Did the garage take advantage?

Greendaisy

Of my mum.....
Car: '07 Skoda Octavia
Garage: Rural non main dealer in Tipperary

She was advised by the garage that she needed some work done on her car. She had not complained about any noises etc. Car has a year left on NCT. She is a loyal customer of this particular small local garage, but the staff had recently changed....and I suspect she may have been taken advantage of.

She was billed as follows:

Two front wishbones rear Euro 71
Two front wishbones small 36
O/S/F CV boot 8
Two front brake hoses 60
Rear brake pads 25
Rear brake discs 55
Front brake discs 86
Front brake pads 36
Brake fluid 10
Tracking 40

Labour 180

Total including VAT 690

Then two days later a bearing went and had to be replaced (yet to be billed).

Would this amount be 'normal'?
Thanks

mloc123

Greendaisy wrote: »

Of my mum.....
Car: '07 Skoda Octavia
Garage: Rural non main dealer in Tipperary

She was advised by the garage that she needed some work done on her car. She had not complained about any noises etc. Car has a year left on NCT. She is a loyal customer of this particular small local garage, but the staff had recently changed....and I suspect she may have been taken advantage of.

She was billed as follows:

Two front wishbones rear Euro 71
Two front wishbones small 36
O/S/F CV boot 8
Two front brake hoses 60
Rear brake pads 25
Rear brake discs 55
Front brake discs 86
Front brake pads 36
Brake fluid 10
Tracking 40

Labour 180

Total including VAT 690

Then two days later a bearing went and had to be replaced (yet to be billed).

Would this amount be 'normal'?
Thanks

Labour to me looks pretty good for all the work covered. What is the concern... that pads/discs were not needed?

Nuw

When was the last time the brake pads were done? Badly worn pads will damage the discs, but I find it hard to believe all four needed done, unless she drives like a maniac... or the car sat for a long time not being used (corrosion might have had a go at the discs), was she shown the damage on the discs?

If they were indeed in need of doing, the price is actually decent IMO.

Greendaisy

Yes, I feel that they took advantage and did more work than needed. The car initially went in for a basic service that cost around 300 (I must ask her for that bill later). He then recommended that she came back to do the additional work (detailed above).
My mother is in her sixties and just does local trips. She wouldn't drive like a maniac at all, more like Miss Daisy.

Nuw

Greendaisy wrote: »

Yes, I feel that they took advantage and did more work than needed. The car initially went in for a basic service that cost around 300 (I must ask her for that bill later).  He then recommended that she came back to do the additional work (detailed above).
My mother is in her sixties and just does local trips. She wouldn't drive like a maniac at all, more like Miss Daisy.

Would you have a date and mileage for last replacement of pads?

bladespin

Greendaisy wrote: »

Yes, I feel that they took advantage and did more work than needed. The car initially went in for a basic service that cost around 300 (I must ask her for that bill later). He then recommended that she came back to do the additional work (detailed above).
My mother is in her sixties and just does local trips. She wouldn't drive like a maniac at all, more like Miss Daisy.

Bill above doesn't look bad, especially on labour, that said €300 for a basic service would be extremely high on that car.

Kenny Logins

Greendaisy wrote: »

Yes, I feel that they took advantage and did more work than needed. The car initially went in for a basic service that cost around 300 (I must ask her for that bill later). He then recommended that she came back to do the additional work (detailed above).
My mother is in her sixties and just does local trips. She wouldn't drive like a maniac at all, more like Miss Daisy.

It's driving slowly that wears the brakes. :pac:

grogi

Greendaisy wrote: »

Would this amount be 'normal'?
Thanks

Price looks very good to me. Question if she needed all that work.

Caliden

Was she shown the parts that were taken out?

My indy mechanic shows me pics of what was replaced. He could be spoofing me but it's a lot of effort and not worth the risk given his reputation and the fact he's always flat out busy.

Cee-Jay-Cee

€300 for a basic service is a complete rip off. It does look like they took advantage of an older woman who wouldn't be so well clued in on what the car did or didn't need.

ebbsy

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

€300 for a basic service is a complete rip off. It does look like they took advantage of an older woman who wouldn't be so well clued in on what the car did or didn't need.

+1

I pay half that for a basic service.

beauf

Its interesting that in changing all the brakes and CV boot they didn't notice a bearing problem.

Was it originally a UK/NI car? Curious that the entire brake system all needed replacing.

dre_jspeed

180 labor for all that work is a great price. But I would question the bearing being missed.

rex-x

beauf wrote: »

Its interesting that in changing all the brakes and CV boot they didn't notice a bearing problem.

Was it originally a UK/NI car? Curious that the entire brake system all needed replacing.

80% of cars i work on need all 4 corners doing, brakes are beyond neglected by most

barneygumble99

rex-x wrote: »

80% of cars i work on need all 4 corners doing, brakes are beyond neglected by most

Exactly, the amount of cars that have their pads replaced but not the discs even though the disc is badly corroded, lipped and broken is unbelievable.

