How much for an auto g/box oil change?

[mickl]

all he makes goes straight to his pocket....TAX FREE!

and there's why he's so cheap. HMRC hasn't caught up with him yet.

 

[MBE320]

None of us know for sure if this guy is paying tax or not, so I presume he has very little overheads to be able to charge what he does.

If only I knew someone like that lol.

 

[markjay]

Still can't justify £90+ for a diagnostic that takes about 15mins,iv seen him do it. He plugs it in chooses the model presses a few F1 etc keys things scans the car and you hear revs rise a bit and a few ticks later you see what's passed or failed,press the F1 key again and BOOM it's reels you where the fault lies! Very effortless! £90+ IS INSANE TRUST ME!

Would be interesting to know if he bought the STAR himself and pays annual subscription for it, or just borrows it from the garage he works for, leaving the ROI worries to them?

 

[t-dawg1]

Would be interesting to know if he bought the STAR himself and pays annual subscription for it, or just borrows it from the garage he works for, leaving the ROI worries to them?

The STAR isn't his that I know coz he only access to it after hours or weekends only so maybe that's why! Like I said he could STAR up to 5 cars a night, that's over £100.... For telling people what the fault is. Then he gets the privelege to repair them for reasonable prices. Would not use the guy over and over again??????? EXACTLY YOU WOULD hence he gets repeat business! It's simple logic isn't it?

 

[t-dawg1]

Well if your claim that he is making the money tax free and without significant overheads is accurate then it would explain his lower prices, also, well done for advertising that he may be working without paying tax, I am sure he will appreciate that being put on a public forum!

To be fair the TAX bit is just my assumption,he has never said that to me nor have I seen his paperwork. He has next to no overheads at all that's for sure. People seem quite annoyed on here that someone is charging really fair prices to do really a quick thing with STAR. Because iv seem him use it iv to realise that NO ALOT is involved once it's plugged it and it does it's scan. Yes you need to have the knowledge of what it's saying to interpret it but for me a car enthusiast I think people get RIPPED OFF. Maybe if customers got the benefit to watch the guys use the STAR they would agree with me

 

[BlackC55]

I charge £20 to do a quick star test. That includes vat too. I have more overheads than your guy too. I think he is charging too much for his Star test.

 

[BlackC55]

Oh and if he is doing 5speed ATF changes for £50 he is loosing money. The parts are more than that!!

 

[t-dawg1]

I charge £20 to do a quick star test. That includes vat too. I have more overheads than your guy too. I think he is charging too much for his Star test.

Thankyou for your input at least you in that business and you understand. So how so some charge £90+ to do that very same thing????? Baffles me and my TECH. A dealer we can understand cos of overheads etc

 

[DSM10000]

To be fair the TAX bit is just my assumption,he has never said that to me nor have I seen his paperwork. He has next to no overheads at all that's for sure. People seem quite annoyed on here that someone is charging really fair prices to do really a quick thing with STAR. Because iv seem him use it iv to realise that NO ALOT is involved once it's plugged it and it does it's scan. Yes you need to have the knowledge of what it's saying to interpret it but for me a car enthusiast I think people get RIPPED OFF. Maybe if customers got the benefit to watch the guys use the STAR they would agree with me

If it is just an assumption then you should not be stating it as fact, you could cause him some considerable problems with such statements.

No one is annoyed with his charges but I am sure you realise that proper garages have a large investment in premises, equipment, staff, training and other overheads such as business rates, insurance, VAT etc so we are hardly comparing like with like.

 

[t-dawg1]

If it is just an assumption then you should not be stating it as fact, you could cause him some considerable problems with such statements. No one is annoyed with his charges but I am sure you realise that proper garages have a large investment in premises, equipment, staff, training and other overheads such as business rates, insurance, VAT etc so we are hardly comparing like with like.

My apologies for making assumptions and ya I see the implications that could cause but I do know that he is a very honest young man who loves cars and believes people should get them repaired at fair prices. I also understand that bigger garages have more overheads etc which is fair enough too coz they got to do what makes them make a profit too. The problem is when they start charging exorbitant prices for diagnostics is when people start to complain coz on top of that people will have the labour and parts to pay for too. It shouldn't be a punishment for owning a Mercedes Benz to be ripped off like this,hence more and more people including myself now carry out their own servicing and garages lose business coz off overcharging. Charge fairly and people will come back to you over and over and over again....SIMPLE

 

[Auto-mobile]

Mercedes auto boxes won't last long on old chipshop oil, because at those prices that's what he is using.

 

[isohail72]

t-dwag1!!! Mate, i am so much with you on the RIPping subject!!!
We all should say NO TO THESE RIPPERS!!!

