Car service

miss_giggles

i am so sick of switching from mechanic to mechanic......normally go mechanics in wexford .....but it was easier for me to go to one in Cork this weekend as my car was due service......does anyone know what the average rate for having a car serviced is? i was charged for front brake pads too...how much are these normally? and finally how much should it cost to get a timing belt changed?

AzureAuto

Hi there Miss Giggles,
Can you be a bit more specific, i.e. year, make and model of car? What did you end up getting done and what did it cost? Typically a job lke fitting brake pads woldnt be part of a normal intermediate service. You'll usually get an oil and filter change, air filter, diesel fiter (if relevant) and a check over of wipers, lights washers etc. Sometimes you'll get a diagnostic plug in also in order to determine whether thaere are any faults logged by the car's computer and to reset the service interval on more modern cars.

miss_giggles

03 seat leon......i got a service and new front brake pads for €300 which i thought was expensive also the timing belt needs to be changed soon but could afford that all in one pop the gears are getting a little tough to slot into aswell....what could that be? this wasnt fixed on the general service

Fintan Stack

€300 for a service as well as brake pads isn't too expensive but defo worth shopping around.

As for the gears, the clutch likely needs bleeding, as the mechanic that did the brakes might not have bled them properly and on most modern cars the clutch and brakes share the same hydraulics.

miss_giggles

wow...well....im pretty 'bleedin' broke after taht myself......is it dangerous if the clutch isnt bled? this is why i hate going to mechanics i feeel sooooo stupid asking questions i havent a clue and never know if im being over charged or not

Fintan Stack

It isn't dangerous if the clutch isn't bled. As long as its not overly difficult to get into gears it should be fine. But its an easy 10-15 min job (if done right) someone with a fair idea should be able to help you.

miss_giggles

cool thanks for that i might just ask them to do it when getting timing belt changed its not overly difficult so should be ok for another few weeks.....phew thanks for your help

paudie82

miss_giggles wrote: »

03 seat leon......i got a service and new front brake pads for €300 which i thought was expensive also the timing belt needs to be changed soon but could afford that all in one pop the gears are getting a little tough to slot into aswell....what could that be? this wasnt fixed on the general service

miss giggles
you got serewed wit your service
wit the basic service and brake pads done it should only cost around €140-€150
they don't call it rip off ireland for nothin.a timing belt costs about €8-€10
the whole job should cost €180-€190
hope this helps for the future:):)

miss_giggles

really?? timing belt, service and brake pads for all under 300? i wasnt quoted taht anywhere!! 300 to get timing belt changed at the least!!.....my general service and brake pads were 300......and i havent got the belt changed yet!!

Fintan Stack

paudie82 wrote: »

miss giggles
you got serewed wit your service
wit the basic service and brake pads done it should only cost around €140
so basically he charged you €160 to change your timing belt.
they don't call it rip off ireland for nothin.a timing belt costs about €8-€10
the whole job should have cost €180-€190
hope this helps for the future:):)

Depends on the car,would be pointless without the tensioner and pullys. But 8-10 for a belt? Can I have what your smoking? I paid about 200 just for the kit to do mine myself.

And aswell who is doing it. Doing a timing belt in a backstreet mechanic is no good because there's no garantee if it goes. Best going to a main dealer. Opel wanted €400+ to do the belt on my omega so I just do it myself.

Plug

paudie82 wrote: »

miss giggles
you got serewed wit your service
wit the basic service and brake pads done it should only cost around €140-€150
they don't call it rip off ireland for nothin.a timing belt costs about €8-€10
the whole job should cost €180-€190
hope this helps for the future:):)

I have to stop you there, your off your head there. totaly wrong prices.

kyote00

Ay jaysus, sorry, but thats a load of ****e

The timing belt costs much more than that. its not justa belt, the tensioners and pulleys usually get changed. The labour for installation of the timing belt can also be in the 100s depending on the car as lots of other bits need to be removed.

A quick check on micksgarage.ie for a timing belt kit of seat leon (1.4) costs €140. The brake pads (assume front only) range from €30-45, add in brake fluid and "bleedin" labour and then 300 is not too bad at all.

Main dealers can certainly charge very high prices for parts and labour rates but in this case I'd say you did ok

paudie82 wrote: »

miss giggles
you got serewed wit your service
wit the basic service and brake pads done it should only cost around €140-€150
they don't call it rip off ireland for nothin.a timing belt costs about €8-€10
the whole job should cost €180-€190
hope this helps for the future:):)

mickdw

paudie82 wrote: »

miss giggles
you got serewed wit your service
wit the basic service and brake pads done it should only cost around €140-€150
they don't call it rip off ireland for nothin.a timing belt costs about €8-€10
the whole job should cost €180-€190
hope this helps for the future:):)

That is just such an annoying post. You are talking complete & utter crap. €10 for a timing belt? Even if the belt could be got for €10, what about tensioners etc & labour for fitting? You are surely looking at a few hundred for the timing belt job when you get it done.

In relation to the basic service you got done, it should certainly be possible to get front pads for about €100 supplied & fitted. Depending on what work they did in the service, the price could be ok or could be expensive. If just oil & filter, well it was expensive. If however you got oil & filter, airfilter, plugs maybe if your car is petrol, etc, well the price could be ok.

Your gear change problem could be minor or could be very major indeed.

