Did they try and rip me off?

bhob

My car (05 Focus) failed the NCT last September due to front track rod ends and tyres, both sides. I got them sorted and it passed in October. No other major issues with the car.
The other day i got it serviced (different garage to the ones that fixed the track rod ends) and they rang me up saying the inner tire rods need to be done as there's some give in them, quoted €220. They also told me the front brake pads and discs need to be done as there's only 10% left on the pads, quoted €270. They said I needed new wiper blades, even though i put new Bosch ones on myself 6 months ago, quoted €60. The ABS light is also on in the car and said if I wanted them to run diagnostics it would be another €65.
Were they trying to rip me off do you think? I'm struggling to see how the car would have passed the NCT 6 months ago is the brake pads and discs are in such bad condition now. I told them I got the track rod ends done in October and they started telling me how 90% of the time it's not the ends that need to be replaced it's the inner  tire rods, again is this a spoof? Surely the mechanic who done the ends would have known which needed to be replaced at the time?

Toyotafanboi

It all sounds plausible tbh. The NCT isn't a substitute for servicing and only verifies that the car met a minimum standard on a given day.

If your pads and discs were 99% worn, they would pass an NCT once they are evenly worn.

€65 for a diagnostic check isn't unreasonable and the issue with the steering does make sense although without seeing the car nobody can give a definite.

Wipers are an upsell item. If they leave any streaks, offer new ones. If you don't want them, politely decline.

JohnBoy26

€60 for wipers is a crazy price. You could get genuine ones in a ford dealer for less than that.

bhob

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

It all sounds plausible tbh. The NCT isn't a substitute for servicing and only verifies that the car met a minimum standard on a given day.

If your pads and discs were 99% worn, they would pass an NCT once they are evenly worn.

€65 for a diagnostic check isn't unreasonable and the issue with the steering does make sense although without seeing the car nobody can give a definite.

Wipers are an upsell item. If they leave any streaks, offer new ones. If you don't want them, politely decline.

So €270 for front brake pads + discs is reasonable when you can buy really good ones for €90 online? Aren't inner tie rods about €12 a pop, so €220 for 2 of them plus labour that's expected?

greasepalm

google micks garage and pop your reg in for a price,brakes are important be it worn or discs black as stopping power is reduced and have seen pads fall out of calipers 3 days after nct pass.

dr.fuzzenstein

Leaving aside anything else, they want €125 for wipers and to spend 5 minutes hooking up a laptop to it.
That is madness.
I had a Cmax in Ireland and it had the ABS light on as well.
I got a €5 OBD Bluetooth dongle off eBay and installed Forscan (unfortunate name) on my phone and it told me that the right rear sensor was kaputt.
Swapped it myself and it fixed the problem.
Right now I'm using FordSys as diagnostic tool, haven't tried it for ABS yet.
I would in me hole give a garage €125 for wipers and 5 minutes with a laptop.

Peanut2011

I think a lot of people are missing the point here. The cost of the parts does not matter, you are paying for the garage to do something you can't.

Some people can do it and don't have to pay these prices others can't and have to, unless they "know" a good local mechanic.

listermint

I had a doe fella Tell me the inner offside track rod was gone.

So went and bought the whole thing Both sides just to change it.

Nothing wrong with either rod at all no play whatsoever. He was adamant it was inner and sprayed it to make sure I changed it.

So yeah not all experts are right...

Leaksireland

listermint wrote: »

I had a doe fella Tell me the inner offside track rod was gone.

So went and bought the whole thing Both sides just to change it.

Nothing wrong with either rod at all no play whatsoever. He was adamant it was inner and sprayed it to make sure I changed it.

So yeah not all experts are right...

Had a similar experience. In Finglas by any chance?

mickdw

Take car somewhere else and see what they come up with. If same issues crop up, we'll it's only price that is at issue then.

bhob

Peanut2011 wrote: »

I think a lot of people are missing the point here. The cost of the parts does not matter, you are paying for the garage to do something you can't.

Some people can do it and don't have to pay these prices others can't and have to, unless they "know" a good local mechanic.

