Now garages charging for Air !!

intheknow · 22-07-2007 12:26pm #1

Had a flattish tyre during the week, Went to at least 4 garages and they said air pump not working (no profit in that so dont bother your arses fixing them) Found a garage on Finglas rd but had to buy a token for a euro to pump up my tyre. FFS we are being ridden wholesale in this greedy country. They will be charging for water to top up your washer bottle next..:mad:

PeakOutput · 22-07-2007 12:29pm

intheknow wrote:

Had a flattish tyre during the week, Went to at least 4 garages and they said air pump not working (no profit in that so dont bother your arses fixing them) Found a garage on Finglas rd but had to buy a token for a euro to pump up my tyre. FFS we are being ridden wholesale in this greedy country. They will be charging for water to top up your washer bottle next..:mad:

the air dosn't magically come out at high pressure you know it takes electricity to pump it

your right though its a bit ott

mike65 · 22-07-2007 12:43pm

Jasus there's nothing new in this some places have charged for years.

Mike.

astrofool · 22-07-2007 12:55pm

They also break very easily, mostly due to the fact that they're free and members of the public break things which are free

Coincidence that the one you had to pay for was working?

mikedragon32 · 22-07-2007 2:32pm

No coincidence at all Astrofool. Same deal with the water. There's no profit in it for the garage, so why maintain it.

Perhaps garages that charge for air (and possibly water) waive the charge if you're buying petrol by giving a token?

Having said all that, there are a couple of garages nearby where the air pumps and water facilities rarely work, as a consequence, I'd rarely purchase petrol there either.

Tar.Aldarion · 22-07-2007 3:16pm

I always wondered why they didn't charge.

MooseJam · 22-07-2007 4:59pm

defo a bit ott, free air and water are a gesture which will bring customers

astrofool · 22-07-2007 5:13pm

I wasn't questioning whether it was a coincidence or not, I worked in a garage in my youth

When people get something for free, they abuse it, break it, whatever, the place I worked in had to get it fixed weekly. The second you make someone pay to use something, a) it gets used alot less, and breaks less b) people treat it with more respect.

The 4 places where it was out of order, would all have been caused by some idiot misusing the apparatus.

whassupp2 · 22-07-2007 5:18pm

tbh. I think its a disgrace

Lump · 22-07-2007 6:28pm

Why? If you think it's a disgrace buy your own compressor.

John

MooseJam · 22-07-2007 7:05pm

I've got a good pair of lungs, might chance my arm at undercutting their prices

22-07-2007 7:54pm

They're not charging for the air, they're charging for the use of their equipment.
Sounds fair enough to me.

Rb · 22-07-2007 8:08pm

00112984 wrote:

They're not charging for the air, they're charging for the use of their equipment.
Sounds fair enough to me.

Agreed.

crosstownk · 22-07-2007 8:33pm

How much is this charge? I can understand the principle behind charging for the use of the equipment, but an air compressor is hardly the most expensive piece of equipment on a service station forecourt. It's loose change compared to a roll-over car wash.

Looks like it's time to buy a foot pump

Gran Hermano · 22-07-2007 8:35pm

So much for a garage being a 'service' station.

22-07-2007 8:41pm

Gran Hermano wrote:

So much for a garage being a 'service' station.

I can't think of a single service we don't pay for either directly or indirectly (through taxes for utilities etc)

A garage is a commercial business.

kristen · 22-07-2007 8:42pm

We got a small gadget in family album, pumps wheels from cigar lighter switches off automaticaly at right presure. could never work those garage ones didnt relaise they weren't working.

Capt'n Midnight · 22-07-2007 9:53pm

considering the difference in petrol prices and how much they charge for food , it's a bit much for them to charge for something that's been free for ages, especially since it's a safety issue, I try to avoid buying petrol in such garages

and yes the general public should take more respect of the facilites, again it's a safety issue - the costelectricity of running the compressor is negligable, the cost of replacing air hoses isn't

phog · 22-07-2007 10:05pm

At least 10 years ago they were charging for this "service" in England and I have often wondered why it took so long to catch on here.

