Supplying own parts for service

Darragh29 · 10-01-2009 11:58PM

Avns1s wrote: »

I didn't really expect you would.

Darragh, I really think you'd want to take life (and this thread just a little less seriously.

You probably wouldn't be able to identify with this, but to some people this is a serious problem for their business.

Avns1s · 11-01-2009 12:09AM

Darragh29 wrote: »

You probably wouldn't be able to identify with this, but to some people this is a serious problem for their business.

I can identify with it perfectly.

I work on cars admittedly as a sideline, rather than my core business. In relation to the cars, I will work on a car on whatever basis someone is prepared to pay me appropriately for it.

Similarly in my other business, whatever the client wants, I'll do it provided I can make money from it.

One of my family runs a very successful garage, and he runs it on the basis of labour being what he is providing. He charges on his labour. Anything he makes on parts is a bonus, but he isn't fixated on it. He has a successful business because he is flexible. Because of his approach, his clients trust him totally. He will supply parts for those who want them and he will fit parts for those who want to supply their own.

There is no hard and fast model is the point I'm making ,and those that supply what the market wants will survive. Those who become fixated on their own ideal won't survive and the same principle applies to any business!

Darragh29 · 11-01-2009 12:24AM

Avns1s wrote: »

I can identify with it perfectly.

I work on cars admittedly as a sideline, rather than my core business. In relation to the cars, I will work on a car on whatever basis someone is prepared to pay me appropriately for it.

Similarly in my other business, whatever the client wants, I'll do it provided I can make money from it.

One of my family runs a very successful garage, and he runs it on the basis of labour being what he is providing. He charges on his labour. Anything he makes on parts is a bonus, but he isn't fixated on it. He has a successful business because he is flexible. Because of his approach, his clients trust him totally. He will supply parts for those who want them and he will fit parts for those who want to supply their own.

There is no hard and fast model is the point I'm making ,and those that supply what the market wants will survive. Those who become fixated on their own ideal won't survive and the same principle applies to any business!

In my experience, once you start letting customers dictate things like who buys parts, it's usually the thin end of the wedge. It's human nature to take advantage and I can say for a certainty that people will take advantage of you if you let them dictate to you how you run your business.

The way I operated my business was on the basis of complete honesty. I once had a customer come into me with a loose starter motor on a 206, I quoted him 260 Euro to replace it on the basis that it was worn and the starter motor had to be replaced. As it turned out, it was just loose and I ended up charging him 20 Euro to resolve the issue for him and he couldn't get over how I was being so honest with him, but that is how I operate.

If someone wants to bring their own parts, it is just sending out a message that either (A) they don't trust you to get the right parts, as we've seen from a previous poster here, or (B) they want to take money out of your pocket.

If they fall into category (A) or (B), I don't want their business, it's as simple as that. It's obviously easy to run a different type of operation when it is a side earner and you don't have overheads to worry about. When it's a legitimate business that has rent, rates, and expensive equipment to finance, it's a completely different story.

metricspaces · 11-01-2009 12:47AM

Darragh29 wrote: »

In my experience, once you start letting customers dictate things like who buys parts, it's usually the thin end of the wedge. It's human nature to take advantage and I can say for a certainty that people will take advantage of you if you let them dictate to you how you run your business.

The way I operated my business was on the basis of complete honesty. I once had a customer come into me with a loose starter motor on a 206, I quoted him 260 Euro to replace it on the basis that it was worn and the starter motor had to be replaced. As it turned out, it was just loose and I ended up charging him 20 Euro to resolve the issue for him and he couldn't get over how I was being so honest with him, but that is how I operate.

If someone wants to bring their own parts, it is just sending out a message that either (A) they don't trust you to get the right parts, as we've seen from a previous poster here, or (B) they want to take money out of your pocket.

If they fall into category (A) or (B), I don't want their business, it's as simple as that. It's obviously easy to run a different type of operation when it is a side earner and you don't have overheads to worry about. When it's a legitimate business that has rent, rates, and expensive equipment to finance, it's a completely different story.

...what about (c) the consumer is over charged for parts in Ireland and would rather source the precise same parts from the precise same manufacture elsewhere at a cheaper price.

