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Was I ripped off ? (service and MOT)

J

Jamie91

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Messages
153
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1
Location
Slough
Car
2005 iCDTI Saloon
I had my Diesel Accord serviced by an independent mechanic recommended by a friend. He fitted new brake discs on my car a few months back for £200. Then he serviced (92k service, last serviced on 78k) and MOT'd it last week.

Labour - 3 hours @ £45 per hour = £135

Environment Waste - £3
Sundries - £3
HU718/6X Oil Filter - £11
Engine oil - £58 (asked him to put 0W30 in, which I hope he did)
Air filter - £10
Fuel Filter - £34
Cabin Filter - £27

MOT test - £55

Add VAT - £56

Grand total £390


Car passed the MOT fine, no advisories but £390 for a service just seems mega expensive :(
 
Does seem a bit harsh in my opinion. You could have got a full service and MOT combo at a nationwide garage (kwik fit, halfords, f1, etc etc) for circa £200
 
Honda quoted me £165 for a basic service which includes oil and filter change. air filter takes 10 minutes to do yourself max and can be bought from Honda for about £18 if you get it from the right place. also the cabin/pollen filters are about £18 as well from Honda, these are also easy to DIY and take 10 minutes max. the price for a fuel filter is about right tbh if it was a genuine Honda one and these are a bit of a pain to swap over and fit so not ideal for the average owner to fit. MOT can be had for £30 ish.

£165 - Honda service
£18.90 - Air filter
£16.80 - Pollen filter
£33.60 - Fuel filter
£30 - MOT
------------------------------
£264.30
------------------------------

this price doesnt include the fuel filter being fitted but im sure you could have got it done at Honda for about £50 ish. Holdcroft Honda quoted me £120 for the basic service which most main dealers will match if you ask them to so you can take another £45 from that price giving you a total of £219.30 without the fuel filter being fitted.... all the prices quoted are for OE Honda service parts as well not after market items which may not do the diesel engine much good......

so sorry to say this but £390 seems very expensive to me even compared to Honda main dealers prices!!!
 
I think you know the answer.
Most of us would have been ripped off by garages at some point, I know I have. Just put it down to experience. I would always try and stick to any make of main dealers and phone around for a fixed quote. The Honda dealer I go to usually negotiates me a good price once I have told him the prices of other main dealers.

I just paid Honda MD (after getting a similar quote from Suzuki MD) - MOT and service, 2 Bridgestone A001 tyres, free breakdown cover, loan car, and wash and vac the total was £300.
 
Actually, for an MoT and fuel filter change, that isn't terrible rip-off (but it isn't a bargain). I'm guessing changing the fuel filter took him a long time... that isn't unusual if you've not done one of these before!
 
I still follow the service schedule and get my car done at Honda according to what is recommended for its age/mileage. I know, I know, it's nearly 11 years old, what's the point in going main dealer...

My guys down at Bexhill Honda usually service the car for under £200 unless something larger is due such as plugs. This is every Feb I get this done. Then come MOT time in May, the do my MOT for free as I get my car serviced there.

So frankly, main dealer wins for me as I normally get a service and MOT for under £200 from Honda. They've always treated me very well and I'm always shocked to hear other people's horror stories of main dealer service/prices.

I think the issue with the OP's price is the labour. Seems very long to do that work. Probably Jon's spot on with his point.
 
Does sound a little on the steep side.

This is what made me get into servicing and maintaining my own cars. The money I would have spent on labour, I spend on tools, I gain the knowledge, experience and it adds something different to my week. If you examined my car, you would be hard pushed to tell its maintained by me rather than a main dealer. I replaced the discs and pads on the accord this weekend, I took my time, cleaned and inspected every bolt I took off. Wire brushed every contact surface - hub, carriers etc. Cleaned caliper pins and gresaed properly. No garage would look after your car as you would. Im no mehcanic by the way. Everything was self taught - no one showed me how to do anything. It can be done....
 
Was genuin Honda parts used as £135 labour is not to bad I think.
As Jon said if the guy has nether done these FF that might of taken 1 to 1.5 hours
 
Damn. Not using him again then !

I always thought that an independent would be cheaper than the main dealer, but probably not in this instance.
 
Jamie91 said:
Damn. Not using him again then !

I always thought that an independent would be cheaper than the main dealer, but probably not in this instance.
Click to expand...
this is what everyone thinks and just takes it for granted that it will be..... its always worth asking though. i know your not close to Holdcroft Honda who do members great deals on parts and servicing but its always worth getting a quote from them and taking it to your local main dealer to see if they can match it or even come close to it, you never know.... this is why my almost 10 year old Accord ctdi has FHSH as its as cheap to get it done with them than most indy garages local to me so its a no brainer really. this will be the first year my car isnt going to Honda for a service as again they have increased their prices and it doesnt include the MOT and AA breakdown cover that it use to! ill still be buying the parts from Honda but ill be taking it to my local Formula1 autocenter as my mate works there and he will fit anything i cant for next to nothing. there cant be that many 10 year old cars with full dealership history so ive decided that if i can save some ££££ then so be it. also my history book is fully stamped up and i dont want to pay Honda for a new one as they are not cheap..... Honda will match any genuine local garage/indy service price too as long as its priced with OE service parts so again its worth checking out for next time. check out Cox Honda website as well as Holdcroft as they have some good priced OE parts too.......
 
When we offer a forum discount it's because we understand that members may travel a little more to come to us, but in return they would receive an excellent customer service experience and good value for money, and not so a local dealer could be offered a price match opportunity.


It seems that some are going behind our gentlemans agreement..............

Gareth.
 
Hi Gareth,.....Regarding a price match for my own circumstances. I can honestly say I have never used Holdcroft Honda either for a quote or price match. For what it's worth my local Honda main dealer encourages customers that if they can find a main dealer cheaper elsewhere (doesn't have to be Honda so long as it's original parts) they will try and match that price as they would rather "retain my custom". My Accord is 9 years old now (FHSH and bills) so I will always look for way's of saving money and my local Honda dealer understands that. Hope this helps.
 
Hi Gareth

i have in the past traveled up to you to get the service as its a great price. the quote i had from you this year again is good but i was just trying to work out if its worth the extra in fuel to get to you or to buy genuine parts and do it myself or get a friend to do it at his garage. my local MD is pretty strict on their pricing and it shows from the loss of custom they have had over the last few years. my intentions arent to get a cheap quote from you and then go to them with it for a price match. i genuinely was considering the trip up again. most MD will do price matches with indys and my previous post above ^^^ clearly states 'to see if they can match it or even come close to it' i doubt they would match it as its a great price but they may take a bit off for some people that live so far away from you that it just isnt worth the extra fuel costs etc etc to travel up to Stoke-on -Trent. this will be the first year my car isnt being serviced by Honda, although i will be buying genuine parts, due to costs outweighing the age value of the car.

i could get a service quote from somewhere like formula 1 or kwikfit etc and take it to Honda for a price match which would probably be similar to your price, probably slightly higher if genuine parts are used instead of their motor factor parts. its purely just an example of what can be done for reducing servicing costs and not "going behind our gentlemans agreement.............." see it as you will
 
Just remembered that the guy used to own a Civic with the CDTI engine.

So the fuel filter can't have taken him that long !
 
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