Shocking service bill arrives!
Discussion
I could do with the trusty advice of you good forum members on my options, given the phone call I had this afternoon...
I almost wish the garage HADNT rang..
TVR London, by kings cross, just rang to report back on my newly obtained 55,000 mile 1997 4.2 cerb, which I dropped in for a tappet service and an overall health examination.
i had already been expecting £1200 for a tappet/valve clearance service with all the benefits of an intensive 12000 mile specification service, and also throttle pot and timing etc setup.
todays revelations:
that 1200 didnt include vat, so that's £1410. From hereon in I'll state all prices including vat, although i was quoted everything (wrongly so I always believe) ex vat.
"Cams are badly worn, 2 new cams needed, and also 2 cam buckets for them, thats £963.50 parts and because that means theres probably lots of bits of metal shards around the engines insides which cant just be easily flushed out, you really need a rebuild, which is between £4700 and £7637.50. Doing the cams without a rebuild would incur about £211.50 labour, but wouldnt be recommended."
"fixing handbrake for MOT - £141"
"Main Headlight beam isnt working - dont yet know what that will cost"
"oil pressure/temp gauge broken - £141 + postage costs"
"Clutch is dragging - suspected clutch slave cylinder leak - £264.38 parts, £564 Labour"
"Diff output shaft seals - £33.37 Parts, £564 Labour"
"Nearside rear damper leaking - we only replace in pairs - £742 parts (2 rear gaz dampers) £188 labour"
"Offside rear upper wishbone arm corroded - £56.40 Parts, £141 Labour"
"Nearside rear anti-roll bar clamp needs welding back to the chassis - £70.50"
"leak from power steering pinion seal - £17.63 parts, £282 Labour"
"Aircon's broken, dont have a price on fixing that yet"
"the top's been off recently, so someone's had a look at it"
My head's spinning...! Annoyed with myself for not properly researching the cerb I bought, annoyed with the private seller I bought it from, who, given that im told the tops been off recently, obviously knew there was serious work needed.
I was expecting the cerb to cost a bit on running, but this is a bit extreme to my mind?! thats £5800 _without_ doing a rebuild, without fixing aircon, without fixing main beam, or about £11000-£12000 including rebuild.
Any comments/thoughts on this quote? Should I talk to anyone else?
the words "don't try owning a cerb on a budget" are ringing in my head..
I almost wish the garage HADNT rang..
TVR London, by kings cross, just rang to report back on my newly obtained 55,000 mile 1997 4.2 cerb, which I dropped in for a tappet service and an overall health examination.
i had already been expecting £1200 for a tappet/valve clearance service with all the benefits of an intensive 12000 mile specification service, and also throttle pot and timing etc setup.
todays revelations:
that 1200 didnt include vat, so that's £1410. From hereon in I'll state all prices including vat, although i was quoted everything (wrongly so I always believe) ex vat.
"Cams are badly worn, 2 new cams needed, and also 2 cam buckets for them, thats £963.50 parts and because that means theres probably lots of bits of metal shards around the engines insides which cant just be easily flushed out, you really need a rebuild, which is between £4700 and £7637.50. Doing the cams without a rebuild would incur about £211.50 labour, but wouldnt be recommended."
"fixing handbrake for MOT - £141"
"Main Headlight beam isnt working - dont yet know what that will cost"
"oil pressure/temp gauge broken - £141 + postage costs"
"Clutch is dragging - suspected clutch slave cylinder leak - £264.38 parts, £564 Labour"
"Diff output shaft seals - £33.37 Parts, £564 Labour"
"Nearside rear damper leaking - we only replace in pairs - £742 parts (2 rear gaz dampers) £188 labour"
"Offside rear upper wishbone arm corroded - £56.40 Parts, £141 Labour"
"Nearside rear anti-roll bar clamp needs welding back to the chassis - £70.50"
"leak from power steering pinion seal - £17.63 parts, £282 Labour"
"Aircon's broken, dont have a price on fixing that yet"
"the top's been off recently, so someone's had a look at it"
My head's spinning...! Annoyed with myself for not properly researching the cerb I bought, annoyed with the private seller I bought it from, who, given that im told the tops been off recently, obviously knew there was serious work needed.