It's a reasonable thing for a consumer to want to do. Similarly, a lot of people in Ireland now buy their tyres online because we pay too much in Ireland.

Surely a mechanics main job is to diagnose the problem and then do the work, not find the parts. I would have thought that supplying the parts to a mechanic would be beneficial to him also - he doesn't have to spend time running around to get the parts.

I understand your point about a quote you provide to the customer on the assumption that you are sourcing the parts is based on you getting a discount for buying the parts.

But I don't think any consumer would have a problem with what you explained very clearly in a previous post, that the cost of your labour would be a bit higher if someone supplied the parts themselves due to the fact that you were including a discount for parts in your original quote.

Fishtits · 11-01-2009 01:29AM

Unfortunately modern motorists don't understand the technology behind their steeds.

Take for example replacing rear brake pads in a late model Passat.

It requires a computer interface that costs silly money,

Hard times ahead....

maidhc · 11-01-2009 01:36AM

metricspaces wrote: »

Surely a mechanics main job is to diagnose the problem and then do the work, not find the parts. I would have thought that supplying the parts to a mechanic would be beneficial to him also - he doesn't have to spend time running around to get the parts.

The mechanics job is to fix the problem. To give you an example. My parents have an avensis missing 5th gear. My mechanic is going to do the job. He said a) getting the gearbox reconditioned would be a waste of money and b) some avensis gearboxes a better than other ones (either the older or newer versions), and he would source one of those.

The same man asked me to price a few places for flywheels when it had to be done to my own car, and likewise I bought a part for a diesel pump for him to fit a few years ago. But on all those occasions he was telling me what to buy, I was not offering him something from a Quintin Hazel box.

Darragh29 · 11-01-2009 01:36AM

metricspaces wrote: »

But I don't think any consumer would have a problem with what you explained very clearly in a previous post, that the cost of your labour would be a bit higher if someone supplied the parts themselves due to the fact that you were including a discount for parts in your original quote.

You would think so, but you'd be accused of being the biggest robbing bast*rd on the planet!

I just don't think it works, if you have a customer who goes off and buys a set of cheap discs and pads off E Bay and you fit them and they are shuddering after a week, the customer will simply not expect you to charge them again for their "misfortune".

You also have customers who buy the wrong part and you have more time wasting and cars stuck on lifts when they should be at home in someone's driveway, etc. Again, money down the drain and other business lost.

To be honest, I wouldn't have a huge inherent problem with it all the time, there would be rare circumstances where I would run with it, but the people who usually try this are taxi drivers, who are just too fu*king miserable to let you make any money on parts and the same c*nts would drive you to a Garda station if you left them short a Euro on a fare.

Terrontress · 11-01-2009 11:02AM

I think that where the customer has taken enough interest to specify a part, for whatever reason, and the mechanic will not facilitate this then they are going to push the customer into the arms of the Haynes manual.

This would result in the customer doing a lot of the smaller jobs themselves, which are a good source of income to the average garage.

After being messed about by an Audi franchised garage recently, I did a job with a friend. Audi were quoting €170 and I bought the part from Audi parts for €20 and we did the job in about 20 minutes. I have kept the receipt to show that Audi parts have been used. It was a simple job, changing the door strap, and I had left the car to them for a day and they simply hadn't done it so I gave it a shot myself with a friend who has the correct Torx screwdrivers. €150 taken out of the Audi system.

Upshot, I am going to try to do each simple job myself from now on.

metricspaces · 11-01-2009 11:54AM

Terrontress wrote: »

I think that where the customer has taken enough interest to specify a part, for whatever reason, and the mechanic will not facilitate this then they are going to push the customer into the arms of the Haynes manual.

This would result in the customer doing a lot of the smaller jobs themselves, which are a good source of income to the average garage.

After being messed about by an Audi franchised garage recently, I did a job with a friend. Audi were quoting €170 and I bought the part from Audi parts for €20 and we did the job in about 20 minutes. I have kept the receipt to show that Audi parts have been used. It was a simple job, changing the door strap, and I had left the car to them for a day and they simply hadn't done it so I gave it a shot myself with a friend who has the correct Torx screwdrivers. €150 taken out of the Audi system.

Upshot, I am going to try to do each simple job myself from now on.

This is precisely the situation where I think a mechanic should have no problem with the customer supplying the parts.

