How honest do you expect a garage to be?
Discussion
We regularly see complaints that fast-fit places try to get people to replace perfectly good tyres/brakes/shocks or worse - but this issue isn't confined to just them by any means?
When a spring snapped on my last shed, the garage around-the-corner said I needed a new strut, as the 'cup' in which the spring sits was damaged. Their quote was £140 and they "strongly suggested" that I do the other side whilst I was at-it. In the end, I got the car recovered to a mate's lockup and he replaced the spring - price to him £35 - price to me £35 and a pint - job done!
Thing is, the garage weren't wrong in what they said - the cup was damaged and when you replace one spring, replacing the other isn't a bad idea!?
The difference between their £280 of work and my mate's £35 was a mix of 'friend prices' and him simply patching-up an old car instead of putting-it-back to 'as new'. The fact I managed to get a £125 recovery done for free is another factor...
Every time you talk to a garage, you go through this to some extent I guess? Work may be advisable but not essential or work which appears 'essential' is something people are happy to ignore (I know someone still driving a Vectra C 3 months after the turbo expired, for example!).
What I'm asking is, how honest do you expect a garage to be and how much of the problem here is in how it's presented and the gullibility of the punter?
Example: I could easily say to ANY car owner "your car would be safer with new brakes and 4 new tyres" - unless they're replaced them in the last few weeks, that would be true!?
If I didn't say that, another garage might and that's me out of business? There's little financial reward for being nice and honest in this situation??
When a spring snapped on my last shed, the garage around-the-corner said I needed a new strut, as the 'cup' in which the spring sits was damaged. Their quote was £140 and they "strongly suggested" that I do the other side whilst I was at-it. In the end, I got the car recovered to a mate's lockup and he replaced the spring - price to him £35 - price to me £35 and a pint - job done!
Thing is, the garage weren't wrong in what they said - the cup was damaged and when you replace one spring, replacing the other isn't a bad idea!?
The difference between their £280 of work and my mate's £35 was a mix of 'friend prices' and him simply patching-up an old car instead of putting-it-back to 'as new'. The fact I managed to get a £125 recovery done for free is another factor...
Every time you talk to a garage, you go through this to some extent I guess? Work may be advisable but not essential or work which appears 'essential' is something people are happy to ignore (I know someone still driving a Vectra C 3 months after the turbo expired, for example!).
What I'm asking is, how honest do you expect a garage to be and how much of the problem here is in how it's presented and the gullibility of the punter?
Example: I could easily say to ANY car owner "your car would be safer with new brakes and 4 new tyres" - unless they're replaced them in the last few weeks, that would be true!?
If I didn't say that, another garage might and that's me out of business? There's little financial reward for being nice and honest in this situation??
Main dealer told me on their RAG check my discs were an amber due to pitting on the rear side. Everything else was green.
Discs were fine, albeit about a year old. Just went through 2 MOT's with no mention of discs.
Had wheels off last week to swap ends, discs felt smooth as a babys bum.
I reckon they just had to show SOMETHING was wrong with my car!
Discs were fine, albeit about a year old. Just went through 2 MOT's with no mention of discs.
Had wheels off last week to swap ends, discs felt smooth as a babys bum.
I reckon they just had to show SOMETHING was wrong with my car!
Rick101 said:
Main dealer told me on their RAG check my discs were an amber due to pitting on the rear side. Everything else was green.
Discs were fine, albeit about a year old. Just went through 2 MOT's with no mention of discs.
Had wheels off last week to swap ends, discs felt smooth as a babys bum.
I reckon they just had to show SOMETHING was wrong with my car!
Sounds similar to my experience. Every time I took a 330i in for a service I got told "needs new brake discs". I was doing about 30k a year so was in fairly often & their advice went on for 2 years!Discs were fine, albeit about a year old. Just went through 2 MOT's with no mention of discs.
Had wheels off last week to swap ends, discs felt smooth as a babys bum.
I reckon they just had to show SOMETHING was wrong with my car!
I told my Merc main dealer that I had a leaking break caliper. They ordered me a replacement and I took the car in, only to get a phone call a couple of hours later to say there was nothing wrong with it and I could collect the car.
They didn't charge me a penny.
That's what I call honest.
They didn't charge me a penny.
That's what I call honest.
I use a local garage for both my car and my camper. They are absolutely spot on, if a job needs doing but not right away they will let me know, they do free health checks on the car. They save me dosh by recommending work that can be done at the same time to save labour costs. If I can find a part for less than he can, he is happy to use that part. He and I put together a work in progress plan that allows me to afford to do the jobs I need done, and allows him to schedule for when its convenient for him.
I cannot recommend them highly enough
I cannot recommend them highly enough
I expect them to be as honest as Solicitors... hence I'm very wary.
I never go to a main dealer - someone is paying for that £5M showroom.
I tend to go on recommendation and place specific cars / problems with the best mechanic for the job.
I have still had the odd issue but nothing major.
