Useless , dishonest and overcharging garage 'repairs'...

I've been going to the same guy for years as his garage is quite close to me, over the years I've bought many cars from him as I often changed cars till I discovered how good Volvo were ....


I've had ' repairs' done on my car and paid for services that haven't been carried out, I've caught him out several times and he's really lucky it's not my brother he is dealing with, but this brother is just tops with motors and builds custom motorbikes and trikes for a living, mores the pity we don't speak now.


And I don't know the other garages further up the road a bit...but as my patience is wearing incredibly low with this guy and after shit so called repair one after the other, I decided to try one if the lads up the road a bit, I was ending a brake calliper,,,quoted £300 + vat (not volvo caliper)from the usual guy???what a piss taker! One time he charged me £475 for a front caliper!!! Just taking the piss...

Yesterday the bloke up the road, done the job for less than half the price at £142!!

This should never happen in this day and age, the boy I normally go to has been charging me 4 fucking hours labour for a job that takes less than an hour to do...

There is much more happened than just that , I'm fucking sick of people trying to take the piss and be overly greedy, I know full well garages have to make a profit, but not taking the piss in the process.


He has sorted some wee things satisfactorily,but most often not,
Many times I've had to take it right back after a supposed repair was done, useless.


Thing is , the usual guy I go to is a braw lad to speak with and have a laugh with, but he's obviously laughing and rubbing his hands when I've been going to him, a real shame that and just shows that loyalty doesn't always pay us...depending who with though.

I feel really disappointed that he has taken the piss like this and if he wasn't so alright to speak to I think I would take it further.

Thank goodness Ive found an honest and capable lad now.
Anybody here had similar experiences with cowboys like this?

Auto repair is way too expensive practically anywhere you go; it seems you have to look hard to find an honest, capable mechanic who RUNS HIS OWN SHOP and is not part of a chain, where they charge double what the independents do.

I had a problem with some sensor regulating my fuel a few weeks ago, limped the car up to a shop I've been dealing with for years. The mechanic calls me and tells me the part I need can run $500 on its own, never mind the labor, and he's having trouble finding a refurbished part.

Well, I need my car -- my job takes me all over the local metropolitan area -- so at this point I'm thinking I'm about to take a serious hit on my savings account and just get the repair done. I asked the mechanic about doing that and he said, "Hold on, let me call you back in an hour." An hour later and he's dug up the refurb part and quotes me a total repair bill of $480. Still not great, but way better than I could have found practically anywhere else.

I wasn't going to add this but I just can't resist doing it -- the owner/mechanic is a Muslim immigrant with a thick accent

Ben_Reilly wrote:Auto repair is way too expensive practically anywhere you go; it seems you have to look hard to find an honest, capable mechanic who RUNS HIS OWN SHOP and is not part of a chain, where they charge double what the independents do.

I had a problem with some sensor regulating my fuel a few weeks ago, limped the car up to a shop I've been dealing with for years. The mechanic calls me and tells me the part I need can run $500 on its own, never mind the labor, and he's having trouble finding a refurbished part.

Well, I need my car -- my job takes me all over the local metropolitan area -- so at this point I'm thinking I'm about to take a serious hit on my savings account and just get the repair done. I asked the mechanic about doing that and he said, "Hold on, let me call you back in an hour." An hour later and he's dug up the refurb part and quotes me a total repair bill of $480. Still not great, but way better than I could have found practically anywhere else.

I wasn't going to add this but I just can't resist doing it -- the owner/mechanic is a Muslim immigrant with a thick accent

Yeah sometimes if a part is needed and it has to be an original part form a dealership, then not much can often be done,
Ben that was great that lad managed to do that to save you money and such honesty , that is hard to find in the motor trade...

It sounds like that guy went out of his way to help you there, and just me with the guy who replaced my caliper...I know you appreciated it,




it just clarifies the bullshit of hate and lies of some who try to claim all Muslims are greedy,, untrustworthy and terrorists.

Joy Division wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:Auto repair is way too expensive practically anywhere you go; it seems you have to look hard to find an honest, capable mechanic who RUNS HIS OWN SHOP and is not part of a chain, where they charge double what the independents do.

I had a problem with some sensor regulating my fuel a few weeks ago, limped the car up to a shop I've been dealing with for years. The mechanic calls me and tells me the part I need can run $500 on its own, never mind the labor, and he's having trouble finding a refurbished part.