You have a customer buying genuine Audi parts with a receipt to prove it.

A customer who is interested in their car would know just as much, if not more, about the parts relevant for their car than the mechanic would.

Getting the correct part is as simple as specifying your chassis number to the parts department. So if a customer could get the part wrong, then it is no different for the mechanic.

Also, in addition to specifying the chassis number, there are online systems now where you can view the same parts diagrams that the main dealer sees when they are looking for your parts. So you can get the part numbers too. This is something your independent mechanic would not have or in my experience would not do.

I have in fact saved time\expense for the mechanic in the past where a main dealer parts department ordered the wrong part for me. Whereas I knew the correct part number due to having better knowledge of the car, and having researched it myself.

But all the above really refers to a certain type of customer - the one that is a car enthusiast and is interested in maintaining the car to the best possible standard without being ripped off by main dealers and main dealer part prices in Ireland.

This type of customer will have done their homework on which part is needed and would be buying good quality or OEM parts. They would have receipts to prove it to the mechanic, and more so to the next potential owner of the car.

I think the kind of customer that Darragh29 is talking about is the one who wants the cheapest possible part and really has not done their homework on whether it is the correct part. I think this is fair enough for a mechanic to have a problem with this. Why should they have to deal with this sort of hassle and messing about?

I guess the best for both the customer and the mechanic is some middle ground. If a mechanic can tell that a customer knows their car and is confident of getting the correct parts, then I think the mechanic shouldn't have a problem with this.

Avns1s · 11-01-2009 12:11PM

metricspaces wrote: »

This is precisely the situation where I think a mechanic should have no problem with the customer supplying the parts.

You have a customer buying genuine Audi parts with a receipt to prove it.

A customer who is interested in their car would know just as much, if not more, about the parts relevant for their car than the mechanic would.

Getting the correct part is as simple as specifying your chassis number to the parts department. So if a customer could get the part wrong, then it is no different for the mechanic.

Also, in addition to specifying the part number, there are online systems now where you can view the same parts diagrams that the main dealer sees when they are looking for your parts. This is something your independent mechanic would not have.

I have in fact saved time\expense for the mechanic in the past where a main dealer parts department ordered the wrong part for me. Whereas I knew the correct part number due to having better knowledge of the car, and having researched it myself.

But all the above really refers to a certain type of customer - the one that is a car enthusiast and is interested in maintaining the car to the best possible standard without being ripped off by main dealers and main dealer part prices in Ireland.

This type of customer will have done their homework on which part is needed and would be buying good quality or OEM parts. They would have receipts to prove it to the mechanic, and more so to the next potential owner of the car.

I think the kind of customer that Darragh29 is talking about is the one who wants the cheapest possible part and really has not done their homework on whether it is the correct part. I think this is fair enough for a mechanic to have a problem with this. Why should they have to deal with this sort of hassle and messing about?

I guess the best for both the customer and the mechanic is some middle ground. If a mechanic can tell that a customer knows their car and is confident of getting the correct parts, then I think the mechanic shouldn't have a problem with this.

Excellent post. I would have to agree with all you have said.

metricspaces wrote: »

I think the kind of customer that Darragh29 is talking about is the one who wants the cheapest possible part and really has not done their homework on whether it is the correct part. I think this is fair enough for a mechanic to have a problem with this. Why should they have to deal with this sort of hassle and messing about?

Again, I would agree with Darragh as regards customers like this. However, most mechanics will know their customers and it's easy enough to filter out these types. In addition, you can refuse to fit the parts brought to you on the basis of inferior quality and potential problems or fit them and make it clear to the client that you will be charging for the work again if they have to be replaced, it's their call then.

It's not a black and white issue. There isn't a hard and fast rule. There are certain clients that I won't do work for and it's not to do with whether they bring the parts themselves! :rolleyes:

ianobrien · 11-01-2009 02:12PM

I was reading this with interest, and I thought that I'd thrown in my two cents.....

I can do a lot of the basics at home, but one day I was down with an independent garage (who was building a hot engine for me) after delivering the specialist parts (that he specified). He was doing a service on a Citroen C3 and was looking at the (main dealer) service history, and saw that the pollen filter was changed at last service. He checked the filter, and it was filthy, and he ordered a new one. He was adamant that a filter made by X was to be used.