I was expecting the cerb to cost a bit on running, but this is a bit extreme to my mind?! thats £5800 _without_ doing a rebuild, without fixing aircon, without fixing main beam, or about £11000-£12000 including rebuild.
Any comments/thoughts on this quote? Should I talk to anyone else?
the words "don't try owning a cerb on a budget" are ringing in my head..
Thats going to put a downer on the weekend. I can only imagine how you feel.
On the brighter side the car is moving and not in bit so you can take it somewhere else.
When you bought it did teh previous owner tell you where he got it serviced and looked after? you could check with them to see if they had told him about the work needing done. As far as i am aware if he knows that there was work needing done and he did not tell you, then you might have a case against him. Just a thought
On the brighter side the car is moving and not in bit so you can take it somewhere else.
When you bought it did teh previous owner tell you where he got it serviced and looked after? you could check with them to see if they had told him about the work needing done. As far as i am aware if he knows that there was work needing done and he did not tell you, then you might have a case against him. Just a thought
Isn't this the one you bought :- http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/180102.htm
Its advertised as having a transferrable warranty, so would of thought that at least some of this work should be covered.
Its advertised as having a transferrable warranty, so would of thought that at least some of this work should be covered.
That is unbelievably shocking.
There are NO TVR dealers anymore, so IMHO noone should be paying main dealer prices.
I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I were you.
The first thing I picked up was why do they want to charge you £200+ to change the cams when the cams have to come out to carry out a tappet adjustment anyway.
Goto a good indi in future, I would recommend Andy @ APM, but others will sing the priases of Austec and TrackCar, amongst others, you pay your money you take your pick.
personally at this moment I'd tell
"the garage" to STOP, set the tappets as per the service and give you the car back and take it somewhere else.
I guess you're paying for the cost of garage space in central London!
Good luck
Tim
There are NO TVR dealers anymore, so IMHO noone should be paying main dealer prices.
I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I were you.
The first thing I picked up was why do they want to charge you £200+ to change the cams when the cams have to come out to carry out a tappet adjustment anyway.
Goto a good indi in future, I would recommend Andy @ APM, but others will sing the priases of Austec and TrackCar, amongst others, you pay your money you take your pick.
personally at this moment I'd tell
"the garage" to STOP, set the tappets as per the service and give you the car back and take it somewhere else.I guess you're paying for the cost of garage space in central London!
Good luck
Tim
Edited by Big Al. on Sunday 8th July 22:33
Definitely get a second opinion! That said, I have found that it takes a while for a garage to take the measure of you and understand how you want to run your car.
Some owners want everything absolutely at the top of the tree, others are prepared be to be less fastidious. If this is the first time that you have used them, maybe they are trying to give you a laundry list of things to be aware of? I've been in that position before...
...then when I told them how silly that all seemed, they came back with a list of "things that must be done now", "things that should be done soon" and "things that would be better to get done sometime".
It is easy to be shocked and upset at what these beasts can cost. Maybe have a chat with them (as well as getting a second opinion, of course!).
Some owners want everything absolutely at the top of the tree, others are prepared be to be less fastidious. If this is the first time that you have used them, maybe they are trying to give you a laundry list of things to be aware of? I've been in that position before...
...then when I told them how silly that all seemed, they came back with a list of "things that must be done now", "things that should be done soon" and "things that would be better to get done sometime".
It is easy to be shocked and upset at what these beasts can cost. Maybe have a chat with them (as well as getting a second opinion, of course!).
looks like they have quoted each piece of work with its own labour slot where much of it would be done together anyway - looks like a con to me. How badly is it running? I't cant be that bad otherwise you probably would have noticed when you drove it, why not just do the "must" bits first and save the others for later. Some of the work quoted sounds DIY able if you or a friend are that way inclined. Sorry for the news though mate, I a similar thing on a previous car I bought a few years back.
