Pricing: B Service+ with local specialist.

[morgyface]

I've got a 10 year old C class estate. Love it. Reliable and comfy.

However, living in the depths of Cornwall, specialist mechanics are hard to come by, I've taken mine to a local chap for the last three services, despite him getting mixed feedback, the work and price has always been pretty good.

Until today. I think.

I've just paid £860 for:

• B Service
• 2 x front coil springs
• 1 set of pads and 2 front discs.
• Some rewiring to make my mirror indicator work

Does this seem a reasonable price? Things like £4.32 for half a bottle of washer concentrate and £27 for ONE wiper blade makes me think I've had my pants down.

I was just hoping to see what you lot think before I kick up a stink.

I've also just discovered my speakers have stopped working since taking it in. They worked perfectly when I dropped it off and now I'm getting nothing.

 

[Rory]

What was the extent of the B service - where the fuel and air filters changed?

How much work was involved in rewiring the mirrors?

 

[morgyface]

Full breakdown attached. Looks like 1 hour 12 minutes was spent repairing wiring to the indicator in the mirror.

 

[Rory]

It's pretty "full" pricing, without going as far as saying it's a rip-off.

The wiper is probably lists at that much. Washer concentrate is something I try and put out of my mind, it's always annoying if you start thinking about it!


There always seems to be posters who can get work done on their cars for buttons, but the indies around me charge pretty similar prices to the local dealer, who heavily discounts their labour rate on older cars.

 

[morgyface]

Thank you very much for the response Rory. I can deal with "full" pricing. Pricing is generally "full" down here due to lack of competition.

I need to remind myself, prior to the next service, to ensure the washer reservoir is full, both wiper blades are brand-new and there are no bulbs out.

Phone call to him now regardless to try and resolve the broken speakers!

 

[190]

It's the parts and consumable prices I find hard to swallow. Oil, filter and brake fluid
are all at least a 50% mark up. the wiper blade is a 100% mark up.

 

[morgyface]

I guess if you add up the mark-up on the oil, filter, brake fluid and wiper blades you're looking at £40-ish. I can just about stomach that it's not worth the stress to challenge him.

 

[morgyface]

I couldn't let it lie. After further investigation, it looks like the parts could've been bought for about £150 less.

The oil was a tenner more expensive than HALFORDS and can be found online for £16.50 less than his price.

Halfords also sell a pair of the same wiper blades for £39. He charged me £33 for ONE.

Then there's things like the coil springs which I found online for £50 less.

In true Brit fashion. Strongly worded letter. I'll give him the chance to put this right. Whilst I'm not expecting him to compete with the very cheapest online prices, I would expect his prices to be no more than your over-priced high-street retailer.

 

[DSM10000]

I couldn't let it lie. After further investigation, it looks like the parts could've been bought for about £150 less.

The oil was a tenner more expensive than HALFORDS and can be found online for £16.50 less than his price.

Halfords also sell a pair of the same wiper blades for £39. He charged me £33 for ONE.

Then there's things like the coil springs which I found online for £50 less.

In true Brit fashion. Strongly worded letter. I'll give him the chance to put this right. Whilst I'm not expecting him to compete with the very cheapest online prices, I would expect his prices to be no more than your over-priced high-street retailer.

Are you comparing like with like in terms of the provenance and quality of the parts fitted against those you found on-line?

If he ordered MB parts from MB then his mark up is not great, if you expect him to spend time on-line or on the 'phone trying to track down the best value parts then that time also has to be paid for.

Also, if your wiper blades needed replacing you could have done this yourself, presumably you gave him permission to change one?

Going to a garage to have work done carries a premium, especially when, as you say, there are few competitors.

 

[supermonkeyman]

A bit late now but you should always confirm costs before having the work done, its his fault too for not asking you/advising you of the costs. Now it's awkward for both parties because you think he's charged too much and he will think that you don't want to pay a fair price for the work he has carried out...

 

[morgyface]

Absolutely like-for-like parts, it wouldn't be fair for me to compare cheap inferior parts against decent or genuine MB parts.

After discussions with him, it sounds like he's using genuine MB parts less. He no longer uses MB discs because he told me they were prohibitively expensive. He'll only use genuine MB where there is a noticeable difference in quality. I suppose that's the benefit of being a specialist and not a dealer.

My passenger side wiper blade did perhaps need changing but he never asked, nor did I give authorisation. The first I knew of it was when I collected the car. I'd also only just refilled the water reservoir but he charged me £2.59 to top it up with no more than 100ml.

