How much should it cost...

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DecayingRat

DecayingRat

Member
Posts
39
Location
South London
Took my 90 to a local garage to get a UJ and output shaft oil seal replaced. By no means a complex job, I would have done it myself except I don't have a bench or vice and a couple of other tools needed. I estimated 30-60 mins for a proper mechanic to do it. I'd even taken the prop out for them in advance.

Thought we'll I might as well get them to do the transfer and gearbox oil while it's in and on the ramp, I supplied the oils and filters etc.

£380 later I'm cussing myself for being lazy.

How much have others paid for oil changes? They charged me 2hrs at £80 an hr and a further £40 to grease the props, something that took me 10 mins and I'd done the day before taking it to them!

Don't pay a mechanic to do a job you can do yourself!
 
Dont be thinking mechanics work for nothing either, really, how much do you think a highly skilled person should charge you? Just because it doesnt take a huge amount of skill to do the work you asked them to do doesnt mean they should charge you less for it.

You are doing estimates on time and supplying your own parts? I bet they loved you.
 
DecayingRat said:
Took my 90 to a local garage to get a UJ and output shaft oil seal replaced. By no means a complex job, I would have done it myself except I don't have a bench or vice and a couple of other tools needed. I estimated 30-60 mins for a proper mechanic to do it. I'd even taken the prop out for them in advance.

Thought we'll I might as well get them to do the transfer and gearbox oil while it's in and on the ramp, I supplied the oils and filters etc.

£380 later I'm cussing myself for being lazy.

How much have others paid for oil changes? They charged me 2hrs at £80 an hr and a further £40 to grease the props, something that took me 10 mins and I'd done the day before taking it to them!

Don't pay a mechanic to do a job you can do yourself!
Click to expand...

Fess up ... you are well jel ....
 
DecayingRat said:
Took my 90 to a local garage to get a UJ and output shaft oil seal replaced. By no means a complex job, I would have done it myself except I don't have a bench or vice and a couple of other tools needed. I estimated 30-60 mins for a proper mechanic to do it. I'd even taken the prop out for them in advance.

Thought we'll I might as well get them to do the transfer and gearbox oil while it's in and on the ramp, I supplied the oils and filters etc.

£380 later I'm cussing myself for being lazy.

How much have others paid for oil changes? They charged me 2hrs at £80 an hr and a further £40 to grease the props, something that took me 10 mins and I'd done the day before taking it to them!

Don't pay a mechanic to do a job you can do yourself!
Click to expand...

Also, did you ask them to grease the props?

Now Im no mathematician, but, 80 Ph @ 2 hrs is 160 quid, plus 40 for props is 200, plus VAT is 240, something isnt adding up there. Im dosed with a flu at the moment and my brain isnt working properly, but that still seems wrong.
 
nobber said:
Also, did you ask them to grease the props?

Now Im no mathematician, but, 80 Ph @ 2 hrs is 160 quid, plus 40 for props is 200, plus VAT is 240, something isnt adding up there. Im dosed with a flu at the moment and my brain isnt working properly, but that still seems wrong.
Click to expand...

Have you recently returned from a far eastern country or a local takeaway ? ;)

No, your ok his maths is out ...
 
Dippypud said:
Have you recently returned from a far eastern country or a local takeaway ?

No, your ok his maths is out ...
Click to expand...

I dunno, I have it, kids have it , Mrs has it, its like a very mild virus but its lasted nearly a week now, not the kind of cant get out of bed, delirious virus that usually goes around this time of year, more an aching limbs, sore throat , no energy type of thing.
 
nobber said:
I dunno, I have it, kids have it , Mrs has it, its like a very mild virus but its lasted nearly a week now, not the kind of cant get out of bed, delirious virus that usually goes around this time of year, more an aching limbs, sore throat , no energy type of thing.
Click to expand...

Nasty draining thing then ... drown it with a good spirit ...
 
My point being don't pay someone £80 an hr to do a basic job you can do yourself.

£120 for the UJ and seal
£80x2 for the boxes
£40 for the grease.
Plus VAT

Don't worry about the maths, I have the receipt in my hand...

I didn't argue it with them, after all it's somewhat pointless to. I was expecting closer to £200 for that work really.

I probably shouldn't have assumed but two hours to do an oil change? Really?! I'm pretty sure I could do it in less, on the street and without the luxury of ramps etc. Hell next time I will do it on the street, I'd do it in the pouring rain to save myself £160 for what is a basic task any DIY mechanic could do.

For what they charged I could have bought all the tools I needed, including a bench and have done it for less, save my own time and shredded knuckles.

Lesson learned!
 