Stoolbend

No one can say if the car needed all those parts.

Ignore the fact that it still has nct because that doesn't really mean a thing.

Bear in mind that those would all be common parts that would need replacing on a 07 Octavia.

It's also 10 years old.

Mech1

Cv boot replacement would have meant removing and reinstalling hub nut and possibly having to press or drift cv joint from hub, this can bring on wheel bearing failure.

Oh and thats a great price to get all that work done.

Greendaisy

Even though the car is 10 years old it was/is looked after and has an easy life. She asked the service guy when the brakes were last done and he said he doesn't keep proper records of 'cash customer' cars.....doesn't even write the customer name on the docket.
Thanks everyone.

Pops_20

In my opinion, its not really 'taking advantage' if they actually replaced all those parts. It would be worse if they told you they did all that work but actually didn't. That also seems like a very reasonable price for that amount of work.

Even though the car still had a years NCT left, what state were the brakes in before the last NCT? Maybe they just about passed. Brakes can degrade a lot even over the course of a year.

Regardless, even if those parts didn't absolutely need replacing, they've all been done now, so she doesn't have to worry about any of that stuff for a good long while.

Did you find out what was done as part of the 300 euro basic service??

Yawns

The €300 for a service sounds ****.

The prices for the parts listed and the labour looks really good tho tbh. If they actually did the work and carried it out, then it's a good price imo.

beauf

I've never had a car that needed all 4 corners done at the same time. Hot hatches or anything.

Maybe you see a lot of neglected cars.

Yawns

Have you seen how the average person drives on our roads? Before the NCT came in there was some pile of crap. In fact have you ever seen the state of some of the cars that people send in for the NCT.

I'm all for sending a car in and if it fails, then you can fix it, but I remember seeing a few pics on here that will make you wonder what the **** some people are smoking.

I know 2 people personally that don't give a rats arse about their cars and the only time it gets looked at is for an NCT. If there was no mandatory NCT test, they wouldn't bother.

mullingar

If all the brakes were done plus the CV boot, thats a great price.

The NCT does not care for how worn the discs/pads are, they only test the performance on the day.

Most people dont realise that nearly all brake discs manufacturers only allow for 1-1.5mm wear each side of the disc, total 2-3mm overall thickness. So if you feel a little lip on the edge of the disc, you need new discs. Discs are always replaced in pairs, and always with new pads. Assuming its a 1.4 Octavia, the Mintex tech data for those discs specifies min thickness of 19mm, from 22mm new. Thats only 1.5mm each side.

http://www.brakebook.com/bb/mintex/en_GB/PKW/106/1904/15292/applicationSearch.xhtml
http://www.brakebook.com/bb/mintex/en_GB/MDC1019_82/datasheet.xhtml

pa990

Yawns wrote: »

Have you seen how the average person drives on our roads? Before the NCT came in there was some pile of crap. In fact have you ever seen the state of some of the cars that people send in for the NCT.

I'm all for sending a car in and if it fails, then you can fix it, but I remember seeing a few pics on here that will make you wonder what the **** some people are smoking.

I know 2 people personally that don't give a rats arse about their cars and the only time it gets looked at is for an NCT. If there was no mandatory NCT test, they wouldn't bother.

Absolutely correct.

Just look at the amount of threads along the lines of.

My car failed the nct, will a bottle of Dipetane fix it.

The attitude in this country is Drive it till it stops, then complain that it'll cost to fix. Most seem to want maintenance and cost free motoring.

Not referring to op, just motorists in general

waraf

The price is suspiciously low for that amount of work. I'd be tempted to take each wheel off to have a look at the discs and pads to make sure they were actually replaced.

Toyotafanboi

We're mad sometimes. 99% of work quotes posted on this forum get shot down, "that's too much", "too expensive", "a blindfolded monkey hoding a spanner with its footxould do it for half that price" etc etc.

Here, someone actually gets a competitivr price for the work and we are recommending that they strip the car to make sure the work was done.

Is there ever a scenario where scepticism doesn't exist?

Truckermal

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

We're mad sometimes. 99% of work quotes posted on this forum get shot down, "that's too much", "too expensive", "a blindfolded monkey hoding a spanner with its footxould do it for half that price" etc etc.

Here, someone actually gets a competitivr price for the work and we are recommending that they strip the car to make sure the work was done.

Is there ever a scenario where scepticism doesn't exist?

My local publican was telling me customer's were complaining about the price of his Carling so he managed to get a deal from Molson, they then said it was obviously cheap sh1t he bought and wouldn't drink it!:D

waraf

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Here, someone actually gets a competitivr price for the work and we are recommending that they strip the car to make sure the work was done.

Is there ever a scenario where scepticism doesn't exist?

A healthy scepticism is a good thing when it comes to maintenance of your brakes and taking a wheel off can hardly be classified as stripping the car.