On asking him, he said he was to service the car, that involves starting at the front number plate, finishing at the rear number plate and checking everything in between. I've seen him checking the suspension bolts as part of a routine service.

Now, that's a mechanic that I'd trust. I also know mechanics that I'd never allow to touch any of my cars!

mickdw · 11-01-2009 04:08PM

metricspaces wrote: »

This is precisely the situation where I think a mechanic should have no problem with the customer supplying the parts.

You have a customer buying genuine Audi parts with a receipt to prove it.

A customer who is interested in their car would know just as much, if not more, about the parts relevant for their car than the mechanic would.

Getting the correct part is as simple as specifying your chassis number to the parts department. So if a customer could get the part wrong, then it is no different for the mechanic.

Also, in addition to specifying the chassis number, there are online systems now where you can view the same parts diagrams that the main dealer sees when they are looking for your parts. So you can get the part numbers too. This is something your independent mechanic would not have or in my experience would not do.

I have in fact saved time\expense for the mechanic in the past where a main dealer parts department ordered the wrong part for me. Whereas I knew the correct part number due to having better knowledge of the car, and having researched it myself.

But all the above really refers to a certain type of customer - the one that is a car enthusiast and is interested in maintaining the car to the best possible standard without being ripped off by main dealers and main dealer part prices in Ireland.

This type of customer will have done their homework on which part is needed and would be buying good quality or OEM parts. They would have receipts to prove it to the mechanic, and more so to the next potential owner of the car.

I think the kind of customer that Darragh29 is talking about is the one who wants the cheapest possible part and really has not done their homework on whether it is the correct part. I think this is fair enough for a mechanic to have a problem with this. Why should they have to deal with this sort of hassle and messing about?

I guess the best for both the customer and the mechanic is some middle ground. If a mechanic can tell that a customer knows their car and is confident of getting the correct parts, then I think the mechanic shouldn't have a problem with this.

Great post. I for example have access to Audi parts system(update a few months old). This proves very useful on occasion. It certainly saved me a big mistake in relation to oil to be used in rear dif of audi TT quattro. A main dealer parts guy told me "Ah it would be ATF" without checking on his system. I found the part number for the haldex oil required, ordered it and it in no way resembled ATF. (It looked like gear oil but didnt smell like it) so I would probably have had an expensive problem had I not checked myself. The staggering point here is that when I picked it up from the main audi dealer parts counter, the service manager was nearby and asked "have you a leak?" and it then transpired that they dont stock this oil and dont change it as a service item even though its a 20,000 (or 40,000cant remember)mile service item for quattro audis.

Would my local mechanic know what the spec of the oil should have been? I doubt it.

Darragh29 · 11-01-2009 04:24PM

mickdw wrote: »

Would my local mechanic know what the spec of the oil should have been? I doubt it.

He should have Autodata which will give him this information. As an aside, I'm working with a guy in Dublin who is researching a DIY garage outlet, where my involvement in this project is to fit it out with equipment and advise him on an operations strategy. So if you feel up to doing jobs like servicing and brakes yourself, you will have access to all the equipment necessary and a mechanic on site to assist with any problems. We'll also order your parts for you if you wish OR YOU CAN BUY THEM YOURSELF IF YOU WANT BUT YOU WON'T BEAT OUR PRICE!

mickdw · 11-01-2009 04:55PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

He should have Autodata which will give him this information. As an aside, I'm working with a guy in Dublin who is researching a DIY garage outlet, where my involvement in this project is to fit it out with equipment and advise him on an operations strategy. So if you feel up to doing jobs like servicing and brakes yourself, you will have access to all the equipment necessary and a mechanic on site to assist with any problems. We'll also order your parts for you if you wish OR YOU CAN BUY THEM YOURSELF IF YOU WANT BUT YOU WON'T BEAT OUR PRICE!

Will it get off the ground Darragh? A few have looked into this already and couldnt make the figures add up. Whats insurance like in Ireland for something like this? If there is going to be a full time mechanic on site, Im guessing there will need to be a few service bays. What would the hourly rates be roughly? I would be interested in investing in something like this specially in times of recession.

