Cost of MOT work...fair?

[northpole]

So who pays for labour to swap the recently replaced part that needs replacing again within the 12 month warranty period ?

Engine mounts are easy to replace yourself if you pay for that to be done than you'll have to fork out for that again... it's that simple but if you want that done for free I suggest you pay twice the price of the part plus added vat and of course the labour costs...


I do most things myself so I don't have to pay for fitting it.

Also with what these cars are worth if you have to pay around 500 pounds for changing a part you might as well consider buying another one... I bought mine for scrap value and it has never been looked after better than I do since I owned it , and I run it on a seriously tight budget. So make up your mind about what is more important to you, having a place to redo the job if it acts up totally cost free ( but it's not since you already paid for it twice) or save money get better or the same parts and DIY.

[Aikon58]

Do you take your uncooked burger and bap and cheese to Macdonalds and ask them to cook it all up for you ? or do you not go to Macdonlds because you can cook your own 5p burger yourself ?

[northpole]

Do you take your uncooked burger and bap and cheese to Macdonalds and ask them to cook it all up for you ? or do you not go to Macdonlds because you can cook your own 5p burger yourself ?

Go troll someone else mate...

[northpole]

let me explain a bit more: unlike most I have rebuild engines from scratch, blueprinted the lot (if you know what that means) done bodywork and have taken cars back to the bare shell to turn them into full on track or rally monsters... I also have recreated several rally engines that you can't buy off the shelf.. so taking a car apart is nothing to me... my body may not agree with it anymore, and the lack of a garage makes me sometimes have a garage replace a part because the weather is so bad i can't be arsed and it really has to be done.. but other than that i do everything myself..

and yes my MOT garage knows that I'm that capable, I can even go there to borrow tools if i need it to make a job easier, it just means that when they get my car they know it is either already done or I will sort it out after it is pointed out to me. I also have business accounts with several car parts suppliers so they know I can get my parts cheaper than what they would charge me. For instance 2 years ago i needed my rear brakes done, as the disks needed replacing but hey bad weather so i didn't bother... they literally told me go get the parts as they can't offer me them at the price I can get them... went and got the brakes and had the lot done... I paid for their time to put it on... ( OSR calliper, new disks and pads, full brakefluid change /their brake fluid) for the sum of 70 pounds (this included my MOT and an oil and oil filter chance- which i already provided myself) the brakes i got were brembo oem replacements and at 1/3 of the normal price with my standard business account including VAT came to just shy of 60 pounds.. the oil and filter i already bought at 20 pounds

the price i got quoted with them supplying the parts came to almost 400 pounds including the MOT , and the service...
I got the parts fitted, MOT, and oil/oil filter and brake fluid change at 70 pounds
oil and oil filter 20 pounds
disks pads and calliper 60
can you count? that is a saving of 250 pounds

let's say the calliper or disks were faulty and i'd have them take them off and refit the replacements i'd still be off cheaper.

[Aikon58]

As a garage I would have said I don't/I'm not fitting your supplied parts, and that's exactly what I say to people who call or come through the door, I'm there to make money, not subsidise people, and that's why I asked if you take your uncooked food to macdonalds for them to cook for you, and I already know what they would say if you tried it, it's the same for tyre places, I think it's a **** take when people take their cheap chinese tyres to them expecting them to be fitted for £5, so not really trolling, I'd say it to peoples faces in the real world, not just electronically.


And there's not a chance I'd lend my tools out.

[northpole]

They let me borrow tools because we are friends and I've also done stuff on their cars so it's a give and take between me and them..

But I get it, if that is what you do for a living you look at it that way... I don't and for me i will be damned if I have to pay over the odds for something i can do myself easily enough... I mean if you have to redecorate the house do you get a painter or interior designer in? No you don't, you go and buy the paint brushes and paint and DIY... hell if you need to do some flooring you'd do that yourself to if you know how to do it...

So that is how it is between me and them, and refusal to let people supply parts might make you lose out on customers, for instance if you need to replace bushes you will offer the normal or aftermarket oem equivalent ones right? what if the ones I want on there are PU bushes from a certain brand that you can't order, but i can? So simply paying for fitment isn't taking money out of your pocket, it's just paying for the work to be carried out... if it's done right you won't hear me complain... If the part is **** than it'll get returned and i am out of pocket as i will have to pay for another part and for it to be fitted again... but that is the way that is.

