did i get ripped off??

contraflow

hi ALL,

I just paid a mechanic €1,000 for the following parts & labour on my car:

head gasket set €195
head overhual €165
water pump €61.30
water pipe €56.80
coolant refill €40
oil filter €9.50
timing belt €53.17
oil chg €35
labour €350
VAT €130.38
TOTAL €1,096.15

The original problem was the engine overheated and died and subsequently wouldn't start when the key was turned.

Does the above sound reasonable to you?? :eek:

pippip

mate you got a bargain.

That is alot of work for 350 labour.

ps i got a timing belt change on audi for 700

eyesofvenus

What make is your car?
If it was old you probably just could picked an engine up in a scrapyard for cheaper...

cianclarke

I'd agree, I'm surprised at how cheap some of those bits and piece are - on some cars y'could expect to pay the bulk of that labour rate *just* for the timing belt!

danjo-xx

The labour cost sounds llike a bargain IF indeed all the other things needed to be done.

colm_mcm

that sounds grand. the labour seems cheap for what should have been a pretty big job.

contraflow

Car is an 05 Alfa 156... it's alot of money to hand over so I just wanted to be sure it was a reasonable deal.

CharlieCroker

seems cheap to me for the amount of work done.
€1000 is a lot in anyone's book if it needed to be done, it needed to be done.
It makes sense to do the timing chain/belt and water pump if the head is off anyway.

skyhighflyer

contraflow wrote: »

hi ALL,

I just paid a mechanic €1,000 for the following parts & labour on my car:

head gasket set €195
head overhual €165
water pump €61.30
water pipe €56.80
coolant refill €40
oil filter €9.50
timing belt €53.17
oil chg €35
labour €350
VAT €130.38
TOTAL €1,096.15

The original problem was the engine overheated and died and subsequently wouldn't start when the key was turned.

Does the above sound reasonable to you?? :eek:

Your engine overheated, you didn't pull over in time, the headgasket went and the head warped for good measure.

He had to skim the head, replace the gasket, do the T-Belt and all the ancillary stuff like the coolant and oil change.

You got a bargain - the T belt or head gasket alone on some cars would easily break €1k.

Glad I'm not a mechanic - sure he might as well have charged double for the job because even when he does a great deal for someone {and the above seems to be) people are still suspicious they're being ripped off

eyesofvenus

contraflow wrote: »

Car is an 05 Alfa 156... it's alot of money to hand over so I just wanted to be sure it was a reasonable deal.

Lol worth it so, it will teach you to pay better attention to your car :pac:

Redsoxfan

contraflow wrote: »

Car is an 05 Alfa 156... it's alot of money to hand over so I just wanted to be sure it was a reasonable deal.

Where did you get the work done? (please PM me if you don't want to say on the thread)

Did the timing belt actually snap or was it just scheduled for replacement? It might be worth noting that if the cambelt failed/snapped, the bottom half may be fooked as well (or so I've read).

For reference, Autolusso (who are pretty well regarded) would charge £1500 for supply and fit of a 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0 TS Alfa engine.

For the work that was done, the price quoted above seems ok to me.

contraflow

thanks all... seems pretty unanimous that I got a good price for the work. I think the lesson I should learn is take better care of my car and don't let it overheat to the point of warping the head gasket.

eyesofvenus

contraflow wrote: »

thanks all... seems pretty unanimous that I got a good price for the work. I think the lesson I should learn is take better care of my car and don't let it overheat to the point of warping the head gasket.

Any idea what caused it to overheat in the first place?

CharlieCroker

I have one of these too and they're known for the fan failing and for the gasket just giving up the ghost. Normally at 100k+

contraflow

Work was done at J&A Commercials [Repairs] in the Clondalkin Industrial Estate. Mick is the owner and all round decent fella. This was my first time going to them and I had no referrals from any acquaintances.

mickdw

Cheap providing you got everything done thats listed. Hopefully you got the new water pump and all the stuff associated with a T belt change for this car.

contraflow

The car wasn't driven for 2 months as i was out of the country, my bro ticked the engine over for 10 mins a few times but the car didn't travel anywhere. This may have been a factor. I drove it down to KK from Dub and on the way back it overheated. According to the mechanic the water pipe was leaking and the water pump was dodgy, he thought this may have instigated the problems.

