Been stung with a large bill? Tell me about it

[RichardDredge]

Hi all,

I’m writing an article for Auto Express, on the high cost of putting small things right on a car. Something like a huge bill to replace a wing mirror after it’s been knocked off, or the £150 charge to replace a sidelight bulb.

Have you been stung with a large bill for something really tiny like this? I’m not after bodywork or paintwork anecdotes, but if you’ve got anything else please tell me about it! If you could email me direct at mail@richarddredge.com it would be great.

Thanks,

Richard Dredge

 

[psmart]

... I might get booed and hissed, this being a Merc forum, but when you buy a Merc, you pay a high price, so you expect high bills.......

... at least you would think. I bought a brand new Fiat Seicento as a Motorhome shuttle car, 4500 cash. Cheap car, so going with the logic, should be cheap to service..... wrong. Last year, exhaust system needed replacing, after its 3rd year... just out of warranty. Cost ~gbp875, cat box alone cost 575.

In comparison... my ML, 5+ years down the line, exhaust system still looking good, but should the primary+secondary cat go, looking at a 1Grand bill!!!

Perhaps some garages 'rip you off', but I think some car manufacturers 'rip you off'!!!

... to round off the above, my ML has cost me 'f' all, relatively. My previous Jeep Grand Cherokee cost gbp400 every 6000 miles, ML cost ~200 every 15000 miles!!! Maybe if Id gone to Merc stealerships Id have paid ~gbp500, but its still cheaper than other manufacturers!

 

[jberks]

The only thing that left a sour taste was a replacement wiper rubber. I was quoted £5 for the part. Fair enough, bung one on. When I got the bill, they'd charged me £20 to fit it!

I went to my indie specialist a few months later and whilst there asked him to supply me a replacement wiper blade so I could fit it myself when I got home (wasn't going to get caught that way again). He said something to the 'lad' and 5 mins later he said "All done". No charge, the parts only pennies anyway.

The dealer quoted my dad over £60 to replace a bulb at the back of his clock - the indie did it on a 'sort it out next time' basis. Total time was 5 mins, including etting in the car, driving the car off the forcourt, round to the workshops, doing the job and returning.
They had previously quoted him £100 to replace the mirror in his sun visor. He collected the part and took it home. Took him 5 mins to do (hes an accountant not a mechanic).
I wanted a foam pad replacing at the side of the seat (old one snapped off). The car would apparently have to go 15 miles to their trimmers on a low loader. No idea what it was going to cost but scary. Anyway, it was booked in and a loan car orgainised. It was bugging me so just before the appointment I popped in and asked to see the part. I took it and the service rep out to the car, fitted the pad myself in less than a minute - nuff said!

I've also had calls during services - replace brake fluid £40 and coolant £30 - fair enough. Its just unpredictable!

 

[Retired]

Have two cars: MBE240 estate and a Toyota Picnic (don't ask).

Last Toyota service by Toyota dealer was told it needed brake fluid replacing. Asked how much and was told about £120!! Local independent did it for about £35.

Merc has been quite pricy to service but it is reliable and don't feel ripped off.

Dealer seems (unusually I gather) quite customer focussed. Recently fitted a rear wiper for nothing and repaired defective windscreen washer foc as only a detached pipe.

 

[psmart]

Just to add to my post, I've got the receipts out of the Seicento and can give an insight into costs: The quote of GBP875 was from Fiat Picadilly in Ripon, with similarly large quotes from Kwik-Fit and Charlie Browns, all quoting that the complete exhaust from the manifold downpipe had to be replaced. Eventually got done at Pudsey Tyre Centre, who just cut off the bad parts, but in a new Rear Box and Tailpipe, for a grand total of 85.20!

One thing I can remember was a tv interview on one of the sky channels, where a garage owner was basically saying 'customer beware', if you dont understand your car, your open to being ripped off!

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Years ago I had an 92/J Astra 2.0CD. Phoned the stealership service desk as the ABS light was on and the ABS wasn't working. They said it could be anything, bring it in and they will run a diagnostic check. When I picked it up I had been charged for the diagnostic plus a quarter hour labour to fit 2 brake bulbs as that was the fault. Surely this must be a frequent fault and a great money spinner for them. From memory it cost nearly £60 with the vat. I was not a happy chap.

 

[davebox]

With a dealership you pay a min rate. I like to call it the RIP OFF HOUR.
I can remember owning a car once that needed a tyre quick. So, being a weekend I had one from the local Slow Fit. They recommended that the shocks all round needed changing, the brakes were on the limit and it needed three more tyres. Oh yes, the brake fluid needed changing as well. The quote was a few hundred quid. I had the tyre fitted that it went in for and drove home. At the time, living with my parents still good Ole dad offered to pay so I phoned my local factors and priced the bits. A mate offered to lend a hand so I took the car over to his place. When we looked close the shocks had been wiped with an oily rag, the tyres were like new, the pads were about half worn and the fluid looked like the stuff in the can I had bought but we changed it anyway thinking that you only have one chance with brakes. Cost me something like £10 for the fluid and the factors were kind enough to take the rest back when I explained. As a result they have had my business for 15 years now. Slow fit, I've never been back.

 

[television]

I think it is the BMW E46 that takes a dealer 4½ hours to change a headlamp bulb = £500 not too bad is it.

malcolm

 

[vics1982]

Wing Mirror

Hi Everyone,

I have had to recently replace my drivers side wing mirror mechanism on my merc 280 (1998).
Merc quoted me £280.00 + VAT for just the mechanism.
I'm not tight but this in my opinion was extortionate!!!

You don't even get the outer plastic bit with this.

Luckily we have another place to get similar parts from and i got it for £120.00 + VAT. (still expensive)

Looking forward to when something really bad happens.....oh joy!!!

 

[jberks]

Not answering the original post but ..
Yup - its buyer beware. Admittedly a long while ago, but I bought an Astra at the block and popped it into a local tyre place for a 'free safety check'. They came out and told me the brakes were worn. I looked up from my paper and said "Show me". He then proceeded to show me a 25% worn set of pads. "So you don't want us to change them?" - "What do you think?" I replied and walked back to the waiting room.
At the till, the manager asked him if he'd checked it over, he replied, yes, nothing needed doing.
Nuff said!

 

[bibamus]

I very rarely get stung for work done on my cars, I use a local garage that I trust, however, I find most main dealer parts are a rip off. I bought a turbo oil return pipe for my 93 Discovery last year. Its about 4 inches long, a thicker version of a short flexible brake pipe. Cost from LR? ( with 10% discount) £77 +vat! A crank case breather pipe for my wifes Golf GTi, £35 +vat from VW. A new drivers door lock for our W reg VW Lupo? Dont know, been waiting for over 6 weeks for VW to get one, I suspect the cost will be near £250 to supply and fit it.
I try never to use main dealers for anything unless desperate!
Allan