Charged 30 quid to change a headlamp bulb!

Alzar

So, here we go.....bit of a rant,sorry!

This morning I noticed one of the headlight bulbs had popped on the car. It was the drivers side bulb & it is a bit of a pain to change.

Drove to work, went to the dealer at lunchtime to get them to supply & fit one H7 bulb. They did the job, I went to pay & was charged €30....approx €18 inc VAT for labour & €12 for the bulb.

WTF!!! I politlely said to the service manager, 30 'effin yo-yo's to replace a bulb?? You charged me less than 15 quid to do it the last time. What's changed? Standard charge, he said.

Told him he could take out the bulb. I wasn't paying €30 for a bulb worth less than a ten spot. He did!

Went back home, over to my local dealer, bought the bulb & replaced it myself tonight. Before you ask, why didn't i do it at lunchtime. Simple answer, had the working dud's on.....white shirt, suit etc. Didn't fancy putting them into a dirty engine bay.

I am raving or is it really 30 quid to supply & fit a headlight bulb?
FWIW, car is an 06 Primera.

Al.

Senna

Come on, going to a main dealer to change a bulb is just asking for a wallet rape. Even if it was €15 i'm dam sure i wouldn't pay it, white shirt or not, its not a dirty job.

bazzachazza

They obviously have big glass windows in that dealership.;)

Muckie

Afraid they seen ya coming....live and learn. If any thing else go's

on your car, think twice before you knock on their door. Everyone

gets stung now and then.

Tipsy Mac

I don't think 30 was over the top including the bulb, some can take a good 15mins to change. I've heard of Renaults costing €200 as it's a remove wheel and/or bumper job to replace.

Berty

Man in suit walks into dealership and asks them to change a bulb = 30 second job and bulb itself probably only costs €4-5 retail.

To be fair I would cream you for all your money as well.

I have some magic beans here........................................ interested.

Alzar

Senna wrote: »

Come on, going to a main dealer to change a bulb is just asking for a wallet rape. Even if it was €15 i'm dam sure i wouldn't pay it, white shirt or not, its not a dirty job.

It is when you are meeting with the head honcho's of your company later that afternoon :D:D
I normally buy a bulb & swop it myself. Have done on all my previous cars.
Only went to dealer to fit it
1. Because of the meeting & 2. The weather is so crap at the moment, I'm driving more & more with my dipped lights on, so I wanted it replaced as soon as I could get it done.

Al.

mickdw

How much did you pay for the bulb yourself? 7,8,10 Euro. They charged you 20 Euro to fit it. Now as main dealers go, Ive heard worse.
Yes its too much to fit a bulb if its a stright forward fit as Im sure it is on your car or else you would have been looking at a 100 euro bill. That would have been fun cause it would have been another 100 to take it out again if it was an awkward car.

Are you a QS by any chance? Just get that tone from your post!

Alzar

mickdw wrote: »

How much did you pay for the bulb yourself? 7,8,10 Euro. They charged you 20 Euro to fit it. Now as main dealers go, Ive heard worse.
Yes its too much to fit a bulb if its a stright forward fit as Im sure it is on your car or else you would have been looking at a 100 euro bill. That would have been fun cause it would have been another 100 to take it out again if it was an awkward car.

Are you a QS by any chance? Just get that tone from your post!

Tenner inc VAT for the bulb at my local dealer.

Showing my ignorance here, but QS...who or what is that???

Al.

beertons

I wouldn't pay €15, let alone €30 man. Highway robbery. Ask him to send out one of the apprentices to answer a question for you, give him a fiver to do it.

MarkR

I think if you buy one in halfords they'll fit it for a reasonable(ish) price.

ji

main dealer/stealer what ya expect..

mickdw

Alzar wrote: »

Tenner inc VAT for the bulb at my local dealer.

Showing my ignorance here, but QS...who or what is that???

Al.

It was a bit of a joke but 'quantity surveyor'. They do tend to want everything done asap, dont like paying for anything and usually say something like "could do that myself if I had the time" so dont really want to pay for it.

Seth Brundle

By and large it is not a difficult process to fit a bulb and my impression of the OPs situation meant that they could have done it after the meeting - they just didn't want to (and I have worked on my car whilst dressed as shirt & tie guy!).
Anyhow, would you walk into a dixons and order the big TV in the corner and only ask the price once they deliver it to your home? FFS is it any wonder this country is fecked when people don't feel the need to query prices!

tippspur

Alzar wrote: »

So, here we go.....bit of a rant,sorry!

This morning I noticed one of the headlight bulbs had popped on the car. It was the drivers side bulb & it is a bit of a pain to change.

Drove to work, went to the dealer at lunchtime to get them to supply & fit one H7 bulb. They did the job, I went to pay & was charged €30....approx €18 inc VAT for labour & €12 for the bulb.

WTF!!! I politlely said to the service manager, 30 'effin yo-yo's to replace a bulb?? You charged me less than 15 quid to do it the last time. What's changed? Standard charge, he said.