AlVal said:
I could do with the trusty advice of you good forum members on my options, given the phone call I had this afternoon...
I almost wish the garage HADNT rang..
TVR London, by kings cross, just rang to report back on my newly obtained 55,000 mile 1997 4.2 cerb, which I dropped in for a tappet service and an overall health examination.
i had already been expecting £1200 for a tappet/valve clearance service with all the benefits of an intensive 12000 mile specification service, and also throttle pot and timing etc setup.
todays revelations:
that 1200 didnt include vat, so that's £1410. From hereon in I'll state all prices including vat, although i was quoted everything (wrongly so I always believe) ex vat.
"Cams are badly worn, 2 new cams needed, and also 2 cam buckets for them, thats £963.50 parts and because that means theres probably lots of bits of metal shards around the engines insides which cant just be easily flushed out, you really need a rebuild, which is between £4700 and £7637.50. Doing the cams without a rebuild would incur about £211.50 labour, but wouldnt be recommended."
"fixing handbrake for MOT - £141"
"Main Headlight beam isnt working - dont yet know what that will cost"
"oil pressure/temp gauge broken - £141 + postage costs"
"Clutch is dragging - suspected clutch slave cylinder leak - £264.38 parts, £564 Labour"
"Diff output shaft seals - £33.37 Parts, £564 Labour"
"Nearside rear damper leaking - we only replace in pairs - £742 parts (2 rear gaz dampers) £188 labour"
"Offside rear upper wishbone arm corroded - £56.40 Parts, £141 Labour"
"Nearside rear anti-roll bar clamp needs welding back to the chassis - £70.50"
"leak from power steering pinion seal - £17.63 parts, £282 Labour"
"Aircon's broken, dont have a price on fixing that yet"
"the top's been off recently, so someone's had a look at it"
My head's spinning...! Annoyed with myself for not properly researching the cerb I bought, annoyed with the private seller I bought it from, who, given that im told the tops been off recently, obviously knew there was serious work needed.
I was expecting the cerb to cost a bit on running, but this is a bit extreme to my mind?! thats £5800 _without_ doing a rebuild, without fixing aircon, without fixing main beam, or about £11000-£12000 including rebuild.
Any comments/thoughts on this quote? Should I talk to anyone else?
the words "don't try owning a cerb on a budget" are ringing in my head..
I don't know who you've taken it to, but you are clearly being ripped off in a massive fashion.I almost wish the garage HADNT rang..
TVR London, by kings cross, just rang to report back on my newly obtained 55,000 mile 1997 4.2 cerb, which I dropped in for a tappet service and an overall health examination.
i had already been expecting £1200 for a tappet/valve clearance service with all the benefits of an intensive 12000 mile specification service, and also throttle pot and timing etc setup.
todays revelations:
that 1200 didnt include vat, so that's £1410. From hereon in I'll state all prices including vat, although i was quoted everything (wrongly so I always believe) ex vat.
"Cams are badly worn, 2 new cams needed, and also 2 cam buckets for them, thats £963.50 parts and because that means theres probably lots of bits of metal shards around the engines insides which cant just be easily flushed out, you really need a rebuild, which is between £4700 and £7637.50. Doing the cams without a rebuild would incur about £211.50 labour, but wouldnt be recommended."
