to feel I've been a bit ripped off? (car related)

[hormonallyyours]

And if so what would you do about it?

I'll start by saying I'm fairly new to the world of car ownership. But my dad (sadly no longer with us) worked with cars for many years, and I picked up some stuff from him so whilst i couldnt repair a car myself I'm not totally clueless either.

So just before Xmas my exhaust took a bit of a knock, and split. Me and DP had a look under, and were both fairly sure the back box, and possibly the center section needed replacing.

I called a few places but as it was literally the day before Xmas no one could fit me in immediately. Of the places I spoke to, only one was clear on price (80 plus Vat for the back, 110 plus vat for the whole thing. Others were a bit vague (one said £50-300!), or said I'd need to bring it in first...the local national exhaust franchise said £130. But I decided to stick with first place which was local and clearest over price. They also had excellent which reviews etc.

So it went in today. Dropped it off this morning, told they'd call when it was done.

No call. So at 4pm I called them. Yes it was fixed but they couldn't tell me the cost. And they shut at 5 so could I fetch it asap?

Eventually called me back half an hour later. The cost was £150, they've replaced the front section (which looked fine to DP and I) and salvaged (their words) the rest.

AIBU to be fed up with the lack of contact, or update and feel if you've specified a price for the whole thing, and then only replace part, the cost should be less not more?

I've checked the cost of the replaced part and it's £50-60. So that's £100 or thereabouts just on labour!

Cat ownership is obviously much nicer

It's normal for a bit of a smell from a new exhaust. I remember panicking the first time.

Our Kwik Fit is excellent.

I told them the exhaust was split, and where, and the part(s) that would need replacing, the back box looked in poor condition to DP and I, so we felt that section at least would need replacing, and possibly the other section as well.

So when I spoke to them they told me price for back box (£60 plus VAT) alternatively £110 plus VAT for the whole exhaust.

However they only replaced part, salvaged the rest and charged me more.

I don't see why expecting to be kept informed etc means I shouldn't have a car, that's crazy. Fwiw, next year I'll probably get a lease car/pcp, but I'm not in a position to commit to that cost at preset.

They are car mechanics. It was an extra £15. Do you expect them to stop a job to phone and discuss that?

It might well smell but it shouldn't be extreme. Are you quite sensitive to smells? If you are really worried about it, you need to take it back, but I think some sort of smell is normal, especially where they have fused together new parts and they have told you to expect it.
The normal way for a garage to operate is that you book it in, arrive, get a rough estimate for the work subject to them having a look at it. They will usually then agree to give you a quick call once they have inspected and give you a VAT inclusive quote for the work. You then tell them to go ahead (or not) and they tell you when it will be ready (or call again). That's always been my experience. Maybe they were just a bit disorganised that day.

Best way to find a good garage is to get word of mouth recommendations.

So when I spoke to them they told me price for back box (£60 plus VAT) alternatively £110 plus VAT for the whole exhaust. However they only replaced part, salvaged the rest and charged me more

To be fair though, that's not for labour (or if you thought it was, I think you misunderstood). I seriously doubt you would get a mechanic to replace a backbox for £60 plus VAT inclusive of labour. The price you were charged is completely realistic and you have not been ripped off. You would have paid quite a bit more if they had replaced the entire thing.

Ideally I'd like them to have called me before, as a courtesy.

Alternatively, they should have called me once the work was completed, to advise the work done and correct price.

The fact I had to chase them to find out if it was fixed, and then wait another 30 mins for a callback, isn't great service. I dropped the car off at 7.30am and called them at 4pm, so it's not like I was chasing after an hour.

At present however my primary concern is the appalling smell and whether it is 'normal' or not.

The quotes were the full price. I asked what it would cost to supply and fit the parts and was told the price plus VAT. I did some research on the internet for exhaust replacement on cars like mine, and there were posts on various fora of people spending £60-130, which was around the ball park of the quote I had.

I'm not sensitive to smell, in fact I have a cold at present so my sense of smell is if anything duller than normal as my nose is a bit blocked.

I drive a small, budget type of car. Parts are comparitively cheap.

Did you ask the garage about the discrepancy between the quote on the phone compared to actual cost when you were picking the car up?
for next time- confirm the price before you leaving the car and ask them to contact you if that changes to confirm that you still want to proceed with the work.

I agree that they messed up about not keeping you informed. They should definitely have told you when the car was ready to collect and they should have quoted you properly. You might want to stick that in a review to them so that they can improve their practices.

However, I am very surprised about an estimate of £60 including labour. I also drive a small budget-type car and just looked up how much the backbox was to buy and its £48. There's no way a garage would charge just £12 for the cost of fitting it. If they said that to you, then it sounds like miscommunication. Often online estimates are misleading as they are from 15 years ago or refer just to the cost of the parts.