Well that's ridiculous, just because you can't do it doesn't mean places should be able to rip you off

khaldrogo

bhob wrote:

So €270 for front brake pads + discs is reasonable when you can buy really good ones for €90 online? Aren't inner tie rods about €12 a pop, so €220 for 2 of them plus labour that's expected?

Do you think tesco pay 2.50 for a box of cornflakes?

Everything is cheap online, until the YouTube mechanic fcuks up something while trying to fit your online parts

Peanut2011

bhob wrote: »

Well that's ridiculous, just because you can't do it doesn't mean places should be able to rip you off

Who said they are ripping him off? How much would you pay for qualified mechanic?

If you are not happy with the quote, simple take the car back and bring to another place.

khaldrogo

bhob wrote:

Well that's ridiculous, just because you can't do it doesn't mean places should be able to rip you off

While those prices quoted are on the steep side, how many people are so quick to tear apart a quote from a plumber, sparks, chippie, dentist etc.......everyone and there mother is a mechanic these days and the fact that the industry isn't regulated like gas fitters is not helping. Once the industry is regulated(and its coming) and tommy down the lane can't fit your second hand brake pads anymore you'll be wishing for the days it was only 65e for a diagnosis

JohnBoy26

Peanut2011 wrote: »

I think a lot of people are missing the point here. The cost of the parts does not matter, you are paying for the garage to do something you can't.

Some people can do it and don't have to pay these prices others can't and have to, unless they "know" a good local mechanic.

Changing wipers only takes a few minutes at most yet this garage is looking for €60 for a set which is way above what you would be charged in a motorfactors for a decent set and also more than the genuine ford wipers too.

The garage is charging far too much for wipers to be fair even considering fitting.

dr.fuzzenstein

Garages should be hooking up diagnostic as a matter of course. It's a tool if their job.
I know the answer already "but bejaysis dem things cosht a lot of money, they have to make it back!"
Invalid argument. What does a hydraulic lift cost? Do garages say "yeah, we'll have to stick it on a lift, that'll be €50 lifting fee"
I never once paid any garage to hook up diagnostics, it's part of their job.
It's the same as headlight alignment. When Tue NCT first failed cars for it, suddenly it cost €20. Now they throw it in for free.

And really, diagnostic costs €5 for a dongle and that's it.
My German Cmax had some turbo trouble and needed a new one. Plus it had some various electric codes that I put right. I was constantly hooking it up to check. Had I paid a garage for that it would have cost several grand.
It's the new upper winkie valve. "Yeah mate, that'll cost a few hundred quid, can't drive it like that"

Del2005

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Garages should be hooking up diagnostic as a matter of course. It's a tool if their job.
I know the answer already "but bejaysis dem things cosht a lot of money, they have to make it back!"
Invalid argument. What does a hydraulic lift cost? Do garages say "yeah, we'll have to stick it on a lift, that'll be €50 lifting fee"
I never once paid any garage to hook up diagnostics, it's part of their job.
It's the same as headlight alignment. When Tue NCT first failed cars for it, suddenly it cost €20. Now they throw it in for free.

And really, diagnostic costs €5 for a dongle and that's it.
My German Cmax had some turbo trouble and needed a new one. Plus it had some various electric codes that I put right. I was constantly hooking it up to check. Had I paid a garage for that it would have cost several grand.
It's the new upper winkie valve. "Yeah mate, that'll cost a few hundred quid, can't drive it like that"

The software and training that garages who have the correct diagnostic tools isn't free. Getting an adaptor and some free software from the Internet will work for some issues. But for others the manufacturer logs onto the car remotely and performs the diagnostic and repair.

Do you think that the mechanic should work for free when they attach the cable and run the diagnostic? You are looking at a minimum of half an hour to deal with the car and that needs to be covered by someone. Do you do much free work on expensive equipment and with high overheads?

listermint

Leaksireland wrote: »

Had a similar experience. In Finglas by any chance?

Down Wicklow

Toyotafanboi

That and reading a fault code doesn't neccessarily tell you what's actually wrong.

The €65 diagnostic is for the mechanic to give you his opinion on what's wrong not just the codes from his scan tool.

A bit like the doctor. Most of the time he doesn't use any tools at all on me, he still charges €55 for a ten minute chat.