DecayingRat said:
My point being don't pay someone £80 an hr to do a basic job you can do yourself.

£120 for the UJ and seal
£80x2 for the boxes
£40 for the grease.
Plus VAT

Don't worry about the maths, I have the receipt in my hand...

I didn't argue it with them, after all it's somewhat pointless to. I was expecting closer to £200 for that work really.

I probably shouldn't have assumed but two hours to do an oil change? Really?! I'm pretty sure I could do it in less, on the street and without the luxury of ramps etc. Hell next time I will do it on the street, I'd do it in the pouring rain to save myself £160 for what is a basic task any DIY mechanic could do.

For what they charged I could have bought all the tools I needed, including a bench and have done it for less, save my own time and shredded knuckles.

Lesson learned!
Click to expand...

You took the prop out, then drove it to the garage? In fairness, if someone did that to me, Id question their motives, no offence to you, but mechanics dont like working on something someone else has started, nor do garages like fitting customer bought parts, I point blank refuse to fit customer bought parts nowadays..
 
nobber said:
You took the prop out, then drove it to the garage? In fairness, if someone did that to me, Id question their motives, no offence to you, but mechanics dont like working on something someone else has started, nor do garages like fitting customer bought parts, I point blank refuse to fit customer bought parts nowadays..
Click to expand...

They actually wanted me to provide the parts in advance. I took the prop off myself because I had to go somewhere a few days before and didn't want to run the risk of it failing completely mid journey (was only a short trip but a risk none the less). I would have just taken them the prop had I not needed the oil seal doing too.

I'm not questioning a professional mechanics skill, after all they have all the expensive tools, air lines, lifts and experience etc to make a job that might take me 2hrs, them 30 mins. Like when a bolt shears or something unforeseen crops up they don't need to spend 3 days googling it or trial and error fault finding. That's what I'd be pay £80 an hour for.

I'd have done the oil and while it was draining done the UJ and seal. Greasing literally takes minutes to do. I'm just not convinced those "basic" jobs take 4hrs for a professional and competent mechanic...
 
DecayingRat said:
They actually wanted me to provide the parts in advance. I took the prop off myself because I had to go somewhere a few days before and didn't want to run the risk of it failing completely mid journey (was only a short trip but a risk none the less). I would have just taken them the prop had I not needed the oil seal doing too.

I'm not questioning a professional mechanics skill, after all they have all the expensive tools, air lines, lifts and experience etc to make a job that might take me 2hrs, them 30 mins. Like when a bolt shears or something unforeseen crops up they don't need to spend 3 days googling it or trial and error fault finding. That's what I'd be pay £80 an hour for.

I'd have done the oil and while it was draining done the UJ and seal. Greasing literally takes minutes to do. I'm just not convinced those "basic" jobs take 4hrs for a professional and competent mechanic...
Click to expand...

They wanted you to provide the parts? Are you sure this is a legit garage? No garage in the Uk would prefer to fit customer bought parts, no mechanic would rather fit customer bought parts, the implications of doing so if the parts failed could land a person in a huge amount of trouble, perhaps even in jail.

When a tech fits parts to a car, its their duty and responsibility to ensure the parts are fit for purpose and dont present any element of danger to the safety of the car , its passengers or any other member of the public. So lets say matey arrives with his own brake parts that he bought cheap off EBay, mechanic fits them thinking they are good and fit for purpose, matey collects his car, brakes fail, several people die, mechanic ends up in front of a judge,

If you dont like the bill question it, dont go in guns blazing, just ask about the process they went through to arrive at the costs, it could be that you dont know the full story, did they have your telephone number? A decent tech will consult the customer if any problems arise that could inflate the bill. Also try and keep in mind mechanics arnt magicians, we dont know ''everything'', we apply what we know to the job at hand and use a train of thought and understanding that gets us to the fault quickly , but even the best come across new, difficult problems regularly.
 
Haha yes it was a proper mechanics, had a garage, multiple bays/lifts do MOT testing etc. Lots of good reviews on Google.

I get what you say about parts, maybe they struggle to get LR parts? I don't know. Either way they asked for the part and I provided.

They did have my number and rang to check which way the prop goes in... They don't usually do LRs but one of their mechanics has done a load of stuff for his mates LR. Maybe I should have gone to a proper 4x4 place. Maybe that's why it all took longer. I'm half tempted to speak to them but that's a bit like shutting the stable door now the horse has bolted.
 
DecayingRat said:
Haha yes it was a proper mechanics, had a garage, multiple bays/lifts do MOT testing etc. Lots of good reviews on Google.