Well, I need my car -- my job takes me all over the local metropolitan area -- so at this point I'm thinking I'm about to take a serious hit on my savings account and just get the repair done. I asked the mechanic about doing that and he said, "Hold on, let me call you back in an hour." An hour later and he's dug up the refurb part and quotes me a total repair bill of $480. Still not great, but way better than I could have found practically anywhere else.

I wasn't going to add this but I just can't resist doing it -- the owner/mechanic is a Muslim immigrant with a thick accent

Yeah sometimes if a part is needed and it has to be an original part form a dealership, then not much can often be done,
Ben that was great that lad managed to do that to save you money and such honesty , that is hard to find in the motor trade...

It sounds like that guy went out of his way to help you there, and just me with the guy who replaced my caliper...I know you appreciated it,




it just clarifies the bullshit of hate and lies of some who try to claim all Muslims are greedy,, untrustworthy and terrorists.

Still nursing my dream of getting an old reliable car that I can actually learn to repair myself (i.e., no onboard computer or anything). Something along these lines, maybe:



Isn't it a beauty? I've heard of people putting 500,000 miles or more on those cars.

@ben
learn to service any car... really the computers are not much harder (and the reader kits for them are getting really cheap)

I didn't know shit about cars now I can service my Audi which is apparently a rather difficult vehicle to service. I can't do all the work but Even just being able to do a basic service will save you quite a bit plus Mechanics treat you different when you do.. as you might know enough to catch them out   

Couldn't agree more, don't know about the computers, but on the old style my Dad taught me a lot, helped him change a head gasket, got me to do it while he told me, change spark plugs etc etc, even helped him change a whole engine once.   Haven't done it for many years but I could have changed a tyre etc with the right equipment. Nowhere near engineer standards, but never got the chance to learn it and I found it really interesting.

That issue with the gas pedal sensor taught me something; why should a car need a sensor to regulate the gas pedal?

Sounds like somebody tried to make it easier on bad drivers ... there used to be an art to using the accelerator!

I think most people have had bad experiences with over charging garages. Im so lucky, one of our case workers is a mechanic so he sorts any problems, MOTs and services and we pay parts only   

I used to enjoy doing stuff on the car when I was younger but you need a computer these days to figure out what is wrong with the engine. I think that most mechanics who run their own business these days are basically honest as they depend on people coming back and reputation means a lot to them so just find a good local one. These days I just move the car on every couple of years so most things are covered by the warranty and no MOT's to worry about.
As for getting ripped off just try Kwik-Fit who were exposed in a BBC watchdog programme. This is what happens when local managers are set targets for sales.

Irn Bru wrote:I used to enjoy doing stuff on the car when I was younger but you need a computer these days to figure out what is wrong with the engine. I think that most mechanics who run their own business these days are basically honest as they depend on people coming back and reputation means a lot to them so just find a good local one. These days I just move the car on every couple of years so most things are covered by the warranty and no MOT's to worry about.
As for getting ripped off just try Kwik-Fit who were exposed in a BBC watchdog programme. This is what happens when local managers are set targets for sales.

That's not uploaded at my end yet Irn, but talking of Kwik Fit, what I did not mention was that the pads on front brakes were replaced by Kwik Fit , they had forgotten to grease (presumably the outer of the pads) ,front calipers had not been freed and lubricated ..the hear generated when the caliper seized, causing severe damage to the hub and ANS sensor...

This is the reap air (which he sorted this one ok, but billed me for £475, probably because he knew I would try to claim it back from Kwik Fit....


I think it is getting more difficult to find someone honest in the motor trade Irn, but yes...they do exist.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Joy Division wrote:

Yeah sometimes if a part is needed and it has to be an original part form a dealership, then not much can often be done,
Ben that was great that lad managed to do that to save you money and such honesty , that is hard to find in the motor trade...

It sounds like that guy went out of his way to help you there, and just me with the guy who replaced my caliper...I know you appreciated it,




it just clarifies the bullshit of hate and lies of some who try to claim all Muslims are greedy,, untrustworthy and terrorists.

Still nursing my dream of getting an old reliable car that I can actually learn to repair myself (i.e., no onboard computer or anything). Something along these lines, maybe:



Isn't it a beauty? I've heard of people putting 500,000 miles or more on those cars.

I've known Volvo cars to clock up as much as 2million miles Ben!!

Dont be scared of the computer bit - you can get a bit from amazon for a couple of pound and put software on your smartphone - thats if you dont want to use a laptop that plugs in.

My OH has only had one computer problem he could not fix - and when that was taken to a main dealer after a couple of weeks they confessed they did not know what it was or how to fix it either.

sphinx wrote:Dont be scared of the computer bit - you can get a bit from amazon for a couple of pound and put software on your smartphone - thats if you dont want to use a laptop that plugs in.

