Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Car service. I think I was ripped off, DH thinks it's standard.

140 replies

CovidStoleTheRainbow · 13/10/2020 18:31

I've never owned a new care before. I now own a 2 year old Peugeot and it had a service today, change of oil filter and another filter which stops bacteria entering the car.
They also checked under the car, the brake pads and for oil leaks, checked the tyres. They filmed themselves doing the latter and sent it to me. It took them 1 minute 21 seconds to carry out this check.

Thank the labour cost £142

It was done by lunch time, I argue that £142 is fucking abominable, and DH says it's an expensive car so we have to pay for an expensive service by a Peugeot dealer.

Yearly apparently.

I'm also told that wasn't a 'full service'.
Fuck me we'll have to sell the car to afford the next service!

AIBU?!

OP posts:
bethany39 · 13/10/2020 19:08

@CovidStoleTheRainbow

How is £142 for a couple of hours work, cheap?!

That's labour ALONE.

So they get paid £70 an hour?!

How many people did you interact with during that couple of hours though? The person on reception etc?

Also they have to pay for premises and equipment, it's not like they're actually getting 70 quid an hour for looking at your car!

TheTroutofNoCraic · 13/10/2020 19:08

What was the cost of your whole service, inclusive of the labour?

tigger1001 · 13/10/2020 19:09

I would never go to a dealer to get my car serviced - it's well known that they overcharge. I use my local independent garage and can't fault their service. Always had good work done and are reasonably priced as they rely on repeat customer rather than their name to get them custom. Their labour charges are a fraction of that.

screamingchild · 13/10/2020 19:09

Sorry but that's cheap!

Eng123 · 13/10/2020 19:10

Having run a business I can assure you that the hourly rate charged is very different to the rate you earn at. Grin and bare it in afraid!

OllysArmy · 13/10/2020 19:10

OP I am not sure you habit the real world what your service cost was more than reasonable.

A professional business such as this charging less than £70 per hour would be hard to find.

Hopoindown31 · 13/10/2020 19:10

Yep, main dealer prices!

Elai1978 · 13/10/2020 19:10

Are you sure it was 2 hours labour? £70/hr at a main dealer is fucking cheap! Certain brands you’re looking at more that double that!

Shame they charged you £150 for the oil, oil filter and cabin filter though, that’s a rip-off. I always supply my own oil where possible if I have to use a main dealer.

Crystalknobs · 13/10/2020 19:11

Could you get a service plan Op ? I have one and pay £17 a month so don’t have to fork out ££££ at service time.

Original poster
CovidStoleTheRainbow · 13/10/2020 19:12

@Elai1978

Are you sure it was 2 hours labour? £70/hr at a main dealer is fucking cheap! Certain brands you’re looking at more that double that!

Shame they charged you £150 for the oil, oil filter and cabin filter though, that’s a rip-off. I always supply my own oil where possible if I have to use a main dealer.

I mean it was dropped in at 9, they showed me the video at 10, and I paid the invoice and was told it was done by 11.30.

The invoice says the oil cost £30, the oil filter was £33, the other filter was £30 and something else.

The rest was labour.

OP posts:
Scarby9 · 13/10/2020 19:13

That is cheaper than any service I have had in recent years, and my car is only a small hatchback 1.1.

PenelopePilchard · 13/10/2020 19:13

I've got a Mini Cooper S that had its 2 year service last year. It needed 2 new front tyres and the bill was around £750.

Cars need less servicing these days but they charge more - usually for the glossy dealership premises.

LakieLady · 13/10/2020 19:13

Very reasonable for a main dealer.

My lovely independent garage charges £55 an hour for labour, and it's probably the cheapest one in the area. I've never heard of one cheaper.

DGRossetti · 13/10/2020 19:14

When I ran my DFs repair workshop in the 1990s, we had to make getting on for £10,000 a year before we opened the gates.

That's £200 a week.To cover rates, insurance, standing charges on electricity and water plus accountancy and miscellaneous rentals (fax machine, overalls).

All before we took a penny to cover wages and ongoing costs like electricity and equipment servicing.

That's before you factored in the time wasted by comedians arguing over the bill because apparently "their mate/place down the road/in their day" would not only have paid them for the privilege of doing the job, but backwards and in heels.

CakeRequired · 13/10/2020 19:14

Services at a garage are generally pointless. Sounds like they changed the oil filter (hopefully the oil too or that was pointless) and the air filter. They forgot the fuel filter, unless it didn't need doing, sometimes they don't. You can get all of those parts, plus oil, on ebay or a car shop for about £50-60. Maybe more depending on your car. Then either do it yourself by watching YouTube as its not hard, or pay a mobile mechanic to do it. Done with none of the stupid 'checks' they do like lights, tyres, horn etc. If you can't check those yourself, you shouldn't be driving.

I don't get services done at garages. Ever. It's a waste of money, my cat could do a better job.

pointythings · 13/10/2020 19:15

That's a good price. My last service was £240-ish - I do have a biggish car.

Aside from overheads, pensions and so on as pointed out above, let's not forget that mechanics are skilled people who deserve a half decent wage.

Your DH is right.

fairydustandpixies · 13/10/2020 19:16

Wow! That's very cheap OP!!

ivfbeenbusy · 13/10/2020 19:17

Nope that's sounds right. It's £200 for my Ford
Think yourself lucky - the standard big standard service on a BMW is £500+!!!

I have a payment plan with Ford and I pay £20 a month and so don't have a wacking great bill as my service AND mot is in December so it just adds to the xmas bills. This way I know that other than a major repair I don't need to worry about finding the money

CakeRequired · 13/10/2020 19:17

Sounds about the same as I pay for my Ford Fiesta but at least services are only once a year nowadays

You should be changing your oil every 5000 miles at minimum. The oil filter at the same time. If you only do that kind of mileage fair enough. But it's not a yearly thing, it's how much you drive.

vanillandhoney · 13/10/2020 19:18

Sounds very cheap to me.

Cars are expensive to run. Car mechanics are also skilled and garages aren't cheap either.

Original poster
CovidStoleTheRainbow · 13/10/2020 19:19

Thanks for the input.
I think a monthly plan is the way forward!

OP posts:
MyGazeboisLeaking · 13/10/2020 19:19

Out of interest, what did you expect to pay, OP?

1Morewineplease · 13/10/2020 19:20

We pay between £300 and £400 for a full service on our two year old Toyota Rav.

Elai1978 · 13/10/2020 19:20

The invoice says the oil cost £30, the oil filter was £33, the other filter was £30 and something else.

The rest was labour.

The oil sounds reasonably priced to be fair, the oil filter overpriced by about £25. It should breakdown the labour on the invoice in number of hours. To do the work you’ve had done though should take no more than an hour.

AnnaMagnani · 13/10/2020 19:21

£142 at a dealership is a bargain.

After all you had the labour of the receptionist, the cleaner, 2 mechanics, accountants, covered their pensions, paid overheads on the buildings, maintenance on any equipment, insurance etc.

Swipe left for the next trending thread