Being charged £800 for diagonistics tesr

DUTR

CynthiaK2020 said:

Hi Homer, 
Yes I have complained. They basically saying they verbally let me know that there will be charge but he just said we need to check the car, it may or may not be under warranty. And you may see a cost between £800 and £1600 if its not under warranty. To which I said, can I get a quote please. To which he said, we wont charge you until you let us proceed.
 No physical record so, it down to hearsay. I am due to speak to a manager tommorow. My car is still in the dealership. 

So once they proceed that is when some kind of charge is applicable, I wasn't there but long are the days when an establishment like the motor trade give free quotes, often if not always there is a diagnostic fee (which can be deducted from the final bill)

CynthiaK2020

Manxman_in_exile said:

Did you not think to ask them how much any necessary investigation might cost you?  Obviously if they were going to have to open up the transmission, they would be investing some labour into it, and would want paying for it.

Hope I don't sound overly critical there, because clearly it wasn't obvious to you.  Certainly, I would say that if you didn't ask the question of the garage, I would have expected them to tell you that there would be some cost (possibly indeterminate) involved.

I admit I am a complete novice when it comes to cars. I did ask will you let me know how it costs before you proceed to which they replied yes we wont charge you until we get you a quote. If a plumber had a call out charge, they would tell you that there is charge before they even begin. Why isn't the garage doing that? And why are they treating a customer like an idiot. 

fred246

CynthiaK2020 said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

Did you not think to ask them how much any necessary investigation might cost you?  Obviously if they were going to have to open up the transmission, they would be investing some labour into it, and would want paying for it.

Hope I don't sound overly critical there, because clearly it wasn't obvious to you.  Certainly, I would say that if you didn't ask the question of the garage, I would have expected them to tell you that there would be some cost (possibly indeterminate) involved.

And why are they treating a customer like an idiot. 

That's normal in the motor trade.

ssparks2003

Do you think the time they have spent looking into the problem with your car should not be paid for? Is it mates rates? Your car has taken up time of a mechanic, testing equipment, car lift etc to get to this position and now you decide to take it elsewhere to get it repaired. I can see why they want to charge you.

facade

I think they are taking the mickey- I'd expect the clutch change to be well under £800, even at a dealer.

It reads like they have the clutch out, and are going to charge £1600 to put a new one in, or £800 to replace the old one, making it £800 for the clutch parts.

They probably want to fit a new DMF for £600 as well as a clutch though.

CynthiaK2020

ssparks2003 said:

Do you think the time they have spent looking into the problem with your car should not be paid for? Is it mates rates? Your car has taken up time of a mechanic, testing equipment, car lift etc to get to this position and now you decide to take it elsewhere to get it repaired. I can see why they want to charge you.

I am not saying they shouldn't charge me for looking into it. I am saying they should communicate clearly that they would be charge me if they look into it. If I call a plumber, he/she would tell there is call out charge. I am simply saying cost incurred should be communicated before hand and agreed. I am not asking mates rates. 

macman

Go in and inspect the car to see if the clutch is out, take someone with you if you are not sure. That should establish if the work they have done justifies £800.
Is this a main dealer or an independent?

flashg67

Ask them for a breakdown of the labour they want - the labour time & their rate  - it is reasonable to pay something if you're taking the car away but there's a big  difference to me between what you might have reasonably expected for them to check the fault  and an £800 bill to remove & refit the gearbox  - the whole cost of £1600 for the complete repair also sounds ridiculous - even Audi/VW clutch & flywheels don't come in at that much

CynthiaK2020

flashg67 said:

Ask them for a breakdown of the labour they want - the labour time & their rate  - it is reasonable to pay something if you're taking the car away but there's a big  difference to me between what you might have reasonably expected for them to check the fault  and an £800 bill to remove & refit the gearbox  - the whole cost of £1600 for the complete repair also sounds ridiculous - even Audi/VW clutch & flywheels don't come in at that much

Thanks for that. I will ask for a breakdown. It is reassuring to hear this. Lot of my colleagues and friends who have far more expensive cars mentioned the same. 

CynthiaK2020

macman said:

Go in and inspect the car to see if the clutch is out, take someone with you if you are not sure. That should establish if the work they have done justifies £800.
Is this a main dealer or an independent?

Sounds good. I might go visit with someone(need to as I dont have car anyways). It is the Vauxhall dealership.