My OH has only had one computer problem he could not fix - and when that was taken to a main dealer after a couple of weeks they confessed they did not know what it was or how to fix it either.

I wouldn't advise anyone to start tinkering about with computers on their cars, especially a fairly expensive cars...different tinkering about fixing brake pads, springs etc, but not the car's brain!

Ben_Reilly wrote:That issue with the gas pedal sensor taught me something; why should a car need a sensor to regulate the gas pedal?

Sounds like somebody tried to make it easier on bad drivers ... there used to be an art to using the accelerator!

WHEN they started adding pollution controls and electronics to cars back in the 1970s and '80s, they added several extra 02, vacuum and temp. sensors into the system to keep the electronics CPU updated...

The term "gas pedal sensor" in this case is likely to be a misnomer on an American mechanic's part (as no other country in the world calls an accelerator pedal the "gas pedal" !  ), as it has more to do with maintaining the engine tune ~ and really isn't there to do anything physical with the pedal itself..

Now then, when you look at some of the other goodies - ABS, "adaptive breaking", traction control, stability control, "smart" auto's with changing shift-points - all making life that much more interesting..  I learnt in a manual vehicle with a manual choke and NO power anything, which I believe produces a "more rounded" and therefore adaptable operator ~ whereas a lot of "drivers" these days only learn to pass tests, and couldn't drive their fingers up their arse if their life depended on it..    ::=|Q::

sphinx wrote:
Dont be scared of the computer bit - you can get a bit from amazon for a couple of pound and put software on your smartphone - thats if you dont want to use a laptop that plugs in.

My OH has only had one computer problem he could not fix - and when that was taken to a main dealer after a couple of weeks they confessed they did not know what it was or how to fix it either.

AS WELL as the chips themselves, you could also consider after market CPU "black boxes" that only cost a few hundred pounds and can hold four chips ~ one standard 'factory' tune, and room for up to 3 switchable "performance" chips ~ and the cost is between 67% of 'genuine' items (for the more mainstream makes..) down to only 20% or less for the more expensive and extreme vehicles..  ::cheerlead:: 

Joy Division wrote:

sphinx wrote:Dont be scared of the computer bit - you can get a bit from amazon for a couple of pound and put software on your smartphone - thats if you dont want to use a laptop that plugs in.

My OH has only had one computer problem he could not fix - and when that was taken to a main dealer after a couple of weeks they confessed they did not know what it was or how to fix it either.

I wouldn't advise anyone to start tinkering about with computers  on their cars, especially a fairly expensive cars...different tinkering about fixing brake pads, springs etc, but not the car's brain!

See that is why people get ripped off by garages - they are scared that the new technology of computers is all delicate and easily messed up. Its not.
All that the bits that plug in to the car do is produce code - they cannot change anything in the cars "brain" - to change stuff in the "brain" requires remapping and unless someone is into heavily modding their cars they will never need to go there.

All that happens with the laptop lead or bluetooth plug in device that works with a smart phone is you plug it in and it shows up some numbers or letters - which the laptop/phone informs you means such and such a bit has failed or is not working properly. You can then look that bit up and see whether it needs to be fixed or replaced and how to go about doing so. Its like that thing people could buy to stick up the exhaust pipe - it gave information but could not change anything.

I mean take a surprisingly common issue - you get in the car and it wont start. Surely if it wont start it must be serious? You call the garage they hum and har and charge you hundreds talking about an issue with the fuel delivery system. Or you plug the laptop lead in (which like the blue tooth thingy for the smart phone you have to buy separate) and it gives you a code which you look up to find - the sensor on the fuel cap is registering the fuel cap is open. You may find the fuel cap had indeed popped open, you may find the contacts were dirty and just needed cleaning or you may actually have to replace the sensor - less than £40 and an hours work you can do yourself.

Some of the first cars to be fully CPU controlled made fault codes visible to anyone - the original Chrysler Voyager would have a light blink in a certain sequence that the owner could look up in their handbook. Then the manufacturers realized that if the owner could not access the code the owner would have to take it to a dealer who could then charge through the nose for branded parts instead of using off the shelf ones. Hell Audi even went so far as to make it so that only an approved garage could open the bonnet on the A2.

The fact is that any ordinary person can learn to do a good chunk of not only maintenance but common repairs on modern cars (brake calipers are a piece of piss - you just remember where to plug each wire back in) but manufacturers dont want them to because the manufacturers make as much money working on cars as they do selling them. Manufacturers therefore try to make it look as complicated and difficult as possible and try to hide as many "secrets" as they can.