Darragh29 · 11-01-2009 05:06PM

mickdw wrote: »

Will it get off the ground Darragh? A few have looked into this already and couldnt make the figures add up. Whats insurance like in Ireland for something like this? If there is going to be a full time mechanic on site, Im guessing there will need to be a few service bays. What would the hourly rates be roughly? I would be interested in investing in something like this specially in times of recession.

Well as an idea it has potential but it depends on the number of bays and operating costs and factors like that. The idea of having a mechanic on site is mainly to assist with using specialist equipment and to remove the typical fear factor that someone would naturally possess when doing something for the first time. As usual in Ireland though, things like Insurance and other such petty requirements will come into consideration and may well result in the idea never becoming reality. One option is to use a strong disclaimer to make it legally clear that the customer is responsible for all work done undertaken on their own vehicle.

It's early days and I don't want to hijack the OP's thread by going on about this, was just throwing the idea out there...

There are many excellent business ideas that never saw the light of day in this country because no insurance company wouldn't provide cover for it...

Insurance in this country is a joke, completely devoid of the slightest iota of imaginative thinking...

blackiebest · 17-01-2009 01:18PM

Being new to this thread I just thought I will tell of my experience regarding this subject;

I live in the North West and am very far from being a mechanic however would consider myself handy with tools and patient enough to not F**k up a job. I have an imported German VW camper (1987) and 01' Sub Forester Sturbo.

I got the VW 14 months ago and in a short time knew the exhaust needed attention and resolved to get this done. At his time I also was having a carb (or so I thought) problem and it was not consistently running well.

I stupidly thought I just needed to replace the large silencer in the VW rather than the entire manifold's, tail pipe heat exchanger etc. I was quoted €300.00 by nation wide Top Part's company for the silencer only and almost ordered same. Thankfully I refrained and online checked out on a VW forum the process first. I then bought the whole shabang, tailpipe, silencer, manifolds x 4, heat exchanger, stainless bolts and gaskets fitting kit and a Haynes manual all in for £191.00 delivered and managed to fit samemyself following the explicit and superb advice from the forum. I never got the quote from the 'Top Part's' company for all this but would guess I would have been well over €500.00.

Following this I wanted to buy 4 new HT leads (which was the problem and not the carb as 'mechanic' indicated) and ordered them from same UK company, £25.00 delivered for all four with set of plugs (hella both makes) thrown in. I contacted local VW dealer and was quoted €29.00 per lead and no free plugs, do the maths!

The Soobie is now in dire need of a new clutch and having read up the change process (subaruforrester.org) I decided I need a lift, tools and skills I lack but I was very wary of possible costs for parts. I am friendly with the owner of the main dealer (Subarau) and contacted him for a quote. The three piece clutch kit was quoted to me at (with a discount) €820.00 parts only with a swap time of 6 hours. I asked the owner would he have any problem if I supply the parts but pay him full labour rates and I assume responsability for parts supplied. The way things are for dealers led to him saying no problem. I have got the kit delivered to N.Ireland for £139.00 and have agreed to pay €350.00 labour for the change.

Now I am not sure why this country is as f**ked as it is but all the above is true, 100%, and at this point I think we as a nation are collectively stupid and accept paying completely stupid prices for parts and what is often shi*e work. The dealer has agreed to allow me work with the mechanic as I like to learn, want to get a good look under my car and make sure job is executed correctly. Again thanks to forum I have the process bolt by bolt and what to be wary of.

I am not trying to damage anyone's business and never begrudge anyone making a buck, if the dealer had offered to me the clutch at €400.00 + labour I would not have been on the net sourcing myself. All parts above are either original or manufacture licenced and guaranteed. In the UK a Subaru specalist will do the whole job, parts and labour for £350.00. I am happy to reference all the above to supplier sites or forum's.

LoveDucati2 · 17-01-2009 02:30PM

blackiebest wrote: »

Now I am not sure why this country is as f**ked as it is but all the above is true, 100%, and at this point I think we as a nation are collectively stupid and accept paying completely stupid prices for parts and what is often shi*e work. The dealer has agreed to allow me work with the mechanic as I like to learn, want to get a good look under my car and make sure job is executed correctly. Again thanks to forum I have the process bolt by bolt and what to be wary of.

