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Motor mechanic charges £35 per hour is this unreasonable?

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a friend of mine recently had some work done on his vehicle by a mobile mechanic who works from home he took the vehicle to him and supplied all the parts needed new clutch and brake pads and disks for the front

 

he was charged £400 and £7,50 (£35per hour) for labour is this reasonable has it seems quite high to me

 

i would say 1 hour for the front disks and pads and 4 hour for the clutch which totals £175 so i cant understand why he charged him so much even if you add an hour or 2 for whatever reason its still very expensive

 

he was in a rush and needed his vehicle for work so paid it

 

just wondered what other people would make of this is it correct or not ?

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If your friend supplied all the parts then yes, £400 is expensive. My garage charge £40 per hour for labour. Changing a clutch is a big job but it shouldn't have taken him 11+ hours if he was charging £35 an hour.

 

I had my clutch changed and it didn't come to anywhere near that, and I didn't supply the parts!

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At £35 an hour that comes to over 11 hours Labour, thats quite abit more than you would expect on a normal job.

 

What car was it?

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i would say 1 hour for the front disks and pads and 4 hour for the clutch which totals £175 so i cant understand why he charged him so much even if you add an hour or 2 for whatever reason its still very expensive

 

he was in a rush and needed his vehicle for work so paid it

 

 

If he wasn't quoted a set price beforehand, than he charged for how long it took.

One hour for discs and pads sounds rather quick, he could quite easily have come across an issue the required oxy-acetylene.

 

BMW 1 Series - £169 front brake pads*

Front brake pads and sensor are replaced.

£365 front brake pads and discs

 

http://www.snowsgroup.co.uk/bmw/aftersales-offers/value-service/

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£35 an hour is an average rate for a good mechanic. Sounds like he either wasn't good, or stretched out the job to rake in more cash.

 

You could probably get a clutch supplied and fitted for around £350 from a garage.

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The guy may work on a minimum price and work up from there. There are many others who will do the work so I would shop around if the price is a bit high but remember you are paying for someone else's skill and time.

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I don't understand wht the £7.50 is for? What did the invoice say regards to hours worked and does the £35/hr include VAT? (perfectly reasonable hourly charge by the way). Were any additional parts over and above what your friend supplied needed?

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if £35 an hour is perfectly reasonable then im gonna become a mechanic

 

havent spoken to my friend for a few days so not sure what the £7.50 was for i know he opted for the luk clutch this time has he had the clutched replaced 3 year ago with a cheaper make and only did 17 thousand miles in 3 years before it was knackered

 

it was a corsa c 2006 that he has

 

i had my pads and disks replaced 2 year ago and was charged £40

 

another friend of mine had a clutch put in a ford transit last year and was charged £120

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if £35 an hour is perfectly reasonable then im gonna become a mechanic

 

You wouldn't like it mate. It's nothing like you think it is.

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The clutch price and fitting depends on vehicle some vehicles have different things to others

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I wish my garage only charged £35 per hr, its not bad even for a mobile mechanic, the guy has to insure himself, his van etc tools etc and maybe vat to factor in, so i think you have a bargain clutches are not a 5 min job on cars and some take longer than others.

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