However I am very mechanically minded and will do some jobs myself but when the local guy only charges £200 for a DMF and clutch change on my wife's X type (labour only) he's welcome to the job.
I never go to a main dealer - someone is paying for that £5M showroom.
I tend to go on recommendation and place specific cars / problems with the best mechanic for the job.
I have still had the odd issue but nothing major.
However I am very mechanically minded and will do some jobs myself but when the local guy only charges £200 for a DMF and clutch change on my wife's X type (labour only) he's welcome to the job.
Dealers I never trust at all. They have massive overheads and all of them are out to generate revenue. The latest issue was for SWMBO's MX-5. In for annual service and MoT. Phone call to say that the front pads are low, caliper is sticking and brakes need overhaul and will happily relieve us of nearly £300 to fix! When asked if it was an MoT failure they would not reply so are instructed to send for MoT and we'll take the risk on the MoT and, oh, by the way make sure any MoT failure is described in great detail. Flies through MoT with no advisories!
Get car home and check front brakes over. OK, front pads are getting towards the end of their life but no sign of any sticking caliper at all and discs are as smooth as the proverbial baby's rear end with no lip at all (SWMBO is not known for hooning!).
I've ordered up a set of front brake pads for £31.00 and will fit them one weekend when I have time - no rush and will take about an hour if I take my time!
The local independent garage in the village is the complete opposite. If we put one of the cars in for something he is always trying to save us money by saying what he doesn't have to do. His office girlie only works part time so is never there when we go to pick up the car so he can never accept payment, will eventually send us a bill and tells us we can pay when we are next round there, no rush. Does a really, really good job as well - never had cause to complain about any of his work in 15 years of using him.
Get car home and check front brakes over. OK, front pads are getting towards the end of their life but no sign of any sticking caliper at all and discs are as smooth as the proverbial baby's rear end with no lip at all (SWMBO is not known for hooning!).
I've ordered up a set of front brake pads for £31.00 and will fit them one weekend when I have time - no rush and will take about an hour if I take my time!
The local independent garage in the village is the complete opposite. If we put one of the cars in for something he is always trying to save us money by saying what he doesn't have to do. His office girlie only works part time so is never there when we go to pick up the car so he can never accept payment, will eventually send us a bill and tells us we can pay when we are next round there, no rush. Does a really, really good job as well - never had cause to complain about any of his work in 15 years of using him.
Monkeylegend said:
I told my Merc main dealer that I had a leaking break caliper. They ordered me a replacement and I took the car in, only to get a phone call a couple of hours later to say there was nothing wrong with it and I could collect the car.
They didn't charge me a penny.
That's what I call honest.
As nice as this Anecdote is, it asks more questions than it answers?They didn't charge me a penny.
That's what I call honest.
Did it fix its-self?
Did you misdiagnose it?
405dogvan said:
We regularly see complaints that fast-fit places try to get people to replace perfectly good tyres/brakes/shocks or worse - but this issue isn't confined to just them by any means?
When a spring snapped on my last shed, the garage around-the-corner said I needed a new strut, as the 'cup' in which the spring sits was damaged. Their quote was £140 and they "strongly suggested" that I do the other side whilst I was at-it. In the end, I got the car recovered to a mate's lockup and he replaced the spring - price to him £35 - price to me £35 and a pint - job done!
Thing is, the garage weren't wrong in what they said - the cup was damaged and when you replace one spring, replacing the other isn't a bad idea!?
The difference between their £280 of work and my mate's £35 was a mix of 'friend prices' and him simply patching-up an old car instead of putting-it-back to 'as new'. The fact I managed to get a £125 recovery done for free is another factor...
Every time you talk to a garage, you go through this to some extent I guess? Work may be advisable but not essential or work which appears 'essential' is something people are happy to ignore (I know someone still driving a Vectra C 3 months after the turbo expired, for example!).
What I'm asking is, how honest do you expect a garage to be and how much of the problem here is in how it's presented and the gullibility of the punter?
Example: I could easily say to ANY car owner "your car would be safer with new brakes and 4 new tyres" - unless they're replaced them in the last few weeks, that would be true!?
If I didn't say that, another garage might and that's me out of business? There's little financial reward for being nice and honest in this situation??
Your mate doing it in his lockup won't have overheads, rent,rates, VAT tax etc.When a spring snapped on my last shed, the garage around-the-corner said I needed a new strut, as the 'cup' in which the spring sits was damaged. Their quote was £140 and they "strongly suggested" that I do the other side whilst I was at-it. In the end, I got the car recovered to a mate's lockup and he replaced the spring - price to him £35 - price to me £35 and a pint - job done!
Thing is, the garage weren't wrong in what they said - the cup was damaged and when you replace one spring, replacing the other isn't a bad idea!?
The difference between their £280 of work and my mate's £35 was a mix of 'friend prices' and him simply patching-up an old car instead of putting-it-back to 'as new'. The fact I managed to get a £125 recovery done for free is another factor...
Every time you talk to a garage, you go through this to some extent I guess? Work may be advisable but not essential or work which appears 'essential' is something people are happy to ignore (I know someone still driving a Vectra C 3 months after the turbo expired, for example!).
