The Student Room Group

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Reply 20
Original post by persov
sounds a bit much to me. £200 for labour and vat is a bit much. A faulty part behind the dash shouldn't require that amount of labour to replace.

Ask them to explain what the part is, what it's called and what went wrong with it.


I think he said ECU or something. That is faulty and needs replacing.
Reply 21
Did they say what the part was? I would guess they're talking about the loom (which ends in the multiplug I mentioned earlier). If it was my car I'd get access to the plugs and give them a good douse with contact cleaner and see if that fixes the problem. It won't necessarily fix the problem, but I'd do that before shelling out for a new loom. A garage may want to replace the loom on the basis it's more likely to solve the problem so they won't have to deal with it again.
As for costs, you're looking £150 for parts, £140 for for labour and £60 for VAT. That's probably an hour and a half to 2 hours labour - probably not far out for replacing a loom depending on how awkward it is. It's a lot more than I'd want to pay for a dodgy connection, but if you have to rely on a garage you probably don't have a lot of choice.
Anyway, that's all based on it being a fault in the loom, it might be something else in which case it's hard to say whether the price is reasonable. If you're not sure you can trust the garage you can ask them to keep the old parts - at least you know then that you've got the parts you've been charged for.
Reply 22
Original post by CurlyBen
Did they say what the part was? I would guess they're talking about the loom (which ends in the multiplug I mentioned earlier). If it was my car I'd get access to the plugs and give them a good douse with contact cleaner and see if that fixes the problem. It won't necessarily fix the problem, but I'd do that before shelling out for a new loom. A garage may want to replace the loom on the basis it's more likely to solve the problem so they won't have to deal with it again.
As for costs, you're looking £150 for parts, £140 for for labour and £60 for VAT. That's probably an hour and a half to 2 hours labour - probably not far out for replacing a loom depending on how awkward it is. It's a lot more than I'd want to pay for a dodgy connection, but if you have to rely on a garage you probably don't have a lot of choice.
Anyway, that's all based on it being a fault in the loom, it might be something else in which case it's hard to say whether the price is reasonable. If you're not sure you can trust the garage you can ask them to keep the old parts - at least you know then that you've got the parts you've been charged for.


They have asked me to pay upfront for the parts to be ordered, is this normal? I just don't trust them at all and i'm pretty mad I have to pay this much haha I have no one to give me advice as my dad and brother are at work. It's quite far away =/
Reply 23
I've never paid upfront for any work done at a garage. Do they have the car? If not I'd be slightly less sceptical, as they don't want to order parts and then find you don't turn up. If they've got the car then that's their security against you not paying - though if the parts aren't used they should be able to return them to their supplier (though I have come across dealers who won't refund parts that have been ordered in). No way would I pay the full amount upfront and I'd be very reluctant to pay anything. I wouldn't pay more than half the value of the parts in any case.
Reply 24
Original post by CurlyBen
I've never paid upfront for any work done at a garage. Do they have the car? If not I'd be slightly less sceptical, as they don't want to order parts and then find you don't turn up. If they've got the car then that's their security against you not paying - though if the parts aren't used they should be able to return them to their supplier (though I have come across dealers who won't refund parts that have been ordered in). No way would I pay the full amount upfront and I'd be very reluctant to pay anything. I wouldn't pay more than half the value of the parts in any case.



I paid for the part to be ordered so I still owe him £200 for the full job. He said its the clockset that needs changing and its a common fault with Corsa's. I called loads of different garages this morning and all of them redirected me to this guy because they don't deal with electrical faults and apparently this guy is really experienced. They are keeping my car, told me the job won't be completed until next week as the parts won't arrive before then =/.
Reply 25
Why are they keeping it, does it not work at all now?
Reply 26
Original post by gbduo
Why are they keeping it, does it not work at all now?


It does but the dials drop whenever I drive it which makes it hard to drive and it doesn't always start up. I guess he thought I wouldn't be able to drive it anyway.
Reply 27
Looks like I wasn't far off then - you may or may not want to read this!
Reply 28
Original post by CurlyBen
Looks like I wasn't far off then - you may or may not want to read this!



Wow i'm mad :angry: I knew not to trust them! By the looks of it I don't even need a new dash I just need the lose connection sorting, which one of my friends partners who is a mechanic could do for next to nothing!

Why did I agree to this work arghhhhh! Me and my brother both thought it would have been a loose connection somewhere!
Reply 29
Original post by Linzikins
Wow i'm mad :angry: I knew not to trust them! By the looks of it I don't even need a new dash I just need the lose connection sorting, which one of my friends partners who is a mechanic could do for next to nothing!

Why did I agree to this work arghhhhh! Me and my brother both thought it would have been a loose connection somewhere!

I'm not sure you need to be angry if you couldn't fix it yourself - it makes some sense to replace the clocks at the same time if you're getting it done professionally - you'd be a lot more annoyed to spend £200 or so to have the dash removed and the plugs cleaned, only to find the unit needed replacing for £350. I can understand why you're unhappy though!
Reply 30
Original post by CurlyBen
I'm not sure you need to be angry if you couldn't fix it yourself - it makes some sense to replace the clocks at the same time if you're getting it done professionally - you'd be a lot more annoyed to spend £200 or so to have the dash removed and the plugs cleaned, only to find the unit needed replacing for £350. I can understand why you're unhappy though!


Thanks that's made me feel a bit better lol Had a very stressful day and now have no car all weekend! It's also my birthday next week so i'm mad all my money has gone into my car :frown:

Thanks for your help!
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 31
25 quid plus vat is 30 an hour. So 6 hours and a bit to take the dash out and put it back. Sounds reasonable enough to me if it's not easily accessible?

