It is a shame that some of them are too lazy to do a good job and get themselves a good name. My worst experiences have been with main dealers, Vauxhall were the worst.
I have found a good garage locally now who do the MOT's on our 5 cars and any work that I can't be bothered to do. He does a basic quick pre mot check before the mot and fixes anything minor beforehand (bulbs, wipers, washers, tyres etc) usually at no cost apart from parts. I usually wait whislt he does the MOT and he shows you anything he finds wrong so you know he's not just making up work.
On monday he did my daughters Saxo mot and he adjusted the headlights, fixed the airbag warning light, and topped up the brake fluid and still only charged for the MOT. Must admit in 24 years of motoring its only the second place I have found that I would trust 100%.
He was saying that since the credit crunch his work has dropped off by 30 to 40%.
I was talking to a Porsche technician a few months ago and he told me that in a 39 hour week their technicians need to be billing for 50 to 60 hours work as a company policy. How can you do that without cutting corners and ripping people off, especially at over £100 per hour labour.
Paul