Toyota: Am I being ripped off by dealer?

[Derek Noakes]

Hi, first post here! I own a Toyota AYGO that has done about 20000 miles, went in to have an MOT/Service yesterday (at my local Toyota dealer), and i've had a phone call stating that BOTH rear wheel bearings have failed (noisy) and i'll need to have both hubs replaced as they can't just replace the bearings. This will cost £500+ apparently. Am I being had? I don't know how BOTH bearings could possibly go, let alone the one! Appreciate any help/advice. Cheers

[Monkeylegend]

Take it for a test somewhere else.

[crazy about cars]

Hmmm I will check the standard recalls...pretty sure there's some on the Aygo. This means the dealer have to fix them FOC

[EDLT]

Just had a quick look for rear wheel bearings, it does look like they come as a complete hub:
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Toyota_Aygo_1.0_...

£84 each (probably not genuine parts). Take the car to a council run MOT test centre, they don't do repairs so won't try to upsell anything you don't need. You will have to wait with the car, though.

[freecar]

A quick google suggest rear wheel bearing are available for £100 each so bullst!


Edit, I read that as £500 a side, but £500 for the whole job isn't terrible if the bearing kits are just under £100 each.

Edited by freecar on Saturday 14th April 11:36

[Mr Happy]

Thing is, that £100 each, even if it's an OE toyota part (which I know from past experience, their parts prices make Volvo look budget), you still have to factor in the time taken to fit the things.

The dealership probably operate on about £85/hr labour charges. Call it 3hrs to do the work (it might not take that long, but that may be what they invoice) and you're looking at £455 there straight away.

[EDLT]

They don't look that complicated to me, unless there is something I'm not seeing I think I could fit one in 45 minutes or less.

[Derek Noakes]

what about the fact that both bearings have gone and the car has done less than 20000 miles? isn't that a bit...odd?

[Deerfoot]

Mr Happy said:

Thing is, that £100 each, even if it's an OE toyota part (which I know from past experience, their parts prices make Volvo look budget)

Hmmm, I wonder how much the parts for the Citroen and Peugeot sister cars are?

Edited by Deerfoot on Saturday 14th April 12:15

[Mr Happy]

The C1/107 parts will probably be cheaper, so it might be worth having a word with the local cit/pug dealers. For a laugh, pop in to Aston Martin and ask how much the rear hubs are for a Cygnet!

As for the bearings going in 20k, depends on how the car has been used really - it may also be that one bearing has gone, but they want to replace both to be on the safe side.

Also with regards to fitting them, the kind of person who'd do their own work on their car is not the same kind of person who'd take it to a main dealer for servicing and MOT.

[fatboy b]

I'd check the inside of the rear tyres to see if they are feathered. The o/h's Seat Leon does this. It 's normal, but can make the same noise as a wheel bearing. Both wear at the same rate, so would both make a noise.

[Derek Noakes]

Mr Happy said:

As for the bearings going in 20k, depends on how the car has been used really - it may also be that one bearing has gone, but they want to replace both to be on the safe side.

mainly motorway driving...you reckon this could be the cause?

[V88Dicky]

Derek Noakes said:

mainly motorway driving...you reckon this could be the cause?

No. Bearings tend to wear faster if the vehicle regularly carries heavy loads, or does a lot of cornering etc. I'd get a second opinion Derek, the Aygo is a simple little car to work on, in fact most modern Toyotas are quite good for ease of maintenance, that's why I run one as a daily

Try another test at an independant garage, or a council testing station as already mentioned. If it definitely needs new hubs, then buy them in from somewhere like Eurocarparts or GSF (think Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 )

Good luck.

[Mr Happy]

It's impossible to say. Take it to another MOT station for a second opinion...

[wolf1]

Mr Happy said:

It's impossible to say. Take it to another MOT station for a second opinion...

When the other testing station pull up the details of the car they will more than likely see that it has already been failed by another place for the bearings.

[Derek Noakes]

looking at the document - it says i've failed due to the wheels feeling 'rough' when spun - i've read elsewhere that this would usually be an advisory...my car makes absolutely no noise from the bearings when driving it...it's quiet as anything...

[mnkiboy]

Could it possibly be rusty rear brakes? Don't know if the Aygo has discs or drums on the rear, but due to the low mileage they may be rusty.

It sounds like they've jumped to a conclusion without investigating the problem. I'd be taking it to a local MOT centre and paying for another MOT.

[Andyjc86]

This is something you can sheck yourself. Put car in gear, jack up rear, spin wheel by hand. Nice smooth operation = fine. Rough = further investigation needed.

[Derek Noakes]

i'll give you all an update...took it for a test elsewhere, and nothing wrong with the bearings...apparently though the front anti-roll bar linkage rubber mounting has deteriorated which will need to be replaced...so it failed for a completely different reason this time

Edited by Derek Noakes on Thursday 19th April 14:54

[FoundOnRoadside]

Makes me wonder why you bought an Aygo for "mainly motorway driving". You couldn't have picked a worse car for the job, except maybe one of those Malaysian wheelie-bins (i10, Agila and suchlike).

Or is it just me who thinks flogging along in a crisp bag powered by a hairdrier engine, being blown about by trucks isn't fun on the motorway?