Car service rip off

M

Margie

Registered User
Messages
162
I recently left my car into a local garage to be serviced. my car is a 95 nissan micra. the usual bits were done to it - wiper blades, oil, air etc. The only extra was a second hand air flow meter. I am shocked at the price of the bill. Wait for it......€405. Any comments.
 
What sort of quote/estimate did they give you up front and how did it differ from the ultimate price charged? Did you shop around?
 
I didn't look for an estimate. i was told that an average car service costs about €150.

I was charged €100 for the second hand air flow meter. You can buy them on the internet for about €25. Because they didn't fit this on the first visit i had to bring the car back - they charged me €90 twice for labour excl. VAT.

it takes about 120 seconds to install the air flow meter.

i would advice anyone who is not car wise like myself to definately get an estimate first.

The worst thing about this situation is that the mechanic is a neighbour of mine. how awkward for me when i go and query it so i think i will leave that to my husband who is not at all impressed with the way they have ripped me off.
 
Margie said:
I didn't look for an estimate. i was told that an average car service costs about €150.
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Told by this service provider or somebody else? An average doesn't really mean much since it can hide minimum and maximum charges.
I was charged €100 for the second hand air flow meter. You can buy them on the internet for about €25.
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Why didn't you buy one on the internet so?
Because they didn't fit this on the first visit i had to bring the car back - they charged me €90 twice for labour excl. VAT.
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Did you query/challenge the charges and haggle?
it takes about 120 seconds to install the air flow meter.
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Did you point this out to them?
i would advice anyone who is not car wise like myself to definately get an estimate first.
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I totally agree. Not getting an estimate and then crying rip-off doesn't really add up to me personally.
The worst thing about this situation is that the mechanic is a neighbour of mine. how awkward for me when i go and query it so i think i will leave that to my husband who is not at all impressed with the way they have ripped me off.
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Why is it awkward just because it's a neighbour? Especially since you believe that you were "ripped off".
 
Clubman, I don't think you need to be quite so blunt. I only started driving during the Summer. i got myself a little Micra, i won't drive my husband's car because it is brand new and too big.

I don't know anything about cars. I went along to this mechanic whom I know all my life. I explained to him that if the car needed a couple of hundred euros put into it, not to go ahead as I would rather invest that money in a newer car.

When I got the bill i though it was a bit steep so then I made a few inquiries about prices of second hand parts etc. and how long it takes to install the part I got.

I am not 'crying rip off'. it is a fact that I was ripped off. For anyone else out there who is going for a service, don't trust mechanics who are firends or neighbours and get a man to go along with you if you are female and don't know much about cars.
 
Margie said:
Because they didn't fit this on the first visit i had to bring the car back - they charged me €90 twice for labour excl. VAT.
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So the total labour cost is €90 + 21% x 2= €217.80
Air flow meter €100 (incl VAT?)
Other parts €87.20

Total €405

Is that the breakdown?

Is €90 a minimum labour charge, i.e. they don't have a 'part of hour charge'?

Leaving aside the air flow meter and cost of fitting, the basic service looks likle it cost €196-a little on the expensive side, but it depends on where you are based etc. Not outrageous IMHO.

I would have thought that if fitting the air flow meter was a quick job and you had just been in for a service and had purchased the meter from them, in the interests of customer goodwill they would have fitted same without charge.
 
Margie said:
Clubman, I don't think you need to be quite so blunt.
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Just giving my opinion. If you don't want it then you can ignore it but posting on a public discussion forum is bound to attract comment that may challenge your views.
I explained to him that if the car needed a couple of hundred euros put into it, not to go ahead as I would rather invest that money in a newer car.
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Did you explicitly agree to this (what specific amount) up front but they went ahead and did work to the cost of €400 anyway? Surely that's grounds for complaint to them?
When I got the bill i though it was a bit steep so then I made a few inquiries about prices of second hand parts etc. and how long it takes to install the part I got.
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Would you have been able to fit the parts yourself? If not then the retail/wholesale/online price of them is arguably not of great relevance.
I am not 'crying rip off'. it is a fact that I was ripped off.
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How?
For anyone else out there who is going for a service, don't trust mechanics who are firends or neighbours and get a man to go along with you if you are female and don't know much about cars.
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Or to put it another way - shop around for the best price/service combination before you decide who to give the work to.
 
ClubMan said:
Just giving my opinion. If you don't want it then you can ignore it but posting on a public discussion forum is bound to attract comment that may challenge your views.

Did you explicitly agree to this (what specific amount) up front but they went ahead and did work to the cost of €400 anyway? Surely that's grounds for complaint to them?

Would you have been able to fit the parts yourself? If not then the retail/wholesale/online price of them is arguably not of great relevance.

How?

Or to put it another way - shop around for the best price/service combination before you decide who to give the work to.
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Tearing her post apart down to the last molecule is hardly constructive Clubman!
 
I am replying to each point. Let's not have this boring discussion about posting style yet again. At least not as an tangent to this thread. Your own post hardly adds anything constructive to the discussion either...
 
ccovich, thank you for your comment.

i only joined this discussion forum for the first time yesterday. this is all quite new to me but i find that some good advice is offered.

The advice that i am now offering is F.A.O. all people going for a car service to get an estimate.

my husband is querying the bill with the mechanic hopefully this evening, i will come back tomorrow to let you know the turn out.
 
no, we havn't paid it yet. i'm prepared to pay for the service parts and labour and a reduced cost of the air flow meter but i'm not prepared to pay for labour twice. this should cut the bill by about €150
 
Fair enough. At least you can still haggle if the bill is not paid. You should not be afraid to do this regardless of the person being a neighbour.
 
Margie, I understand what your saying and agree with you.

We get a lot of these nice genuine people that come into us (Main Dealer)
with stories of how the neighbour was over priced or how they made a mess of a job. Last week we had a lady that got a friend to replace a glow plug in her car, made a mess of it and she ended up paying us €6,523 to fix problem.

She asked us how much it would have cost for us to replace a glow plug,
€95.00, her friend charged her €80.00 and had left a light on the dash. Then he told her she would have to go to a main dealer to get the light knocked out (cost around €25.00) only the car didn't drive.

Ring around and do price a main dealer.
 
Car mechanics, unfortunately, have something of a [broken link removed] for chancing their arm when dealing with 'lady customers'. ;)

I'd suggest you ask him for a detailed receipt :)eek:...?) and indicate that your husband was going to bring his new car to him for servicing once the main dealer's warranty expired, but is now looking elsewhere.
 
I'd dis-agree with that, In the main dealers I've worked, if anything you would under charge women.

But when it comes to smart A** men who think they know everything we charge as much as we can.
 
Mr2 ...I am shocked to hear that any main dealer is undercharging women customers while getting as much as it can from male customers based on a subjective decision of people working in the main dealers as to who is smart ..... and who is not. Where do they get the time and the attitude for this carry on.. The mind boggles.

It is this very sort of statment that give the car industry a bad name.
Why can't the main dealers provide the "best in class" service to ALL its customers, male or female. Why can't they provide value for money in providing this "best in class" service. Why don't they guarentee their work like the car "makers" do for 3 to 5 years. Car makers have made huge strides over the last 20 years to make cars that work all the time, Cars no longer rust,they start, safety and design has improved, all in all they do what the car makers claim. Why has the car service industry not followed the continious improvement path.Spare parts are the "new" profit centre dealers and the car service industry. What is wrong with quality, service and value for each customer from car dealers and from one off "indi" providers alike. Then Customers, female and male, could drive away from having the car serviced and know that the work paid they just for was fully justified and the car service industry would improve it's name to everyone's advantage.
 
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