Told him he could take out the bulb. I wasn't paying €30 for a bulb worth less than a ten spot. He did!

Went back home, over to my local dealer, bought the bulb & replaced it myself tonight. Before you ask, why didn't i do it at lunchtime. Simple answer, had the working dud's on.....white shirt, suit etc. Didn't fancy putting them into a dirty engine bay.

I am raving or is it really 30 quid to supply & fit a headlight bulb?
FWIW, car is an 06 Primera.

Al.[/QUOTE Fair play to you for taking a stand and not accepting this rip off,a lot of people would just pay the money and say nothing..:cool:

Alzar

mickdw wrote: »

It was a bit of a joke but 'quantity surveyor'. They do tend to want everything done asap, dont like paying for anything and usually say something like "could do that myself if I had the time" so dont really want to pay for it.

Ahh. gotcha. Nope not a QS, work in IT, so I'm probably just as bad.

Al.

P.C.

I might have done the same as the OP, with one small difference...



I would have asked the price first.
Then I could make an informed decision.

niceirishfella

P.C. wrote: »

I would have asked the price first.
Then I could make an informed decision.

+1

Max_Damage

What lessons have been learned from this?

Do it yourself in future.

confuzed

I know people won't agree with me but i don't see its rip off. You go to a five star hotel and ask for a coffee that you can make at home yourself and say it rip off.

Lobster

Well done to the op, I usually change the bulb myself but last time i got it done was at a petrol station for less than ten euro

robtri

Was the dealer out to make as much money from you as possible ... YES

Was he ripping you off, IMO.... NO

You wouldn't let an electrician into your house to do a job without getting a price first... or since you are in IT, wouldn't go into a shop and pick up a laptop to buy without first checking the price against the specs, to make sure you are getting good deal.

So why on gods earth, would you hand a car over to someone, ask them to do some work on it, without asking for a price up front???

Mena

€30.00 is a bit much

My wife took our BMW in to a main dealer to have a bulb changed and they charged her €1.00.

That was a couple of months ago...

R.O.R

Pretty sure Mrs. R.O.R was charged about €25 to get a H7 fitted in Advance a couple of months ago :eek:

What makes it worse is that we have loads of H7's here in work (i.e. free to me) and I know how to change the bulb in her car. It's a V50 and you have to pull a pin which secures the headlight unit so it's fairly difficult to explain how to do it.

She needed it done as she was off somewhere and it was p1ssing it down so she couldn't wait. At least now she knows how to do it so can pick up a cheap H7 and do it herself next time.

nogoodnamesleft

In case anyone is looking for Headlamp bulbs, lidl had some last week a pair for 6 quid! I picked up h7's but they had a variety. Might still be some left if ye hurry.

Quality is also spot on have a set in the car at the moment for over a year and they havent blown yet.

lightening

I think the OP was dead right to go to the dealer, AND I think he was dead right to get them to take the bulb out! However, I would have thought if the dealer had any brains he would have charged him for the bulb only, changed it for nothing and asked him if he had ten minutes to talk about maybe changing the car or getting something for the wife. At least have a look at the new stock of cars in while the bulb was being changed. You never know, the he could have got Alzar thinking about the smell of a new car and, Alzar would have confidence in then, "sure they changed the bulbs for nothing! Great bunch, I trust them"...

Has a few years of good business killed the art of sales?

I.S.T.

Alzar wrote: »

So, here we go.....bit of a rant,sorry!

This morning I noticed one of the headlight bulbs had popped on the car. It was the drivers side bulb & it is a bit of a pain to change.

Drove to work, went to the dealer at lunchtime to get them to supply & fit one H7 bulb. They did the job, I went to pay & was charged €30....approx €18 inc VAT for labour & €12 for the bulb.

WTF!!! I politlely said to the service manager, 30 'effin yo-yo's to replace a bulb?? You charged me less than 15 quid to do it the last time. What's changed? Standard charge, he said.

Told him he could take out the bulb. I wasn't paying €30 for a bulb worth less than a ten spot. He did!

Went back home, over to my local dealer, bought the bulb & replaced it myself tonight. Before you ask, why didn't i do it at lunchtime. Simple answer, had the working dud's on.....white shirt, suit etc. Didn't fancy putting them into a dirty engine bay.

I am raving or is it really 30 quid to supply & fit a headlight bulb?
FWIW, car is an 06 Primera.

Al.

Fair play to ya for complaining to him. We should all take a leaf out of your book.

.Longshanks.

Senna wrote: »

Come on, going to a main dealer to change a bulb is just asking for a wallet rape. Even if it was €15 i'm dam sure i wouldn't pay it, white shirt or not, its not a dirty job.

You wanna try it on the current corsa model. The airfilter and fuse box covers both need to come off just to get access. Unless you have tiny hands you will end up with cut knuckles and you are working almost totally bind.... I know i changed bulbs recently for some osram nightbreakers. Took almost 45 mins
Still wouldn't have paid €30 for it thou....Even halfords refused to do when I initially asked

smcgiff

Would people change Xenon head light bulbs themselves?

