Has my mechanic overcharged me?

Question

My car was recently MOT'd. They replaced two tyres and a windscreen wiper arm mechanism that wasnt working properly. They also moved one tyre from front to back. This cost me £415.00 (incl parts, VAT and MOT) it also includes 5 hours for labour. This seems like too much for the work done but I don't want to challenge it without some idea if I'm right. The windscreen wiper mechanism itself cost £95.00 which also seems very steep - its a Fiat Doblo so not exactly a fancy car. I'm a young mum with no idea about cars and worry all the time that they take one look at me and rub there hands together. Can anyone help with some advice.

Answer 1

replacing a wiper arm takes about half an hour but most places round it to a full hour. Mounting and balancing your tires takes another hour. You should have been charged for no more than 3 hours of labor. Find a new mechanic.

Answer 2

Hi, Please do not take offence at my reply, If any person is thinking about taking their car to a garage for a problem get a quote first it is too late when they have done the job, Back to the question, I would have bought on the owners request a 2nd hand motor, the tyres, Myself I would have looked around, I understand what you say regards not having any Idea, For a good quality tyre but garages are garages they do have to make a profit but at least £300 would be near the mark. With respect let this be a DEAR LESSON learnt, always get quotes before you get the job done

Answer 3

i cant be bothered to work out your bill,but excluding parts,where iam they roughly charge £45-£50.00 per hour on labour,so at the higher end of that ,thats 5hrs labour =£250,00,excluding parts???????? the mot lasts about 45 mins,add another £45.00,so youre at the £300.00 mark now. seems about right to me co-cheese.

Answer 4

Sounds fair to me.  

Answer 5

I don't think that sounds too excessive.

£415 - £53.10 for MOT = £361.90

£361.90 less the VAT = £308

Taking the cost of the wiper linkage off this only leaves £213 for 5h labour and 2 tyres, which sounds pretty cheap to me!

The wiper linkage (I assume it's that rather than just a wiper arm) will probably only be available as a genuine Fiat part, so will be expensive. You could try phoning the parts dept of a Fiat dealer and ask for the price of one if you think they've charged too much.

The best thing to do is get your car MOT'd with plenty of time to spare. You can get it done up to 28 days in advance and your new certificate will be post dated to a year from the expiry date of the MOT you have. Then, you will have time to get a proper quote and have it explained to you, and to shop around if you want. In my experience, too many people leave it to the last minute (or later) and then if it fails, say "just fix it" only to complain at the price when they get the bill because they had no idea how much it would cost.

Answer 6

looks like they had a boat payment comming up and you walked in..... id be mad if i got charged 250 for that

Answer 7

The answer to 'has my mechanic overcharged me?' is generally 'Yes'

Answer 8

First, let's not put the blame on the mechanic, he or she does the dirty work, The owner of the garage uses printed guidelines from the industry along with the going rate for labor, services etc. Remember, when your car is in the shop, along with others, they are all being worked on at the same time. Always have the shop supervisor go over and account for every item with you the customer when you pick up the car. Yes, females are taken advantage of, Have a male member take the car for service, I had a lady who paid for anti-freeze flushing and re-fill, I took her Air-cooled VW back to the service station.

Answer 9

replacing wiper arm mechanism sholdn't take more than 2 hrs.

replacing tyres, balancing installation & alignment takes about 1 hr.

I think u were overcharged..

Answer 10

£35 per tyre...brakers wiper mec £10...1 hours labour ...£100 maximum...first job is to check the make of tyres[proper ones or remolds] and price them.....look at the wiper part that was changed and see if its new or a breakers second hand one...then confront him.

Answer 11

Although it looks steep on the surface it looks to be about the going rate. I reckon it's up on the high side though  My advice would be to shop around and agree the price BEFORE they do any work.

You can set things in motion by taking the car for its MOT up to 4 weeks before the due date (Take your old cert with you) then at least you have a bit of time to shop around..  You don't need to be a mechanic just tell the garage that you want to shop around, if they pressure you then don't go back