Garage Overcharging?

[DKNess]

Few days ago I got stuck away from home, bonnet cable had snapped and I needed to top the oil up (car burns oil quite badly). Had no choice but to take it to a local garage thinking it would be a £20 job, got the bonnet open after an hour and was charged £92 (£46ph labour x2 mechanics).

I naturally disputed this as I always thought labour was calculated per hour and not the number of mechanics but had no choice but to pay it to get the car back. Do i have any legal standing? Definitely won't be going to that garage again 🙃

[Contract Killer]

Sounds very reasonable if it took two mechanics an hour.

Maybe one mechanic could have done the job, but it might have taken him two hours......

[anonymous-user]

Labour is charged by the man hour because that’s how the businesses incyr cost.

If it took 2 mechanics a full hour then that’s right and £46 an hour is cheap.

I’m not able to judge but would be surprised if releasing a bonnet would take 2 guys an hour.

Clearly not a main dealer, they wouldn't look at the job for £96!

[DKNess]

Fair enough, think I've been spoiled because my garage up home only charges £25 per hour on mates rates whereas further south it seems far more expensive. Thanks for the replies

[ncbbmw]

DKNess said:

Fair enough, think I've been spoiled because my garage up home only charges £25 per hour on mates rates whereas further south it seems far more expensive. Thanks for the replies

mates rates, clue there...

2 hours does sound a little heavy but the rate is well cheap.

I'm guessing you'd booked the car in two weeks earlier and left it with them for the day...
Or maybe you turned up in the poo and they left other jobs to fix yours.

BTW, do you have breakdown cover??
Most of them would likely cover that as the car couldn't be driven due to low oil level.

[DKNess]

ncbbmw said:

DKNess said:

Fair enough, think I've been spoiled because my garage up home only charges £25 per hour on mates rates whereas further south it seems far more expensive. Thanks for the replies

mates rates, clue there...

2 hours does sound a little heavy but the rate is well cheap.

I'm guessing you'd booked the car in two weeks earlier and left it with them for the day...
Or maybe you turned up in the poo and they left other jobs to fix yours.

BTW, do you have breakdown cover??
Most of them would likely cover that as the car couldn't be driven due to low oil level.

Car was booked in but being a Renault the catch was a pain to get at (I know that for sure because I tried myself as did another garage to no avail). No breakdown cover so was a last resort, on the bright side it'll bring the labour costs down when I get the cable replaced as I have a temporary fix in place to pop the bonnet.

[fastbikes76]

When my 530d bonnet cable failed I would have gladly paid £96 to have the bonnet opened for me. I’m very well versed on working on awkward cars and that’s a job I wouldn’t want to repeat... ever.

[KungFuPanda]

Unless you're mates with every garage worker in the UK, why would you be expecting to pay mate's rates?

[HustleRussell]

DKNess said:

Car was booked in but being a Renault the catch was a pain to get at (I know that for sure because I tried myself as did another garage to no avail). No breakdown cover so was a last resort, on the bright side it'll bring the labour costs down when I get the cable replaced as I have a temporary fix in place to pop the bonnet.

Difficult job, in a hurry, £100- bargain!

[TooMany2cvs]

DKNess said:

Fair enough, think I've been spoiled because my garage up home only charges £25 per hour on mates rates whereas further south it seems far more expensive. Thanks for the replies

Jesus wept!

Even £46/hr is a bargain... And that wasn't with the VAT? It's like you fell through a wormhole in time a decade and a bit...

[JulianHJ]

That's not much more than half what I had to pay each time my mk2 Focus bonnet release failed. Bargain!

[HantsRat]

Not that bad. IT firms usually charge £75 per hour minimum.

[Riley Blue]

I'd slip your mate £25 to investigate the excessive oil consumption or your next bill might be much higher. £25 an hour, I haven't paid as little as that in decades, even to my mates.

[Jdjd1]

Ahh yes, All the more reason to live up north

[warch]

Remember, garages have to factor in the cost of the premises, including business rates, which are effectively based on the rental value of the site. So naturally garages in the southeast and other parts of the country where property values are high are going to be more expensive, they have to cover their overheads.

[DKNess]

KungFuPanda said:

Unless you're mates with every garage worker in the UK, why would you be expecting to pay mate's rates?

I'm not just I've never been to a garage that wasn't my local before and thought £46ph x2 seemed overly steep, lesson learned I guess as my local garage seems like a bargain in comparison to everywhere else lol

[Old Merc]

TooMany2cvs said:

DKNess said:

Fair enough, think I've been spoiled because my garage up home only charges £25 per hour on mates rates whereas further south it seems far more expensive. Thanks for the replies

Jesus wept!

Even £46/hr is a bargain... And that wasn't with the VAT? It's like you fell through a wormhole in time a decade and a bit...

£25 an hour!!! no way, (may be for the odd cash in hand job?)
It would be impossible for smart well equipt,VAT registered workshop, employing PAYE skilled mechanics, to make a profit and stay in business.

[Accelebrate]

If it's any consolation when the bonnet cable snapped on my 8-mile-old VW it took the dealership a good few days just to get it open and source a replacement part.

[7795]

OP it seems like the usual deal you have with your local garage is per/hr a very good rate.

This seems reasonable to me.

[Exige77]

Bargain price !!