Cost of car service

Agree on the relationship as there are mechanics exiting the business via retirement and in taking up employment in companies so it's getting harder to find a good one. The father of my current one used to call to my office to collect the car, bring it away to be serviced and then return it a few hours later. The son hasn't the time to do that now, because of increasing demands/volumes of business, but he's still a chip off the old block and a pleasure to deal with. €140 for a service (that's for a Golf). Paid €56.75 for tracking at tyre place recently.

Let's not forget....

Going forward, there'll be more EVs / Hybrids, which will require more specialist work, so our "back street" mechanics aren't going to be around for a hell of a lot longer.

As it stands, I have gone to a "back street" mechanic for much of the last 15 years, only up see his business boom, him diversify into car sales, alongside car servicing and repairs, and his prices shoot up - all while waiting times get longer, and the one great customer service disappears.

Probably quicker and easier to turn a few quid buying and selling cars rather than fixing them. Son-in-law fell into fixing them as the business grew. Always a trader, when the business was a 2-man band, he subcontracted the fixing to a local fixer, who decided to start buying and selling. SIL had to build in three lifts, hire three mechanics, an apprentice, a storeman/workshop manager, and a bookkeeper. He'd prefer if they were all salespeople, but I suppose its rewarding that if they buy from him, they come back for regular servicing.