Yeah the wipers are a bit dear, some blades from motor factors can be way too dear so you can decline those. The rest does sound reasonable, it's not free unfortunately but you did bring the car to a business, not a charity.

dr.fuzzenstein

Del2005 wrote: »

The software and training that garages who have the correct diagnostic tools isn't free. Getting an adaptor and some free software from the Internet will work for some issues. But for others the manufacturer logs onto the car remotely and performs the diagnostic and repair.

Do you think that the mechanic should work for free when they attach the cable and run the diagnostic? You are looking at a minimum of half an hour to deal with the car and that needs to be covered by someone. Do you do much free work on expensive equipment and with high overheads?

The lift costs money, so does the building.
So do the tools.
Mechanics need training in the first place, otherwise they'd just be monkeys with wrenches. As a mechanic, you'd be expected to keep up with technologically and constantly keep learning. I know I do, otherwise I'd be sh*t at my job.
The €50 hookup fee is bullsh*t. I don't pay a separate lift, screwdriver or toilet break fee.
That is why mechanics charge an hourly rate. So it is not work for free.
But you know what? When I pick my car up, the guy at reception will tell me what was wrong and what was done. Is that work for free? Better charge €50 for it

As in IT tech I need to call to customers and hook my laptop up to network switches. Sometimes several of them.
Do I say to them "that's €50 a pop"?. No, it's called doing my job.
Does that laptop cost money and did I need training? You bet it does and yes I did.

I guess it's how it's formulated that galls me. Take my job again. If a customer wants diagnostic, ÜT will cost him x amount of euromoney an hour.
If I said instead" yeah, that'll be €50 bucks to hook up a laptop ", they'd be pissed and rightly so.

Actually, I did once pay a garage to hook up my car. They told me it would cost whatever money to diagnose the issue, but that would be taken off the final bill if I did get the job done.

But €50 to do a quick diagnostic check?
Not a chance. As I said, if I hired them to fix a problem, I don't pay them extra for tools they would use as a matter if course.
Next there will be a €5 tire kicking fee.

edit:
So if I brought my car to the mechanic and he charges €50 an hour and he'd spend an hour doing diagnostic work before fixing the problem, I'd be OK with that. Maybe we're arguing over semantics. But I'm not happy about it as a separate, additional fee.

barneygumble99

The reason we charge €50 or whatever the rate is to run diagnostics, and not do them for free, is to stop misers coming in getting free diagnostics and then becoming a YouTube/google mechanic on their own driveway and replacing whatever part was identified during diagnostics.
Why would a mechanic do diagnostic work for half an hour at no charge only for the customer to turn around and say ‘I’ll come back to you another day’.

Genuine question, how many people would expect a mechanic to do a free diagnostic check and tell the customer what needs to be replaced, especially a part that could be sourced and replaced by someone in their driveway?

listermint

barneygumble99 wrote: »

The reason we charge €50 or whatever the rate is to run diagnostics, and not do them for free, is to stop misers coming in getting free diagnostics and then becoming a YouTube/google mechanic on their own driveway and replacing whatever part was identified during diagnostics.
Why would a mechanic do diagnostic work for half an hour at no charge only for the customer to turn around and say ‘I’ll come back to you another day’.

Genuine question, how many people would expect a mechanic to do a free diagnostic check and tell the customer what needs to be replaced, especially a part that could be sourced and replaced by someone in their driveway?

Misers can do that with a Bluetooth dongle so that puts to rest that tbh.

The reason it's done is because it was brought it to pay for your software originally and you've never dropped it.

Simple as that

monkeysnapper

I've been using my independent garage for as long as I've lived here 1999 , at the risk of sounding smug I've always believed in loyalty and paying for good service ( excuse the pun)

And my garage would never charge me for diagnostic s and even in past didn't charge me for small jobs as a loyal customer , he has given me good advice on when to bin cars and when to spend extra to keep good car going .

I have also in past rounded garage bill up or bought a box of buns for lads , kissing some serious ass .

I'm suprised more people don't adopt same .

Find a good garage ..... Hang on to that baby ..

bhob

khaldrogo wrote: »

bhob wrote:

So €270 for front brake pads + discs is reasonable when you can buy really good ones for €90 online? Aren't inner tie rods about €12 a pop, so €220 for 2 of them plus labour that's expected?

