Big Bills

[Bren]

I was thinking earlier today about the bills I have had for work done on my cars in the past - to be honest I do as much as I can myself, and when I can't I usually know somebody who won't rip me off.

 

I have had a couple for £200 + but thats about it, a timing belt on a galant we used to own and a service and replacement drop link on my vectra c last year - TBH I thought it was bloody dear consdering it  was an independant VX specialist, the service was just under £200 but the pollen filter was not replaced and the brakes were'nt stripped and cleaned, I was told that the pads were more than 50% worn (my argument was that they were less than 50% unworn), I told them not to do the pads as it would have bumped the bill up to over £330 - I did them myself for £40.

 

When I got my first decent car in 1992 (B reg cav SRi) I had the water pump and cambelt done at the local dealers - it cost me £120.47. Expensive when the local garages were quoting around £60 all in. I wonder what £120 is in today's money?

 

After my time with my vectra is over I may consider going back to a £2k car as there are good ones about and you dont get whacked with depreciation, plus there is no pressure to get a service purely for a stamp in the book.I cannot understand how people can so easily hand over £200 a month in payments for a car and then pay £2-300 for a service - I know people who do this and then say " I have to rent because I can't afford the deposit for a mortgage."

 

Am I the only person who thinks everything in this country is arse about face? I don't think I am - there are like minded folk on this very site(I hope).

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

When I got my first decent car in 1992 (B reg cav SRi) I had the water pump and cambelt done at the local dealers - it cost me £120.47. Expensive when the local garages were quoting around £60 all in. I wonder what £120 is in today's money?

 

In 2011, the relative value of Ã‚£120.47 from 1992 ranges from Ã‚£187.30 to Ã‚£292.00.

A simple Purchasing Power Calculator would say the relative value is Ã‚£204.60. This answer is obtained by multiplying £120.47 by the percentage increase in the RPI from 1992 to 2011.

[saucedoctor]

I'm with you on that lot, Bren. I'll look after my own cars, and for two reasons: 1.) I'm a tightwad. and 2.) I used to be a part time Austin Rover mechanic, and a LOT of my oppos were total fucking mongs.

 

I was quoted about 200 clams for a plug change on my X Type. It's a time consuming job (manifold off) but I'm fucked if I'll pay that sort of money. Did it myself over a couple of hours and a six pack one weekend.

 

Oil. Dealers, and some independents take the piss on the price of oil. My mate owns a big motor factors, so he gets me oil, although I scored a twofer on Magnatec off Amazon a while ago. I have posted on here before about my mate's Audi S6 and it's £700 oil change.

 

Service stamps? All very nice, but I print out a service report from Autodata when I do one. When I traded my S Type in, the dealer was delighted with the Autodata printouts, along with my receipts from said motor factors, all marked "TRADE CUSTOMER". This lot, combined with the car being in good nick and going well got me top book on trade in.

Troo Phact: not that long ago, a chap I know who works at Charles Hurst Vauxhall told me that a full major service on a V6 Vectra was within a tenner of a full major service on a Ferrari F355 F1 (Hurst's sell Fezzas too)

[Stroller133]

I don't mind paying (well I do a bit) as long as either you tell them what you want them to do, or if they diagnose the problem the work sorts it out. I imagine any vat reg'd outfit with decent premises must charge £35+ an hour.

[rml2345]

I don't mind paying a competent garage to do the stuff I can't/won't/am to lazy to do as long as the work is up to scratch and the price fair. If i had a garage or some off street parking i'd do more maintenance myself as it's hard when folk walking their dogs stare at you like some sort of two headed satanic beast because you're under the bonnet having a swearfest at something that won't come undone. 

And it gets wet outside. 

[Barry Cade]

I'm getting pissed off with being a breakdown driver- how about an Autoshite mobile mechanic- I'll come to your house in a '70's  mustachioed cheeky chappie sort of way in my rusty Bedford CA, tell you a few smutty jokes, ogle your wife then give you a oil stained hand written bill for 3/6, including Value added tax?

 

I'm certainly not going back to working in a garage, it's the pits for both customers AND mechanics, in fact the whole motor trade is a shitefest. Which other trade do you get the same wage as an Aldi till operator, have to supply all your own tools and equipment, work in an unheated work area and spend your life getting cut, bruised and end up crippled with athritis at 40. Bah feckin Humbug.