Alzar

lightening wrote: »

I think the OP was dead right to go to the dealer, AND I think he was dead right to get them to take the bulb out! However, I would have thought if the dealer had any brains he would have charged him for the bulb only, changed it for nothing and asked him if he had ten minutes to talk about maybe changing the car or getting something for the wife. At least have a look at the new stock of cars in while the bulb was being changed. You never know, the he could have got Alzar thinking about the smell of a new car and, Alzar would have confidence in then, "sure they changed the bulbs for nothing! Great bunch, I trust them"...

Has a few years of good business killed the art of sales?

Believe it or not, as the bulb was being changed, I was talking to one of the salesmen about a 06 320D & the cost to change etc.

Don't think so now. Pity, t'was a nice bus too

Al.

Alzar

robtri wrote: »

.....So why on gods earth, would you hand a car over to someone, ask them to do some work on it, without asking for a price up front???

TBH, I wasn't looking for it to be done for nothing...I wouldn't expect ANYONE to work for nothing.
Everyone has to make money, thats business. I know that.

It's the fact of charging 18 euro to fit the bulb that pi$$ed me off. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't think that's a fair charge.

Al.

EPM

how long did it take them? If it was awkward and it took them say a half hour then its fair enough. Their labour rate could be anything from 60-100 an hour. I see no difference in a mechanic working on a clutch bs opposed to a bulb

Alzar

^^ about 10 minutes.
I don't think it was an hourly rate cut down to 10 minutes charge. From what I saw on the invoice, only a quick glance mind, it looked like
Misc Labour: 18
or something like that.

Al.

trackcar

the charge was € 30 inc VAT 12 for the bulb + 18 for labour, take the VAT out and you were being charged € 15.85 + vat labour, most garages the mechanics have to account for every hour of the working day and lowest amount of time they will charge for a job is 15 minutes.

now by the time the mechanic opens the bonnet, removes the headlight bulb, walks to the parts department counter, waits to get served by the parts guy, walks back to your car, fits the bulb, checks the light is working and closes the bonnet, then fills out the job card will take the best part of 10-15 minutes,

€ 15.85 for 15 minutes work, thats a labour rate of around € 63 hour which is not out of the way for a main dealer.

lightening

Alzar wrote: »

Believe it or not, as the bulb was being changed, I was talking to one of the salesmen about a 06 320D & the cost to change etc.

There you go! A sale lost for the sake of a few greedy Euro.

HashSlinging

It used to take me about 30 - 45 mins to change the wifes accords front fog lights, that was only one side. They were located after the wheel arch and you had to practically remove the tyre, then the plastic wheel arch cover (blots etc!!?) then you had to reach in and blindly find where the bulb was and remove, and replace.. then put everything back on again, I used to go mental at her for using those lights when not needed.. :rolleyes:

I think service depts are going crazy at the moment with costs, they are the main revenue in some garages at the moment.

Bandara

just my own opinion but I don't see the problem.

I have absolutely no idea whatsoever how to change a headlight in my car, and I don't care how its done.

So if I need one changed I go and get a professional to do it, and that professional chanrges me a fee.

In this day an age no one can charge a fiver or a tenner for a job and survive in business. Its just not possible.

Theta

Longshanks100 wrote: »

You wanna try it on the current corsa model. The airfilter and fuse box covers both need to come off just to get access. Unless you have tiny hands you will end up with cut knuckles and you are working almost totally bind.... I know i changed bulbs recently for some osram nightbreakers. Took almost 45 mins
Still wouldn't have paid €30 for it thou....Even halfords refused to do when I initially asked

Same for a 9-3 on the passenger side you have to removed the battery cover, fuse box cover, and the intake for the washer bottle. Can take 5 - 10 mins to do the drivers side but the passenger side is a pain in the arse.

smcgiff

betafrog wrote: »

Errmmm.... I don't know but I have heard of BMW charging upwards of €250 to replace A Xenon light in a Mini.

*Swoons*....

*Rewakes* may have to risk death so.

*Swoons again*

Theta

Xenon bulbs can explode is that not why it is not advised to change them youself?

Busta Hyman

€18 for approx 15 mins labour = €72 an hour .... seems quite reasonable to me

BTW OP seeing as your in IT did you try turning it off and on again

Alzar

Busta Hyman wrote: »

.....BTW OP seeing as your in IT did you try turning it off and on again

Doh! forgot that one

Al.

Big Nasty

Busta Hyman wrote: »

BTW OP seeing as your in IT did you try turning it off and on again

Brilliant!

vibe666

anyone who's ever tried to change a pair of headlight bulbs in a primera would happily pay someone else to do it, they're a bit of a cvnt to do. one is pretty easy, but you'd need opposable wrists to do the other one yourself.

when i had my primera i used to buy the bulbs in halfords specifically cos i knew they'd fit them for me for a couple of quid extra and they'd be the ones with the scuffed knuckles, not me.

i've a mk2 pajero now and they're a piece of cake, barely 2-3 minutes a side and no tools required, so i do it myself.