What I'm asking is, how honest do you expect a garage to be and how much of the problem here is in how it's presented and the gullibility of the punter?
Example: I could easily say to ANY car owner "your car would be safer with new brakes and 4 new tyres" - unless they're replaced them in the last few weeks, that would be true!?
If I didn't say that, another garage might and that's me out of business? There's little financial reward for being nice and honest in this situation??
Like every trade, some good some bad.
Years back I took my trusty old escort to Kwikfit as I was hearing a strange grinding type noise coming from the brakes.
As they were on the way to work and offered a free brake check I got them to have a look.
Fearing to worse but not really prepared to drive much further with unknown braking issues I was expecting the usual "Discs and pads, mate".
Bloke looked at them, adjusted and cleaned something and said everything is fine and sent me on my merry way!
They're not all bad but I suspect this lot are in the minority!
As they were on the way to work and offered a free brake check I got them to have a look.
Fearing to worse but not really prepared to drive much further with unknown braking issues I was expecting the usual "Discs and pads, mate".
Bloke looked at them, adjusted and cleaned something and said everything is fine and sent me on my merry way!
They're not all bad but I suspect this lot are in the minority!
405dogvan said:
We regularly see complaints that fast-fit places try to get people to replace perfectly good tyres/brakes/shocks or worse - but this issue isn't confined to just them by any means?
When a spring snapped on my last shed, the garage around-the-corner said I needed a new strut, as the 'cup' in which the spring sits was damaged. Their quote was £140 and they "strongly suggested" that I do the other side whilst I was at-it. In the end, I got the car recovered to a mate's lockup and he replaced the spring - price to him £35 - price to me £35 and a pint - job done!
To be fair it is best practice to replace springs in pairs.When a spring snapped on my last shed, the garage around-the-corner said I needed a new strut, as the 'cup' in which the spring sits was damaged. Their quote was £140 and they "strongly suggested" that I do the other side whilst I was at-it. In the end, I got the car recovered to a mate's lockup and he replaced the spring - price to him £35 - price to me £35 and a pint - job done!
Sounds to me like the garage was just doing a good job. The spring was broken, the strut spring cup was damaged and it is also certainly advisable to swap these things in pairs. They certainly didn't tell any lies.
If they hadn't have highlighted the damaged spring cup and in a few months it failed or came up on an MOT then I'm sure most people would be angry the dealer hadn't told them about it.
It's good your mate was able to patch it up for you but I wonder whether if you had been any old punter off the street he may have given the same advice as the main dealer.
If they hadn't have highlighted the damaged spring cup and in a few months it failed or came up on an MOT then I'm sure most people would be angry the dealer hadn't told them about it.
It's good your mate was able to patch it up for you but I wonder whether if you had been any old punter off the street he may have given the same advice as the main dealer.
I expect them to be honest, like the one I work at. We are not wealthy, but 95% of our customers
are regulars and we don't bother advertising.
On older cars where the springs were made properly, it was always worth doing an axle pair, as logically
they had done the same number of miles and had failed due to age.
Modern springs though, fail because they are crap. They don't even finish the ends properly, and are just
cut off rather than tapered to a point like they should be.
If yours are of this type then they are going to break often, so I would replace them individually.
are regulars and we don't bother advertising.
On older cars where the springs were made properly, it was always worth doing an axle pair, as logically
they had done the same number of miles and had failed due to age.
Modern springs though, fail because they are crap. They don't even finish the ends properly, and are just
cut off rather than tapered to a point like they should be.
If yours are of this type then they are going to break often, so I would replace them individually.
MX7 said:
Your friend got trade prices, so retail is probably around £50. If they booked it for a 1.5 hour job, then added VAT, I wouldn't expect it to be any cheaper than that.
What price would you be happy with from a garage?
I wasn't really UNHAPPY - I was using that as an example of how I could make something sound extortionate and yet it probably wasn't - as well as illustrating how you can 'increase the work required' without actually being outright dishonest. No mechanic really wants to help you run a car on a shoestring...What price would you be happy with from a garage?
I also don't think avoiding 'main dealers' will help much, every garage has bills to pay and they will all be tempted to add something to the list.
A bigger issue, to my mind, is the growing issue of the 'job which doesn't fix something'.
Example: mate had an Astravan with a misfire. He's already spent money on leads/plugs and wiring checkover, it's not solved it. The garage he uses says the next step is a new ECU - but they're expensive and if it doesn't fix it you cannot return it because it has to be coded to the car.
Hang on - you cannot ask someone to spend £1000 on something which 'might' fix their car can you? That's ridiculous?
Other cases are garages replacing water pumps for cooling problems which they don't solve - you need a thick-skin to take money from someone for NOT fixing their car don't you?
p.s. For the record, the "mate" I mentioned used-to-have proper premises but he gave-them-up and moved back to a 'lockup' because it was £2500 a month he didn't have to earn - which is quite a lot of money!?
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff