Is this a fair price for a service and MOT?

[James_33]

So this morning i popped into the garage i usually use for MOT day and as the car was due a service in the next 1000 miles and an MOT in less than a month i thought i would have them done together, Once upon a time i would gladly get the spanners out etc to do minor bits on previous cars, but now what with lack of space and just generally not having the time to be getting underneath cars etc this just works easier for me to let someone else do it.

The car is a 2013 BMW 118d M sport, I asked for a full service before MOT so all the usual oil change, all filters and general inspection of the car and obviously the MOT and labour come to £325+VAT does that seem reasonable or not, I guess compared to some places it's possibly cheap, it's also a small indy garage, just thought someone more in the know whether i am getting my pants pulled down or not?

[Bobupndown]

Friend was quoted £400 by BMW for an inspection service (oil change) on his petrol X1.
I did the service for him, oil and filters cost £63.
If its no longer within BMW warranty I'd be digging the spanners out again....

[Smint]

If that's good oil, plus fuel air and pollen filters renewed its not a bad price, will that include a proper wheels off pads out brake service rather than peering at the calipers judging the remaining pad depth and squirting brake cleaner about, if it does then fair i would say.

[mmm-five]

Depends on your/their definition of 'full service'.

Is it:

• engine oil
• diff oil
• gearbox oil
• engine oil filter
• engine air filter
• cabin air filter
• glow plugs
• fuel filter

...or just:

• engine oil
• engine oil filter
• engine air filter

[James_33]

Smint said:

If that's good oil, plus fuel air and pollen filters renewed its not a bad price, will that include a proper wheels off pads out brake service rather than peering at the calipers judging the remaining pad depth and squirting brake cleaner about, if it does then fair i would say.

He said that he had included a brake inspection service onto the full service, the rear discs and pads won't need doing at all as the same garage did them less than 12 months ago, however the fronts haven't been touched in the 2 years i have had the car but they look fine to me, I'm aware i could do the servicing part cheaper myself, but i really lack space in this house, the driveway is quite narrow and on a slope, but what with this being the first time i have asked a garage to service a car rather than me doing it, I wasn't sure whether the price was steep or not.

[James_33]

mmm-five said:

Depends on your/their definition of 'full service'.

Is it:

• engine oil
• diff oil
• gearbox oil
• engine oil filter
• engine air filter
• cabin air filter
• glow plugs
• fuel filter

...or just:

• engine oil
• engine oil filter
• engine air filter

His words were, Engine oil and filter change, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, brake inspection, top up of all other fluids, then MOT and labour.

[Pica-Pica]

Bobupndown said:

Friend was quoted £400 by BMW for an inspection service (oil change) on his petrol X1.
I did the service for him, oil and filters cost £63.
If its no longer within BMW warranty I'd be digging the spanners out again....

Mine was £157 for an inspection service, at a BMW main dealer. For a 335d
Service scope £15
Oil service £10
Microfilter service £10
Synthetic engine oil £39
Filter element £16.76
Filter element £39.89
Plus VAT

Edited by Pica-Pica on Monday 22 May 10:19

[kambites]

James_33 said:

His words were, Engine oil and filter change, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, brake inspection, top up of all other fluids, then MOT and labour.

The MoT is essentially fixed price at £55 inc VAT so he's quoting £335 for the rest. Say £100 for the parts (probably OTT for such a mainstream car) so that leaves you with £235 labour. Say an hour for the oil and filters change; "brake inspection" is vague but I can't see it taking more than half an hour so that means they're charging at least £150 an hour for their labour. Whether that's reasonable or not probably depends on where you are.

[James_33]

kambites said:

James_33 said:

His words were, Engine oil and filter change, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, brake inspection, top up of all other fluids, then MOT and labour.

The MoT is essentially fixed price at £55 inc VAT so he's quoting £335 for the rest. Say £100 for the parts (probably OTT for such a mainstream car) so that leaves you with £235 labour. Say an hour for the oil and filters change; "brake inspection" is vague but I can't see it taking more than half an hour so that means they're charging at least £150 an hour for their labour. Whether that's reasonable or not probably depends on where you are.

I'm in South Yorkshire, in the past this garage has always been great with me, never been one of the over zealous types who'll try getting extra money out of you for work that doesn't need doing, I guess in my head i had it around £300 all in with MOT included so time VAT has been added on the £325 it's going to be approaching more £400.

I suppose like everything else costs have gone up here too.

[Sheepshanks]

Smint said:

....a proper wheels off pads out brake service...

That's the kind of thing you do yourself - I doubt any garage has done that for many years. I've had two garages refuse even when I offered to pay - they want the margin on supplying new pads and discs, not just the labour.

[Sheepshanks]

Pica-Pica said:

Mine was £157 for an inspection service, at a BMW main dealer. For a 335d
Service scope £15
Oil service £10
Microfilter service £10
Synthetic engine oil £39
Filter element £16.76
Filter element £39.89
Plus VAT

That's not a "normal" price - what did you have to do to achieve it?

On a non-motoring forum I use someone posted up how cheap it was to service their Merc GLC. I pointed out it wasn't normal (all MB pricing is done via a website) and she seemed surprised and said maybe it was because her uncle was service manager!

[Gigamoons]

Prices vary up and down the country and the garages within towns.
Only you can really decide if the quote is reasonable based on your ability / willingness to do the job yourself.

If you want a garage to do the work, why not shop around your locale? Only then will you know if this quote is reasonable to you or not.

[MustangGT]

Sheepshanks said:

Pica-Pica said:

Mine was £157 for an inspection service, at a BMW main dealer. For a 335d
Service scope £15
Oil service £10
Microfilter service £10
Synthetic engine oil £39
Filter element £16.76
Filter element £39.89
Plus VAT

That's not a "normal" price - what did you have to do to achieve it?

On a non-motoring forum I use someone posted up how cheap it was to service their Merc GLC. I pointed out it wasn't normal (all MB pricing is done via a website) and she seemed surprised and said maybe it was because her uncle was service manager!

Indeed, that does not appear to contain any labour element at all.

[James_33]

Gigamoons said:

Prices vary up and down the country and the garages within towns.
Only you can really decide if the quote is reasonable based on your ability / willingness to do the job yourself.

If you want a garage to do the work, why not shop around your locale? Only then will you know if this quote is reasonable to you or not.

I guess 1 of the main reasons for sticking at this particular garage is the trust factor, which seems hard to find now, I also wonder since post covid do a lot of places now try to upsell to recover the costs lost when people weren't using their cars and that is that the reason why costs are high?

Which raises another question, would anyone else pay that bit more even if they knew they could get it cheaper from another garage that may or may not be trustworthy, compared to the garage that you already know is?

[Pica-Pica]

Sheepshanks said:

Pica-Pica said:

Mine was £157 for an inspection service, at a BMW main dealer. For a 335d
Service scope £15
Oil service £10
Microfilter service £10
Synthetic engine oil £39
Filter element £16.76
Filter element £39.89
Plus VAT

That's not a "normal" price - what did you have to do to achieve it?

On a non-motoring forum I use someone posted up how cheap it was to service their Merc GLC. I pointed out it wasn't normal (all MB pricing is done via a website) and she seemed surprised and said maybe it was because her uncle was service manager!

I had the front discs and pads changed at the same time. I guess it was a swings and roundabouts equation for them. Like all main dealer services, the part numbers are quoted against each part replaced. I could check the OEM.com price, but seems OK to me. As I see, some labour cost is involved in getting into the workshop and on the ramp.
I have quite a good relationship with them now. The first young lad was a bit of an arse, who thought he knew more about cars than I did. He’s gone. The new lad is much more pleasant and customer-oriented, and listens.

Edited by Pica-Pica on Monday 22 May 11:02

[Sheepshanks]

James_33 said:

His words were, Engine oil and filter change, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, brake inspection, top up of all other fluids, then MOT and labour.

I bet the normal BMW charge for fuel filter change would be over £100.


If they're really going to do all that, be careful comparing other people's "service" cost, which might just be an oil and filter change and check the horn beeps.

[Little Pete]

There are so many variations between garages as to what constitutes a full service. The garage next door to me don’t include the air filter in a quote, although they do check and replace if needed, and they only replace cabin filters if the customer asks. We also stock more than a dozen different oils, some of which retail at £12.00/litre. If you are happy with the quality of their work and feel you can trust them, book it in! The price you’ve been quoted sounds ok to me.

[Alex_225]

No doubt the hourly rate if it's a BMW dealership will be high so not entirely unexpected to be a bit higher.

I'm assuming it's basically a look over and an oil/oil filter change, take off the MOT cost and it's not terrible but no doubt an independent place will save you a few quid.

[sunnyb13]

I just get it done at bmw. Makes selling the car much easier.

[itcaptainslow]

kambites said:

James_33 said:

His words were, Engine oil and filter change, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, brake inspection, top up of all other fluids, then MOT and labour.

The MoT is essentially fixed price at £55 inc VAT so he's quoting £335 for the rest. Say £100 for the parts (probably OTT for such a mainstream car) so that leaves you with £235 labour. Say an hour for the oil and filters change; "brake inspection" is vague but I can't see it taking more than half an hour so that means they're charging at least £150 an hour for their labour. Whether that's reasonable or not probably depends on where you are.

No VAT on MOT tests