The car has 58K miles on it now, I've had it 11 months and have only done about 6K on it since i've had it, I'm the 3rd owner. It may have been a company car previously as the 50K in under 3 yrs by the first two owners is a lot of miles.

Nonoperational

Did he change the timing belt tensioners too? Ie get the belt kit not just a new belt... from the price he probably did i think...

contraflow

mickdw wrote: »

Cheap providing you got everything done thats listed. Hopefully you got the new water pump and all the stuff associated with a T belt change for this car.

I can see the water pipe & timing belt so they were defo done. The coolant is replaced [it was nearly all gone]. Hard to know if the oil is new or the same oil that was in there. Not sure how to check the oil filters, head gasket & water pump. However having being present for the overheating I'm pretty sure the head needed to be skimmed and the gasket/values replaced.

contraflow

gpf101 wrote: »

Did he change the timing belt tensioners too? Ie get the belt kit not just a new belt... from the price he probably did i think...

I hope so... bill just says timing belt.

danjo-xx

Where was the car leaking water from, a hose, radiator or waterpump or the head?

Redsoxfan

Diesel or petrol?

contraflow

danjo-xx wrote: »

Where was the car leaking water from, a hose, radiator or waterpump or the head?

It was leaking from a water pipe/hose. Mechanic said the water pump was defective also.

contraflow

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Diesel or petrol?

petrol 1.6 TI

Nonoperational

Id nearly ask him. Its the tensioner ofter goes not the belt....The belt comes as a belt kit with tensioner and idler anyway (but can be got on its own), just thought 60 quid was cheap for a belt kit.

mickdw

contraflow wrote: »

I can see the water pipe & timing belt so they were defo done.

You cannot see the timing belt but I dont doubt this was done however there are additional items associated with it like tensioners and pulleys. Also I think there is a balancer shaft or something which may have another belt which should be changed but I honestly could be totally wrong on that.
Anyway, job was reasonable, could have been alot worse.

Nonoperational

Balance belt only on 2.0L. Was amazing value for all the work!

contraflow

gpf101 wrote: »

Id nearly ask him. Its the tensioner ofter goes not the belt....The belt comes as a belt kit with tensioner and idler anyway (but can be got on its own), just thought 60 quid was cheap for a belt kit.

I'll run it by him and see what he says.

contraflow

mickdw wrote: »

You cannot see the timing belt but I dont doubt this was done however there are additional items associated with it like tensioners and pulleys. Also I think there is a balancer shaft or something which may have another belt which should be changed but I honestly could be totally wrong on that.
Anyway, job was reasonable, could have been alot worse.

To the left lower side of the Alfa engine as you look into it there is a big wheel and a smaller wheel that is connected by a belt which rotates when the engine is on. I presumed this was the timing belt... I'm no expert tho... what would it be? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Nonoperational

There are 2 belts on your engine. A timing belt and an aux (commonly known as fan belt). The timing belt is covered by a plastic cover and you cant see it without removing this cover. Your probably looking at the aux belt spinning!

Have a look at this if you want some extra knowledge!

http://www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/cambelt_change_16_18.shtml

contraflow

Thanks all for the info/opinions. I'm signing off for now. If anyone else has questions/updates I'll respond on Sun/Mon... enjoy your wknd.:p

Kersh

I know Mick very very well, We supply him with all his hydraulic hoses/pumps for trucks he does be working on.

He did a lot of work on my bro's Mini recently, and the service and price was great. He is currently rebuilding an 80s RX7 for the craic!


Top man, and 350 labour for a job like that is great value.

The lesson here though is ......



dont buy an Alfa :D:D:pac::pac:

Nonoperational

yawn, dont want you buying an alfa anyway!

unkel

gpf101 wrote: »

yawn, dont want you buying an alfa anyway!

He has an Alfa. Well, A FIAT. Kind of. You know the one with the prancing horse in the logo

Nonoperational

Ah he's not too bad so!