Bl00dy Garages….

Friend of mine just got stung over $1400 for a *service* on his ZRX. That’s about half the value of the bike. If he’d hooked up with knowledgeable owners in his area it would have costs him about $100 for plugs, oil & a filter… & that’s using OEM filter ($12) NGK plugs @ $10 each & Mobil 1 oil @ $12/qt

Tony.
Keel Hauling in the Navy. I have often wondered if anyone who has had that punishment, actually survived the ordeal.
Hung, Drawn,& Quartered, another punishment, I think, as Charlie says,
THE OLD ONES ARE THE BEST ONES:D
Will P.M. you what you wanted to know.;)
Jim.

Lincoln .7

You can tell me Jim, as I signed it in my youff, then we can both kill him…..
I think keel hauling is the best bet, what do you fink Jim?
Keel hauled under one of those big cross Channel ‘overcraft whilst it’s running?

:p

Charlie.

If I told you, I would have to kill you. ;)Under the Official Secrets Act.:diablo:

Jim.

Lincoln .7

Curses!! I know what these places are like – step over the bounds and that’s it. And I should know!!:diablo::diablo:

£20/£75.00 for the job the thread starter describes doesn’t seem unusual to me. After all, the garage owner has to cover his overheads and make a profit. They are not charities, but I can understand your frustration with a car worth so little nonetheless.

I have fond memories of various MG Rover cars I owned (in the days when Land Rover was part of the same company) back in the mid-nineties, one of which I paid £28,000 for.

The cars, Land Rover Discovery V8s, were fantastic while they were working, but that wasn’t very often (though, in fairness, the second, a 2000 model bought new, was much better than the first). The cars would go in for recurring problems, mostly electrical, that few people seemed able to repair. You would get the sucked teeth, a massive quote, a period in for repair, payment of the said bill, a recurrence, sucked teeth… and so the process would go on. I spoke to one man who, in utter frustration at finding that his fourth Freelander engine in two years – just installed – was not the brand new engine he thought he was getting, but a second-hand one, was just about to lamp the guy behind the counter, who was sat there sucking his teeth, mug of tea in hand.

I would never attempt to keep an elderly MG Rover car on the road unless it was a V8 ZT 260 (American engine, so perfectly reliable). My advice would be to dump it and buy something new and Japanese. There are some fantastic deals around if you don’t have much in the way of ready cash.

Intermediate service yesterday (Marque specialist, not franchise dealer.)

£680 including replacing a door lock microswitch – the first thing to break in three years

Ho hum.

Moggy

I have AA cover on my car for breakdowns, on the way to work the engine management light came on, checked the book and said take to dealer, as arriving at work called AA, he checked it and diagnosed the O2 sensor, asked if I wanted the light turning off as stored the code, said yes, took it to Halfrauds as they are linked to AA so easier, they checked he had cleared the code, told drive until it comes on again, they had logged all with AA.. Came on took in…. Aa says not covered on warranty as you haven’t broken down as it drives and even though manual says take to dealer, wouldn’t pass an MOT it still drives so isn’t a breakdown grrrrrrr so paid £250 to get the sensor done.

You’re not paying for what they do, you’re paying for what they know.. that the average punter doesn’t….

Exactly that.

I am retired now but I spent over 30 years in repairing photocopiers. It goes like this Customer “£65 for turrning a effing screw!!!” Me, “No £1 for turning the screw and £64 forthe call out and knowing which one to turn.”

I worked on no cure no pay though and was much cheaper than the main dealer by a mile.

Cars my independant has got this diagnostic gismo it cost a lot of money but he does not charge the customer for using it(I think thats silly but thats his choice) He makes his money by fxing the fault it throws up. If its just an “all reset” and the fault goes he does not charge either. Nice man everyone goes back to him for repairs and MOT’s.

I have a problem with one of my cars at the moment(Honda Prelude) the distributor has died.He put a new coil pack on it,no joy. I said “why did you just not get a new dizzy?” He said If the coil pack for £20 had fxed it(which it does in most cases) I did not want to waste £150 of your money on a dizzy”

My Lexus would not start on Tuesday(leaving Jenny and I housebound) it would just not turn. “I said shall I call the RAC or wait for you?” His reply was “if its the battery the RAC will have you for £100” so I waited for him a couple of hours and he drove to me 10 miles and found a loose connection. Cost nil. So they are not all out to rob you. My advice is if you find a good garage stick like glue to them.

A propos that, I meant to ask. What was the being “lanced” joke about? Is that he real name?

Charlie.

If I told you, I would have to kill you. ;)Under the Official Secrets Act.:diablo:

Jim.

Lincoln .7

And everyone’s an expert.
Until of course it comes to actually doing it.

You’re not paying for what they do, you’re paying for what they know.. that the average punter doesn’t….

That’s why I go to main dealer, get fixed price service, stamp in the book, then any probs I use my local garage, but get the parts for them from Audi.

Charlie, I had to think twice, and tongue in cheek, think just that, prior to posting….But you know me,no Grey Areas, BU**R, I’ve said it again. :D:diablo:

Jim.

Lincoln .7

A propos that, I meant to ask. What was the being “lanced” joke about? Is that he real name?

charges

Methinks you got of lightly i was charged £287 plus vat for a 1metre long piece of cord for my 2yrs old snow plough used from new 3 times:confused:

Charlie, I had to think twice, and tongue in cheek, think just that, prior to posting….But you know me,no Grey Areas, BU**R, I’ve said it again. :D:diablo:

Jim.

Lincoln .7

That’s one good thing to come out of the EU,

Lincoln .7

Don’t mention that to you know who!!:diablo:

That’s one good thing to come out of the EU, as long as you use original manufacturers parts,you don’t have to go back to the main dealers, however,many of the smaller garages, don’t have the diagnostics fault finder, and fault codes.That is the only snag.
Jim.

Lincoln .7

Full dealer service on Peugeot 308 THP 140 £ 350.00 .Same service by Independent Garage including A/C Filter £230.00 .

Full Service on Jaguar 2.5 V6 X-type ( Slightly complex V6 removal of inlet manifold to access rear spark plug bank ) Independent garage £165.00 .

Spent many years in motor trade myself , let dealer do 1st major service then go to Indy’s ( Cannot by law affect warranty )

Audi TT quatro fixed price service, £149, listed defects £4,650…………. Luckily had asked to list faults, phone call to dealer car bought from, just out of 3 month warranty by days… Sorry…
Phone call to Citizens Advice, they are liable for 2 years, first 6 months they have to prove the fault wasn’t there when bought, after 6 months I have to prove it was…
Phone call to dealer, list of web addresses for him to check on subject, point out service history says brakes need doing etc.., all faults fixed with token £300 off me for wear and tear on brakes etc. it cost him thousands, but fair play he sorted them.

Time for a rant,

We decided to bodge it. We went to our local breakers, where we obtained a length of sensor cable and plug. The guy there didn’t even charge us for it…
It took me 10 minutes to unplug the cable, chop off the old plug, solder the new plug & cable to the existing cables, and bind the whole lot with insulation tape. In fact, quite possibly what the garage would have done anyway…
Job successful. Speedo works. Cash saved, partner happy.

How do these people justify such ridiculous amounts for a job that took me, an untrained chimp (mechanically and automotively speaking, that is – Be nice now!! :p), 10 minutes to do?

Thoughts?

The Punch Line is, the very next day, you got “Done ” for Speeding……….:D:diablo:
Jim.
Lincoln .7