When I dropped the car off they said they would call me to confirm etc, but no call came.

I had to get the car collected for me as I was at work, but I did query the price on the phone and was told that it had changed and this figure was the repair cost, by then the repairs were complete so there wasn't much I could do but pay.

They were out of order to do work on a car without confirmation from you that the cost was what you were happy with.

Im very wary of national garages and main dealers. I always go to my local independant garage and have done for 10 years. When i bought my new car the main dealer offered me 3 years free servicing (it was a goodwill gesture) and i turned them down. They were gobsmacked, the manager said in 20 years of working there no one has ever refused a free service never mind refused 3 services!

Im very very funny about who touches my car.

I would go by recommendation next time.

The backbox for my car is £30. And apologies, the price they gave to replace that (as per my OP) was £80 plus VAT. I did see posts where people had paid £60 but yes this may have been years ago, or not included VAT, but £96 seemed reasonable to me.

Unfortunately everyone I know in this area either has a newish car which they take to the main dealer, or they have their car on lease.

I used another local garage when my car was MOTd last year, they WERE recommended by a colleague but were awful, charged me for things I'd replaced myself pre MOT and didn't communicate at all. I thought going by reviews and which trusted trader status might make for a better experience but clearly not.

I absolutely hated having to take my car to the garage for anything. Problem is, you have to trust what the mechanic says, as you can't challenge something you don't always know about. I lease now through work, so loads better. It's totally out of order for them to give you a quote then charge you differently, without at least a courtesy call. Whilst £15 to £25 might not be a fortune to some, if you are on a very tight budget it makes a lot of difference, and you may have turned up to pick up the car and not been able to afford to pay them the extra. I always ask for quotes upfront for everything so that there are no nasty surprises after the work is done.

Small garages don't usually have people available to phone customers over every small change on a job. They are fixing your car.

Kwik fit garages are the best in the different area ps ive been living and i would go to them over anyone else as they know what they doing. Tried other garages and returned to kwit fit as less likely to be ripped off. Ive had them mend things for free before. £150 isnt bad. Sadly owning a car can be expensive. Was it a quote or an estimate.

The smell is the paint burning of the new exhaust, which is normal and usually disappears after the exhaust has heated up and run at operating temperature for a while.

P.S. Kwik Fit will fit rubbish quality parts, and try to "upsell" you everything like tyres, suspension and brakes!

Viking, can you advise how long the smell is likely to take to clear please? Car was driven for 10 mins back from the garage earlier, and then I went out in it for 15 mins, I was going further but turned round and came home because of the smell. Is it likely to take days to go?

The garage are only open til mid day tomorrow so if I need to take it back I have to do it before then.

Livelove you're exactly right re it being a lot of extra money to some people. I could afford to pay the difference, but they wouldn't know that from my car (like I've said, it's very budget, nearly 15 years old, worth maybe £500). And It's not just the change in price but the fact they were so unprepared for me even to ask, and took half an hour to,call me back and confirm.

The mechanic is not psychic - they can only give you an approximate time of how long something is going to take and they can only give you a ballpark figure of what a part will cost, they have to get a quote from their supplier. You and your DH are not mechanics! How offensive, you went in and told them what needed doing, that's just weird.

You should have been contacted rather than having to ring but I'm not sure why you're so bothered since you were at work. Independant garages are often very busy and understaffed. You were being unnecessarily demanding, expecting a call for a mere £15 difference in price. They would have phoned you once the car was ready, it might have been they had a lot of customers to phone and you were on the list.

You sound like a nightmare customer. YADBU for writing a thread about it 😳, give them a break! They fixed your car.

Half an hour is nothing! They have to find prices and work out VAT and retail price, alongside dealing with other enquiries at the same time.

I've always been told to avoid Kwik fit, and I'd normally agree (like I had a problem with one of my tyres, KF wanted to charge me for a whole new tyre £50+, I went to a local tyre place who fixed the valve for £15). That said, my friend felt she had a pretty good experience with her exhaust with KF, and paid less than me (and it was done while she waited, whereas I've been waiting for this since 23 Dec!) so it seems it could go either way really.

third time the half hour delay was AFTER they had fixed my car. Surely once the work was complete they would know the cost?!

As for them phoning me, I called at 4. They shut at 5. If I'd waited for them to call me, there's no way I would have had time to get anyone there to collect the car for me. The delay til 4.30 meant arranging payment was also difficult as I was left with very little time to do so.

Yes they should have stuck to the original quote.
I have used quickfit and they stick to the price they quoted.