Greendaisy

Personally, I don't feel that the car needed all brakes done. I drove her car the week after the 'basic' service and before the 'additional' service and I thought it was braking fine.

The car had one previous local owner from new, so not NI/Uk. Also, this car was/is looked after and certainly not a heap of scrap, despite it's age. No he didn't show her the old parts he replaced.

She said he didn't give her a docket for the basic service as he was in a hurry. From what she can remember it was filters, fluids, plugs and an overall check. This check led to the 'recommended' work.

I do feel that he took advantage of her 'older', trusting nature and her fondness of paying by cash. But it's done and paid now....
Thanks for the opinions.

ba_barabus

How many miles has this car and what year is it?

cnoc

I have an 2005 Honda Accord, and passed NCT on all 5 occasions. Regularly serviced.

Two front wishbones rear Euro 71 - never replaced
Two front wishbones small 36 - never replaced
O/S/F CV boot 8 - never replaced
Two front brake hoses 60 - never replaced
Rear brake pads 25 - replaced
Rear brake discs 55 - never replaced
Front brake discs 86 - never replaced
Front brake pads 36 - replaced
Brake fluid 10 - topped up once
Tracking 40 - when replacing tyres

mloc123

cnoc wrote: »

I have an 2005 Honda Accord, and passed NCT on all 5 occasions. Regularly serviced.

Two front wishbones rear Euro 71 - never replaced
Two front wishbones small 36 - never replaced
O/S/F CV boot 8 - never replaced
Two front brake hoses 60 - never replaced
Rear brake pads 25 - replaced
Rear brake discs 55 - never replaced
Front brake discs 86 - never replaced
Front brake pads 36 - replaced
Brake fluid 10 - topped up once
Tracking 40 - when replacing tyres

Brake fluid never replaced in 12 years?

mullingar

Greendaisy wrote: »

Personally, I don't feel that the car needed all brakes done. I drove her car the week after the 'basic' service and before the 'additional' service and I thought it was braking fine.

The car had one previous local owner from new, so not NI/Uk. Also, this car was/is looked after and certainly not a heap of scrap, despite it's age. No he didn't show her the old parts he replaced.

.

This is what annoys me about clueless people about car maintenance. No offense intended.

You will not feel brakes that are nearly worn, the whole design of them ensures maximum effort until a point. It's when the pads are worn to the plate is when you lose brake effort. Discs need to be a minimum thickness to ensure they are still structurally safe and also have thermal mass. These simply have to be replaced when they reach the minimum thickness on every single car. It does not matter if its driven by a racing driver or a granny, they all wear out.

mullingar

cnoc wrote: »

Brake fluid 10 - topped up once

mloc123 wrote: »

Brake fluid never replaced in 12 years?

+1,

My God, no wonder there are so many accidents with this type of logic.

For those who do not know, brake fluid is hygroscopic, which means it ready absorbs water. Once water gets into brake fluid, this will boil in the brake caliper, convert into steam pockets and remove a lot of the braking effort.

Brake fluid needs to be replaced every 2 years, 3 at a push, regardless of mileage

DaveyDave

Cash customer, not writing down names of customer...might be a bit dodgy? I'm not too familiar with garages but I know someone who deals with a mechanic in cash. They get a good deal and it stays off the books...

This is why it helps to also have a receipt and if you're not happy, bring it back with any concerns you have. Or go to a different garage.

sundodger5

Just to add to the posts above regarding the NCT. Worst one i had regarding brakes and the nct was a primera brought in on a tow truck the day after it had passed the test....policy for any brake work is a full written check with disc measurements taken etc etc.
The primary fault was a brake hose had blown causing brake failure. When we stripped the wheels off and had a proper look. It needed pads and discs. Shoes and cylinders and two brake hoses and a fluid change. Back hoses were ok. NCT is a snapshot in time not a guarantee the car is good for 2 years.
If discs has never been done before they probably needed doing and with discs you change pads.i haven't seen the parts obviously but In my opinion that work probably needed doing.

the_syco

Do you have a different mechanic? Possibly him him look at it, and say what, if any of the parts, were placed.

cnoc

mloc123 wrote: »

Brake fluid never replaced in 12 years?

Topped up only.

cnoc

mullingar wrote: »

+1,

My God, no wonder there are so many accidents with this type of logic.

For those who do not know, brake fluid is hygroscopic, which means it ready absorbs water. Once water gets into brake fluid, this will boil in the brake caliper, convert into steam pockets and remove a lot of the braking effort.

Brake fluid needs to be replaced every 2 years, 3 at a push, regardless of mileage

Thanks for the advice. I will get this looked after.

elperello

Truckermal wrote: »

My local publican was telling me customer's were complaining about the price of his Carling so he managed to get a deal from Molson, they then said it was obviously cheap sh1t he bought and wouldn't drink it!:D

If Carlsberg did garages!