote: »

Car servicing costs are proportional to the initial cost of the car, not the actual cost of the work done

That doesn't really make much sense does it? I love the way some dealers charge less to service older cars. That's pretty daft too.

forgotmyname

Yeah its daft to charge more to change the plugs on a car where the first 20 minutes worth of work is removing plastic trim panels, instead of open the bonnet and there they are not hiding underneath panels.

fred246

Car_54 wrote: »

Just like the dealers you don’t trust?

Someone comes to my address. They see a garage full of tools and meet a very knowledgeable person. There are loads of receipts which bear my address and the registration number of the car for sale. I show them an MOT record of pass after pass with no advisories. What is there not to like? First person to see will buy.

fred246

SandraX wrote: »

FYI, my step parents bought pre-reg Mercedes gle 250 I think it is, had her second service last month at about 7 k miles, cost £700.2p

It must be interesting to be a Mercedes Benz independent garage. You know you could do that service for £200 with the best parts possible while the main dealer charges £700. Would MB buyers trust a £200 service? You would probably have to charge £400-£500 before you were trusted. I remember chatting to a plastic surgeon "I would be happy to charge far less but I can't. You see everyone wants to be seen by the most expensive plastic surgeon in town. I would wreck my business if I charged less."

reeac

daveyjp wrote: »

Car servicing costs are proportonal to the initial cost of the car, not the actual cost of the work done.

7,000 miles at its second service. Well on the way to wrecking a modern diesel engine. Dread to think how mcuh depreciation has been compared to £700 on a service.

I had my Jag xj8 3.2 for 16 years and it went back annually to the Jag dealer. From memory a short service cost about £300. I used to suggest when to change antifreeze, brake fluid and plugs and that, of course, cost extra. I used to wonder whether they were giving me a subsidy as the car looked so good and gave them some PR.

dont_use_vistaprint

There used to be a national tyre company advertise oil change only, I think for £20 or £25. They would literally drain and dispose of oil, replace oil and filter. I was gutted when they stopped as everything else is common sense, especially on a modern car.

Also if you read warranty T&C's carefully, they now have to legally allow non-main dealers to service. Although they often say they dont, the wording only requires main dealers for repairs - which doesn't include things like replacing tyres, oil etc. Just insist the receipt states genuine parts used. Brakes I'd be cautious about as the tracking wire has to be done very carefully if your car measures pad wear accurately, I wouldn't trust the national brand name tyres/brakes companies, the staff skills are often low, but often you can find a local independent garage that can do this competently and at reasonable price.

So in summary:
Tyres, Oil servicing - national brands often cheapest
Brakes, tracking - local trusted independent or main dealer
repairs - main dealer if in warranty
Fluids, bulbs, tread checks - DIY

edde

fred246 wrote: »

Unbelievable. The only time you should pay that sort of money is if they change the cambelt. Mercedes parts are a little more expensive but I would love to see a breakdown of that charge. Must be inflated parts prices, inflated times and ludicrous hourly rate.

Sounds like a typical price for a b service in a major city easy to get 700 quid service these days.

Labour's easy 150 an hr at some places. So three hrs plus 80 quid worth of ad blue. Owning a branded dealership isn't cheap they don't make millions like many people believe. Often the worst for high margins are the none branded service places under a national wide brand name.

fred246

edde wrote: »

Labour's easy 150 an hr at some places. So three hrs plus 80 quid worth of ad blue.

As I say ludicrous hourly rate. £80 of adblue that would really be taking the pee (that's a joke by the way). Google it if you don't understand. Should never be more than £10. Halfords charge £20 inc labour.

I pay roughly £30 minor service £50 major service £50 cambelt. That's doing it myself. If people pay silly prices in some ways it just makes me feel better that I don't. I always have the re-assurance that the job has actually been done.

Our employer used to charge employees for car parking. I never paid as I cycled to work. Whenever they put the price up I felt sorry for everyone who paid it but it made me happier that I was saving more.