Do you think tesco pay 2.50 for a box of cornflakes?

Everything is cheap online, until the YouTube mechanic fcuks up something while trying to fit your online parts

What do cornflakes and youtube have to do with a garage trying to charge nearly €400 in labour for 1-2 hours work, especially when the work they're doing is on the same part of the car, both front wheels?

Rodin

bhob wrote: »

So €270 for front brake pads + discs is reasonable when you can buy really good ones for €90 online? Aren't inner tie rods about €12 a pop, so €220 for 2 of them plus labour that's expected?

2 discs and 4 pads for 90 euro?
Where?

Labour definitely needs added too though.

Car up, wheel off, caliper unscrewed, old disc off without damaging hub. New disc on, pads into place in caliper. Caliper secured and wheel back. Repeat on other side.

bhob

Rodin wrote: »

bhob wrote: »

So €270 for front brake pads + discs is reasonable when you can buy really good ones for €90 online? Aren't inner tie rods about €12 a pop, so €220 for 2 of them plus labour that's expected?

2 discs and 4 pads for 90 euro?
Where?

Labour definitely needs added too though.

Car up, wheel off, caliper unscrewed, old disc off without damaging hub. New disc on, pads into place in caliper. Caliper secured and wheel back. Repeat on other side.

www.mister-auto.ie 
TRW brake pad set and TRW discs, they have an online discount too so works out at €85 and there are also cheaper options working out at around €65 for pads + discs

Toyotafanboi

There's really no use in comparing the price of parts sourced online to the price a mechanic will charge for supply and fit.

It's like someone said earlier, TESCO don't pay €2.50 for a box of cornflakes.

dr.fuzzenstein

barneygumble99 wrote: »

The reason we charge €50 or whatever the rate is to run diagnostics, and not do them for free, is to stop misers coming in getting free diagnostics and then becoming a YouTube/google mechanic on their own driveway and replacing whatever part was identified during diagnostics.
Why would a mechanic do diagnostic work for half an hour at no charge only for the customer to turn around and say ‘I’ll come back to you another day’.

Genuine question, how many people would expect a mechanic to do a free diagnostic check and tell the customer what needs to be replaced, especially a part that could be sourced and replaced by someone in their driveway?

Well, misers and YouTube mechanics such as myself run their own diagnostic.
With that I managed to diagnose a faulty clock spring for the airbag in a Polo, the ABS on my Cmax, the turbo on my new Cmax and another million things.
The people that come in and want you to diagnose something so they can fix it, you should not charge them, that way they'll come back to you when they invariably fcuk it up and now it'll cost ten times as much.

Back on point, if I had a fault light in my car and had no clue, if I brought it to the garage and said "here, fix this", I would be a tiny but miffed if I saw €50 laptop fee on top if the hourly rate.
My wife's Chevy Spark (if you can call that a car) had a check engine light. We brought it to the garage, they diagnosed and fixed the lambda sensor.
We paid for materials and the mechanics time and I would have been disappointed to see an extra €50 on that bill.

bhob

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

There's really no use in comparing the price of parts sourced online to the price a mechanic will charge for supply and fit.

It's like someone said earlier, TESCO don't pay €2.50 for a box of cornflakes.

So like i said to the other poster, it's ok to charge €400 on labour for inner tie rods and bakes and pads for a job that would be done in less than 2 hours?

bucketybuck

I think the OP should listen to all the youtube experts in this thread, ignore the advice from the scam artist garage and drive the car on because obviously if it was tested 6 months ago it must be fine today.

And those garages shouldn't be charging for their services anyway, who do they think they are, some kind of business or something?

Listen to the doctor with the chip on his shoulder OP, just run the car until it collapses and then do the work yourself, its all easy work and anybody could do it.

bucketybuck

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

and had no clue

If?

dr.fuzzenstein

bucketybuck wrote: »

If?

When

khaldrogo

dr.fuzzenstein wrote:

And really, diagnostic costs €5 for a dongle and that's it. My German Cmax had some turbo trouble and needed a new one. Plus it had some various electric codes that I put right. I was constantly hooking it up to check. Had I paid a garage for that it would have cost several grand. It's the new upper winkie valve. "Yeah mate, that'll cost a few hundred quid, can't drive it like that"

A diagnostic fee is not about covering the cost of the computer, its about having a qualified, experienced person interpret the information.

