did i get ripped off?

PCPhoto · 09-01-2009 8:03pm #1

I'm just curious .: Ford Fiesta Van 2002 model

heres the background: got a service in Nov and was told that there are a couple of items to note and wont need to be dealt with till Jan/Feb.

Jan arived and I thought why not get them done: Booked car(van whatever) in for today (Fri). Thursday evening get a call saying that one of the parts didnt arrive and they wont be able to do the whole thing till monday, I replied saying I wasnt able to do it monday or any other day other than the agreed day (fri) , was told that they might consider giving me a car to use if they cant finish the job but they would try to get the parts from other garages.

This morning (Fri) I turn up - get told they sourced the missing part and would be no problem done in a day - 4.30pm I get a call, one of the parts is defective, wont be able to finish job till monday !!! (deja vu) ..... so I mention that I cant bring it back monday and not able to bring it back for a while ....... after some talking to bosses etc, there was whispers of maybe we could give you a loan car and you could come back monday evening (fair enough) ... until .... WAIT !!! .... we can just put back in the part we took out of your car and you can drive it home and come back when you can and we'll do it whenever you are ready.

Anyway - I get the bill:
Labour

replace front brakes/disks

51
replace front anti roll bar and bushings

102
replace front wishbones

85

[/LIST]
Parts (price per unit):
52.22 brake pads (1)
5.50 insulator (2)
138.30 wishbone (L/H)
138.30 wishbone (R/H)
31.68 Disc - brake (2)
2.10 Bulb Capless (1)
7.65 Headlamp (1)
1.04 Bulb indicator (2)

Basically: labour 238.00euro
parts 415.01euro
Vat 88.16
TOTAL: 741.17

this also means that I have a starter motor issue that might need to be fixed (whenever I can get a day off and bring it to them) ... and no doubt they will charge me extra for that.

at the end of all this I ask ..... did I pay too much for the work done ? I did confirm that no "labour" costs were added for adding their faulty starter motor, removing it and replacing it with the original one.... and I was told that they removed the labour costs associated with the starter motor. (which tells me that they intend on charging me for it when I eventually get it done)

victor1 · 09-01-2009 8:05pm

did you get a estimate before agreeing to work?

Darragh29 · 09-01-2009 8:38pm

Why do you think you were ripped off???

mickdw · 09-01-2009 8:48pm

Well they were known for wearing wishbones anyway so no surprise there. Discs and pads are just wear and tear. Most people wouldnt replace the anti roll bar itself unless it was damaged. Id dont think you were ripped off but its alot of cash to spend on 02 fiesta. Labour cost was steep enough I guess but not outrageous.