As above ask, what part they are planning on changing.
Reply 32
Original post by JC.
25 quid plus vat is 30 an hour. So 6 hours and a bit to take the dash out and put it back. Sounds reasonable enough to me if it's not easily accessible?

As above ask, what part they are planning on changing.


They have ordered a new Clock set to replace mine.
Reply 33
Original post by Linzikins
Thanks that's made me feel a bit better lol Had a very stressful day and now have no car all weekend! It's also my birthday next week so i'm mad all my money has gone into my car :frown:

Thanks for your help!

That does suck. If it's any consolation I've had to pay to have work done on a couple of cars either because my tools were in a different part of the country or I couldn't get parts in time - really frustrating when you know you can do it yourself for much less! Last time was my MOT when I had to get the garage to change my brake discs as they would get a delivery of parts quicker than I could - I needed the car sorted quickly so I could get down to my brother's place to change the brakes on his car! That was a nightmare too, but that's a whole 'nother story..
Reply 34
Original post by CurlyBen
..


They rang me today and have now quoted me £495 as they were misquoted by Vauxhall for the part (a whole new dashboard) and it actually cost about £270. They said it has been fixed previously with sponge (sponge wedged between the connectors) and it has worn down the connectors. Can you not just buy the connectors?? I don't know what to do, i'm desperate for my car back tomorrow but people are telling me to go elsewhere which is frustrating me even more.
Firstly, were you given a quotation or an estimate?

now, what year is the vehicle and model?
what is the exact issue being described to you, as the owner of the vehicle and customer you are fully entitled to be shown complete diagnostics of the issue.

how you need a new dash is beyond me but unless i know the fault i cannot comment.
Yes, was it a written quote or just an estimate?
Reply 37
Original post by timothytom
Firstly, were you given a quotation or an estimate?

now, what year is the vehicle and model?
what is the exact issue being described to you, as the owner of the vehicle and customer you are fully entitled to be shown complete diagnostics of the issue.

how you need a new dash is beyond me but unless i know the fault i cannot comment.


Original post by A Mysterious Lord
Yes, was it a written quote or just an estimate?

It's a 2002 Vauxhall Corsa Comfort 16v 1.2

They quoted me £350 (although I don't have anything written) I paid a £150 deposit for the new dash as I was told that was how much it cost me for the part. They have now said that Vauxhall quoted them wrong on the price of the programming of the dash (putting in mileage etc) which now costs £70 and they have received an invoice for the part at £270 (I have seen this invoice)

They basically told me the sponge that was previously added as a fix has worn the dashboard connectors down and it comes as a unit and needs replacing. They showed me the new part and stuff and my car was in bits which they said would take an hour and half to put back together but they were closing so if I want my car back I have to ring them tomorrow morning. So from the sounds of it I haven't actually agreed to this work so don't have to go through with it.

I'm so stressed out over this, I have half my family telling me to take the car back and look elsewhere and see if they will just replace the connectors and the other half is saying just do it =/

Not only this but whenever I come up with something to say they answer me and with my sheer lack of knowledge I have no idea what to say back haha
Reply 38
Original post by Linzikins
They rang me today and have now quoted me £495 as they were misquoted by Vauxhall for the part (a whole new dashboard) and it actually cost about £270. They said it has been fixed previously with sponge (sponge wedged between the connectors) and it has worn down the connectors. Can you not just buy the connectors?? I don't know what to do, i'm desperate for my car back tomorrow but people are telling me to go elsewhere which is frustrating me even more.

Christ, £500 is a hell of a lot of money to solve a poor connection. I don't know quite what to suggest - replacing the connectors isn't impossible (they wouldn't even need to be the same type, they could be reliable ones instead!) but it's a fair bit of work, particularly if the loom is tight and the old connectors are damaged. The other issue from the point of view of the garage is that they're then liable for the new connectors working properly, whereas it's Vauxhall if the new loom isn't good. I'm also slightly concerned that if the connectors from the dash are damaged (how sponge would damage them is a bit beyond me, but I can't see the car) then the other half (on the fixed loom) may be damaged as well, in which case that loom might need replacing if they won't splice in new connectors (and that's a whole lot more work, not to mention another part). Your other option is to buy a second hand dash off ebay, though then you're running the risk of replacing one faulty part with another, and if the garage already have the new part from Vauxhall they may well refuse to fit one you supply. There's also an alarm bell ringing that they asked you to pay up front for the part and have now near doubled the cost of the part. Did you ring them and find out the price had gone up, or did they ring you? Do you know if they've fitted it?
If you were closer to Suffolk I'd put a new set of connectors on for you!
As i do not no the vehicle in a technical way i cannot comment too deeply.


However, is this garage a decent garage or a backstreet garage?

the connectors for many items do not come seperately, i am highly suprised by the need for a new dash though.
can you afford the repair? and do they guarantee that the vehicle is now going to be fixed?


as the work has already begun i can only presume you have expressed you wish the work to commence.
the issue you have is that they will charge for any work already begun, but they cannot charge for the vehicle part unless vauxhall specifically say they cannot return the part and/or they have fitted it.

personally i'd probably allow them to repair the vehicle, ask to have all the old parts back, and for them to show you exactly what the fault was on the car.

But as the price of the part had gone up they legally have to ask you first before commencing further but can charge for any work before and after the price change to put the vehicle back to how it was.


so the best bet, is to let them fix it, pay and find out what the fault was. have a full reciept and warranty etc for that the fault has been fully fixed.

to take the car elsewhere is going to cost you more as they too will want to diagnose the issue.
next step is to find a family member or family friend who have a garage they trust and to use them in the future.

im sorry i cant be that much help but with limited knowledge this is the best i can offer. i have 7years experience in the trade so i can try my best.

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