You put your dongle on your car and it says 'OSR ABS signal implausible' and you hop off to your local motor factors and get your ABS sensor and whack it in with your Halford tool set. Fault is still there!!!!

The experienced mechanic knew that the pick up on the wheel bearing on those models are the issue, but sure you're nearly like a qualified mechanic yourself because you've got a dongle.

swarlb

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Garages should be hooking up diagnostic as a matter of course. It's a tool if their job.
I know the answer already "but bejaysis dem things cosht a lot of money, they have to make it back!"
Invalid argument. What does a hydraulic lift cost? Do garages say "yeah, we'll have to stick it on a lift, that'll be €50 lifting fee"
I never once paid any garage to hook up diagnostics, it's part of their job.
It's the same as headlight alignment. When Tue NCT first failed cars for it, suddenly it cost €20. Now they throw it in for free.

And really, diagnostic costs €5 for a dongle and that's it.
My German Cmax had some turbo trouble and needed a new one. Plus it had some various electric codes that I put right. I was constantly hooking it up to check. Had I paid a garage for that it would have cost several grand.
It's the new upper winkie valve. "Yeah mate, that'll cost a few hundred quid, can't drive it like that"

We had a 2012 Golf 1.6 diesel in recently. Running rough, and with a smell of diesel. A quick inspection revealed that the bolt which secures a clamp had sheared. This clamp holds down 2 injectors. As this bolt is screwed into the cyl head, all 4 injectors had to come out, in order to see if it was possible to removed the broken section of bolt. Getting diesel injectors out is not the easiest of jobs in any case, and of course while 2 came out easily enough, a third with a bit of effort, naturally the forth would not budge. Taking out this type of injector means unscrewing the top of the injector, and screwing in a tool, which is then slide hammered out of place. Finally when the head was revealed, the bolt that had sheared was too far down in the head to be removed in place, so the head needed to come off, be sent to a specialist who would remove it for us.
Plus as one injector had already popped loose when the bolt sheared, it had been damaged as it was moving within the slot in the head. These injectors are not cheap, regardless of whether you buy them 'online' or not.
Have a guess how long it might take to remove 4 injectors, a cylinder head, and then take onto account what is involved in replacing them, and then try to equate that with the cost of the bolt that broke (about 2 Euro), and how you explain the final cost to the customer, bearing in mind that as far as they were concerned, the car was 'running a bit rough' but was still driving.
You seem to have a fair knowledge of cars, and what it takes to fix them. At the moment we are actually looking for a decent mechanic.... would you like the job ?

Toyotafanboi

bhob wrote: »

So like i said to the other poster, it's ok to charge €400 on labour for inner tie rods and bakes and pads for a job that would be done in less than 2 hours?

How did you arrive at the €400 figure? How did you arrive at that labour time?

khaldrogo

dr.fuzzenstein wrote:

edit: So if I brought my car to the mechanic and he charges €50 an hour and he'd spend an hour doing diagnostic work before fixing the problem, I'd be OK with that. Maybe we're arguing over semantics. But I'm not happy about it as a separate, additional fee.

So, if you brought your car to the mech and he diagnosed an issue but you didn't want him to fix it, that is free?

khaldrogo

bhob wrote:

What do cornflakes and youtube have to do with a garage trying to charge nearly €400 in labour for 1-2 hours work, especially when the work they're doing is on the same part of the car, both front wheels?

It was in reply to the poster suggesting they can get parts cheaper somewhere else. Did you not read all the posts????

khaldrogo

Rodin wrote:

Car up, wheel off, caliper unscrewed, old disc off without damaging hub. New disc on, pads into place in caliper. Caliper secured and wheel back. Repeat on other side.

You missed a step or two there...

khaldrogo

bhob wrote:

So like i said to the other poster, it's ok to charge €400 on labour for inner tie rods and bakes and pads for a job that would be done in less than 2 hours?

You wouldn't get much change out of 400 for 2 hrs of a sparkies time, without any parts fitted. Don't see many threads online about that.

