Mechanic charged me for a simple check and not a service

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170079#Comment_123170079

Ok, that last paragraph is a HUGE assumption. 🤣

I'm not a mechanic and if you looked through my posts, you'd see I've bashed main dealer service departments for their shoddy workmanship and service. Whether you think (assume?) this mechanic earned their piddling €60 or not, the OP says that they did an oil check and "other things". We're taking that at face value.

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170114#Comment_123170114

It is a huge assumption, but I would say not too far off!

What is an oil check? a dipstick check? what other things?

And is €60 euro piddling money these days? for some thats not far off a whole days wage (after tax!)

W123-80's

I think the mechanic was entitled to charge for his time, his training, his expertise, his tools, his staff and his workshop. Having said that if you build a relationship with a decent indy chances are small checks like that won't be charged overtime as the business will be coming their way anyway. Thats my experience anyway.

I have a passing knowledge of motor mechanics but zero practical skills or tools.

From a maintenance perspective I have used the same format for over 20 years now. I keep it very simple.

1. Find a decent and reliable indy mechanic. I am going to my current guy over 12 years. Great service, happy to talk through potential solutions etc.
2. I take a note of the mileage on the car the day I buy it.
3. As a rule of thumb I have my car serviced every 10k kms from there on. Full service.
4. I document all work done in the service booklet to include the mileage and date the work was carried out, any parts replaced, dates tyres were replaced etc
5. This allows me monitor how long tyres last and how long other wear and tear parts last.
6. Other maintenance is monitored and carried out as required.

Some people will say servicing that frequently is overkill. For me I think its money well spent. In the overall scheme of motoring costs I think a full service is relatively good value and money well spent. It's peace of mind and improves the longevity of the engine for a small preventative outlay of cash.

If you are only doing 3,000km per annum I would still have the car serviced annually. Again, maybe overkill but for the relatively small cost of a service I think its money well spent once a year.

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170132#Comment_123170132

It's miles off. It's not hard to tell that most people here are car owners primarily and some have varying degrees of experience working on their own cars. But that doesn't make them professional mechanics. But if you want to maintain that position, list the users here who you think are professional mechanics and I'm sure they'll be along to confirm it for you.

Yes, what "other things"? The op hasn't specified, so we're left to guess some of the items that would be checked. Like fluid checks - coolant, brakes, oils. Brake pads and tyres. Air filter condition. Light bulbs, indicators etc.

If you own a car, €60 isn't even a fuel fill these days let alone a mechanical check over. My last ICE car would routinely cost ~€500 for a service. Never seemed to get out of there for less. Yet the same jokers never replaced the glow plugs and I ended up with a blocked DPF and EGR valves that I had to pay (someone else) to clean for me.

So yeah, for a car owner, €60 is peanuts.

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170140#Comment_123170140

Agree completely, I get my car serviced every year no matter what mileage, had an older car in the past that got oil change twice a year..

Completely agree with "I think the mechanic was entitled to charge for his time, his training, his expertise, his tools, his staff and his workshop." - If he did what he said he did thoroughly, most ppl just have to blindly accept what mechanics say.. no comeback in most cases

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170184#Comment_123170184

Love the pun 'its miles off' :) anyway lets not get pedantic and off topic..It seems we are allowed to make assumptions here!

The OP hasnt specified the other things, and in fairness he might not even know himself?

No 60 isnt even a full fuel tank, not sure what this has got to do with it? But at least €60 of fuel will last a few hours of driving!

NewClareman

Maybe he was going to use a block (or two) and a block(s) of wood!

If I asked for an oil change I would have expected it to be done..

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170207#Comment_123170207

The point about the fuel fill was that this is the minimum expense a car owner will face and it's usually more than the quoted fee from that mechanic. Your contention that this could be a large expense for some people is true, but not if you own a car where such expenses are as routine as filling up.

The OP might not know, but since they clearly specified "other things that they could have done themselves" points to the mechanic detailing these "other things" which would be expected. Can't really see them handing over an invoice and not explaining what it's for. And if that were the case, you'd expect the customer to insist on an explanation.

To me, the OP had an expectation of work to be done without actually specifying it. So it seems not to be exclusively about the money rather than the gap between expectation and reality. And that's a communication issue.

User1998

I imagine OP could have easily said “No thank you, I’d like you to waive the €60 charge and change the oil & filter regardless of mileage and charge me accordingly” and all would have been sorted.

