What to expect getting a basic car service done?

user2012

Just looking for a bit of advice. Left the car to a new mechanic yesterday to get a basic service, €79, car is in good order but I felt the brake pads were screeching the odd time, oil probably needed changing etc. there's a warning light on for tyre maintenance too.
Got the car dropped off but didn't get to meet the mechanic to ask what was done to it. When I booked it in I told him Bout the pads & asked him to have a look at them & change them if needs be. No problem paying for extra work if it needed to be done.
Anyway, car is still screeching a bit when I hit the brakes, not all the time but maybe 7 times out of 10. And the tyre warning light is still on.

Did I expect too much for €79? What would you expect a basic service to consist of?
As I said I have no problem paying for extra labour/ parts if they spot an issue that isn't covered in the usual basic service. I just feel it's a lot for what looks to me like a quick oil change & a drop of water in the tank.

MuppetCheck

It will probably be oil, filter and a quick look over.

bazz26

Tyre warning light?

What type of car is it OP? €79 for a service is not going to get you much over a basic oil and filter change even on the most simplest car.

coylemj

For €79 I'd expect to get it back the same day, why haven't you collected it yet if you gave it in for the service yesterday and posted here at 7 p.m. today?

Just worried when I read in your post 'No problem paying for extra work if it needed to be done' - if you said anything along those lines to the mechanic then I'd be making an appointment with the bank manager for a term loan.

user2012

It's a nissan. That warning light comes on if the air is low, I would have assumed he would have seen that & given them a pump up.

And I collected the car yesterday, I just didn't get a chance to ask before now.

I'm probably reading too much into it. My cousin usually looks after it but as he's sick I had to leave it in somewhere else. Normally he charges me €75 for a service & if anything else outside that crops up that needs to be done he lets me know & gets the go ahead before he does the work. Never had to take out a loan to cover it lol

coylemj

That's probably a fair price assuming they checked all the fluids and gave the car a general going over plus the oil and filter. However it's worrying that they did nothing about the squealing brakes, it suggests that nobody took it for a test spin around the block so they just did the bare minimum. Didn't you ask about the brakes and tyres when you were collecting it? Tyres pressure is really a user issue, unless they were bald and dangerous, a garage normally wouldn't bother doing anything with them.

CiniO

user2012 wrote: »

It's a nissan. That warning light comes on if the air is low, I would have assumed he would have seen that & given them a pump up.

To be honest I wouldn't expect tyres to be pumped up during service.
Maintaining correct air pressure is normal everyday maintenance thing, and should be done by driver, same as filling up car with fuel, checking oil and other fluid levels, etc...

user2012

Thanks a mill for the replies. Looks like I was getting a bit spoiled before yesterday:)

I got the car dropped back by someone in the garage but not by the mechanic that did the work. I did ask for a breakdown of what was done because the guy that delivered it back wasn't able to tell me what was checked & I forgot to leave the service book in the car too. So when I get that I'll know more.
I could be leaving myself open to being scammed but I just assumed that if he spotted a few bits that needed to be looked after that he would have let me know & it could have been sorted out there & then rather than going back another day.

coylemj

user2012 wrote: »

I could be leaving myself open to being scammed but I just assumed that if he spotted a few bits that needed to be looked after that he would have let me know & it could have been sorted out there & then rather than going back another day.

That's how it's supposed to work - they assume they have to do the basics and if they think there's other stuff needs doing, they will phone you asking for the go-ahead to (e.g.) replace brake pads, shocks, brake fluid etc.

But there's a limit to what the average punter wants them to look at because if they do too much, the customer will think they're just generating work to jack up the labour charges. That's why most garages don't bother with tyre pressure because as Cinio says above, it's an everyday maintenance thing that most people look after themselves.

fmcg_scribe

user2012 wrote: »

Just looking for a bit of advice. Left the car to a new mechanic yesterday to get a basic service, €79, car is in good order but I felt the brake pads were screeching the odd time, oil probably needed changing etc. there's a warning light on for tyre maintenance too.
Got the car dropped off but didn't get to meet the mechanic to ask what was done to it. When I booked it in I told him Bout the pads & asked him to have a look at them & change them if needs be. No problem paying for extra work if it needed to be done.
Anyway, car is still screeching a bit when I hit the brakes, not all the time but maybe 7 times out of 10. And the tyre warning light is still on.

Did I expect too much for €79? What would you expect a basic service to consist of?
As I said I have no problem paying for extra labour/ parts if they spot an issue that isn't covered in the usual basic service. I just feel it's a lot for what looks to me like a quick oil change & a drop of water in the tank.

Taking what you say at face value, I wonder if there are at least two problems buried in the detail.

Problem 1
What's the background of the mechanic? Is he experienced? Is he a sole trader? If not a sole trader, does he work for a national chain? Was the service work you booked advertised at a set price and was the scope of the work specified before or while you handed your car over?

Problem 2
If you were looking a "standard" oil or inspection service for your car plus some investigation work, did you specify that precisely to the mechanic and did he indicate that he understood that? Does your car's service booklet specify the types of services that can be carried out on the car? I don't fully understand tyre maintenance light issue that you mention. I'm more used to lights for tyre pressure warning systems. If you wanted a report about the status of your tyres (outside of the NCT), you could have asked any tyre fitter for a free tyre health check.

corktina

brake squeal doesn't necessarily mean the pads are low. A dab of copper grease on the pad of the pad is usually all that's needed I think. Did you tell him specifically they were squealing? He might have just checked the pads if that's what you asked him to do

djimi

For €79 I would expect an oil change, oil filter and air filter; thats about the height of it. After parts youre probably looking about an hours labour at the absolute most for that price.