Car Servicing costs - Stupid!

italiastar

tomstickland wrote:

I was running a garage then I'd want £70 per hour minimum for labour. When you think about overheads, waste disposal and the fact that it's bloody hard work. Then again, many manufacturers don't make any real money selling new cars (they're so cheap for what they are), then servicing is one area that they can make a good return.
Modern cars are just as easy to work on as old ones. It's only the warranty issues that prevent independant garages getting on with it.

Whilst I have a problem with garages charging £80 an hour (Surrey prices), that is not the main problem - not content with that, they then charge for greater time than they spend working on the car, greater prices for parts etc, work that does not need to be carried out and work that they don't carry out.

Davidboy

Just an update, had to take daughters car back to the garage for repair work which had not been done under the warranty cos "they didn't have the part!!" Anyway was sat in reception, and was listening to a phone conversation one the reception guys was having with a customer. Basically all this woman wanted was a new battery fitted, same car as my daughters, a very small tin can on wheels, he didn't know but would get back to her. He then phoned the suppliers, and quoted him £31.25. He then phoned the woman back and said, yes er well, with a 3 year warranty on the battery and fitted it will £71.25. A FLIPPEN £40 MARK UP. How long does it take to fit a battery....10mins at most

As I said..RIP OFF


D

Wig

Davidboy wrote:

Just an update, had to take daughters car back to the garage for repair work which had not been done under the warranty cos "they didn't have the part!!" Anyway was sat in reception, and was listening to a phone conversation one the reception guys was having with a customer. Basically all this woman wanted was a new battery fitted, same car as my daughters, a very small tin can on wheels, he didn't know but would get back to her. He then phoned the suppliers, and quoted him £31.25. He then phoned the woman back and said, yes er well, with a 3 year warranty on the battery and fitted it will £71.25. A FLIPPEN £40 MARK UP. How long does it take to fit a battery....10mins at most

As I said..RIP OFF


D

Exactly, people need to learn about cars, it's not so hard, changing a battery has to be one of the simplest jobs. The only problem you might run into is if your car has an alarm, make sure the ignition is off, and the alarm is off too before disconnecting the batt - negative (brown) lead first. Also you will need your radio code if it has one.

BobToo

My mate has his own back street garage specialising in SAABs. A couple of years ago somebody paid him for a full day's labour, flew him from Fife to Stanstead, fed him for the day and STILL saved money on getting a new clutch on their SAAB.

The car needed a clutch and a slave cylinder for the clutch. The slave cylinder is removed in the process of changing the clutch and the clutch is changed in the process of changing the slave cylinder. You don't need to know anything about cars to understand that it's the same job- the SAAB dealer wanted to charge labour at the set times for doing the jobs individually.

kondormid

Exactly, people need to learn about cars, it's not so hard, changing a battery has to be one of the simplest jobs. The only problem you might run into is if your car has an alarm, make sure the ignition is off, and the alarm is off too before disconnecting the batt - negative (brown) lead first. Also you will need your radio code if it has one.

whoooa! thats one thing about those of us learning mechanics at college ect (even at my age!) we learn where the costly mistakes can happen. Believe it or not there is something you can do, on some cars, that will cost you an embarassed quid or two if you follow that to the letter

Always make sure the keys are not in the car when connecting the new battery modern cars often have central locking. Almost every mechanic I have talked to has had to deal with this one. Basically the alarm does a flip with the bonnet being open and the poor thing is already having a bad day trying to work out why its just woke up from a bad sleep.
All the doors lock with your keys inside. Your left outside thinking about what to do next.

The biggest problem is what do the various versions of service and repair consist of when done by DIY, Man in Pub who knows about cars, back street garage, main dealer.

The DIY version is usually a much simpler one. Only easy parts being replaced, and alot of checks missed out on the service, usually most parts get changed as they should but some important ones are not checked at all. So in our imaginary car the cam belt snaps and the engine is a lump waiting for a months salary or more.

The man in pub, a bit more complex as he has seen a few cam belts send a car to its grave. Almost everything that needs to be changed gets changed but a few simple things might be missed out, usually hasnt got the tools or knowledge to do every job so expect the odd phrase such as "I would get rid of this if I was you, your cam belt is on the way out and it costs 250 quid to get it replaced, and an engine replacement if you don't"
Imaginary car in this one gets passed on, but hey at least it isnt your problem eh! Of course you have got the problem of buying another car and having it done to you too. Cost is loss of car, not knowing what to buy next, and bad karma due to the fact you passed on a duff.

Back Street Garage, often the most cost effective methods used, they will usually replace everything that needs replacing and check everything that needs checking. Go to one with a good reputation (ask mates) if you choose this route. Reputations to some mechanics is everything, to others it is nothing so asking about can really sort em out, remember you are not asking "who is the cheapest" but "who is the best". The bad side of the coin is that accepting money for fixing someones car without any qualification to do so is not illegal. So the guy might look like a mechanic, talk and smell like a mechanic, but he might just be "the guy from the pub" with his overalls on and having a go at running a buisness. Be cheeky, ask him where he learned his trade, how long he studied for and can you see his certificates. Believe me he will have more than one if he is upto the job, its taking me 4 years of full time college to get to where I want to be and you collect at least one bit of paper every year. He will most likely be chuffed that those years were not wasted and those bits of paper are getting him work, so please do ask! Usually parts are cheaper alot cheaper, labour is usually the same as a main dealer supprisigly enough purely because the main dealers use alot of silicone chips to repair costs fast (if not always correctly). Basically we are talking "my tool is faster than your tool" when it comes to "main dealer vs back street". Imaginary car has a new cam belt and tensioners, your out of pocket by 160 quid.

Then we have main dealer, now with these guys you will get everything checked, and everything replaced that needs to be replaced acording to the computer. Notice that I added "according to the computer" its actually two of em, one in your car and the other one in the main dealer. The mechanic sort of bridges the gap between the two and the computer guides him. The biggest problem with this method according to most main dealer techs ive spoken to is that the computer often tries to decide what the problem is by just replacing parts until it is fixed. This is on one hand a fairly fast way of getting your car back on the road for a few weeks, until it comes back and the computer decides to change the next part. You are getting top quality parts, and lets be honest they do not come that cheap from a main dealer. But those labour charges, one BMW dealer in London charged 156 quid an hour last year. At those sort of charges I am quite glad the computer is just telling the technician to replace parts as it probably cuts back on time spent in labour. Imaginary car has new belt and tensioners, any other problems unknown to anyone but the cars computer also have been challenged. Cost is 260 quid.

Out of the four, I personally think that the "recomended back street garage" wins out, but of course the "no recomendations back street garage" is the worst choice if you havent done your homework. Ask to see those certificates if you are in doubt of which one he is.

The next one to that I would say would be the main dealer, sometimes he can work out cheaper because of the whole speed issue, but alot of times more expensive.

DIY is the only alternative, the man in the pub probably does not know what he is talking about and may actually cause more problems than he is trying to cure.

The DIY route can be the best of them all, its just you need to get the knowledge first, do not just miss bits out and expect it not to matter. It does matter. So for those that do want to go this route can I really really suggest that you invest a bit of time in yourself. Not only will you learn alot, but you will also have access to some of the best and most experienced mechanics in the buisness. They know the lot. So if you hit a problem at home, take a few pics on your phone/camera and show him/ her on the next lesson.

And a final reminder. never even look at a car battery in a strange way if your keys are in the car