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170252#Comment_123170252

All very true.. not saying its a large expense for a car, but also not saying that €60 is 'piddling' money either!

If he got what the mechanic said he did and it was thorough, then yeah Id agree its fine..

BUT, the mechanic saying the oil was fine for 7k km, and the OP does 3k per year, then thats not OK. But only if he told mechanic this :)

My issue was not with the mechanic really, my issue was with alot of posters responses - ppl jumping to defend the mechanic based on very little information and making a lot of assumptions

Blindly accepting the mechanic was honest, that they spent 30 minutes+ on this, their advise was 100% accurate (when TBH their is no comeback so they dont really care :) etc etc as if no mechanics were cowboys..

CMOTDibbler

If the mechanic was a cowboy, they'd have polished up the oil filter, cleaned off the air filter box and charged the guy for a full "service" and he wouldn't have been the wiser.

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170363#Comment_123170363

OR if he was a cowboy he could have just done a dipstick oil check and nothing else and charged him 60 for a 2 sec job!

My point is we dont know.. most likely he did a fine job, however something caused the OP to question the mechanic..

And posters jumping to the defend the mechanic, when really they dont know, to me is wrong!

Alot of ppl ,I know, and have said on this thread they do the service themsleves, the obvious reason for this is too save money, and the OP asked advise on how to go about this cause if it can be done yourself sure why not?

Another reason ppl state for doing this is at least they will know it has been done right!

fatbhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170045#Comment_123170045

The price charged of €60 is very reasonable. From your op, it seems you don't think so. Maybe explain why you think their time would be worth less in your opinion?

So the garage/mechanic €60 for 30 minutes work. What would the mechanic himself be paid for that 30 minutes, does anyone know? I guess it depends on whether they own the business or are just working there. I know that there are overheads to be paid too, although I'd imagine that they're not huge for in a garage business.

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170372#Comment_123170372

I challenge you to open your bonnet and check the dipstick in two seconds. 🤣

I would suggest that calling somebody a cowboy for charging €60 is a bit of a stretch. Even if he did the bare minimum and took ten minutes to do it, his time is still worth money. Too many people seem to think that expertise is not worth paying for because "I could have done it myself".

But again, we're getting hung up on the money. I don't think this is the issue. To me it's simply a communications problem.

My point is we dont know.. most likely he did a fine job, however something caused the OP to question the mechanic..

We know what caused him to question the mechanic (although he clearly didn't actually question him). He expected a service to be done and the mechanic had a look and advised him he could wait until the car reached the service interval.

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170401#Comment_123170401

OK 2 secs is a stretch, but you know what I mean :)

Im not getting hung up on the money, Ive outlined my main issue with the replies and has little to do with money..

Larbre34

You're paying for his time, at his rates.

30 mins at €120 p/h is very typical.

Maybe learn to find your own car's service intervals

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170401#Comment_123170401

Not good enough:

"We know what caused him to question the mechanic (although he clearly didn't actually question him). He expected a service to be done and the mechanic had a look and advised him he could wait until the car reached the service interval."

If the mechanic said it is good for 7k km, without asking the customer how may KM they do per year, as in this case the OP does 3k km per year, that would be over 2 years until the oil needs to be changed based on the advise from the mechanic!! Plus when was the last oil change, as some ppl have said here the service interval could be 15k km, so if the OP already did 8k km, this is nearing 3 yrs since last oil change, based on mechanics advise the OP would not change oil for 5 yrs!!

Definitely miscommunication on both sides

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170433#Comment_123170433

We don't know how much mileage he does for a year. You're making an assumption based on nothing other than the length of time from the last service and an assumed service interval. Service interval for a Kia Rio is 15k for petrol and 30k for diesel. We don't know which it is, but even at the lower 15k, he's done 8k in 18 months, which is about 5.5k a year. If it's the diesel, then that changes to over 15k a year. Also the mechanic clearly knew what mileage they were doing because according to the OP they had sight of the service record from which they arrived at the 7k remaining on the service interval.

And yes, it's accepted that an oil change should be done annually or at the service interval, whichever comes first. OP should have specified that they required one, but clearly didn't. And they still could have insisted when collecting the car, but didn't.

Most of the issues here seem to come back to communication. Not sure why the mechanic is being blamed for lack of communication as they clearly stated what was done and why. It's up to the customer to challenge that if they don't agree.

