Car repairs- was I ripped off?

pippadoll · 22-08-2006, 19:35

Took my car in for a service today; 2 years old with 25k on the clock. In addition to the poor reception service and staff being very unhelpful i was told the break disk(c)s??? were down to the metal. Is this possible in 9 months since last service. Also needed new pads and rear pads. I was quoted over £400 for this. Plus two new tyres and over £100 for the service. A total cost of £670.

Does the warranty serve no purpose.

SHsheff · 22-08-2006, 19:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by pippadoll

Took my car in for a service today; 2 years old with 25k on the clock. In addition to the poor reception service and staff being very unhelpful i was told the break disk(c)s??? were down to the metal. Is this possible in 9 months since last service. Also needed new pads and rear pads. I was quoted over £400 for this. Plus two new tyres and over £100 for the service. A total cost of £670.

Does the warranty serve no purpose.

They'll say it's wear and tear - ie, it's down to what you've worn out, rather than any fault of the manufacturing.....

never wrong · 22-08-2006, 19:38

I would speak to trading standards you have been done

SHsheff · 22-08-2006, 19:41

Where did you take the car? And, what car is it? (Make, model)

pippadoll · 22-08-2006, 19:43

Don't want to name the garage n get into trouble but haven't got it back yet. It is a toyota corolla t2. I do a fair bit of driving, hence 25k miles, but didn't expect it to be in such bad nic. Maybe its my driving

iron_madman · 22-08-2006, 20:14

if you think you been ripped off let us know the garage so we can avoid it.don't worry about getting them in to trouble.obviously theyre not to bothered about ripping you off. name and shame them

Harry O · 22-08-2006, 20:28

I've got a 3 year old Corolla with just over 30k on the clock, the main dealer reckoned that the discs were scored and that the front and rear pads needed changing as well. I got another assessment done and discovered that only the rear pads needed to be changed, it certainly pays to shop around.

FORE · 22-08-2006, 20:39

One reason why I will never buy a Toyota - there may come a day when I NEED the main dealer.

molar · 22-08-2006, 20:58

How much did they charge you for tyres and what did they put on? It would be interesting to know if they charged you £80 per tyre and put el cheapos on. Also had you been checking your tyre tread depth regularly? If so you would have known that they were close or not.

jan2002 · 22-08-2006, 21:30

You could always ask for the old parts back, see the wear for yourself ...if they happen to still have them of course !!!

Twoflags · 22-08-2006, 22:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by pippadoll

Took my car in for a service today; 2 years old with 25k on the clock. In addition to the poor reception service and staff being very unhelpful i was told the break disk(c)s??? were down to the metal. Is this possible in 9 months since last service. Also needed new pads and rear pads. I was quoted over £400 for this. Plus two new tyres and over £100 for the service. A total cost of £670.

Does the warranty serve no purpose.

You were more than done, my mechanic would have done you the work for around £150 including parts and found you the tyres a hell of a lot cheaper and he's dealership trained.

I'd definatly complain as that's very excessive

Geezer · 23-08-2006, 07:42

Done, totally.

neeeeeeeeeek · 23-08-2006, 08:22

If you had warn the pads down to the metal then they couse easlily have damaged the disks, better to spend £400 on breaks than die in a acident casued by a disk breaking or something. My Volvo went in for a service and needed the front and rear pads and disks, even though the breaks seemed fine to me when driving. I did notice a bit of judder when breaking at speed but the car always slowed down. If I had taken it to a garage a did not know I would have thought I had been done (the service cost me £800) but I have always used this chap and trust him. Worth taking it to somewhere that lets you see the old parts and explains what a state they are in. I don't know if what you were charged was excessive but all I can say is my basic service + all the breaks cost over £800. I think twoflags is talking rubbish to be honest unless his mechanic works for free! It's easy for people to say you were ripped off but I doubt any of them have actually priced up all the parts and labour etc.

pedro1 · 23-08-2006, 08:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by neeeeeeeeeek

If you had warn the pads down to the metal then they couse easlily have damaged the disks, better to spend £400 on breaks than die in a acident casued by a disk breaking or something. My Volvo went in for a service and needed the front and rear pads and disks, even though the breaks seemed fine to me when driving. I did notice a bit of judder when breaking at speed but the car always slowed down. If I had taken it to a garage a did not know I would have thought I had been done (the service cost me £800) but I have always used this chap and trust him. Worth taking it to somewhere that lets you see the old parts and explains what a state they are in. I don't know if what you were charged was excessive but all I can say is my basic service + all the breaks cost over £800. I think twoflags is talking rubbish to be honest unless his mechanic works for free! It's easy for people to say you were ripped off but I doubt any of them have actually priced up all the parts and labour etc.