O.A.P

paudie82 wrote: »

miss giggles
you got serewed wit your service
wit the basic service and brake pads done it should only cost around €140-€150
they don't call it rip off ireland for nothin.a timing belt costs about €8-€10
the whole job should cost €180-€190
hope this helps for the future:):)

Going by your user name are you posting from 1982 and that was a bargain even then.

Frankie Lee

Anything more than €200 for brake pads and a standard service on a 03 Leon is a rip off.

Timing belt kits for them, assuming it's petrol should cost around the €150 - €200 mark for parts and the job itself should not cost more than €400.
Most small independent Garages should cover you in the event of things going wrong as their reputations are on the line and you are guaranteed to make decent savings by going that route.

johndaman66

Miss Giggles I would be thinking that 300 for the work you mentioned would certainly be on the saucy side. It depends on what was done though, maybe sparkplugs, airfilters, fuel filters underneath the car, bulbs, wipers etc etc were changed. I would advise to shop around for best prices for various jobs you need done to car. I think also with garages it is not a good idea to show yourself as being too green when it comes to cars. However, I wouldn't necessairly know a lot about the price of certain jobs I'd need to get done to the car or otherwise... What I tend to do in these cases is price the job before its due and say I may or may not be back to you as shopping around at the moment to get the best price. You tend to notice by their reaction there and then if they are overcharging and they would sometimes offer to do the job for less in some cases I found. Some may call that overkill on my part but I call it standing up for your rights as a consumer and looking after your hard earned;)

On the timing belt make sure you renew complete kit and waterpump if it should be routinely placed when doing timing belt.

Paudie82 judging by your post count I am assuming there is an element of sarcasm in your post:P. If not though do please point me in the direction of your motor factors and mechanic!

Marcus Tan

miss_giggles wrote: »

03 seat leon......i got a service and new front brake pads for €300 which i thought was expensive also the timing belt needs to be changed soon but could afford that all in one pop the gears are getting a little tough to slot into aswell....what could that be? this wasnt fixed on the general service

Hi Miss Giggles
Not only you got ripped of me aswell. I went to a garage in celbridge co.kildare and im looking for a service (civic 97),fit HID bulb(supplied), and fog light bulb aswell. I ask the owner how much would it cost and he said to me about 180-200quid and said to me bring it in the morning and will be ready a 1-2pm. So i left the car and back later bringing 300quid just in case. But he told me not ready yet and leave for another day. Second day i went and he said to me is not ready yet and on the 3rd day finally got my car ready he collect from me (510 euro) and i just got curious went home. My friend told me i got ripped off. He charge me oil but he just mix new oil with the old one so my engine oil is still black and over level 1cm! Charge me new air filter but he didn't change still the same. Charge me 5hours labour 70euro! I rang him he got tick and ask me to call in on monday and hung the phone!

List service receipt 5hour (70euro per hour)
Oil
Oil filter
Air filter
Sparkplug
CV outer boot
Bulb light
Can anyone please tell me who should i go to the consumer? Maybe he ripped me off because im a chinese!

mickdw

Marcus Tan wrote: »

Hi Miss Giggles
Not only you got ripped of me aswell. I went to a garage in celbridge co.kildare and im looking for a service (civic 97),fit HID bulb(supplied), and fog light bulb aswell. I ask the owner how much would it cost and he said to me about 180-200quid and said to me bring it in the morning and will be ready a 1-2pm. So i left the car and back later bringing 300quid just in case. But he told me not ready yet and leave for another day. Second day i went and he said to me is not ready yet and on the 3rd day finally got my car ready he collect from me (510 euro) and i just got curious went home. My friend told me i got ripped off. He charge me oil but he just mix new oil with the old one so my engine oil is still black and over level 1cm! Charge me new air filter but he didn't change still the same. Charge me 5hours labour 70euro! I rang him he got tick and ask me to call in on monday and hung the phone!

List service receipt 5hour (70euro per hour)
Oil
Oil filter
Air filter
Sparkplug
CV outer boot
Bulb light
Can anyone please tell me who should i go to the consumer? Maybe he ripped me off because im a chinese!

firstly, it is possible that the engine oil was changed but if they didnt wash through a splash of clean oil, it could still look black. I gather then that the CV boot was additional works that were spotted during routine service. Im sure they came back to you and asked did you want to go ahead with the extra works. If so, did you get a price for the additional item?
CV boot can involve a fair bit of work on some cars. Really they should have been charging you €200 (as you agreed to this cost) + cost of CV boot replacement. I would have priced this at €300 to €350 total.
Seems to be a rip off but maybe there is more to this? any other works done?

Frankie Lee

mickdw wrote: »

firstly, it is possible that the engine oil was changed but if they didnt wash through a splash of clean oil, it could still look black. I gather then that the CV boot was additional works that were spotted during routine service. Im sure they came back to you and asked did you want to go ahead with the extra works. If so, did you get a price for the additional item?
CV boot can involve a fair bit of work on some cars. Really they should have been charging you €200 (as you agreed to this cost) + cost of CV boot replacement. I would have priced this at €300 to €350 total.
Seems to be a rip off but maybe there is more to this? any other works done?

Looks like a rip off alright, the only logical explanation for the five hours of labour would be that the drive shaft would not budge from the hub but still the price looks extorionate.
And as the poster above says I'm sure he changed the oil.