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[t-dawg1]

t-dwag1!!! Mate, i am so much with you on the RIPping subject!!! We all should say NO TO THESE RIPPERS!!! Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK[/QUOTE

Exactly! Let's start promoting those that are fair and advertise for them to get them more business,it will soon force these RIPPERS to reduce their prices,they are not main dealers therefore should not charge anywhere near that. Iv heard so much more inside info about what actually goes on behind the scenes at some of these dealerships when our trusted cars go in for servicing etc (which I won't share on here) which cements my thoughts in here that Britain is a RIP OFF nation,which is not right.

 

[Dieselman]

Looks like this is turning into another quality thread on MBClub...

 

[m2287]

The only thing with getting it done on the cheap is.....

I know its unlikely but what happens if he made a massive mistake which could potentially cost you thousands? I doubt he is insured? ( I say this as I had a mate change a cambelt on a car previously, a week later my car suddenly lost all power. Got towed to a garage, they said my alternator was gone, got a new one at around £250 + fitting, worked out at around £400ish. Drove home fine, went out that night and the car died again. Turned out that he hadnt put the alternator cable back in place when he changed the cambelt, the cable had been worn through as it was rubbing against a belt. So I paid cheap for the cambelt but in the long run I paid alot more).

Also when you go to sell the car, you have no proof that the work has been done whereas with a proper garage you have the receipt for the work done.

Im all for not getting ripped off, but just saying that there can be downsides with mates rates outfits...

I have found that by using guides on the net, alot of work is doable yourself for 1/4 of what it would normally cost. I now oil change my cars myself, change breaks myself, soldered afew broken wires in a door hinge, fixed an electric seat which was causing battery drain, got rid of rust and sprayed over it, changed a window module, and changed an ABC strut for £300 all in (over £1000 main dealer job).

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED ME DO THIS SO FAR!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[t-dawg1]

The only thing with getting it done on the cheap is..... I know its unlikely but what happens if he made a massive mistake which could potentially cost you thousands? I doubt he is insured? ( I say this as I had a mate change a cambelt on a car previously, a week later my car suddenly lost all power. Got towed to a garage, they said my alternator was gone, got a new one at around £250 + fitting, worked out at around £400ish. Drove home fine, went out that night and the car died again. Turned out that he hadnt put the alternator cable back in place when he changed the cambelt, the cable had been worn through as it was rubbing against a belt. So I paid cheap for the cambelt but in the long run I paid alot more). Also when you go to sell the car, you have no proof that the work has been done whereas with a proper garage you have the receipt for the work done. Im all for not getting ripped off, but just saying that there can be downsides with mates rates outfits... I have found that by using guides on the net, alot of work is doable yourself for 1/4 of what it would normally cost. I now oil change my cars myself, change breaks myself, soldered afew broken wires in a door hinge, fixed an electric seat which was causing battery drain, got rid of rust and sprayed over it, changed a window module, and changed an ABC strut for £300 all in (over £1000 main dealer job). THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED ME DO THIS SO FAR!!!!!!!!!!!

I so agree with everything you said 100%. I was one of those who used be afraid to go anywhere near a "Mercedes Benz" ENGINE thinking that only Main Dealers could do the work on these coz of the "Brand"etc etc but over the years of spending ££££££ on repairs I became more inquisitive as what it actually takes to do these things brakes,oil changes etc and came to realise that with a few spanners etc one could do this on their front drive. Also watching my tech do it and the time it took him to do it got me thinking its time I tried these myself and yes with those GUIDES ONLINE and helpful FORUM MEMBERS I now do all my servicing etc. if only one could buy that STAR thing and own it then I'd never really need to set foot at the dealer except for buying parts....that's another thing Parts from a dealer are just boxed with their logo but when u open most of them you find that they are the same parts on ECP etc for half the price.....so,it's the packaging we pay for then? Yes I know they are maybe trying to protect the a BRAND etc but what a RIP OFF.

 

[t-dawg1]

looks like this is turning into another quality thread on mbclub...

its time to stand up and say the truth as it is sir!

 

[t-dawg1]

Mercedes auto boxes won't last long on old chipshop oil, because at those prices that's what he is using.

My last C220 cdi he done for that price lasted 30k before I sold it and it never skipped a beep in that time.....if it was chip shop oil then it's very very good!

 

[Dieselman]

its time to stand up and say the truth as it is sir!

Rant on....


Yawn...ZZZZZZZZZ

 

[bob6600]

Thankyou for your input at least you in that business and you understand. So how so some charge £90+ to do that very same thing????? Baffles me and my TECH. A dealer we can understand cos of overheads etc

Which indie is charging £90+ for a STAR? Don't think there are any on here that do, even though they all have overheads.

I think the average price in this thread of circa £180 is about right including VAT. I have seen threads where people say do it yourself for just under £100 so at that price it seems fair.

Your 'TECH' seems to be working for very little. If he charges £50 for a 5g and it takes say an hour, unless he is not using the correct parts, he is definitely not making any legit money on this. Seems he is paying the customer to do their work