If you still do not want to do the work yourself for whatever reason then I can only suggest you find a garage that will let you watch the whole repair from start to finish - and definitely one that will let you provide the parts for them to fit. If they wont let you watch and insist on supplying the parts then find somewhere else.

Lone Wolf wrote:

sphinx wrote:
Dont be scared of the computer bit - you can get a bit from amazon for a couple of pound and put software on your smartphone - thats if you dont want to use a laptop that plugs in.

My OH has only had one computer problem he could not fix - and when that was taken to a main dealer after a couple of weeks they confessed they did not know what it was or how to fix it either.

AS WELL as the chips themselves, you could also consider after market CPU "black boxes" that only cost a few hundred pounds and can hold four chips ~ one standard 'factory' tune, and room for up to 3 switchable "performance" chips ~ and the cost is between 67% of 'genuine' items (for the more mainstream makes..) down to only 20% or less for the more expensive and extreme vehicles..     ::cheerlead:: 

Lol - that is more in the lines of modding and remapping, and yes I have been around it being done (I play the role of gofer on car jobs - I run around handing spanners and bits to blokes because they are stronger at getting bolts undone)

Your average driver in the UK is not going to go that far.

In Britain, for about £60 a year, you join the AA they will come out and fix your problem.If they can't do it, which is rare,they will take it to a garage for you. they will tell you before hand hoe much a fair price is.

nicko wrote:In Britain, for about £60 a year, you join the AA they will come out and fix your problem.If they can't do it, which is rare,they will take it to a garage for you. they will tell you before hand hoe much a fair price is.

Excuse me if I snort in derision.

I have seen a young lady told her problem was a blown head gasket - fair price in the hundreds. Actual problem the thermostat - fair price a tenner. My OH and a mate go out expecting to have to tow the car with the "blown head gasket" (lady had refused AA offer of moving to garage because she could not afford a head gasket repair) and instead the lady drives her car back under its own steam after a proper if quick repair. It never was the bloody head gasket.

The breakdown services are useful if you know enough about what is wrong and need recovering - although be careful as they are changing their small print to only allow moving the car to an "approved garage" rather than home as they decided too many customers were getting their car recovered to home for cheaper repairs while the recovery sub contractors were making a packet doing so. However like every other garage type place some individuals will try to rip off the ignorant.

You also need to be careful if you drive anything remotely non standard - be it something old, a kit car, or something modded some of the breakdown operatives show a scarey lack of knowledge or understanding about anything that does not rely on having a computer plugged into it to say what the issue is.

::=|Q::  HERE'S a photo' of my Ford Territory's donk:



Why? Because I can..    

sorry Sphinx, you have had one bad experience so all AA mechanics rip you off do they,in my experience most do a good job.there's one or two bad apples in any service industry.

I have a great mechanic.  Never charges me labour, parts are always at cost and quite often my car is returned washed and polished.  It doesn't get better than that does it?!

nicko wrote:sorry Sphinx,  you have had one bad experience so all AA mechanics rip you off do they,in my experience most do a good job.there's one or two bad apples in any service industry.

My point is that there all organizations are just as good or bad as each other - there is no such thing as a perfectly trustworthy car repair organization.

If you dont want to be ripped off at least learn how the job should be done even if you get someone else to do it - and always ask for the bits being replaced to be returned to you for inspection (and to stop them being cleaned and put on someone elses car). Get quotes on parts being supplied and check online to see if you can get them cheaper yourself - patent parts are usually just as good as official brands and if you find official brands being sold cheaper you know you are being taken for a ride. Generally once you have done that a couple of times a garage will know you aren't a sucker - and you may even start getting labour cheaper or given discount.

sphinx wrote:

nicko wrote:sorry Sphinx,  you have had one bad experience so all AA mechanics rip you off do they,in my experience most do a good job.there's one or two bad apples in any service industry.

My point is that there all organizations are just as good or bad as each other - there is no such thing as a perfectly trustworthy car repair organization.

If you dont want to be ripped off at least learn how the job should be done even if you get someone else to do it - and always ask for the bits being replaced to be returned to you for inspection (and to stop them being cleaned and put on someone elses car).  Get quotes on parts being supplied and check online to see if you can get them cheaper yourself - patent parts are usually just as good as official brands and if you find official brands being sold cheaper you know you are being taken for a ride.  Generally once you have done that a couple of times a garage will know you aren't a sucker - and you may even start getting labour cheaper or given discount.

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