[Closed] Garages.

You're having it MOTed and fixed at the same garage..?

Not anymore. New garage is fixing it and then taking it back to old garage to be re-MOT'd so we don't get charged for 2 MOT's. New garage is nice like that.

Mine failed on saturday 🙁

Use Council MOT stations, they dont do repairs, so far less likely to invent work to generate income.
They dont do discount MOT`s either....... this is not a coincidence 😀

Trusted honest mechanics are hard to find so if you find one stick to them like a glue. Too many cowboys in this industry.

I thought I'd found "a good one", but this is the second time they've let me down. Once the dust has settled there will be much naming and shaming.

I thought I'd found "a good one", but this is the second time they've let me down.

There is possibly a link between them being good and busy. 🙂

i dont see how they have let you down .

you have booked hte car in for an MOT they have performed the mot

if you expected a fail - you should have booked your car in for some workshop time after - for this reason i send mine to the garage to be serviced after MOT'd (i use a guy who preps and takes it to MOT for me - then it comes back and he services it once its passed)

The fact they have booked up the time slots availible till friday shows a busy productive and well managed workshop.

therealhoops - Member

I thought I'd found "a good one", but this is the second time they've let me down. Once the dust has settled there will be much naming and shaming.

You will need to try several before settling for one but the best thing to do is the followings:

1. Talk to someone who knows a bit of car. Car enthusiasts for example. Find out who they trust in servicing their cars.

2. Then ask them where they normally get their cars service.

3. Go there with their recommendation.

4. Then when you speak to the mechanic(s), let them know the person(s) recommended them to you.

If the above person(s) is not available then you can ask for a second opinion from another garage. Do not tell the other garage the problem so that you can judge for yourself who is taking you for a ride. If you are still not confident take it to another garage. If the answers you get are consistent then there is some honesty. If all of them give you a different answers then some are cowboys.

yep not their fail unless you said MOT my car and keep the afternoon free to fix it and I'll pay.

Got very angry with a specialist garage who went from being anal about every detail to being way too slipshod for my liking, never been back since the last fiasco.

Now I have a superb garage who do get busy and they were a week late in getting the camper through its MOT, that said I am prepared to suck it up to stick with them as they are so good. (I tell everyone who asks me that they are dreadful and to go to the bloke down the road :wink:)

F1 autocentres are doing aircon re gas for £41.

Just thought I'd mention it.

New garage is fixing it and then taking it back to old garage to be re-MOT'd so we don't get charged for 2 MOT'

If old garage had mentioned that they couldn't fix anything before they'd started the MOT I wouldn't have had a problem. One of their blerks was on his holls and they knew this when I booked it weeks ago. A heads-up about any delays should have been given.

Sharkbait - they could charge a partial retest fee but they've realized that this is the second time they've let me down.

Recently I got my car in for full service from the garage I bought my car from. Cost me nearly £650.

I got one new ABS sensor (expensive little thing), a new set front brake discs with new brake pads (Mintex brand), engine oil changed (semi-synthetic) & new filter, auto gear box oil changed(approved brand but I prefer the original but let's see), cleaned air filter, two new front cheapo Event tires (I wanted Michelin but he couldn't get any) , a set of Bosch front windscreen wipers, they did some dyno test for free (not sure what this is for) ... all this for 6000 miles guarantee.

Told the mechanics my MOT in September and he assured me that he would make sure it would pass.

😉

650 quid !!!!!!!!!! Wow

that is good!

do they have an SK postcode???

trail_rat - Member

650 quid !!!!!!!!!! Wow

Also 4 new spark plugs ... 😉

hope it was a 200 quid abs sensor.

trail_rat - Member

hope it was a 200 quid abs sensor.

Yes, that's the most expensive item but that 12,000 miles service puzzles me ... they told me they did not charge labour ... ya right.

The bills look like this:

1. 12,000 miles service = [b]£75[/b] (suspect this is labour charge)
2. Engine oil (semi-synthetic) = [b]£29.95[/b]
3. Oil filter = [b]£3.99[/b]
4. Spark plugs x4 = [b]£11.72[/b]
5. Automatic trans fluid (specific for auto only) = [b]£28.50[/b]
6. Environmental charges = [b]£5.99[/b]
7. Wiper blades = [b]£10.00[/b]

Total = £165.15
VAT 20% = £33.03
[b]Total due = £198.18[/b]

Then a week later book in for the rest ...