A Doctor is 60e for as little as 15mins sometimes. That's 240 an hr, without parts.

bhob

khaldrogo wrote: »

bhob wrote:

So like i said to the other poster, it's ok to charge €400 on labour for inner tie rods and bakes and pads for a job that would be done in less than 2 hours?

You wouldn't get much change out of 400 for 2 hrs of a sparkies time, without any parts fitted. Don't see many threads online about that.

A Doctor is 60e for as little as 15mins sometimes. That's 240 an hr, without parts.

What is it with people on here making bizarre comparisons, first we had cornflakes to car parts and now we have doctors to mechanics.

You asked how i arrived at the €400 figure for labour, it's probably more to be honest. The total for brakes, pads, wipers and diagnostics was €615. The parts for that stuff wouldn't cost a total of €215 and if a mechanic cannot do all that in less than 2 hours then there's something wrong

Toyotafanboi

bhob wrote: »

What is it with people on here making bizarre comparisons, first we had cornflakes to car parts and now we have doctors to mechanics.

You asked how i arrived at the €400 figure for labour, it's probably more to be honest. The total for brakes, pads, wipers and diagnostics was €615. The parts for that stuff wouldn't cost a total of €215 and if a mechanic cannot do all that in less than 2 hours then there's something wrong

It was actually me who asked that.

You're basically making numbers up.

khaldrogo

bhob wrote:

What is it with people on here making bizarre comparisons, first we had cornflakes to car parts and now we have doctors to mechanics.

A doctor diagnoses and treats a human. A mechanic diagnoses and treats a car.

Not a bizarre comparison.

Comparing a mechanic to an opera singer, now that's a bizarre comparison.

the_pen_turner

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

The lift costs money, so does the building.
So do the tools.
Mechanics need training in the first place, otherwise they'd just be monkeys with wrenches. As a mechanic, you'd be expected to keep up with technologically and constantly keep learning. I know I do, otherwise I'd be sh*t at my job.
The €50 hookup fee is bullsh*t. I don't pay a separate lift, screwdriver or toilet break fee.
That is why mechanics charge an hourly rate. So it is not work for free.
But you know what? When I pick my car up, the guy at reception will tell me what was wrong and what was done. Is that work for free? Better charge €50 for it

As in IT tech I need to call to customers and hook my laptop up to network switches. Sometimes several of them.
Do I say to them "that's €50 a pop"?. No, it's called doing my job.
Does that laptop cost money and did I need training? You bet it does and yes I did.

I guess it's how it's formulated that galls me. Take my job again. If a customer wants diagnostic, ÜT will cost him x amount of euromoney an hour.
If I said instead" yeah, that'll be €50 bucks to hook up a laptop ", they'd be pissed and rightly so.

Actually, I did once pay a garage to hook up my car. They told me it would cost whatever money to diagnose the issue, but that would be taken off the final bill if I did get the job done.

But €50 to do a quick diagnostic check?
Not a chance. As I said, if I hired them to fix a problem, I don't pay them extra for tools they would use as a matter if course.
Next there will be a €5 tire kicking fee.

edit:
So if I brought my car to the mechanic and he charges €50 an hour and he'd spend an hour doing diagnostic work before fixing the problem, I'd be OK with that. Maybe we're arguing over semantics. But I'm not happy about it as a separate, additional fee.

you want this included in with the rest of the over heads.
the garage has decided that that machine, updates, operater and training etc is worth 65 a go to them.

if half the cars comming into the garage need it then they pay for the service they get.
if its put into overheads everyone pays 32.50 whether they need it or not.
would you have a problem with that

bhob

khaldrogo wrote: »

A doctor diagnoses and treats a human. A mechanic diagnoses and treats a car.

Not a bizarre comparison.

Comparing a mechanic to an opera singer, now that's a bizarre comparison.

In order to be a doctor you need to do the leaving cert and get close to 600 points. You then need to go to college for 6-8 years.

To be a mechanic you don't even need to finish school.

The human body compared to a car is is about a billion times more complicated.

The last time i went to the doctor I had an issue with my back, during that visit I was able to ask the doctor regarding a number of other issues I had, think it was a total of 4 that required a different instrument to check each time. I wasn't charged for each additional thing I asked the doctor to look at.

