How much do you reckon this little service should cost for my scoob?

Oil and Filter
Cam belt
Plugs
K&N Panel Filter
Gear Oil
Diff Oil
Coolant
Fuel Filter

 

Loads..lol

Got a price of circa £500 for my 30k service on an 03WRX from the stealer (oops ~ I meant DEALER..lol!!). Similar service to above, except for K&N filter, cam belt and maybe one of the fluids, so I reckon near enough £900 at the dealer (or do i mean stealer..!??LOL)

;o)

 

in short, a lot...

On my MY00 it never occurred like that, but one service including all but the cambelt on your list came to a bargain £340. My cambelt service with Oil Change came to £547, so somewhere around that mark really.

Shop around though, there's a HUGE difference in dealer prices, nevermind the specialists

 

also, what you've described is pretty much the worst case scenario for a standard service, they're not all that bad... (no really!)

 

It came to just shy of 650! But i was also whacked with a new tensioner too and so added another 117. So 760+! I was a bit err shocked to say the least. What bugged me was the way the garage just stacked on individual items for each part of the service with no account for the actual time spent in the garage. And they wouldnt give me a breakdown of labour and parts. Feels like they had my trousers round my ankles big time against what it would have cost myself to do it minus cam belt.

 

Would you like to let us know wot garage this was!!

 

Why do you think it is a bit steep? I forgot - fuel filter as well but they are not expensive.

This is the scenario. I emailed and asked for a price for a full service with cambelt which was 290+vat. My car is MY99 but only done 20K so i asked their recommendations. When i got there i got all those other items put on the list but to quote them -"i okayed it". I myself have to wonder whether the items changed were required at 20K miles in the first place!! What do you reckon?

When i picked the car up i had a bill for the above for over £750 for the items listed! I was stunned and shocked considering i was expecting £500. Probably my fault for not getting another price there but everywhere else i looked were charging under 500inc vat for the same service.

 

Cant say if its a bit steep or not but ill have a look through all the paper work ive got for mine and find some price's as ive got every bit of paper for my car since it went on the road for its first trip!

 

I know it's different if you don't have a warranty, but I did the oil etc myself, and paid a local mechanic (who builds mega powered drag-racing Skylines for the local importer) about £60 to fit a cambelt. Scoobs aren't that different to other cars - changing a cam belt is quite straight forward. Some labour charges, even for 'specialists' are extortionate.

My friend had a mk4 Golf (after I said they were pretty reliable!) Took it to the dealers for a few 5-10 minuts jobs, and got charge an hour for each. Can't see how tht can be legal TBH

 

They were pretty cheap for the cam belt - its the rest thats crippled me! I wish i had just taken it for that doing but because i was short on time i though yeah get the oil etc done then its done. I wasnt expecting having the rest done but they said thats what it needed. Take for example £70 for the coolant replacing!! When the car is already there having the rest done how the **** does it take over 2 hours to do that (based on their quoted labour rate).

 

just booked in at my local subaru stealer (i like this word) for a 40K mile service. gona cost me £227.80 all inclusive of labour and service parts then consumables on top

 

Sang,

Consumables on top..? They used to give me free tea and biscuits in the BMW dealer when I got my MINI S serviced..lol

Consumables on top of parts and labour..? What do they mean? Are they going to charge us all for latex gloves and toilet paper now..? They are cheaker blighters these dealers. Sometimes I feel like asking if I can go and watch them do a service and time exactly how long they take and compare it with labour charged... ;o)

 

Lets be fair oil and filter diff oils are all things you could do quite easily to lighten the cost

 

bloody hell !!

£290 + VAT for a full service inc cambelt and then to be charged £650

Looks like they bombed another £300 onto your bill for the Gear Oil, Diff Oil & Coolant and only the price difference for the K&N Panel Filter as a standard service would include an OEM air filter.

The cambelt tensioner takes no time to swap once the cambelt is being changed.

I'm assuming standard service items are:
Oil and Filter
Plugs
Air Filter
Fuel Filter

 

lol what i ment on consumables is consumable items, break pads, disks etc.

 

They wont mind me saying who it was.

Scoobyclinic did the work. I have no complaints with the work done at all but i think the way they charge for things should be looked at when having multiple items done in a service package - or any other garage that charges this way to be honest. I would have gone back time after time as it was only an hour away (still a fair trek just to take your car for a service) and the work done was fine but they can go whistle. I cant afford those sort of prices. I worked out i have either paid for the equivalent of 19 hours labour at their 'advertised' rate of £25ph OR almost double that for the time it should take! When i pointed this out i belittled into not knowing what i was on about. I reckon for everything but the cambelt i could have had it done in 4 hours max and thats being generous and i allowed 4.5 hours for the belt.

Scoobymania charge under £500inc VAT and labour for everything i have had done except the fuel filter change so add £25 and you have just over £500. This is what i was expecting. I was given some scooby clinic stickers after id lightened my pockets and also had the offer of having them put on but refused. Firstly because i dont like advertising stickers all over but secondly i was expecting a 2 hour bill for them being fitted. You may laugh but it did cross my mind!

Lesson learnt from it all - get what you cant do yourself done and for the rest which was well within my capability do it yourself! I dont mind paying the going rate but i hate being left feeling ripped off. Not happy but hey, its only money. Our friends over the pond have worse things to worry about with Katrina so i should be thankful.

 

I can understand people going to the likes of Scoobyclinic so their pride and joy is in good hands (that's the assumption, people also assume that with dealers, not realising their car is being services by an 18 year old grease monkey), but I can't think of any part of a service which needs a specialist. changing oil is a doddle, brakes are the easiest to work on I've seen, and I'm no mechanic. ok, the cam belts, but again any half decent mechanic can do that, and charge reasonable rates.

I'd go to a specialist for diagnostics, engine work etc, but not simple stuff. no way I could afford to keep the car if i did that!

 

I sympathise, I have an MY99 myself and had to shell out quite a bit for servicing, as it was also a very lightly used car, 15,000 miles. But what you have to remember is that service schedules are based on milage OR time, whichever comes first. It may have only done 20k, but its still a 6 year old car, so the garage were right to replace these items on your car if they'd not already been done. They should have been more upfront about the cost and given you the chance to have it done in stages though! £750 is a lot of money to expect someone to find just like that!

At least its sorted and you won't have to worry about any more big bills soon!

Best wishes,
NS04