"fixing handbrake for MOT - £141"
"Main Headlight beam isnt working - dont yet know what that will cost"
"oil pressure/temp gauge broken - £141 + postage costs"
"Clutch is dragging - suspected clutch slave cylinder leak - £264.38 parts, £564 Labour"
"Diff output shaft seals - £33.37 Parts, £564 Labour"
"Nearside rear damper leaking - we only replace in pairs - £742 parts (2 rear gaz dampers) £188 labour"
"Offside rear upper wishbone arm corroded - £56.40 Parts, £141 Labour"
"Nearside rear anti-roll bar clamp needs welding back to the chassis - £70.50"
"leak from power steering pinion seal - £17.63 parts, £282 Labour"
"Aircon's broken, dont have a price on fixing that yet"
"the top's been off recently, so someone's had a look at it"
My head's spinning...! Annoyed with myself for not properly researching the cerb I bought, annoyed with the private seller I bought it from, who, given that im told the tops been off recently, obviously knew there was serious work needed.
I was expecting the cerb to cost a bit on running, but this is a bit extreme to my mind?! thats £5800 _without_ doing a rebuild, without fixing aircon, without fixing main beam, or about £11000-£12000 including rebuild.
Any comments/thoughts on this quote? Should I talk to anyone else?
the words "don't try owning a cerb on a budget" are ringing in my head..
I've just had mine back from a 12k service and health check.
Here is the itemised bill - pay careful attention to the price of my two replacement rear gaz shocks.....
All prices exclude VAT, I'll add this last.
Oil filter - £8.50
Mobil One - £55.25
Sump Washer - £0.65
Fuel Filter - £25.00
Air Filter - £23.50
Spark Plugs - £50.64
Diff Oil - £17.50
Transmission Oil - £11.99
Brake Fluid - £5.95
A/Freeze - £14.99
Front Pads - £129
Rear Pads - £85.70
Shocks - £225.55 (only a small difference!)
Spring - £4.08
Wiper Park Switch - £8.70
Labour - £524 (14 hours ish to my knowledge)
Subtotal - £1191
VAT - £208.42
MOT - £45
Total - £1444.42
I had the option to change the diff bush, but at 5 hours labour (£200) I decided not too. I'd prefer to wait until the diff has to come out.
FYI, my recent clutch change, including the entire clutch pack and slave cylinder was £904 (ex VAT). £228 of that was labour.
If I were you, I would take your car somewhere else!!
I can absolutely recommend APM automotive.......
Worth enquiring what their labour rate is, because they're charging some fairly hefty sums for what would seem to be simple jobs. There are plenty of independents around so you have lots of alternatives to compare against. Do be aware though that some of these issues wouldn't be apparent until they had started work. If you do take it elsewhere you can expect to be billed for the work done so far, and either a low loader or additional labour to get it driveable again.
NeilV70R said:
Isn't this the one you bought :- http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/180102.htm
Its advertised as having a transferrable warranty, so would of thought that at least some of this work should be covered.
If that is the one then according to the ad its already had new rear shocks and clutch & master cylinder - why are london TVR saying it needs new ones?Its advertised as having a transferrable warranty, so would of thought that at least some of this work should be covered.
It also states it's had new headlights, maybe just a loose connection if they've gone!
As per most of the other posters here get your car out of there and get her to a good indie such as Austec or Jools etc and get them to look at it. Just pay the service cost but get it away for a 2nd opinion ASAP.
Edited to add - where abouts in Beds are you? I use a VERY good indie whos based near Wisbech and I'd thoroughly recommend!
Edited by Zippee on Friday 6th July 20:59
i really feel for you mate,not nice if the guy you bought it off new of these things. i know its been said numerous time but the guys are correct get it back and take it to an indie should be loads cheaper, you may even be able to do a few repairs yourself lights etc depending on your knowledge/time best of luck anyway regards ancol
AlVal - didn't you say that Offord had looked after the car for some time? Why don't you run it over to them and get them to look at the history etc as well as make any adjustments for you. I am sure they will have full records of the work done on the car? And it's only down the road too......
Just a thought. But keep your chin up! I think a few of us are running up to the Ace on Monday night, perhaps you'd like to join us?
You coming out to play on Monday Morebeanz?
Just a thought. But keep your chin up! I think a few of us are running up to the Ace on Monday night, perhaps you'd like to join us?
You coming out to play on Monday Morebeanz?
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