Rip off garages alive and well.

Rip off garages alive and well.

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bloomen

6,854 posts

158 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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Shuvi McTupya said:
Anyone tried 'ClickMechanic' ?
It's kind of pointless asking anyone else as they get a different mechanic.

I had one guy out from there. He diagnosed a dead fuel pump on a Transit I had. It turned out to be low water levels doing an emergency shutdown thing.

Shuvi McTupya

24,460 posts

246 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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MG CHRIS said:
Because a garage has to pay staff rent rates tools insurance equipment training courses do you?

Most garages won't fit 2nd hand parts and new driveshaft specially for Japanese cars are extremely expensive. Also the chance of 2nd hand parts being wrong so a ramp tied up not making any money is very frequent.

Garages have huge overheads and don't make much money they don't want customers that want you to fit their parts for £20 cash then when something goes wrong with said part moan to garage about it.
Yes there are some rip of garages but there are far more ahole customers about.
This is a mobile mechanic, the price of any workshop or staff he may have is of no concern to me but I assume he doesn't have any of that.

Besides, it is up to him if he wants to do the job, nobody is forcing him. He will still be charging £40-£50 an hour or something..

f1nn

2,692 posts

191 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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Shuvi McTupya said:
Let me see now..I have a mechanic coming to my house to fit a part, why should I pay him 100% mark up on the price of the part when I am perfectly capable of performing the necessary mouse click to 'buy it now' myself?

If you like to pay people for doing absolutely bugger all, be my guest.
If a mechanic was able to fit at a part at my house, I wouldn't be paying him at all as I would be absolutely capable of doing it myself, but you wouldn't be paying him to do bugger all, you would be paying him to provide a service.

The next time you take your partner to restaurant, why not hand over a pot noodle and ask if they can fill it for you, that'll save a couple of quid.

It's not about wasting money, it's about paying a tradesperson or business a fair price to allow them to be there to provide a service next time you need them.



Shuvi McTupya

24,460 posts

246 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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f1nn said:
If a mechanic was able to fit at a part at my house, I wouldn't be paying him at all as I would be absolutely capable of doing it myself, but you wouldn't be paying him to do bugger all, you would be paying him to provide a service.

The next time you take your partner to restaurant, why not hand over a pot noodle and ask if they can fill it for you, that'll save a couple of quid.

It's not about wasting money, it's about paying a tradesperson or business a fair price to allow them to be there to provide a service next time you need them.
I will ignore the silly restaraunt comparison.

You are right, I am paying him to fit parts because I don't want too or am not skilled enough to do so.

I am skilled enough to buy the part though so why pay someone else to buy it for me?

I won't ask him to wash the car afterwards either , I can do that too.

I did fit a reconditioned power steering pump myself, it cost me £155 rather than the £800 garage quote.

Charlie1986

2,016 posts

134 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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Shuvi McTupya said:
f1nn said:
FFS, buying your own parts to save a couple of quid...how tight do you have to be!
Let me see now..I have a mechanic coming to my house to fit a part, why should I pay him 100% mark up on the price of the part when I am perfectly capable of performing the necessary mouse click to 'buy it now' myself?

If you like to pay people for doing absolutely bugger all, be my guest.

Added: I am sure they don't all charge 100% mark up, but the point remains.


Working for a motor factors where we have national accounts - Brake pads and disks to them with there discount will be £50-£60 retail normally £200-£300, Coil springs are less than £30 and I've been in shop whilst the customer is quoted £250!

As for the Clutch what car is it for? As i can get a price for you and we have 120 branches in the uk so can always get it to one near by.





Edited by Shuvi McTupya on Tuesday 14th November 22:15

MG CHRIS

9,077 posts

166 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
quotequote all
Shuvi McTupya said:
f1nn said:
If a mechanic was able to fit at a part at my house, I wouldn't be paying him at all as I would be absolutely capable of doing it myself, but you wouldn't be paying him to do bugger all, you would be paying him to provide a service.

The next time you take your partner to restaurant, why not hand over a pot noodle and ask if they can fill it for you, that'll save a couple of quid.

It's not about wasting money, it's about paying a tradesperson or business a fair price to allow them to be there to provide a service next time you need them.
I will ignore the silly restaraunt comparison.

You are right, I am paying him to fit parts because I don't want too or am not skilled enough to do so.

I am skilled enough to buy the part though so why pay someone else to buy it for me?

I won't ask him to wash the car afterwards either , I can do that too.

I did fit a reconditioned power steering pump myself, it cost me £155 rather than the £800 garage quote.
In most cases customers supplying parts are either wrong or really poor quality which cost garages money in ramp down time. Then when it breaks its the garage that is at fault most times. Hence garages that don't generally do it.

Shuvi McTupya

24,460 posts

246 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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bloomen said:
It's kind of pointless asking anyone else as they get a different mechanic.

I had one guy out from there. He diagnosed a dead fuel pump on a Transit I had. It turned out to be low water levels doing an emergency shutdown thing.
I can believe that!

