Was I Overcharged?

[Ryan S]

Hi,

I'd like to get some opinions on the bill I recently paid for my brake overhaul.

I'll start at the begining...

My MkII needed attention - brakes were awful.
I bought new discs and pads for the front.

When I took it to the garage, I also noticed that the back discs were crap.

So I asked the mechanic to fit the discs and pads at the front, bleed the brake fluid, and also replace the back discs and pads at the back.

He phoned me up to tell me that one of the rear calipers was shot aswell - and that it would be ?86 to replace.

I wasn't sure how much a caliper should be - but told him it seemed expensive.  I decided to get him to replace it anyway, as I needed the car back quickly.

When I turned up to collect the car I was looking at a bill of over ?330!!!

The ?86 wasn't including VAT! - so the caliper cost ?101. :-[

Here's a run down of the bill...

?123.38 - labour

Parts -

?22.74 - Pads
?101.86 - Caliper  
?77.76 - Discs (with hubs)
?6.17 - fluid

A grand total of ?331.91.
I've rung round a few places (GSF, C&R etc) and found that these parts are well expensive.

The caliper for instance is ?55.80 at GSF! inc VAT.
And 2 hubs and discs under ?55 (When I was charged ?78)
I feel like I've been ripped off big style.

And on top of that my handbrake is up around my ears!
Before the work it was a bit loose - but now it's ridiculous.
I'm going to phone the guy tommorrow - but just wanted to ask if anyone has any advice?

[bigkev750]

ouch that sounds a bit steep reading this maybe i should open a workshop myself was it a vw dealer or not

[richandhazel]

Genuine VW parts will be dearer than GSF.........and better. I'd find out where he sourced the parts.

[golfvr6]

Sounds alright to me, discs all round and a new caliper for ?300.

[Ryan S]

@ Golf VR6 - I supplied the front discs and pads myself though.

@ Bigkev750 - It wasn't a VW dealer - just a local bloke out of the Yellow pages...

[tinman]

@ Golf VR6 - I supplied the front discs and pads myself though.

@ Bigkev750 - It wasn't a VW dealer - just a local bloke out of the Yellow pages...

?123.38 - labour

Parts -

?22.74 - Pads
?101.86 - Caliper  
?77.76 - Discs (with hubs)
?6.17 - fluid

A grand total of ?331.91.
I've rung round a few places (GSF, C&R etc) and found that these parts are well expensive.

I think he's used VW parts - which should be superior to pattern parts - which is nice seeing as your life will depend on them.

To be honest though, i think the labour is a bit low, and you were lucky it went so smoothly. 120 @ 15 quid per hour is 8 hours. Thats pretty good for changing everything IMHO.

Regards,
Tin

[Ryan S]

I think he did it in about 3 hrs...

Dropped the car off before 9am & he phoned me at 12.30 to go and pick it up.

[tinman]

then what you lost in pricey parts, you've more than made up in time.

Tin

[modulater]

Sounds like any typical garage to me and unless you can do it yourself your gonna have to pay bills like this.

I would advise anyone who doesn't know about mechanics to do a night course at the local college, be the best money they ever spent.

[golfvr6]

Or pay people like us mate! we are cheap!