Garage Rip Off

Lizzykins

I' ve posted here in the past about my 00 Ford Focus which was showing an oil light off and on for the last while. To cut a long story short the thing was drinking oil so we brought it to a garage-independent guy-not a main dealer. Guy looks at the car, diagnoses a faulty valve somewhere deep in the engine necessitating the removal of the head. Engine head had to go away to be skimmed also.

Hubby asked for a ball park figure for the repairs and was told 1600. Gets a call today to say car is ready and bill is-wait for it-2191 and some odd cents!!!!!

I am spitting fire and brimstone as I type. I'm shaking with rage. I CANNOT believe it. The car is not WORTH putting that amount of money into it.
Gets better though. Mechanic says the clutch is on the way out too!!!!

I don't mean to rant but I'm so upset. 1600 is serious money enough for us but 2k+.

Anan1

What explanation did the garage give for the €600-odd rise in the cost of the job? I would have thought it'd be simpler & cheaper to just replace a Focus engine with a good used one than to embark on a four-figure rebuild? Oh, and i'd edit out the bit about crashing the car into a wall if I were you. It's harder to feel sympathy for your getting shafted when you say you'd happily do it to someone else.

Lizzykins

Edit done. What I meant was that if someone pranged the car I would be better off-and you are right about a new engine being a better bet.

What gets me is the quote of a ball park figure.

guil

ya should of got an engine from a scrappy i paid 500 for one in 04

Anan1

Lizzykins wrote: »

What gets me is the quote of a ball park figure.

In fairness, that'd get me too. Have you challenged them on the figure?

Lizzykins

Well here's the update. Called to garage with hubby up to high doh and ready to have a row. I was up to high doh not hubby! Mechanic says the car is grand now and there was a heap of work to be done on it. At which point I nearly burst into tears and said "Look 1600 was ball park figure and if I'd known it would have been 2k+ then I would have said forget it" So he says car is worth a bit and the Focus is a good car etc etc. I said no way would anyone with reason put 2k into an 8 year old car. Nearly in tears at this point and rooting helplessly in bag for a pen. At which point he says we'll leave the bill at 2k which was knocking 200 off it.

I'm slightly mollified by this and write cheque for the work. I had a good look at bill too. Parts were 550 consisting of spark plugs,valves,oil,oil filter, air filter,tension belt thingy, and a new water pump. Labour was 1100!!! Skimming the head was 290 and vat was 260. God knows how much he's charging for labour but it must be 100 euro an hour.

The clutch will need doing at some point in the next couple of months and I said I suppose that will be another 800. Only 550 says the mechanic. I do know from someone that he is a good mechanic so that's something I suppose. I'm not the better for it I can tell you. Heart and blood preddure were under severe strain. I think I'll tell my 18 school leaver to do an apprenticeship in mechanics. Bloody good money to be had.

kudzRS

Lizzykins wrote: »

I' ve posted here in the past about my 00 Ford Focus which was showing an oil light off and on for the last while. To cut a long story short the thing was drinking oil so we brought it to a garage-independent guy-not a main dealer. Guy looks at the car, diagnoses a faulty valve somewhere deep in the engine necessitating the removal of the head. Engine head had to go away to be skimmed also.

Hubby asked for a ball park figure for the repairs and was told 1600. Gets a call today to say car is ready and bill is-wait for it-2191 and some odd cents!!!!!

I am spitting fire and brimstone as I type. I'm shaking with rage. I CANNOT believe it. The car is not WORTH putting that amount of money into it.
Gets better though. Mechanic says the clutch is on the way out too!!!!


I don't mean to rant but I'm so upset. 1600 is serious money enough for us but 2k+.

those prices sound a little high for valve replacement / head skimmed and head gasket kit...

approx 100euro to get the head skimmed
approx 50euro for head gasket
approx 100 for a valve (depending on car)

so that leaves give or take 1800 labour :eek::eek::eek: for a max 4 hour job (calculating....... 450euro per hour labour):eek::eek::eek::eek:

maybe there is more that was done that you dont know of but get an itemised list of exactly what was done

and lastly a clutch kit in motor factors is 130euro so ur been taken for a ride there too (420 euro labour to fit clutch in ford focus... is it an RS Focus???)


the valves are in the head of the car so i wouldn really count that as deep in the engine max i hour to remove head on most cars....

Barr

Lizzykins wrote: »

I' ve posted here in the past about my 00 Ford Focus which was showing an oil light off and on for the last while. To cut a long story short the thing was drinking oil so we brought it to a garage-independent guy-not a main dealer. Guy looks at the car, diagnoses a faulty valve somewhere deep in the engine necessitating the removal of the head. Engine head had to go away to be skimmed also.

Hubby asked for a ball park figure for the repairs and was told 1600. Gets a call today to say car is ready and bill is-wait for it-2191 and some odd cents!!!!!

I am spitting fire and brimstone as I type. I'm shaking with rage. I CANNOT believe it. The car is not WORTH putting that amount of money into it.
Gets better though. Mechanic says the clutch is on the way out too!!!!

I don't mean to rant but I'm so upset. 1600 is serious money enough for us but 2k+.

Just has a matter of interest what milage was on the focus ? Is this a common fault with a focus? . I am asking has a friend is looking at a 00 model at the moment

Lizzykins

55k miles. I'm the second owner and I've only done 12k miles in three years. The mechanic said it was an unusual problem so God knows, They have you over a barrel. I'm sick to death of being a cash cow for all and sundry from the gas company to the school,supermarket etc. I hope to God the bloody car will go for another 55k miles! Next time it's a japanese car for me. Friend has a Mitsubishi Colt 1997 with 89k miles and purring like a cat.

niceirishfella

Garage and Ripp off in the same sentence...........surely not.

I'm sorry for your hassles. The garage should have advised you to go for a 2nd hand replacement engine as rightfully pointed out.
Pure madness.

guil

go and get a written estimate from another garage for that work to be done and go back to the first one and c what happens,

as said above those prices are high, it only cost me 60 euro to get a head skimmed on an astra before and for spark plugs oil oil filter and air filter would be less than 100