I already know what needs doing as my normal mechanic that I paid to do a 'Pre Mot' told me so, and also told he didn't want to do the job, and that I should get a mobile mechanic out as they are cheaper.

It's probably a big no no round here, but I also own a complete diagnostic kit that can save a report in PDF format, so I would probably provide a mechanic with my own print out rather than pay £100 for their report.





f1nn

2,692 posts

191 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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Shuvi McTupya said:
I will ignore the silly restaraunt comparison.

You are right, I am paying him to fit parts because I don't want too or am not skilled enough to do so.

I am skilled enough to buy the part though so why pay someone else to buy it for me?

I won't ask him to wash the car afterwards either , I can do that too.

I did fit a reconditioned power steering pump myself, it cost me £155 rather than the £800 garage quote.
Don't ignore it, It might genuinely save you some cash.

I think people are short sighted personally. I'd rather give the guy the opportunity to make a couple of extra quid providing the part if it meant he was likely to be available the next time I needed him.

What happens if the parts you have supplied are faulty, no comeback at all have you.

Any way, I see people have already started to point out the obvious that parts can be bought cheaper with a trade account than joe public...shocker eh?

If a price is quoted by a garage, and that price is accepted, regardless of if you could get it done cheaper else where, or do it cheaper yourself, does that automatically mean they are a rip off? Of course not.

Make a parallel with the environment you work in. Many will work for a business that ultimately sells a product or service to a customer. Many businesses position themselves as a premium provider, perhaps due to overheads or perhaps higher margin expectation. That's perfectly acceptable if the market is prepared to sustain it.

Why, should a main dealer as an example, operate at similar margins to a back street garage, I wouldn't, it would make no sense.

Wacky Racer

38,099 posts

246 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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Brinyan said:
The guy came to your house, did an oil & filter change & his labour charge was £18?! Hope you gave him a decent tip.
Yes, Swarfega's very good for oily hands....hehe

Shuvi McTupya

24,460 posts

246 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
quotequote all
Charlie1986 said:
Working for a motor factors where we have national accounts - Brake pads and disks to them with there discount will be £50-£60 retail normally £200-£300, Coil springs are less than £30 and I've been in shop whilst the customer is quoted £250!

As for the Clutch what car is it for? As i can get a price for you and we have 120 branches in the uk so can always get it to one near by.
Jesus, that's worse than I thought! That is not making a fair wage for doing a fair job, that is pretty much fraud smile

Thanks for the offer, The car that needs a clutch is a 2002 Cooper , it actually only needs a clutch release bearing but it seems prudent to change the clutch at the same time if I am not being charged £300 for a mechanic to walk into a shop and ask for one!

If it's cheap enough it might also be a good idea to change the flywheel ?

I don't want to be in the position of having the guy here and my car in pieces when he suddenly announces that it needs a flywheel too, but he can buy one for another £300 ..

The car does have 120k on it, but the engine seems pretty good, it's noticeably quicker than my mini one with half the miles on it..



Shuvi McTupya

24,460 posts

246 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
quotequote all
MG CHRIS said:
In most cases customers supplying parts are either wrong or really poor quality which cost garages money in ramp down time. Then when it breaks its the garage that is at fault most times. Hence garages that don't generally do it.
Fair point, and I can see why they might try and avoid that scenario.

I wont be expecting them to offer a warrantee on the parts smile

Shuvi McTupya

24,460 posts

246 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
quotequote all
Wacky Racer said:
Brinyan said:
The guy came to your house, did an oil & filter change & his labour charge was £18?! Hope you gave him a decent tip.
Yes, Swarfega's very good for oily hands....hehe
Lol!

Who me ?

7,455 posts

211 months

Tuesday 14th November 2017
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Oh-it's not restricted to the little back street places . Few years ago, I had a fuel leak on my little VAG 1.4tdi, on the return side of the fuel pump. I was close to local dealer of the make ( name as per an old name of small marine engines and rhymes with your female sibling).
"Oh ,no sir- we've got to replace all the fuel underbonnet system". Cost £160 plus similar for labour. Son in law found a bit of pipe from one of his old bikes, and leak sorted. I called in at TPS ( VAG Tradeparts specialists) to see if this pipe was a specialist item. "No sir", said the techie bloke."it's flexible fuel pipe cut to size". Size 6", cost 50p.
So in my opinion it's not"you can't get dodgier than a back street fitter", but it seems that the main dealers are getting in to the "bleed em dry " market.

Strudul

1,585 posts

84 months

Wednesday 15th November 2017
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Who me said:
I was close to local dealer of the make ( name as per an old name of small marine engines and rhymes with your female sibling).
Porsche??

ashleyman

6,963 posts

98 months

Wednesday 15th November 2017
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Nothing beats my local VW garage upon enquiring about it's Year 2 service at an impressive 18,500 miles old.

