Car repair rip off?

Oskarmat

Hi all, I have a question.

My car stopped the other day and I had my insurance bring it to the closest garage

They're telling me now that it's a wiring problem, which they fixed. the new wire is few cents, yet they asked me 175 euro .

They said it was quite labour intensive thus the high price for the repair. But I think they're ripping me off.

Do you think this is a reasonable amount to pay for for a cut wire?

whippet

Oskarmat wrote: »

Hi all, I have a question.

My car stopped the other day and I had my insurance bring it to the closest garage (J.J. Reid in Old Cabra Road, Dublin 7)

They're telling me now that it's a wiring problem, which they fixed. the new wire is few cents, yet they asked me 175 euro .

They said it was quite labour intensive thus the high price for the repair. But I think they're ripping me off.

Do you think this is a reasonable amount to pay for for a cut wire?

it is impossible to answer your question unless you can specify what 'the wire' actually is.

With regards to the price, if the garage are correct in saying it's labour intensive the cost of the 'wire' is neglible.

Straight away take 13.5% off the cost of the repair for VAT (the garage does not get this, the tax man does) leaving about€150 to the garage.

This €150 will have to cover wages for the qualified mechanic to diagnose, repair and test the job. Probably charging for 1 or 2 hours labour.

If you don't feel the mechanics time is worth this, buy the 'wire' yourself from somewhere and either fit it yourself or find another mechanic who would be willing to do it cheaper.

Dymo

Not too sure about your problem but I know a guy that needed a bulb on his dash replaced and it cost him over €150, the bulb only cost €4 but the whole dash had to be taken apart. Nearly all labour costs.

Oskarmat

Dymo wrote: »

Not too sure about your problem but I know a guy that needed a bulb on his dash replaced and it cost him over €150, the bulb only cost €4 but the whole dash had to be taken apart. Nearly all labour costs.

Thanks for the information. No surprise this country is going bankrupt

whippet

Oskarmat wrote: »

Thanks for the information. No surprise this country is going bankrupt

what has the fact that people have to pay professionals to do work got to do with ireland's financial woes?

I am sick of people blaming everything on 'bankers', 'politicians' or 'developers' .....

Oskarmat

whippet wrote: »

what has the fact that people have to pay professionals to do work got to do with ireland's financial woes?

I am sick of people blaming everything on 'bankers', 'politicians' or 'developers' .....

Yes, I'm convinced that the ruin of this country starts with its people thinking that it's normal to pay 175 euro to change a stupid wire .

Atlantic Dawn

Oskarmat wrote: »

Yes, I'm convinced that the ruin of this country starts with its people thinking that it's normal to pay 175 euro to change a stupid wire .

Find out what the wire was and come back here and post to see if it was a rip off. A main dealer will usually charge around €80 an hour in Dublin for labour. If the wire was on the International Space Station it would cost a couple of million to repair, you need to look at the job involved and not the cost of the part, if they sold you the wire for €1.95 could you not have fitted it yourself?

bryaner

Oskarmat wrote: »

Yes, I'm convinced that the ruin of this country starts with its people thinking that it's normal to pay 175 euro to change a stupid wire .

I worked along side an auto electrician for years, it is the most tedious time consuming work I ever came across.

Maybe you should bring it back to them and get it put back the way it was and then see how long it takes you to find and repair the "stupid wire".. :rolleyes:

whippet

Oskarmat wrote: »

Yes, I'm convinced that the ruin of this country starts with its people thinking that it's normal to pay 175 euro to change a stupid wire .

well if you are convinced then you must be right :rolleyes:

If it is only a 'stupid wire' why does it need to be changed? Leave it there and do nothing with it ... then you won't have to pay anything.

I don't know what you do for a living, but I am sure your time costs money, but then again 'your worth it'

ejmaztec

whippet wrote: »

what has the fact that people have to pay professionals to do work got to do with ireland's financial woes?

I am sick of people blaming everything on 'bankers', 'politicians' or 'developers' .....

Off topic:
Yep, none of them put a foot wrong.
End of off-topic.

Many garages have diagnostic equipment that, when connected to various points in the car's wiring system, comes up with a reading, which points out where the problem is.

Years ago, it took a month of Sundays to find out where an electrical problem was, but many garages never reduced the charge to reflect the time saved when proper diagnostic equipment became available.

I don't think that many garages reduced their prices when deflation set in, and this is probably why a lot of them seem to be closing down or laying off staff.

Oryx

Its like that old joke. They charge e4 for changing the wire, but e171 for knowing which wire to change.

It comes down to this: If you believe it took them x hours at whatever their hourly rate is, and they have explained and justified it to you, then you werent ripped off.