[Richard]

I'm certainly not going back to working in a garage, it's the pits for both customers AND mechanics, in fact the whole motor trade is a shitefest. Which other trade do you get the same wage as an Aldi till operator, have to supply all your own tools and equipment, work in an unheated work area and spend your life getting cut, bruised and end up crippled with athritis at 40. Bah feckin Humbug.

 

And you would have to work about two days to buy an hour of your own time. That sounds a bit like my job too.

[ruffgeezer]

Not to mention the attitude off the customers.

 

We had a Xsara Picasso towed in last Thursday, the electric lift pump had failed leaving it a non runner.

 

My colleague and I had it stripped by the end of play Thursday evening and I had it back together by Friday night, this was a fuel tank, exhaust & handbrake cable off job, which also entailed removing the skip like contents from inside to slacken the handbrake adjusters.

 

When it was collected, the owner still moaned at the 300 quid bill, in spite of around 50% of the coat being the part itself.

 

There's no pleasing some people.

[Barry Cade]

? Doesn't the Picasso have an access panel under the rear seat? Last one I did took about 20 mins.

 

*Edit* It was a Xsara, not a Picasso IIRC. Strange as the 306 has access,as does the Xsara and C5.

[fordperv]

A grinder with a 1mm cutting disk would've sorted an access hole out quite quickly

[ruffgeezer]

Nope, there is no access on the picasso, just to make it a proper pain in the arse. the customer had already broken down once with this fault, and the AA man thumped the tank and got it running, then told her to bring it straight to us.

 

We didn't get it until a day later, it having been recovered in via the AA from the next town up the road, and the customer had utterly flattened the battery trying to start it, bringing up a host of lights on the dash to boot.

 

It came back today as all this buggering about with the dicky lift pump seems to have upset the fuel pressure regulator, this is the first time we've seen this happen after a lift pump failure, however we don't know how many times the car has failed to start with this fault.

 

What really does for this sort of pump is running the car low on fuel, as there is nowhere to dissipate the heat to, it really shortens their life span.

[CortinaDave]

I'm pretty mechanically inept. I can do the basics but anything more than discs and pads or a new radiator (when there's access!) and I'm marching off to a mechanic.

 

I have a couple of mechanic mates who are cheap - but I tend to find all "one man band" type guys have a crucial flaw of some kind.

 

Theres a guy locally I use for the cortina - Great with the old stuff, but wont touch anything made after a sierra as it scares him. He's more than capable, as this guy can rebuild a 70s/80s car from ground up, including gas welding, resprays, full engine rebuilds etc.

 

Show him anything as modern as say a 1995 escort though and he runs away.why I dont know. frustrating.

 

His son would be the perfect solution - he will fix anything - happily does DMF's on modern diesels, hellish timing belts etc - He's really talented with cars and his work is top notch. Unfortunately he is also always in trouble with the plod, and is currently (as he often is ) in the jail for a range of crap - usually he gets in trouble for motoring offences, ignores his ban, gets community service, ignores that, goes to jail

 

There's another guy I've used in Edinburgh - he gets the job done and very reasonably. Unfortunately he also takes months to do it. You drop a car off for him to look at with "I really need it to get to work next monday" and if you're lucky you may get it back six to 8 weeks later.

 

As my shite is always usually needing something its a pain, I just try and get whatever I need done between the three of them rather than pay the £££££ proper garages want.

[Junkman]

I do mind paying. Because i don't have any money.

Also, I'm living long enough in this country to not spend £20 on something that doesn't give me faithful service for the next 30 years.

[oman5]

This really is the crux of why I run old snotters. if/when big bills turn up its not too much of a chore to throw the car away and buy another one. if you've invested ten grand in a 2 year old vectra or whatever its a bit different.

I have been very lucky however, I tend to buy cars that are cheap because they are unfashionable rather than knackered and most get sold on when I get bored with them. Beyond basic servicing, discs/pads and minor repairs I'm out of my depth and have a mate who is a cheap and honest master mechanic.

.

[robinmasters]

I don't mind paying a competent garage to do the stuff I can't/won't/am to lazy to do as long as the work is up to scratch and the price fair. If i had a garage or some off street parking i'd do more maintenance myself as it's hard when folk walking their dogs stare at you like some sort of two headed satanic beast because you're under the bonnet having a swearfest at something that won't come undone. 