Great post.

I cannot understand how a garage can charge 2 hours labour for a standard service which takes about 20 minutes.

Changing brake pads and discs can be done in 20 minutes per wheel.

Changing a caliper about 10 minutes.

As I have pointed out in another post that you can service most new Jaguar diesels for 80 quid minor service and about 130 for a major service, using a garage and your own parts.

Darragh29 · 17-01-2009 03:40PM

LoveDucati2 wrote: »

Great post.

I cannot understand how a garage can charge 2 hours labour for a standard service which takes about 20 minutes.

Changing brake pads and discs can be done in 20 minutes per wheel.

Changing a caliper about 10 minutes.

As I have pointed out in another post that you can service most new Jaguar diesels for 80 quid minor service and about 130 for a major service, using a garage and your own parts.

You cannot service a car in 20 minutes. What you're thinking of is an oil change. You cannot change a brake caliper in 10 minutes, you have to bleed the brakes and everything afterwards and if you were changing a brake caliper due to it being seized, you would almost certainly be changing brake pads and probably discs as the disc at the seized caliper would be in bits.

Unfortunately some people here just don't understand the economics of running a business.

Also, some people turn into absolute idiots when dealing with a garage, you can see an example of it above with the macho talk, "I want to stand beside my mechanic and watch him doing the work so I can make sure it was done right"... If you do not trust someone to do what they are charging you to you, why on earth are you dealing with them???

blackiebest · 17-01-2009 04:50PM

[QUOTEAlso, some people turn into absolute idiots when dealing with a garage, you can see an example of it above with the macho talk, "I want to stand beside my mechanic and watch him doing the work so I can make sure it was done right"... If you do not trust someone to do what they are charging you to you, why on earth are you dealing with them???[/QUOTE]

Darragh, if you are refering to my post then you are misquoting me, badly. Read the post. In your profession there are at least the same proportion of crap lazy and internet illiterate mechanics as there would be in any profession. I will be paying almost €65 per hour inc VAT and as I stated I like to learn, i want to have a good look under my car and I want to make sure the job is executed properly.
You seem to think that because you are a mechanic you know best at all times, including sourcing parts. How much would you have charged me for my clutch kit? HAve you ever changed one on a 01' s turbo? If so how much did you charge?

I think that all the money you used to buy parts in the last month (your customers money presumably) was not spent as cost effectively as it could have been. I have NO issue with you or your mark-up on parts, so long as they are bought for the best possible price in the first place. Maybe I am wrong but it is my experience that going into the local parts supplier without checking online first is stupid at best. The difference as exampled in my first post highlights this.

Darragh29 · 17-01-2009 05:28PM

Are you reffering to my post Darragh?

I don't see anyone else on here who think's it's ok to stand over their mechanic and supervise their work...

ianobrien · 17-01-2009 06:06PM

blackiebest wrote: »

Maybe I am wrong but it is my experience that going into the local parts supplier without checking online first is stupid at best.

The big advantage of going to the "local parts supplier" is that it's quick (common stuff on the shelf), most of them deliver (so the mechanic is not wasting time that you pay for standing at a counter) and that they take the stuff back if it's the wrong one. Have fun sending the stuff back if you bought it online, as you're paying for carriage.

While I know for some cars only one part was used, when I was looking for a bottom water hose for a '88 AX GT Sportif, the Citroen dealer had 4 listed that could have been it, and he needed the part number off the old one.

Also, when changing the pads on the front of a '95 1.6 Primera, I discovered that the pad I was given for a '95 1.6 primera didn't fit. After taking the old pads into the dealer, it was discovered that the car had 2.0 primera brakes in the front. If I bought the pads on-line initially I'd be stuck with them....

Before anybody says that the calipers were changed, it was the Father's car that he bought new from a Nissan Dealer, so they were the calipers that it left the factory with.

blackiebest · 17-01-2009 06:20PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

I don't see anyone else on here who think's it's ok to stand over their mechanic and supervise their work...

Yeah, I guess I should have just forked out the €1200 euro it would have cost me if I had gone to the likes of you.

metricspaces · 17-01-2009 06:46PM

Bottom line is that we are seriously over charged for parts in Ireland.