On the phone getting it booked and they say the air con will need doing. It's not in any of the service literature but asked for a price anyway - £180. No thanks, I'll have it done elsewhere. Had it done at a specialist place recommended by a friend and it cost me £45.

Send the car in for service and get the customary video.

I couldn't help laugh whilst the bloke advised I might want to think about changing my tyres as they're getting a bit worn and are 75% worn with 4.5mm of tread left.

Made me laugh because the fronts were on 6mm tread and the rears on 5mm when I checked them whilst washing the car the week before.

Shuvi McTupya

24,460 posts

246 months

Wednesday 15th November 2017
quotequote all
Who me said:
Oh-it's not restricted to the little back street places . Few years ago, I had a fuel leak on my little VAG 1.4tdi, on the return side of the fuel pump. I was close to local dealer of the make ( name as per an old name of small marine engines and rhymes with your female sibling).
"Oh ,no sir- we've got to replace all the fuel underbonnet system". Cost £160 plus similar for labour. Son in law found a bit of pipe from one of his old bikes, and leak sorted. I called in at TPS ( VAG Tradeparts specialists) to see if this pipe was a specialist item. "No sir", said the techie bloke."it's flexible fuel pipe cut to size". Size 6", cost 50p.
So in my opinion it's not"you can't get dodgier than a back street fitter", but it seems that the main dealers are getting in to the "bleed em dry " market.
Well, according to some folk you should have paid the £300 for the 50p bit of hose and been grateful they will still be in business should you need them in the future!

Oh, and your name seems to screw up the quote function btw.



Emanresu

311 posts

88 months

Wednesday 15th November 2017
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Shuvi McTupya said:
I can believe that!

I already know what needs doing as my normal mechanic that I paid to do a 'Pre Mot' told me so, and also told he didn't want to do the job, and that I should get a mobile mechanic out as they are cheaper.

It's probably a big no no round here, but I also own a complete diagnostic kit that can save a report in PDF format, so I would probably provide a mechanic with my own print out rather than pay £100 for their report.
Printing a few fault codes, that’s nice. Can you also print out useful data like live MAF, MAP, long and short term fuel trims across the Rev range at various loads, do relative compression tests and interpret all the data?

I’ve had customers come into the garage and tell me to replace things like crank and cam sensors because their toy OBD reader said a fault code was logged. After offering the service of a proper diagnosis, the customer usually insists on changing the part they diagnosed themselves rather than spend £50-60 on a proper diagnosis. A lot of the time, it has turned out to be something completely different which costs a lot more in the long run including the price of a part that wasn’t faulty but the customer insisted was changed.

Sometimes it’s better just to stand back and let a professional take care of it from start to finish.

Mound Dawg

1,915 posts

173 months

Wednesday 15th November 2017
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Shuvi McTupya said:
Let me see now..I have a mechanic coming to my house to fit a part, why should I pay him 100% mark up on the price of the part when I am perfectly capable of performing the necessary mouse click to 'buy it now' myself?

If you like to pay people for doing absolutely bugger all, be my guest.
We have more problems with people buying their own parts for garages to fit than anything else because they either know Fanny Adams about cars of just guess when faced with alternatives.

Recent example (yesterday). Owner bought a carb gasket set and asked us to send it to the garage doing the work. Garage rings, this carburettor gasket set you've sent is wrong, checked part number, yup it's a Weber carb set. Yeah, but this car's got Dellortos.

Problem now is he's opened it and the gaskets have got oily paw prints on them so I don't want them back. So he's going to have to buy the correct set as he's the one who assumed that they were Webers.

100% mark up right there.

And who pays for the mechanic's wasted time if he rocks up and can't do the job because you bought the wrong oil filter?

Edited by Mound Dawg on Wednesday 15th November 07:26

RHVW

139 posts

76 months

Wednesday 15th November 2017
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There are two different sides to this thread.

1st. Garages being dishonest and taking advantage of customers who don't know any better.
2nd. The discussion of whether the pricing is fair relating to the market.

I made the mistake once of send Mrs. RHVW to the garage to investigate a coolant leak - she came back and happily reported that they told her they would need the car for the morning to 'take the engine apart' and then they could give her a price to fix it or pay to put it back together again.




If we are talking about the 2nd point. I am all for paying a fair price to a garage. I understand that they have overhead etc but I don't want to be taken for a ride. The problem is now people are more savvy with the internet and more price conscious. I hear people saying we should support our local economy so they can stay in business but I don't buy into that. Business need to adapt and evolve to the market.

Personally, I try to do all the work on the car myself. Sometimes I take the car to the local garage to help me diagnose the problem and I dung him a few euros for his time. He always says no and I insist.

strain

419 posts

100 months

Wednesday 15th November 2017
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It depends on the garage, I always find larger garages will try and take the piss,

Small local garage, swapped a starter motor for us, few months later went faulty, swapped FOC

Large chair getting 4 tyres, 'unfortunately we can't do tracking on your car as you need 4x shocks and suspension at £444"

It was lowered, not broken...