Stu21 Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Took my mk2 Leon into a Sg petch for a service which cost £250. then they told me I needed new front brake pads and quoted me £110 to supply and fit so I told them were to go and bought genuine pads for 32 quid. Went to change pads today and there is plenty of life left in old pads, I was quoted a price for work that didn't need doing! I have had nothing but problems with Sg petch n refuse to use them again now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankeedoodlepigeon Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Same thing happened to my mum took it to another garage to ask them and they said the pads were only half worn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAD1927 Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I know exactly were your coming from took my touran to vw dealer they wanted to charge me £48 to replace the front wipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu21 Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Luckly I work in a accident repair centre and have grow up working on cars but i wonder how many people they con with this, and how they can charge stupid prices for work that doesn't need doing is beyond me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.I.A Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I know exactly were your coming from took my touran to vw dealer they wanted to charge me £48 to replace the front wipers. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 its the second hand car dealers their the ones to look out for real dodgy colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.I.A Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) Bit of an unfair statement, not all car dealers are bad. Just most are Edited January 15, 2012 by M.I.A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Bit of an unfair statement, not all car dealers are bad. Just most are only joking mate baazab said you was one so thought i go fishing for a bite :lol: colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Opposite happened to me at Mitsubishi, they told me I had 2000 miles left all round on my brake pads, and within a week (about 200 miles driving) the rears were down to the metal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.I.A Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 only joking mate baazab said you was one so thought i go fishing for a bite :lol: colin hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerSim Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Wife's Pug went in for a service, to the main dealer, and (IMHO), they tried a similar "scam" on us - they said the discs were worn out, and NEEDED replacing ASAP, as a safety issue (!).... mmmm... So, I said, what do they measure then, for you to class them as worn out....? he didn't know (!), I told them not to bother (!!!), they made me sign a disclaimer before they would release the car back to us, cheeky ****. They wanted £300 to do the job...( discs & pads & fitting ) Once home, I measured the discs - 20.7mm, both sides, the limit is 20 mm - so they are NOT worn out!!! 15K miles later, and TWO passed MOTs, a spring breaks, so it all has to come to bits... discs still measure 20.55mm one side, 20.6 the other, so still not worn out.... BUT not really economic to put back on.... It's only my opinion, BUT, I'm guessing that as the service intervals of cars have increased ( dramatically ), they work on the "assumption" that the "widget" will not last until the next service, so it will "have" to have a new one now....plus they make a few quid into the bargain!!!! Still narks me that they "MADE ME" sign the disclaimer...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Strathstone Jaguar, Serviced wifes S TYPE 2.7D, charged 125.00per hr labour & put 2 directional tyres on the wrong way round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88b Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Strathstone Jaguar, Serviced wifes S TYPE 2.7D, charged 125.00per hr labour & put 2 directional tyres on the wrong way round. just the mention of Stratstone Unfortunately nothing changes, it's all about the money ( how much of yours they can get ). It's a sad fact the motor trade does have a bad name but there are decent honest ones out there, you just have to find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 There are a few good garages out there, but many, many bad ones that try to charge you for work that doesn't need doing, and don't foot the bill if they replace the wrong thing when trying to sort out a problem. I'm lucky to know a couple of good places, but I still only use them for tyre fitting and MOT, I prefer to DIY. Not an option for everybody I know. Having a little mechanical knowledge is a good thing, without it many people get ripped off so easily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chr15j Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Best way to avoid being scammed is to use someone you or someone else knows/recommends. I am a vehicle broker, new vehicle leasing etc and the success of my business to date is all on referrals (one of you guys on here has already had a car and is happy and I'm chatting to another) and repeat business. I am not motor trade 'born and bred' which IMO is my unique selling point! I have come across so many scams etc, some would make your eyes bleed, let alone water! At the end of the day, use referrals its the safest way! BTW, if you need a new car to lease or buy, drop me a line (shameless plug over) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libs Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Kwickfit did a silly female friend of mine for both rear wheel bearings because one was on its way out. They were also kind enough to do both rear brake pads and discs while the tyres were off. A rather tidy bit of abusive profiteering there.. Find a local independent garage on recommendation and build up a tad of trust. Would never use a chain or high-street name personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Pay attention,learn