I don't necessarily agree work at a garage should carry a premium. You pay them an hourly rate for their time and £60 an hour is a fair price. To be then charged 20% more than Halfords for your oil is unreasonable in my opinion. If you can make a mark-up on your consumables by making the effort to shop around once in a while then that's fine by me, but the price of these bits and bobs should always be competitive.

 

[morgyface]

It is a bit late @supermonkeyman, in my defence I did push for a price before he carried out the work and despite two phone calls he committed only to giving me a ballpark figure which was less than the price I actually ended up paying. He also never asked about wiper blades etc.

The thing is, I have no qualms paying a 'fair' price. But to be charging noncompetitive prices for parts and consumables isn't that reasonable in my eyes. I already pay for his labour, for him to also be making 50% on parts seems out of order if you ask me. If you need to add 50% mark-up to prices to make a living surely your hourly rate needs to go up, that way customers know what they're getting into. It all seems a bit underhand.

Anyway, I'll write to him and although there's unlikely to be any financial benefit to me, he might think about how he structures things in future for other customers. I won't be going back regardless.

 

[Rory]

It would be nice if garages would charge trade price for parts and just charge us labour, but I guess that's (generally) not going to happen.

It's frustrating that something like a pad & disc change on pretty well any car ends up cost about 2x the OEM parts cost. I suppose that's how garages make money though - the owner of the little garage in my village is just off on his latest (most of the way) around the world cruise.

 

[bluestreak]

put it down to experience and save yourself a lot of hassle. If you ask for a quote next time and a call should anything come up you'd be amazed how competitive your garage could be.

 

[morgyface]

@Rory It would be nice, but it's not what I'm expecting.

I'd expect a mark-up on parts, but surely it should be limited to the parts remaining competitive to the public. i.e NOT 20%-50% more than Halfords!

 

[supermonkeyman]

It is a bit late @supermonkeyman, in my defence I did push for a price before he carried out the work and despite two phone calls he committed only to giving me a ballpark figure which was less than the price I actually ended up paying. He also never asked about wiper blades etc.

The thing is, I have no qualms paying a 'fair' price. But to be charging noncompetitive prices for parts and consumables isn't that reasonable in my eyes. I already pay for his labour, for him to also be making 50% on parts seems out of order if you ask me. If you need to add 50% mark-up to prices to make a living surely your hourly rate needs to go up, that way customers know what they're getting into. It all seems a bit underhand.

Anyway, I'll write to him and although there's unlikely to be any financial benefit to me, he might think about how he structures things in future for other customers. I won't be going back regardless.

Oh no, please don't think I'm telling you off or anything. The 'A bit late now' was referring to my comment about getting prices before the work and the fact that comment is a bit late as the work has been done.

If he gave you a ballpark then I would've queried the fact that the end price was higher, but I suppose a ballpark is an estimate so it can change.

If you didn't ask for the wiper blades or if he didn't ask you that it's okay to change them the he shouldn't have changed them thus you shouldn't have paid for it.

I agree with your comment about fair prices on parts, but the mark up on parts is quite common unfortunately. That's why I always take my own oil for a service, saves me having to pay their inflated prices and I know it's good quality stuff.

If you want to, you could ask for a partial refund, not sure if the garage will agree.

The point that it's only a wiper blade, or that it's only a small difference in price and not worth the hassle is what encourages garahes to keep doing this

 

[morgyface]

@bluestreak You're right. You really are. I should go for a beer and forget all about it. But I won't because, well... JUSTICE.

 

[Deleted member 55947]

@Rory It would be nice, but it's not what I'm expecting.

I'd expect a mark-up on parts, but surely it should be limited to the parts remaining competitive to the public. i.e NOT 20%-50% more than Halfords!

Perhaps he was very diligent and mindful thus went to a MB main dealers for the parts, that would explain a lot

 

[morgyface]

Perhaps he was very diligent and mindful thus went to a MB main dealers for the parts, that would explain a lot

If you go to a MB dealer knowing full well your customer is paying over the odds for parts that could be sourced much cheaper elsewhere isn't that the exact opposite of being diligent and mindful? Not to mention being bad at business.

 

[AMGeed]

If you go to a MB dealer knowing full well your customer is paying over the odds for parts that could be sourced much cheaper elsewhere isn't that the exact opposite of being diligent and mindful? Not to mention being bad at business.

Not exactly. Some owners don't want cheaper parts with possible inferior quality and insist on OEM.

Also I would expect an MB indy to fit MB parts and not aftermarket unless I asked him.
My indy fits OEM because the parts are a sure fit. Aftermarket parts often don't.