If you have reason to believe they didnt put the time they say into it, then you were.

whippet

ejmaztec wrote: »

Off topic:
Yep, none of them put a foot wrong.
End of off-topic.

but yet, most people blame everything on them.

ejmaztec wrote: »

Many garages have diagnostic equipment that, when connected to various points in the car's wiring system, comes up with a reading, which points out where the problem is.

and this equipment costs money to buy, maintain and training to use, which is why they charge money to make a profit on it.

Oskarmat

Ok guys don't want this to escalate in a war of ideas.

I was not ripped off i guess. I took my car today and it was working. If it doesn't shut down again I can say I'm happy with it.

On a side note, the guy accepted to bring down the price to 150 , on the condition that he was not going to issue a receipt.

Thanks all

whippet

Oskarmat wrote: »

On a side note, the guy accepted to bring down the price to 150 , on the condition that he was not going to issue a receipt.

Thanks all

mate ... the name of the dealer has already been mentioned and re-quoted ......... ooops

when the government coffers need all the money it can get, VAT fraud should be frowned upon

ejmaztec

whippet wrote: »

but yet, most people blame everything on them.



and this equipment costs money to buy, maintain and training to use, which is why they charge money to make a profit on it.

That's the feeble excuse for charging what they do, and the gadget's probably paid for itself after a week.

whippet

ejmaztec wrote: »

That's the feeble excuse for charging what they do, and the gadget's probably paid for itself after a week.

the machine may be paid off, the staff costs keep coming, rents are monthly, rates don't go away, heat and light isn't free, admin cost are always there.

We live in a commercially high cost country, the result is we have to pay top dollar for services. Nothing new here.

ejmaztec

whippet wrote: »

the machine may be paid off, the staff costs keep coming, rents are monthly, rates don't go away, heat and light isn't free, admin cost are always there.

We live in a commercially high cost country, the result is we have to pay top dollar for services. Nothing new here.

.

Pure defeatism.

whippet

ejmaztec wrote: »

.

Pure defeatism.

nah .. it's called realism. Doesn't stop me from shopping around and driving hard bargains when I can. But at least I try to understand where prices come from.

MacGyver

Oskarmat wrote: »

Ok guys don't want this to escalate in a war of ideas.

I was not ripped off i guess. I took my car today and it was working. If it doesn't shut down again I can say I'm happy with it.

On a side note, the guy accepted to bring down the price to 150 , on the condition that he was not going to issue a receipt.

Thanks all

So you decide he didnt rip you off because he gave you a discount which now rips off all of us because he's not paying vat on his work. From now on when your blaming the bankers for the problems in the country be sure to include yourself in that list.

91011

Oskarmat wrote: »

Thanks for the information. No surprise this country is going bankrupt

Lucky It didn't breakdown in the UK, and specifically Hertfordshire then!!


From What Car Magazine -

"The cost of paying a mechanic to fix your car is rising again – according to the annual Warranty Direct Labour Rates Survey.

Since last year (when labour rates dropped slightly), the survey found that the average hourly cost of labour at franchised and independent dealers has risen by 5.81% to £74.82.

The average labour rate for franchised dealers is now £90.59 (up from £87.19 last year) with independents standing at £55.90 (£52.69 in 2009). That means franchised dealers are nearly 40% more expensive than their independent rivals.

Surrey is most expensive
Surrey proved to be the most expensive place to have a car serviced, with an average cost of £87.59, while the highest hourly rate – £190.35 – was found at a franchised dealer in Hertfordshire."

Potential-Monke

91011 wrote: »

Surrey is most expensive
Surrey proved to be the most expensive place to have a car serviced, with an average cost of £87.59, while the highest hourly rate – £190.35 – was found at a franchised dealer in Hertfordshire."

that was probably a Merc dealer.

As for garages ripping people off, they are, fact. Granted, some of the work they do is labour intensive, but most of what they charge €70+ labour for is easy enough. Changing a clutch cable on a '00 corsa? €70 labour, €38 for the cable (yes, i know, but it's a "genuine opel part"), plus VAT.

To the op, you'll need to be more specific with which wire and on what kind of car and then the more mechanically minded can say whether you were screwed or not.

longhalloween

Oskarmat wrote: »

Thanks for the information. No surprise this country is going bankrupt

The price has probably ALWAYS been the same, through good times and bad,
thats just the cost of labour in this country.

keithclancy

Oskarmat wrote: »

Hi all, I have a question.

My car stopped the other day and I had my insurance bring it to the closest garage

They're telling me now that it's a wiring problem, which they fixed. the new wire is few cents, yet they asked me 175 euro .

They said it was quite labour intensive thus the high price for the repair. But I think they're ripping me off.

Do you think this is a reasonable amount to pay for for a cut wire?

You werent ripped off, an elecricial problem can take a significant amount of time to diagnose.

My Car went dead in Belgium in the Antwerp ring. Recovery company came and brought me back (never mind that bit, they were a bunch of idiots)

Got a replacement car eventually for the weekend, came back to a bill of 500 euros for 10 hours labour.