And it gets wet outside. 

 

 

 

I don't mind paying a competent garage to do the stuff I can't/won't/am to lazy to do as long as the work is up to scratch and the price fair. If i had a garage or some off street parking i'd do more maintenance myself as it's hard when folk walking their dogs stare at you like some sort of two headed satanic beast because you're under the bonnet having a swearfest at something that won't come undone. 

And it gets wet outside. 

 

'Is that broken, again?' 

 

No. I've serviced it this year, it needed a £10 part for the MOT, and I changed some bits to stop a funny noise it was making. And now I'm going to spend the hundreds of pounds you've spent on keeping your financed millstone running on beer and sausages. 

[Felly Magic]

I had a new car once, never again, VAG shite. Whenever anything went wrong, it was hundreds, and when the electronic PAS, I just thought feck this for a game of soldiers, when a quote for £600 to repair it using recon parts.... Someone I know has a fairly new VW people carrier, and the DMF & clutch are knacked, its going to be a four figure repair bill for him!

[daverapid]

I'm 41, been working on cars since I was 16 and still enjoy it.

[cort16]

The guy I rent my lockup is a really great mechanic and engineer but he just can't be arsed anymore. He is good for asking advice of though he's pretty much seen and done it all.

 

I took my Jaguar to a specialist to have the MOT work done (wheel bearing etc) as I heard it was a pig of a job. He looked at it and said there was nothing wrong with it and got it through it's MOT. I paid £50 quid for the mot and £30 for him to inspect it and it probably saved me about 300quids worth of work.

Sometimes it's worth going to these guys who have specialist knowledge although there's now way I'd have entertained taking it to a main dealer.

[Felly Magic]

I've used Daverapid as a spannerman, he isn't bad, just you have to put up with terrible puns. He got my motor through its MOT after a garage locally tried to pull a fast one on me! Do not use Universal Tyres in Ipswich. Bunch of twats, and the bloke doing the MOT had a fag in his gob!

[For Fiats Sake]

I just paid £175 for a service to get the book stamped in the'09 panda, I did get a free* mot though.  To be fair to the garage they did ask me if I wanted the back box replacing as it's "nearly blowing".  I'll wait until it's fucked if you don't mind.  Probably see if my more local garage can stamp the book for a little less ne

 

The '94 panda I'll have a bash at what I can, if I can't manage it some fellow fiater will usually help out.  Nice to know that keeping the old red box on the road costs a lot less than any other car I've ever owned thanks to other fiat nutters who love their little cars too. 

[mercrocker]

I used to be more of a true Auto-shiteist than I am now.   Years ago I could buy old Grannies and Cavaliers for a couple of hunnerd and  run em till they shit themselves and either weigh them in or get a local banger boy to  buy them.    After this sort of stuff dried  up I went for old  Mercs, now they have all  become cl@$$ix and stupid money....So I went back to my roots a few years  ago and filled my life with old  BMC shite.   Now  I just  bite the bullet with repairs and because I  am lazy and spanner-challenged I get them fixed by friends in the business who still charge for their time (which I would not have  any other way).   So my repair bills are big bastards  because there is usually weld-a-thon bumrape involved.    I offset this with doing as much donkey work as I can myself.   This is the way my life will have to  be now because I absolutely refuse to buy anything with a cat, airbag or Made in Korea written on it anywhere.    Honestly, I could run a bloody Jag on what  I pay out on grey porridge and all I  get from gits at  work is "of course its all right for you, you  dont pay road tax..." 

[Barry Cade]

I once had the pleasure of telling a punter the bill for a full service, belts, first mot and mot repairs on his 3 year old Renner Megane was just a tad under EIGHTEEN HUNDRED QUID. I felt a right cunt that day, but it was all legit- 4 tyres, brakes all round, etc etc. Never had a spanner near it since it came off the boat.

 

I'm literally crapping meself with this new Volvo..

[cort16]

Does Volvo not do a service pack you can buy? They're usually loads cheaper than paying at the time.

[warren t claim]

I used to own a small fleet of private hire taxis and I had a Shit Fit card for emergencies. I trusted it to a clueless part time driver to get a Zetec oil change in Mondeo, I got the oil change along with two tyres,discs and pads. NOT FUCKING HAPPY. He'd been given the MANSLAUGHTER IF WE LET YOU DRIVE AWAY AND YOU KILL SOMEONE speech. The car had only been tested and inspected a month earlier.