how it works,learn the rules and keep your wits about you,A fool and his money etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) just the mention of Stratstone Unfortunately nothing changes, it's all about the money ( how much of yours they can get ). It's a sad fact the motor trade does have a bad name but there are decent honest ones out there, you just have to find them. I've been to trading standards about stratsone, charged me for a new fuel filter when I had a BMW M3, when I changed to get it serviced by a lad who runs a BM cup race team he changed the fuel filter and showed me the one he took off...it was the original from the factory!!! Edited January 15, 2012 by ben0850 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laird Lugton Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I had a VW golf which had a problem with the secondary air system, the warning light would come on and when i reset it using vagcom it would come on within a few days VW master fit said pipes are corroded, waters in the pump etc. About £550 to fix, the car was only worth £3k. I took it to an Indy VW garage who said just a new pump was required at £100 for an aftermarket one. So that was fitted and within 3 days the warning light had returned. Faulty new pump says mechanic. I asked if they'd actually checked the wiring. Upon checking a fault was found. Five minutes of soldering fixed it. I wonder how many times I've been ripped off in the past? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chr15j Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Kwickfit did a silly female friend of mine for both rear wheel bearings because one was on its way out. They were also kind enough to do both rear brake pads and discs while the tyres were off. A rather tidy bit of abusive profiteering there.. Find a local independent garage on recommendation and build up a tad of trust. Would never use a chain or high-street name personally. I use F1in Cambridge, I know the boss and asst mgr and both are good straight up guys, perhaps coz I know them they look after me, no they won't mot a car with their eyes closed but they also won't do me over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gixer1 Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) I would usually agree with the "never use a chain" comment but last year when I was about to service our BMW I was looking on the net to buy the recommended castrol edge oil and discovered the national tyres chain were doing an oil and filter change for £35 using castrol edge, you couldn't buy the 8 litres of oil that cheap so I got them to do the oil and I did everything else. The car had the rear brake pad wear and service light on so I got mrs gixer to take it to the local dealer to get the lights turned off and they only did the brake warning light! Mrs gixers cousin just put her D3 in to get a electronic handbrake fix and came out with a bill for £1,178 .... They didn't fleece her as she needed a park brake module, front pads and discs and rear shoes but she paid top dollar for labour and parts... If people tried to do brake pads/oil changes and basic servicing themselves they would realise how simple it is on 90% of cars! You'd be surprised how much of the labour charge is accumulated by the mechanic checking brake fluid, coolant, screen wash! Or changing an air filter that only takes 4 clips to get out!! Regards, Gixer Edited January 15, 2012 by gixer1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I have had 3 second hand cars all from dealers an i think i have been very lucky as have not had a problem with any of them. The most recent car the freelander really is a bit of a dog with a load of faults but the dealer are taking it back every time i have a problem no questions asked. As for main dealers. BUNCH OF CROOKS. We took the missus car into fiat for a service as was part of the contract and they told us needed new front pads on her 500 that had only covered about 15000 miles. 125.00 + VAT at which point i literally told the bloke to **** off as he was taking the royal p*** picked my keys and paperwork up and walked out the showroom. On the way home nipped into motor factors, £19.00. The joke was when i jacked the car up the pads had plenty of life in them, we recently sold it with 25000 miles on the clock with the spare pads in the boot. How can anyone charge that for brake pads even if they were £50.00 thats 75.00 labour, it takes me at most 25-30mins to do a set of pads and that includes getting all my tools out jacking the car up. A dealership should be able to do it in 10-15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berties Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I always service my main car at the main dealer and get them to do any updates etc under warranty but brakes etc at my local garage,main dealer £450 plus fluid £40 for front brakes and disks local £170 all in and they were done when they were down not at the time of the service with 6k left in them,thats the problem the if you get them done at the time of the service,saying that i have felt with the same service manager at the main dealer for ten years and he does try to discount me but it all about sales with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry flashman Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 i got ripped off by second hand car dealer on a scam, it's in court now so no details but suffice to say I will never put any faith in one ever again. Or the DVLA who dont check any paperwork they are sent. Or the police who refused to talk to me for the first 10 calls saying it was a 'civil matter' and have taken a year and a half to bring it to the first hearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWD Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) I use a local independent garage for everything...he is busy enough not to need the work, tells me "That's fine" more than "that's broke"...and he's a shooting bloke...so got to be a good un Edited January 16, 2012 by PWD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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