But I do understand you completely, i hope you understand where i'm coming from...

[Aikon58]

The problem happens when people take their own stuff they got from ebay or euro's ect and it doesn't fit or it only last's a week and they want me to replace it again for free once they get the new part....
I have had someone who let's say is a friend ask me to fit their thermostat housing (that they saved money buying it direct themselves) on their daughter's car for me to gain access and remove the old housing to find the pipe fitment on one outlet is different so is no good, to then need to put the old housing back and pay me for my time even though they're back to square one.

They then try another 2 times to get this housing changed to find that they can't even get the correct part.

If I was to supply the part and it was the wrong part, it's down to me, if I supply that part and it only last's a week, it's down to me.

A lot of people can't actually see that to remain open and make a profit, businesses have to put a margin on the parts to cover overheads and for when a component needs replacing under warranty and the motor factors only offer a fixed low warranty labour rate or no labour included in the warranty.

Also the garage insurance company may not want to back you up as a garage when it all goes pear shape because the part was not supplied by the garage but by the customer, in which case I could end up losing out big time in the event of a component failure.

I have and I will continue to lose the customers that want to supply their own part and I'm extremely happy that they don't come back to be honest.

[Dog_Book]

The problem happens when people take their own stuff they got from ebay or euro's ect and it doesn't fit or it only last's a week and they want me to replace it again for free once they get the new part....
I've have had someone who let's say is a friend ask me to fit their thermostat housing (that they saved money buying it direct themselves) on their daughter's car for me to gain access and remove the old housing to find the pipe fitment on one outlet is different so is no good, to then need to put the old housing back and pay me for my time even though they're back to square one.

They then try another 2 times to get this housing changed to find that they can't even get the correct part.

If I was to supply the part and it was the wrong part, it's down to me, if I supply that part and it only last's a week, it's down to me.

A lot of people can't actually see that to remain open and make a profit, businesses have to put a margin on the parts to cover overheads and for when a component needs replacing under warranty and the motor factors only offer a fixed low warranty labour rate or no labour included in the warranty.

Also the garage insurance company may not want to back you up as a garage when it all goes pear shape because the part was not supplied by the garage but by the customer, in which case I could end up losing out big time in the event of a component failure.

I have and I wil continue to lose the customers that want to supply their own part and I'm extremely happy that they don't come back to be honest.

Exactly, Ive made it clear to my own local garage i know the part is not their issue just i cant fit it and in most cases they don't know the VX part number and would have to spend time and effort acquiring the correct part. But ive already done that for them and i use real parts not bumline ones. And like you say so many just want to save a few quid but have no idea or tools to do the job but i make sure the understand that as i suppose like Southpole im not your normal customer. Hell my local VX parts dept love me i tell THEM what i want saving them the search.

Its for exactly that reason i did the driveshaft job on mine which if you read my diary was a right job! Turned out one shaft was out of balance and no matter how many times it was removed checked and refitted it made the car wobble and the other shaft started leaking past the boot band. Now like you say and Ive admitted if i had given the job to the garage it would have cost me a fortune in labour plus booking it in and out and even though i had supplied them i wouldn't ever cut them short of money it would be a right nightmare. Plus due to the complexity of the issues found id be passing it on 2nd hand to the supplier and of course i wouldn't have been there to look myself or ask questions. At least when i did the fail job i knew it all inside out.

I have been let down in the past by garages and their lack of attention to detail or blatant lack of fitting skills compared to me despite me reminding them to remove the sump on a cdti before fitting the rear crank seal, so now ive gone to a race prep place which costs more. But at least they care.

Shame your not closer, im sure you'd enjoy some of my jobs as i actually remind companies to take their time and bill me for not rushing i just want it right and if something isnt to sort then not wait for me to look under the car and go hold on.

[northpole]

I'm much like our resident dogger here above... but the stuff I let them do is stuff I missed at mot time and the weather has to be really bad... otherwise I do it myself.

But if I let them do the job... I don't moan at them as long as they do the job right... I actually tell them how to do it to as I know my car way better than them. Especially when I notice that the main mechanic is to busy, so the apprentice gets to do the job... I'll just point out the quirky bits and let them get on...

But yeah I make sure I get the right parts.

I seriously do love the fact that I am on good terms with them plus they do get a lot of custom through me as well as I do recommend them to others. That run into problems with other garages.