There is no explaining the kind of increases (over 100% in some cases) for parts in Ireland compared to the UK, other than we are being ripped off.

blackiebest · 17-01-2009 06:59PM

metricspaces wrote: »

Bottom line is that we are seriously over charged for parts in Ireland.

There is no explaining the kind of increases (over 100% in some cases) for parts in Ireland compared to the UK, other than we are being ripped off.

Correct. But the explanation is well demonstrated with the mentality displayed so clearly in the previous posts. I will have get a good job done and save myself the guts of €800.00 without questioning the hourly rate of the main dealer. This is possible because I researched the job thoroughly and avoided being ripped off, not by the dealer but by the system operated in this country. Thank God for the interweb that allows us to get past the horsesh1t delivered to us by crooked and bent mechanics/suppliers down the years.

Darragh29 · 17-01-2009 07:15PM

blackiebest wrote: »

Yeah, I guess I should have just forked out the €1200 euro it would have cost me if I had gone to the likes of you.

Next time your going for a pint, tell the barman that you want to go down to the cellar to make sure that the correct keg is attached to the tap he is pouring your pint from, and count how many seconds pass until you are thrown through the pub door.

This is the kind of absolute nonsense that people in the industry have to put up with, it starts off with a customer wanting to supply their own parts, then it leads on to the customer wanting to supervise your mechanics, people take liberties, it is human nature as you can see here...

metricspaces · 17-01-2009 07:20PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

people take liberties, it is human nature as you can see here...

The motor industry overcharges the Irish consumer for parts. It is their nature (greed) it would seem. As you have seen from numerous people on here.

Darragh29 · 17-01-2009 07:25PM

blackiebest wrote: »

Correct. But the explanation is well demonstrated with the mentality displayed so clearly in the previous posts. I will have get a good job done and save myself the guts of €800.00 without questioning the hourly rate of the main dealer. This is possible because I researched the job thoroughly and avoided being ripped off, not by the dealer but by the system operated in this country. Thank God for the interweb that allows us to get past the horsesh1t delivered to us by crooked and bent mechanics/suppliers down the years.

The only person getting ripped off here is the person working on your vehicle. Their hourly rate does not include "on the job training" for you for a start. It is nothing less than an insult to any business that you insist on standing over whoever is doing work for you on the basis that you don't believe it will be done right if you are not there to supervise it. Also you are not insured to be doing this and if you are injured, the person running that operation will have a major major problem on their hands.

I'm all for providing excellent value and assisting customers in any way possible, but the reality is that you have to have rules and boundries or people will take the p*ss out of you... I don't know of any other industry where people walk in and dictate the terms of the transaction and the manner in which you will attend to it...

metricspaces · 17-01-2009 07:29PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

The only person getting ripped off here is the person working on your vehicle.

I think you'll find that the person getting ripped off the most here is the Irish consumer.

Numerous people have posted their experiences of the outrageous prices for parts in Ireland, parts that can be bought at a fraction of the cost in the UK.

Darragh29 · 17-01-2009 07:40PM

In the case of the lad here with the Camper Van, 800 Euro for a clutch was someone trying to put a saddle on him. If he went to a decent indy, he would have chased down the part number for this clutch and got it for him at under 200 Euro.

LoveDucati2 · 17-01-2009 09:51PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

You cannot service a car in 20 minutes. What you're thinking of is an oil change.

An oil and fuel, air, oil filter change and a quick check up (washer bottle top up, coolant, light bulbs, wipers) is what most garages would constitute a service, and it can defo be done in 20 minutes taking your time.

Darragh29 wrote: »

You cannot change a brake caliper in 10 minutes,

I can assure you that I can change a brake caliper in less than 10 minutes with new pads and bleed per wheel.

Darragh29 wrote: »

Also, some people turn into absolute idiots when dealing with a garage, you can see an example of it above with the macho talk, "I want to stand beside my mechanic and watch him doing the work so I can make sure it was done right"... If you do not trust someone to do what they are charging you to you, why on earth are you dealing with them???

This I agree with you, it is most annoying to have someone stood over your shoulder.

However judging by the way people get ripped off here is it any surprise that people feel like this.

Can any garage justify charging €450 for a minor service on an X type diesel, when it can be done for €80.

Supplying own parts for service

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