How much for an auto g/box oil change?

[grober]

Is he draining the torque converter or just the box and filter for that money ?

 

[t-dawg1]

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

Without naming the indie yes one quoted £96 for a diagnostic and got someone else to call and quoted £96 aswell. Not saying ALL charge that but some do. As for what he does when doing the gearbox I'm not technically equipped to give to a correct answer but from watching him it takes him about 30mins with car I'm a ramp. The 7G he did say is a bit of an **** coz of havering to make sure the oil is a certain temp before doing it and having to refill it in a certain awkward way hence he charges more to do them £90. What I know is people love him coz he's a perfectionist and once he dos a car trust me you know it's done well and will last. I have full faith and trust in him coz he's worked for Mercedes benz for nearly 9 years and knows exactly what he's doing

 

[DSM10000]

Is he draining the torque converter or just the box and filter for that money ?

Unfortunately this is like many posts, long on claim short on substance!

It would be interesting to see how the £50 gearbox oil change was broken down, part numbers for oil and filter used and quantity and specification/ brand of oil so we can at least make a valid comparison.

So far it just seems to be a thread used as an excuse for unnecessary capitalisation and possibly exposing someone as am income tax evader!

 

[t-dawg1]

Is he draining the torque converter or just the box and filter for that money ?

I'm not 100% sure there Sir on what he does

 

[t-dawg1]

Unfortunately this is like many posts, long on claim short on substance! It would be interesting to see how the £50 gearbox oil change was broken down, part numbers for oil and filter used and quantity and specification/ brand of oil so we can at least make a valid comparison. So far it just seems to be a thread used as an excuse for unnecessary capitalisation and possibly exposing someone as am income tax evader!

Tax evasion is an assumption as me nor anyone has the any hardcore evidence of that! But his pricing structure is FACT

 

[Howard]

Can you post up his contact details please ?

 

[DSM10000]

I'm not 100% sure there Sir on what he does

Yet you criticise two respected forum members for their charges when we know that they completely drain the torque convertor and therefore change all the fluid possible which will of course take longer and require more oil!

By all meant post your experiences of good value mechanics and then people on the forum can make a valued judgment on the merits of using him or not.

What you have done is generally have a rant at what you see as the iniquities of most other garages but unless you give us a full cost breakdown with a list of the materials used and the full scope of the work undertaken then how can anyone here make any accurate comparison with the charges of other garages?

 

[Howard]

All the oil and new parts will probably cost the 'tech' nothing because its all pinched from MB ! Like the STAR that is 'borrowed' at evenings and weekends.

So it doesn't matter what he sells it for

 

[DSM10000]

Tax evasion is an assumption as me nor anyone has the any hardcore evidence of that! But his pricing structure is FACT

You were the one quoting "TAX FREE" You really should exercise better judgment when posting on a public forum.

Remember the many cases involving people on Twitter and Lord McAlpine where he was appallingly accused of things he had not done?

 

[t-dawg1]

Yet you criticise two respected forum members for their charges when we know that they completely drain the torque convertor and therefore change all the fluid possible which will of course take longer and require more oil! By all meant post your experiences of good value mechanics and then people on the forum can make a valued judgment on the merits of using him or not. What you have done is generally have a rant at what you see as the iniquities of most other garages but unless you give us a full cost breakdown with a list of the materials used and the full scope of the work undertaken then how can anyone here make any accurate comparison with the charges of other garages?

Fair enough,I accept your point but I still stand by my original Rant of how can a garage charge £90+ to do a STAR DIAGNOSTIC!

 

[t-dawg1]

You were the one quoting "TAX FREE" You really should exercise better judgment when posting on a public forum. Remember the many cases involving people on Twitter and Lord McAlpine where he was appallingly accused of things he had not done?

In hindsight it was a wrong thing to say and I apologise to any forum members I offended.

 

[DSM10000]

Fair enough,I accept your point but I still stand by my original Rant of how can a garage charge £90+ to do a STAR DIAGNOSTIC!

Because that is what they think or know that their market will stand for, you would possibly find that price also includes an hour of labour and VAT?

Sometimes it takes more than simply plugging in the computer, Star can capture live data so the car may need to be taken out and driven to further establish faults.

Accurate comparison is the only way to make a fair judgement.

 

[t-dawg1]

All the oil and new parts will probably cost the 'tech' nothing because its all pinched from MB ! Like the STAR that is 'borrowed' at evenings and weekends. So it doesn't matter what he sells it for

A bit harsh to call him a thief don't you think ?

 

[DSM10000]

In hindsight it was a wrong thing to say and I apologise to any forum members I offended.

I think it may be the mechanic involved who may be requiring the apology if HMRC come knocking!

 

[Howard]

No.

Not paying any tax makes him a thief. The only reason you are saying you made an 'assumption' is because the forum won't let you go back and edit it , so you are **** covering. No one on here is stupid.

Be interesting if HMRC asked him to prove where the money for his ML came from wouldn't it ?

 

[t-dawg1]

All the oil and new parts will probably cost the 'tech' nothing because its all pinched from MB ! Like the STAR that is 'borrowed' at evenings and weekends. So it doesn't matter what he sells it for

Besides if he's stealing then the garage he works for must have serous stock problems and inaccurate stock levels all the time of parts coz the boy is always very busy doing work

 

[Howard]

I don't expect they have particularly great stock control on such high volume cheap things like filters. Oil can be poured into a can and disappeared or you book out 6 litres and only 5 goes in the car , 1 litre into your can .....

I expect your friend has noticed this and seized the opportunity.

Before you say much more , I should tell you I worked in a Volvo parts dept for a while , so know the scams that go on

 

[joecash]

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

because people don't know better or just get caught. Also some elements of servicing are a straight forward rip off: for example oil - imho, if you pay more than £25 a gallon its a rip off or in new money more than circa £5.50 a litre - then of course there are the "servicers" who don't and the "servicers" that "pad" - many do both. At the end of day it is essential you get find a competent mechanic or indy with the right tools for the job who expects to receive a reasonable return for his work and the facilities available. Those people are out there. A few support this forum

 

[Dieselman]

Interesting thread, this one.

Bloke that knows sweet F-A about cars says his mechanic does on the side work using employers tools and possibly their parts, then blows the gaff on a taxation issue...

 

[philepo]

If someone said they could do a critical job like that for 50 quid I'd walk away. 150-200 is typical for indies. Could be using dexron gunk or non genuine parts etc. But if he was stealing parts and oil and not paying tax - well, thats just not clever is it...