I get what you say about parts, maybe they struggle to get LR parts? I don't know. Either way they asked for the part and I provided.

They did have my number and rang to check which way the prop goes in... They don't usually do LRs but one of their mechanics has done a load of stuff for his mates LR. Maybe I should have gone to a proper 4x4 place. Maybe that's why it all took longer. I'm half tempted to speak to them but that's a bit like shutting the stable door now the horse has bolted.
Click to expand...
Do you know how they worked out the bill, as mentioned a call may give a better insight? I would feel confident I could change a uj inc removal and refit of the prop, greasing and changing the oils in an hour (not done output seal for a while hence not including it) without a ramp on my drive way. However I do them regularly so everything is "loose" and I know will not cause any issues on removal. Some garages also charge on a book time for a job rather than the actual time taken. if the manual says a job takes 1 hour that is what is charged regardless of if the job takes 10 minutes or 2 hours, which is why you need to know how it is worked out.

You have also said they do not usually work on land rovers. This will be another reason the bill is high regardless of the time taken. I have had a couple of garages refuse to even quote on mine because they do not want to work on it. I took mine to quickfit for their free exhaust check because I knew it was leaking but did not know where form, turned out it was the manifold gasket, although i had no intention of getting them to do the work because it had been a free check i asked them how much the job would be and they said they would not do it. Similarly the local garage my parents had been using for years (small local old fashioned) did not want to quote on a clutch change in mine when I was trying to work out if it was worth doing myself or not because it was too big and heavy.
 
dag019 said:
Do you know how they worked out the bill, as mentioned a call may give a better insight? I would feel confident I could change a uj inc removal and refit of the prop, greasing and changing the oils in an hour (not done output seal for a while hence not including it) without a ramp on my drive way. However I do them regularly so everything is "loose" and I know will not cause any issues on removal. Some garages also charge on a book time for a job rather than the actual time taken. if the manual says a job takes 1 hour that is what is charged regardless of if the job takes 10 minutes or 2 hours, which is why you need to know how it is worked out.

You have also said they do not usually work on land rovers. This will be another reason the bill is high regardless of the time taken. I have had a couple of garages refuse to even quote on mine because they do not want to work on it. I took mine to quickfit for their free exhaust check because I knew it was leaking but did not know where form, turned out it was the manifold gasket, although i had no intention of getting them to do the work because it had been a free check i asked them how much the job would be and they said they would not do it. Similarly the local garage my parents had been using for years (small local old fashioned) did not want to quote on a clutch change in mine when I was trying to work out if it was worth doing myself or not because it was too big and heavy.
Click to expand...

We dont use workshop manuals, if we did we would have thousands of them, most garages will use Autodata but the times quoted are never accurate, you would soon go out of business if you used quoted autodata times to quote customers.
 
nobber said:
We dont use workshop manuals, if we did we would have thousands of them, most garages will use Autodata but the times quoted are never accurate, you would soon go out of business if you used quoted autodata times to quote customers.
Click to expand...
I know of main dealers that do that, certainly the Peugeot garage near me used to. And by manual I meant the modern digital version I realise that unfortunately the world has moved on and people no longer use nice old fashioned physical things!
 
DecayingRat said:
Haha yes it was a proper mechanics, had a garage, multiple bays/lifts do MOT testing etc. Lots of good reviews on Google.

I get what you say about parts, maybe they struggle to get LR parts? I don't know. Either way they asked for the part and I provided.

They did have my number and rang to check which way the prop goes in... They don't usually do LRs but one of their mechanics has done a load of stuff for his mates LR. Maybe I should have gone to a proper 4x4 place. Maybe that's why it all took longer. I'm half tempted to speak to them but that's a bit like shutting the stable door now the horse has bolted.
Click to expand...

They wont struggle to get LR parts, they arnt hard to get, and calling you up to find out which way the prop goes on? I would have thought the other prop was a bit of a giveaway! Dont usually do LR's? Where do you live, the middle of London?

I do know the motor trade is pretty ****ed at the moment, good mechanics are hard to find and there are a lot of people working in garages who dont know even the basic of basics, if there isnt a walk through on Autodata they are lost, perhaps you were just unlucky enough to get the mechanic who doesnt know what he is doing, there are quite a few of them around. 80 quid an hour though, thats specialist money.
 
dag019 said:
I know of main dealers that do that, certainly the Peugeot garage near me used to. And by manual I meant the modern digital version I realise that unfortunately the world has moved on and people no longer use nice old fashioned physical things!
Click to expand...

Thats main dealers, I would suspect a few marque specific garages might have a few manuals lying around too, your average indie though wont because they deal with all marques, all models,
 
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