I was already paying for a full car service, so to ask for an additional €65 to plug in a computer and read it is extortionate.

So yes your comparison is bizarre. I hope you aren't a mechanic and think you're just like a doctor except for cars because that's just embarrassing.

EPAndlee

I love these threads. It's always the same lads with their 5 euro obd dongles,dirt cheap spurious parts and 5 years experience as a Google mechanic that say all working mechanics providing a service to the public are ripping everyone off. You'll always hear the 'nct is a money racket' from them too

the_pen_turner

bhob wrote: »

In order to be a doctor you need to do the leaving cert and get close to 600 points. You then need to go to college for 6-8 years.

To be a mechanic you don't even need to finish school.

The human body compared to a car is is about a billion times more complicated.

The last time i went to the doctor I had an issue with my back, during that visit I was able to ask the doctor regarding a number of other issues I had, think it was a total of 4 that required a different instrument to check each time. I wasn't charged for each additional thing I asked the doctor to look at.

I was already paying for a full car service, so to ask for an additional €65 to plug in a computer and read it is extortionate.

So yes your comparison is bizarre. I hope you aren't a mechanic and think you're just like a doctor except for cars because that's just embarrassing.

but a service is a very specific list of parts and consumables that need changing and servicing.

running a diagnostic check is about finding whats causing a problem.

Del2005

bhob wrote: »

In order to be a doctor you need to do the leaving cert and get close to 600 points. You then need to go to college for 6-8 years.

To be a mechanic you don't even need to finish school.

The human body compared to a car is is about a billion times more complicated.

The last time i went to the doctor I had an issue with my back, during that visit I was able to ask the doctor regarding a number of other issues I had, think it was a total of 4 that required a different instrument to check each time. I wasn't charged for each additional thing I asked the doctor to look at.

I was already paying for a full car service, so to ask for an additional €65 to plug in a computer and read it is extortionate.

So yes your comparison is bizarre. I hope you aren't a mechanic and think you're just like a doctor except for cars because that's just embarrassing.

How much does your doctor charge for taking blood? Because that is closer to running diagnostics on a car than having a few things checked in a doctors surgery.


I went to my doctor with a dodgy knee and I got sent for a diagnostic, I paid €250 for an MRI. Should that have been free as the clinic has the machine and staff already trained?

newmember2

OP, bring your car somewhere else and get a second opinion.

/thread

bucketybuck

bhob wrote: »

To be a mechanic you don't even need to finish school.

Actually you do need to have completed the 4 year apprenticeship programme and be considered qualified to be employed by most dealers.

Sure any moron can pretend to be a mechanic with their dongle and their Lidl screwdriver set working from their shed, but then the same is true of doctors.

the_pen_turner

Del2005 wrote: »

How much does your doctor charge for taking blood? Because that is closer to running diagnostics on a car than having a few things checked in a doctors surgery.


I went to my doctor with a dodgy knee and I got sent for a diagnostic, I paid €250 for an MRI. Should that have been free as the clinic has the machine and staff already trained?

exactly the same happened to me.
went to doc, sent for physio for months
doc sent me to specialist. 250 for 5 minutes moving my knee. then surgery.

dr.fuzzenstein

khaldrogo wrote: »

So, if you brought your car to the mech and he diagnosed an issue but you didn't want him to fix it, that is free?

I've been to a couple of mechanics on unrelated busines and my check engine light was on.
Most of them said "hang on, I'll check that while you're there". The tire place didn't even ask, they just checked.
Of course I paid them to do other work at the time. It took them 5 minutes and I wasn't charged for it.
I would not expect to arrive at my mechanic and ask him to do it for free, if that sounds mad coming from me.

But:
If I had a check engine light or an ABS light and I brought my car to the garage and the mechanic would first charge me for an hours work and then, for the same hour an additional €50, I would definitely put that into the uncool category.
Of course if you can get away with double and triple charging, go for it.
You gotta make it while you can.
You will find that business is dwindling as diagnostic software and hardware become ever cheaper.
Plus, anyone who has diagnostic gear will be asked by every Tom, Dick and Harry to check out their car.
So if garages insist to charge a separate fee, ON TOP of labour charges, they'll find business falling off.