[Barry Cade]

Does Volvo not do a service pack you can buy? They're usually loads cheaper than paying at the time.

Yup, got 3 years on it, along with breakdown cove... Problem is, 1 of the Eco Pirelli's is an entire years shite budget... and I've never had to worry about stamps in the book before, or paintwork checks for warranty..

 

The 0w30 low ash fancy oil is 56 quid a gallon..

[Hendry]

Working for AC I used to always use their main dealers as staff discount meant half price mots, half price labour and parts at cost price plus vat.

 

I used to use my uncles pal who was a mechanic before I worked for AC but he was unreliable. Then tried a local garage my old man used to use until one time they were going to grind the lips off the front discs on his Vectra, we got it back with big gouges out of the discs.

 

With the current Clio I was using the main stealer as I had to to keep the used car warranty I got when I bought the car from them but tbh the servicing was excellent value, they do their own fixed price servicing as well as manufacturer servicing, so for 89 quid you got an oil and filter change, spark plugs, air filter, plus all the expected checks and adjustments using genuine Renault parts, fully synthetic Shell oil and a Renault stamp in the book, the independents couldn't match that. I had enough when they pissed me about with some warranty repairs and now use a local highly recommended place who actually ask when I go on for a repair if ur last job was ok and if he faults returned, how's the car driving, bring it back if I'm not happy etc. that's what I'm looking for.

 

Biggest purely mechanical repair bill was for my mk3 Astra in June 2006 at Arnold Clark Vauxhall Linwood, I'd accidentally fucked the ignition barrel immobiliser code block/ring while converting the car from grey LS spec interior to black CDX interior. Car wouldn't start as a result so had to be towed to the dealer, whilst in there the mot expired so I had them mot it, I didn't work for AC at the time but got my pals 20% friends discount and the bill still came to £797.85!!!!!! That was for a new ignition barrel immobiliser code reader and programming, an mot test, an oil and filter change, 2 springs, a heater resistor pack and some other bits and pieces.

[Tickman]

I had a Volvo S70 which I bought for  about £700 a few years ago, it came with a fres MOT and had all the extras on it (including a heated 'rear' seat) just before selling I put it in to a local garage for the MOT and it needed according to them '£600 to get a ticket on it' I bought the ball joint and A arm as they come and changed it outside there workshop door and got two partworns on it, they retested it and it passed. It cost me £80 and an hour of my time and I still wonder how they thought it added up to £600.

 

Also I had a plumber doing some work for me and he had just had his Audi A5 serviced, major service and four tires came to £1800 I told him my lasy four cars had cost me that much all together and he was not happy

 

John

[Spiny Norman]

I do less home DIY than I used to, every time I start a job on a car nowadays something in my back goes ping and makes me very grumpy while I try and wrestle some broken rusty bit away from the clutches of the glob of rust that's holding it on.
That and the fact that I live in a flat so every time I do anything it means taking down all the tools I think I'm going to need, and not leaving the car until the job's done, so apart from really easy stuff I take it to a man these days.

 

My biggest ever bill came from an Alfa specialist in the south side of Glasgow who turned out to be a bit of a rip off merchant. I thought I was doing the right thing not taking it to the main stealer (who at that time wasn't even Arnold Shark) or KwikFuck, but I still got skinned nearly £800 for a full service, MOT and a 'replace everything that moves' cambelt change.
Most surprisingly reasonable bill came from an automatic gearbox specialist who removed, stripped and reconditioned the box in my 5 series for £400.

[Bren]

To be honest another wallet killer is on the horizon.

 

My wife's fiesta zetec (51 plate ghia with 50k on the clock) needs a timing belt - the interval is 100k / ten years. However I have been quoted £220 including the tensioners, a lot to spend on a car worth around £500, and one that may potentially have bodywork issues in the future - I have rattle canned the rear arches to a good standard but the rust has returned, there is also a problem with the interior light and central locking that needs an auto spark to look at, so I may just play timing belt roulette and see what happens.

[Angrydicky]

I do all the work myself, with the exception of tyres and exhausts, so I've never been stung with any huge bills.

 

I nearly bought a Reliant Rialto van once. The last bill it had was for a full service and MOT, new exhaust and replacement of the front kingpin.

 

£1050 quid