1. Front discs Mintex brand x 2 = [b]£51.74[/b]
2. Front pads Mintex brand x 2= [b]£22.92[/b]
3. ABS sensor Toyota original = [b]£135.26[/b]
4. Tyres x2 (Event cheapo brand) = [b]110.00[/b]
5. Labour = [b]£56.25[/b]
6. Free dyno test apparently ...

Total = £376.17
VAT 20% = £75.23
[b]Total due = £451.40[/b]

Add two total = [b]£649.58[/b]

If I were to service it myself I could probably save £150 minimum but I have no tools ...

**** me your ABS sensor is expensive .... it rest seems fair enough tbh.

trail_rat - Member

**** me your ABS sensor is expensive .... it rest seems fair enough tbh.

Yes, the mechanic actually prepared me for the price of ABS sensor saying that it could crazy price as the sensor could only be bought from Toyota. He had to put in an order for it. The bloody sensor is just a tiny piece of wire with magnet attached to the end ... arrgghhh ... I am going to salve some from the Far East the next time I go there.

Oh ya ... that is the price for [b][u]One[/u] [/b]sensor only ...

no-name tyres... 🙄

b r - Member

no-name tyres...

😆 Yes, some cheapo tyres with EVENT (brand) printed on the side wall ... so EVENT is the brand ... 😆

It's a bit like people in the far east that tends to buy cheapo brand just to get by ...

Normal driving is fine but not beyond that ...

Actually the price is rather similar in the far east except over there you pay their currency while we pay £££ + 20% VAT here. Think over there they pay "tax" in a different ways ...

whats the issue with no name tires .... its an automatic toyota its not going anywhere fast or cornering quickly.

i run remoulds on one of my cars....

trail_rat - Member

whats the issue with no name tires .... its an automatic toyota its not going anywhere fast or cornering quickly.

i run remoulds on one of my cars....

No problem at all but just hope they last longer that's all. I think my previous ones were Michelin.

But since I don't often drive long distance it should be fine.

Bang on about good mechanics being worth keeping.

We've used the same guy for both our cars for years. He's great, always honest, always reliable. We're moving away from him shortly but we'll keep going back there, it's worth the extra distance.

UPDATE: the car is good to go again!!

Thank you to [b]Springbok Autos[/b] of under the viaduct Stockport for bailing us out of the pooh, and [b]NO THANKS[/b] to [b]Churchgate Autos[/b] for letting us know too late that you couldn't fix it in time.

Total Damage:
Churchgate MOT £50 robbing bazturds

Springbok Autos x2 Conti tyres*, x2 front discs'n'pads, lots of new bulbs, headlight realign, EGR clean plus drive up to Churhgate for reMOT. £470 inc.vat

*annoyingly the Vectra use XL tyres and the wife uses bricks on the pedals so I don't dare buy budgets on the front.

[i]*annoyingly the Vectra use XL tyres and the wife uses bricks on the pedals so I don't dare buy budgets on the front. [/i]

She'll be fine, when the rears let go before the fronts...

Sorry, but I fail to see where Churchgate Autos went wrong here. Did you expect them to leave a slot free for you just in case your car failed the MOT?

And £50 is reasonable for the MOT, especially as they didn't charge you for a re-test.

Glad you're not one of my customers.

Marko

still only one piss poor planner here and its not the garage.

OP - I think you really really need to reconsider your expectations of others when I assume poor planning on your part has meant you are presenting your car for it's MOT on presumably its expiry date?

Why should they drop other jobs, probably already booked in for some time...?! And £50 for an MOT is less than the RRP.

AAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS stated before, SURELY it's common courtesy to mention before anything is undertaken that should something, no matter how big or small, need sorting then there's no way Jose that you can do it, especially when you knew we needed it back sharpish and doubly especially when you you knew that one blerk was going to be off.

Fore warned is etc etc

A simple "oh by the way before we MOT & service your car (like you requested when you booked) we can't actually carry out any repairs today because...." would have been nice/lovely/courteous/obvious/helpful/all listed. Nothing was even hinted at until after the MOT.

ok here is a suggestion for future - if you really cannot live without your car for a few days.

find a garage that does courtesy cars. - will cost a bit more but your car seems to be integral to your life so its probably worth it then there will be no hassle.

+1

And of course, you can get your vehicle MOT'd up to one calendar month [b]before[/b] the old ticket is about to expire (giving you 13 months ticket effectively) so you aren't 'balls to the wall' at the last minute... 😉

That I already knew but the best made plans of mice and men often get arsed up by the missus.