El Cat

on my last scooby my fuel pump died on me
got a new uprated one for £60 but not that mechanically minded
took the scoob to the garage recommended by a work pal of mine and the guy said it will be £200 in labour including the VAT to fit
i said to him what you mean it takes 5 hours to lift the inspection hatch in the boot and pull the pump out and fit a new one??
he said he couldnt find the hatch and that he needed to remove the exhaust and rear diff to get to it
told him to go back and and have another look as he was taking the proverbial P**S.
phoned me back an hour later said i could collect the car as it was done and it would be £40 for the labour
either the guy was thick as PIG S**T or he saw a young guy like me and thought he could make an easy buck
needless to say i have found a guy who lives near me who is the only person who works on my new impreza
he has rebuilt his own engines and everything and even machined and fabricated some of his own custom performance parts so defo knows what he is doing(plus he only charges £20 an hour as misses working on imprezas as he is now into land rover off roading)

lordretsudo

Mini wanted £220 to replace the rear brake pads on a girl at work's car

mozzaITA

every garage ive ever used has tryed it on they are all scum if you ask me!

El Cat

was that at a BMW garage??
i know the one near me is something like £100 per hour plus vat

AdamR

A woman at work asked me to look at her focus as there was a knock in the suspension. Turned out to be a broken spring! SHE bought the spring, took it to a local garage and got charged £240 to fit it!!! Apparently the one pinch bolt was really tight!? I told her i'd have done it in for £20. She wasnt happy!

pslewis

The single best way to avoid being ripped off is to take your car to the garage in oily overhauls ..... tell them you haven't the time to do it yourself this time.

I feel sorry for those without an Engineering knowledge, they are open to all and sundry ..... they are also very vulnerable to scare stories (ScoobyNet can be scary for those without knowledge!)

slipstream_uk

iTrader: (1)

My sister had a problem with her civic type r, There was a rattle coming from the front of the engine at the manifold. The main dealers told her, it needed a new manifold as it has crack causing the rattle. I took it to my local garage, it turned out to be the plastic guard thing that sits just above the manifold. Two turns of a spanner and it was fixed.

Do all garages think young, the old or female drivers are easy prey

pslewis

I'm old ... I can assure you they do not consider me easy pickings

Shark Man

We've had plenty of customers try it on.

Swings and roundabouts

pslewis

Indeed, Customers can be really bad ...... put a car in with some damage they did while acting like a hobbyist - and blaming the garage for the damage!

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

Hey hey lads, I work for a well known garage, and I wouldn't dream of doing things like this, Best thing to do if you are in this situation is either ask for the ICME time for the job and hourly labour rate, or look on autodata for the manufacturers time then confront the garage with this, either of these will put the frighteners in them.

pslewis

Whats the Autodata time for a Cambelt change on a Classic Impreza then?

davesti330

Im probably wrong but i'l have a guess at 2.5 hours

bootsy

http://www.just****inggoogleit.com/

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

Would obviously have to check on autodata at work which at 18:40 on a sunday evening I'm not at, I'm not trying to be cocky, but a lot of people do get ripped of by certain garages. At the end of the day that is what Trading standards is for.(by the way an Invoice in my history of my car fuel pump replaced supplied by customer=£63) and that was at Subaru dealer.

Shark Man

Think its 3hrs IIRC

But that's presuming the spanner monkey can get the bolt off the crank pulley without using a an impact wrench and has hands small enough to work without removing the radiator.

Add another hour if the radiator has to be removed (sometimes needed to get the impact wrench on the crank pulley bolt - which Autodata doesn't take into account for).

JimmyBFC

I can think of one that ppl think have a great rep, but sadly they take the p1ss tbh.

Not saying they don't do a good job, but they don't like you taking your own parts when they can bullsh1t you they don't fit and then sell you there's......hmmm....

They seem to think becasue their very well known thay can rip ppl off, just in my experience of course.

pslewis

Googled it.

2.1 hours without A/C.

What do independents charge per hour? £35?

Thats £73:50 + cost of the Belt £50 = £123:50 all in ... sounds fair.

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

You should get a quote before they comence work, Yes sometimes you may come across a problem ie. bolt stripped or rounded off, but the garage should phone you for extra authority to proceed, I think you will find this on the Terms and Conditions on your Invoice.

scoobyboy

i've never had to remove the rad or use an impact wrench when doing a cambelt on a subaru and as for 2.1 hrs how many tea breaks are they having!

Boyakasha

iTrader: (2)

Biggest thief's are dealers.

had mine in for it's first service which is basically an oil change, £225

Bt if you want the stamp in the book you have to bend over and take it like a man, and they couldn't even manage to put in the correct amont of oil as they over filled it

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

Come'on you are talking about one dealer out of how many? We aren't all like that. Did you take it back to the dealer in question to rectify oil overfilled?

moff1888

The guy who does all my work lives in my street and owns the garage. Usually asks me if i want to get the parts first, works for me.

Boyakasha

iTrader: (2)

Yes, and the reply was it will be fine.

Ended up doing it myself.

PS you are correct what you say about not all dealers, I think the one up here is the exception

p1doc

not the one in aberdeen by any chance?
martin

Ginge !

iTrader: (1)

ok i deal with garages every day, now there are some ripp of mechants but theres also garages who aint worked on the car before so have to guess the WORST WAY before working on the car, though the fuel pump is a **** take and was ripping you off, most garages charge 50 quid a hour labour

as for the mini,,,, thats a tough one to call as you need to plug the car into a computer to wind the rear calipers back so only a garage with a proper computer system or a main dealer will do it and so that means genuine pads aswell as 100 quid plus vat labour

servicing cars is the BIGGEST money spinner belive it or not,,,, can service a car in 20 mins yet charge 100 quid labour and the parts dont even come to 25 quid,,,,, yet nobody complains ??

ISLANDMAGEEZER!

One of the big Audi dealers in Belfast wanted £140 an hour to look at a reving fault on my brothers A4!!! And they said it could take 4 hours to sort! After some you must be fcukin winding me up style heated words, the fault was sorted an he paid £120!!!! Now thats takin the
Pi 55!

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Took my impreza to a garage a stones throw away from work to fit my magnex exhaust system. He told me it was the wrong system for my car and wanted £150 to modify it for my car. Ended up fitting it myself (was from the same year as my car) .

Take my car to Neil collins in probus, top bloke and knows his subarus

Shot8un

One of the girls at work had her dealership quote her £75 to replace a seal on her TT's oil filler as it was leaking onto a cover and smelling when the car got hot.

I did it for the price of a bigmac meal... got my hands dirty though

I either use my brother who happens to be an MOT inspector (no I don't get a discount) but I know I'm getting what needs to be done properly at the normal price.

OR

I use Prosport in Stockport, They're always busy, do the job properly first time at the right price with no bull****. AND their receptionist is a sweetheart when it comes to finding info, prices part numbers ect...

Robing-sons... ehm... I mean Robinson's of Rochdale are a bunch of Tw*ts
avoid them at all costs!!!!

Shot8