MossyTracks

I understand the lack of communication angle as it might sound like that, but with picking up the car after working hours and being there for a full day, I did ask for a service and they did ack that at the time. I have no idea what I was charged for. Yeah, I could get all agro about it but I only fail here as they clearly do not care. I was dumbfounded when they told me and one thing I did ask them to check, they only did during the call. They've lost business from one customer, which might only be a few hundred a year, but multiply that for a customer and losing the word of mouth. Maybe they don't care…well for them. Maybe I'm better off in the long run as well as I like the confidence that something done what you asked as per the communication request.

The money is only one aspect of my concern. Now I carry the stress of knowing if another year without an oil change is bad for my engine. What else was skipped from the service I asked…a spark plug near it's end. I get my car service under the guise that I can live stress free until the next service (providing nothing ad-hoc goes wrong) as I try to look after my vehicle. If I stick with them and I do get what is termed a "service", would I trust that they did a full service or partial service. Do I need go through an itemized list and be pedantic.

Maybe post-Covid people stopped caring. I notice restaurant service has gone to the dogs in so many areas. But that's another topic (restau"rant")!

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170585#Comment_123170585

I had read the thread this morning, and I think the OP or at least another poster mentioned 3k km a year, apologies if Im wrong..

And the OP just pointed out the car was collected at end of day, after the car being there all day, so quite difficult to ask them to do an oil change then, when they explicitly asked for an oil change - would involve organising another visit, time off work and all that lark.. I assume OP asked for an oil change as it was due to length of time, however for some reason the mechanic didnt do this!!

Yes ppl should be aware of service intervals but as we all know some people aint. But the mechanic saying out right it should be fine for 7k km, is wrong, their is context there..

Seems communication breakdown is on the mechanic!

@OP if the last oil change was more then 1 yr ago then it should be change

boardsdotie44

@MossyTracks this can all be cleared up fully if you could answer a few q's:

1. When was the last oil change?
2. Is this the same mechanic you have been using all the time? i.e. did they do the last service?
3. How many km do you do a yr?

CMOTDibbler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123171473#Comment_123171473

Having read the OPs latest post, I've had enough of this. It's a drip drip of information and contradictions. In the first post they specifically said the mechanic said they'd checked the oil and some unspecified other things. In the latest post they now say there was no communication.

That's enough for me.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170079#Comment_123170079

I know one thing the mechanic did not do. I know that he did not perform an oil change that in his professional experience was not needed. He would have gotten paid for it, but he professionally advised the customer correctly despite that.

So thats one thing we know he didn't do, one piece of evidence from the OP that indicates that he is an honest man.

You on the other hand can offer nothing to say he wasn't honest. Absolutely nothing.

The irony is that you keep blowing on about "assumptions" while your own posts are nothing but assumptions from top to bottom.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123170857#Comment_123170857

You are literally complaining about a mechanic trying to do the right thing by you, even when it costs him money.

Its just the worst kind of customer, convinced they are right even when they themselves know that they don't know anything about the job.

corks finest

dealer- vac pump

Halfords for Jack etc

corks finest

I use the vac pump for 2 oil changes

3rd one I use it and then drain remainder from the sump

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123171895#Comment_123171895

lol.. you know everything… Cant argue with that!

You have trust issues lol

boardsdotie44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123171902#Comment_123171902

So funny this comment.. how do you know. maybe the mechanic had too many jobs on that day he didnt have time to do it.. I know I know.. no mechanic would ever do something like that..

Boils my blood the gullibility of ppl… Im not saying in this case that the mechanic did anyting wrong, but to not question anything is just bizarre..

ppl can be sooooooo stupid

boardsdotie44

At this stage, as the OP didnt reply to my specific questions, Ive had enough

BUT, the responses leave alot to be desired.. jumping to defence of the mechanic is beyond belief..

Just shows ppl accept what they are told, dont question anything and just get fobbed off, seems to be acceptable..

In some cases this is what 'professionals' expect, so they get away with it!

User1998

Realistically the mechanic probably should have called OP and confirmed with them that he doesn’t really think its due a service and should have given OP the option of cancelling the service or continuing with it. And should have given a price over the phone for both options. Because realistically an oil and filter change probably isn’t going to be any more than €120 depending on the car so you’d nearly rather just spend the extra €60 and get it done at that point. I don’t think the mechanic took advantage of them at all tho.