OHP · 23-07-2007 12:02am

Aww come on!!! We Irish fold so easily!! We pay top money for everything and always get less than what we pay for. Used to be we would Fight to hold onto our rights. But now we just accept any sort of crap and think we are privileged to get anything other than crap! Paying for Air, paying for Water... Geeees! Why? I think there should be a FART monitor. That way every time you pollute the Air you should pay for that too. Now if only I could invent a machine to monitor that I could make a fortune hehehe

Capt'n Midnight · 23-07-2007 1:38am

OHP wrote:

I think there should be a FART monitor. That way every time you pollute the Air you should pay for that too. Now if only I could invent a machine to monitor that I could make a fortune hehehe

Well you are talking about greenhouse gases so I suppose it would be some sort of carbon tax.

OHP · 23-07-2007 1:47am

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Well you are talking about greenhouse gases so I suppose it would be some sort of carbon tax.

Nah I did not fart in the Greenhouse. But!!! Seen as you brought that up! Is there some way I can charge for that? LOL!

miju · 23-07-2007 3:50am

thinks its disgraceful to charge for use of their equipment / air . at the end of the day its a safety issue and you know damn well theres many a scroooge out there who will "chance it" rather than pay €1 to make sure they're tyres are OK.

I also , always avoid garages where the air or water doesnt work so I do think that theres truth in what others are saying that free air , water brings in alot more custom

Mimikyu · 23-07-2007 4:05am

This post has been deleted.

jor el · 23-07-2007 9:54am

It costs a lot of money to buy a compressor, it also costs money to maintain and service it. The air hose, pump handle and valve also cost money to buy and replace when they get worn due to use, misuse and abuse. Why would any business write off all these costs? Some do and some don't. As with everything else, if you're not happy paying for it then go somewhere else or buy a foot pump, unless of course your too stingy to pay the €20 for that too.

As for it being a safety issue, almost everything to do with cars is a safety issue. When you tyres start to go bald do you expect some garage to replace them for free because it's unsafe to drive on them otherwise?

OHP wrote:

Aww come on!!! We Irish fold so easily!! We pay top money for everything and always get less than what we pay for.

Eh? Why should a garage give you free use of equipment they pay for just because some other shop overcharges for bananas (as an example)?

Used to be we would Fight to hold onto our rights.

If the government wanted to spend some of the tax collected on fuel or VRT or even motor tax, on funding compressed air at garages then we would all have the right to it. As it happens, it's private enterprise that is funding it so you have no rights whatsoever in this regard.

gucci · 23-07-2007 11:05am

if you pay a euro for your air does it switch on for 1 minute or do you have time to go around and make sure that your 4 tyres are ok??

i think its fair enough to charge for it, i know my local garage had 2 of the hoses stolen from theyre forecourt, so now you have to ask for it inside,they dont charge as far as im aware

Niamho! · 23-07-2007 11:30am

lol....i pulled in to a Garage on the Kylemore road there one day to put air in my back tyre and i'd pulled up real close to the machine but i couldnt figure out why the hell the Cable was only coming out so far....lol....it just about reached and it was only when i was getting back in to the car i saw the sign for th e money.... bit of a Blond moment.

ShowUsYourXbox · 23-07-2007 12:08pm

If it's killing you THAT much, head for an actual mechanical garage, or tyre centre. Ask can you use some air and that next time you're getting tyres or whatever you'll pop back.

thebman · 23-07-2007 12:22pm

I think fair enough to charge if you don't buy anything in the store but if you make a purchase it should be free to use.

That way you stop people breaking it because there is a system where by it gets put back in the lock or whatever but your also not ripping people off.

What would be more considerate is a sign that says ask for key to use the air pump. I mean its unreasonable to charge for it (what if someone doesn't actually have a Euro with them?) and people expect it to be free but people break them (somehow

). Seems some sort of system is needed since some people are that stupid.

The only logical thing I can think of is driving over it which is why you should lock it to the thing and they should have to request a key to unlock and lock it when putting it back.

Plissken1 · 23-07-2007 4:15pm

intheknow wrote:

Had a flattish tyre during the week, Went to at least 4 garages and they said air pump not working (no profit in that so dont bother your arses fixing them) Found a garage on Finglas rd but had to buy a token for a euro to pump up my tyre. FFS we are being ridden wholesale in this greedy country. They will be charging for water to top up your washer bottle next..:mad:

Blame the ESB for constantly raising their prices !

thebman · 23-07-2007 4:26pm

Plissken1 wrote:

Blame the ESB for constantly raising their prices !

The ESB want to lower prices, its the government and regulator that keep them high to promote competition. Large profits attract competition in their minds.

What about eircom? Second highest line rental in the world and some of the slowest speeds!

Now garages charging for Air !!

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