Jeez £800 for a basic service and new breaks, that`s a total rip off if ever i heard it. I`ve just paid £190 for a full service, a new radiator, anti-freeze and labour.He had the car for 1 and a half days. Discs and pads aren`t expensive. Depending on the car i supose you could pay as much as £10 for the discs and the same for the pads.

GabbleRatcht · 23-08-2006, 08:41

What did you actually have replaced?

You seem to say front discs, pads and rear pads. And two tyres.

The price is high, but if it is a Toyota garage you will have genuine parts which are expensive but good.

And, yes. The wear could be down to your driving.

Try looking ahead and seeing if the lights are on red. If they are, take your foot off the gas and coast up to them. Don't use the brakes.

Unlike my wife who screams up to a red light, slams on the anchers and then does a wheel spin start away from them. She too complains about the breaks she gets through

ShirleyJay · 23-08-2006, 08:42

[QUOTE=neeeeeeeeeek My Volvo went in for a service and needed the front and rear pads and disks, even though the breaks seemed fine to me when driving. I did notice a bit of judder when breaking at speed but the car always slowed down.

It's worth bearing in mind that Volvos do judder when breaking at speed, it's the ABS ( antilock breaking system )

In my experience when both the pads and discs need to be changed you can hear it!

lalaland · 23-08-2006, 08:43

I wouldn't buy Toyota either. I once went for a test drive about 4 years back in a Toyota and decided to opt for a VW Instead. Before making this decision I visited a Toyota dealership and test drove one of their cars.

When test driving the cars all was fine, everyone was happy, no problems.

However a few weeks later I was out on a Friday night out and the person that had been showing me around the cars was in the same place as me. I said hello as I walked passed him and he stopped me. He was clearly drunk, but said "You were messing me about weren't you, enjoying driving cars with your girlfriend and not wanting to buy!" to which I explained that I wasn't as keen on the Toyota and so didn't buy it. He then said "If I see you in another new car I'll scratch it, you don't mess me about, I'm in the business of making money and don't play games". It was unbelievable, this guy was threatening me because I didn't buy a car that I test drove!

I put it down to that person having too much to drink but I'll never even consider a Toyota again in my life because of it.

Cyclone · 23-08-2006, 08:50

If the pads were worn away you'd hear them on the discs, it makes a horrible noise. That said, some people seem to be completely oblivious to the noises their cars make.

If you did need new discs then the price is probably about right, the service on it's own is probably £150, discs might be £75 each, tyres at least £50 and pads all round >£100.

Using cheap alternative mechanics is fine, but don't expect genuine parts and don't expect to sell the car as easily as having a full dealer service history.

stackmonkey · 23-08-2006, 08:55

It should be relatively easy to price up all the parts that have been replaced and the standard dealer price for a service on your car. what will change the price from reasonable to expensive is the labour rate per hour. Many main dealers charge over £80/hour and some over £100/hour (+ VAT!).
I suspect much of your £670 bill will be labour.

tinsel_ninja · 23-08-2006, 09:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedro1

Depending on the car i supose you could pay as much as £10 for the discs and the same for the pads.

You're having a laugh aren't you?

You'd struggle to pick up unbranded parts for that price, then you'd have to fit them yourself.

If you go to a dealer, you pay high prices for branded parts, dealer service and the stamp in your logbook.

To the original poster, from those prices and my experience (with various Peugeot and Seat dealers), I don't think you got "done". I think their prices are only a little higher than normal dealers.

You'd pay much more if you owned a BMW or a Porsche.