Car Service - ever get the feeling you're being ripped off?

Degsy123

My other half was due a NCT today so booked her car into a VW dealer in Airside Swords. Later that day she got a call from the service dept saying the car service was done but to pass NCT the car needed 3 new tyres and the brake pads replaced. He also said some exhaust unit would not pass so the total bill for the say wouLd be €1,000. My wife rang back and told him to leave it with the service and we would see how the NCT went. We also got a mechanic friend to check a few things - sort of a second opinion. NCT this evening - one visual to come back next week. No mention of exhaust, brakes or tyres. Makes me wonder !!!

sgarvan

Degsy123 wrote: »

My other half was due a NCT today so booked her car into a VW dealer in Airside Swords. Later that day she got a call from the service dept saying the car service was done but to pass NCT the car needed 3 new tyres and the brake pads replaced. He also said some exhaust unit would not pass so the total bill for the say wouLd be €1,000. My wife rang back and told him to leave it with the service and we would see how the NCT went. We also got a mechanic friend to check a few things - sort of a second opinion. NCT this evening - one visual to come back next week. No mention of exhaust, brakes or tyres. Makes me wonder !!!

Give that feedback to there garage. Second opinion and NCT and no mention of their reported faults

DJMG92

I'd complain. Seems they just wanted to get some money out of you. Can't trust any businesses these days unfortunately.

boardz

I had a Ford €129 service last year and when I returned to pick up the car it was up on the ramp...They pointed out joint wear and a couple of other vague problems and said it would cost €1750 to repair. I baulked at this and they said it would fail the nct. ..I pointed out that I passed the nct 2 weeks previously! They looked at each other and walked away in shame. Funny that particular Ford garage shut down about 6 months later (Dublin 15)

elperello

I met a guy in an independent garage a while ago waiting for his car and he told me that when he got a service in a main dealer they charged him for topping up the windscreen washer bottle. The next time he went in for a service he topped it up to the neck himself beforehand. Sure enough when he got the bill there was a charge for topping it up.

As I said I met him at an independent getting his car serviced......

FortySeven

I work in the trade and the NCT doesn't seem to count for anything. Bought a car a few weeks ago that had passed the NCT a day or so before, suspension knocking badly.

NCT does not mean your car is in any kind of decent condition, it's a SAFETY inspection, when a mechanic takes you to a car to point out things that need replacing, they most likely do.

Granted, there will always be one or two dodgepots but that is any industry.

FortySeven

elperello wrote: »

I met a guy in an independent garage a while ago waiting for his car and he told me that when he got a service in a main dealer they charged him for topping up the windscreen washer bottle. The next time he went in for a service he topped it up to the neck himself beforehand. Sure enough when he got the bill there was a charge for topping it up.

As I said I met him at an independent getting his car serviced......

Charged him for adding washer fluid to it, not topping it up, and yes, we would take out some water to add the washer fluid. It's around 50ml. :rolleyes: This would be a detergent, water doesn't do well on its own when mixed with oily fluids like diesel smoke etc.

Stheno

On the flip side, when I moved to where I live now (Swords), I took the time to ask people I knew to recommend a mechanic

I went to him with my window switches not working, instead of him replacing the unit he fixed the wiring on it or something similar.

He scoffs at the pre NCT idea, and advises all of his customers to NCT their cars early as it's the cheapest way to discover problems.

The OHs car went in recently for a service that was due, nothing to do with NCT or anything wrong with the car that OH had noticed.

I mentioned a few things I'd noticed about the car about the suspension a few months ago when I was driving the car.

Mechanic took out the car, found an issue with the back brakes, did a full service of all filters/oil etc, checked voltage on the battery and we'd the car back in a day

Cost? A couple of hundred including the new brake parts.

Moral of the story? Find a good reputable mechanic that you can talk to

scudzilla

Stheno wrote: »

On the flip side, when I moved to where I live now (Swords), I took the time to ask people I knew to recommend a mechanic

I went to him with my window switches not working, instead of him replacing the unit he fixed the wiring on it or something similar.

He scoffs at the pre NCT idea, and advises all of his customers to NCT their cars early as it's the cheapest way to discover problems.

The OHs car went in recently for a service that was due, nothing to do with NCT or anything wrong with the car that OH had noticed.

I mentioned a few things I'd noticed about the car about the suspension a few months ago when I was driving the car.

Mechanic took out the car, found an issue with the back brakes, did a full service of all filters/oil etc, checked voltage on the battery and we'd the car back in a day

Cost? A couple of hundred including the new brake parts.

Moral of the story? Find a good reputable mechanic that you can talk to

Anton by any chance?

Stheno

scudzilla wrote: »

Anton by any chance?

Do you mean my mechanic? If so then no

And I'm also not Anton

sdanseo

The NCT only tells you that on a given day, the car is at or above the minimum regulations. You might have had a tyre at 2mm or 2.5mm which would still be considered in need of replacing because it would be well illegal before they see you again.

Just because the NCT doesn't flag something doesn't mean it doesn't need doing, although I've always used it as an acid test myself and had the NCT before sending the car for repairs. At €55 it's a decent basic diagnostic but absolutely do not rely on it to flag much.

Bottom line:

Stheno wrote: »

Moral of the story? Find a good reputable mechanic that you can talk to

This.

boardz

Thats ok to point out potential repairs but to falsely pressurise customers is out of order and perpetuates the trades bad reputation.

LeoB

boardz wrote: »

Thats ok to point out potential repairs but to falsely pressurise customers is out of order and perpetuates the trades bad reputation.

Have to agree but we don't complain enough about these things. It is a very common problem getting these crazy bills for what should really be a service. Ok some things will go wrong and we can get a bit of a shock sometimes but the horror stories I have heard are all to common.

As Stheno say Find a good reliable mechanic who you can talk to

Riesen_Meal

Don't touch these guys with a bargepole OP - my cousin worked for them for 10 years before they were taken over, they seem to have gotten even worse since then. They weren't great to begin with either apparently!

They are all the type of mechanics who don't troubleshoot, just replace the part, maybe it's a dealership thing...