There wants even any parts involved, it was simply a wiring loom had come loose.

Saying that though I paid 500 car and recieved a working car, which I wouldnt know known how to fix myself.

The Muppet

Oskarmat wrote: »

Yes, I'm convinced that the ruin of this country starts with its people thinking that it's normal to pay 175 euro to change a stupid wire .

It's normal to pay for a persons time to diagnose and correct the problem, ask for a itemised bill and you will see how much they are charging you for the piece of wire.

oneillMan999

Id say you were ripped off for sure!, most that shudda cost would be €60.

A while back, my womans headlamp went and she brought it to a garage in town, she went in the next day and they told her she needed a new lamp and it would cost apprx €120. She laughed at them, got in her car and drove off.
She managed to find a mechanic through a friend to have a look at it, he came over and after 2 mins came into the house and told her theres nothin wrong with the car.
All it was was a loose wire, so loose he barely touched the light and it came back on!!
Now how do you justify that??

I was lucky to find a good mechanic lately when my back brakes went, he came over to me, spent an hour diagnosing the problem, arranged to tow the car away, the following evening he called me tellin me the car was ready and he ll drop it back to me....all that including parts came to €140 :eek:

So dont tell me changing a wire costs €175, unless this wire was made of 24 carat gold!!

bryaner

oneillMan999 wrote: »

Id say you were ripped off for sure!, most that shudda cost would be €60.

A while back, my womans headlamp went and she brought it to a garage in town, she went in the next day and they told her she needed a new lamp and it would cost apprx €120. She laughed at them, got in her car and drove off.
She managed to find a mechanic through a friend to have a look at it, he came over and after 2 mins came into the house and told her theres nothin wrong with the car.
All it was was a loose wire, so loose he barely touched the light and it came back on!!
Now how do you justify that??

I was lucky to find a good mechanic lately when my back brakes went, he came over to me, spent an hour diagnosing the problem, arranged to tow the car away, the following evening he called me tellin me the car was ready and he ll drop it back to me....all that including parts came to €140 :eek:

So dont tell me changing a wire costs €175, unless this wire was made of 24 carat gold!!

Your post goes to prove that a little knowledge is dangerous.

You obviously haven't a clue about fault finding cutting looms apart replacing the entire wire from start to finish and the other wires it might have damaged when it melted, then pulling the wires through the grommets new tape and conduit and all the time this takes.

Go learn a bit before you post such muck..

whippet

oneillMan999 wrote: »

All it was was a loose wire, so loose he barely touched the light and it came back on!!
Now how do you justify that??

so the problem wasn't fixed? it was just masked over? All is well until she is driving down a bumpy road at night and the wire comes loose again giving her insufficient light.

The cost of the 'wire' isn't the issue here, it's the cost of diagnosing the problem, labour to fix it, cost of running a business to legitimately do the job .... but some people just can't get their heads around reality

oneillMan999

bryaner wrote: »

Your post goes to prove that a little knowledge is dangerous.

You obviously haven't a clue about fault finding cutting looms apart replacing the entire wire from start to finish and the other wires it might have damaged when it melted, then pulling the wires through the grommets new tape and conduit and all the time this takes.

Go learn a bit before you post such muck..

Well, seein as you know soooo much about what it takes to replace a wire...explain to me how, (and i look forward to your reply) doing what you just quoted costs €35 more than having a mechanic come to your home, spend an hour workin on your car, get it towed to their garage, get the parts (new), replace those parts and drop your car back to your home.

If you can explain that then fair play, i will stand corrected....otherwise....think before you post....

oneillMan999

whippet wrote: »

so the problem wasn't fixed? it was just masked over? All is well until she is driving down a bumpy road at night and the wire comes loose again giving her insufficient light.

LOL are you serious? of course the problem was fixed...he tightened the screw!! that was it!! I think you completely missed my point anyway..

keithclancy

oneillMan999 wrote: »

LOL are you serious? of course the problem was fixed...he tightened the screw!! that was it!! I think you completely missed my point anyway..

Headlamp units don't have screws, its all clips.

Unless its some ancient 80's thing.

bryaner

oneillMan999 wrote: »

Well, seein as you know soooo much about what it takes to replace a wire...explain to me how, (and i look forward to your reply) doing what you just quoted costs €35 more than having a mechanic come to your home, spend an hour workin on your car, get it towed to their garage, get the parts (new), replace those parts and drop your car back to your home.

If you can explain that then fair play, i will stand corrected....otherwise....think before you post....

Haven't got a clue what your mechanic charges per hr for labour so your question is irrelevant and what I'd expect from someone of little knowledge on the matter.

Also you have not stated what parts were replaced on your vehicle, i.e brake pads, shoes, wheel cylinders etc etc.
You may as well have asked how much is a head gasket for a red van.

Come back soon with some more waffle.