Hi All
Today I had my '97 Mondeo serviced at the usual place. These guys are independant Ford specialists,using Ford parts etc and have been around since the mid 1940's.
The car was in for a main or as Ford call it a 'standard' service at 65000mls.
Parts replaced were plugs,oil and all the filters( air,oil,pollen and fuel).
Also replaced was a valve on one of the wheels that had a slow leak in it.
My question is were they justified in charging me £266.00 inc VAT for all this?
I know it was a main service but that does seem steep,especially when you consider they're not even main dealers!
Labour for this service was £144 excl VAT.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
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Depends where you are in the UK. As a London price that would not be totally OTT.
Where I am (Midlands) I would say it is a bit steep for an independent. The valve should not have taken more than 5mins and the other stuff could be done in 2 hours at the outside (I am assuming there are brake checks, gearbox check/top up etc.) - so yes, it looks expensive to me. Was the a coolant or brake fluid change?
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This was near Twickenham , and there wasn't any mention of a coolant or brake fluid change. (Had the coolant done on my request 20000 miles back).
Thanks for the response :o)
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Have a look at the servicing section of the Ford website to see what the franchise would have charged, plus £10 or so for the valve.
To me, it sounds expensive but not outrageous.
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Why don't you call your Ford dealer and ask how much they would charge, then you can make your comparison.
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Had my 2001 Mk3 2.5 V6 Ghia X serviced at Dixon Ford in Rotherham, Major service, cost: £149 all in (plugs not fitted, not due). Had the brake fluid renewed at the same time for an extra £29.99. That's at the dealers so I think you've been ripped off. They've even charged you more for the parts than Fords do. 4 Plugs £20 incl VAT, (or V6 £30), oil £26 (5.5 ltrs for V6, yours should be cheaper if 4 pot), oil filter £8.39, engine flush (optional) £12, air filter £8.30, pollen filter £12.34, labour 2 hours at approx £50 ph £100, total parts, £87.03 (including engine flush).
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Thanks Kith - thats very interesting.
I have mailed the service manager asking him to justify the labour charge.
I will let you know what happens but in the meantime ,here's what they charged for parts:(all NOT including vat)
4 plugs £22.52
oil filter £5.01
air filter £7.53
fuel filter and clips £10.59
sump plug washer £0.21
screenwash (it didnt need it) £0.32
pollen filter £12.77
Valve for wheel £0.90
4.25 litres of 5/30 oil £23.33
For info my local Ford main dealer would have charged £180.00 for this service.
Hmmmmmm.......... :o/
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Here’s a comparison to Ford pricing:
4 plugs £22.52 = Ford Part No 1077002 RRP £5.63 x 4 = £22.52
oil filter £5.01 = Ford Part No 1066071 RRP £5.01
air filter £7.53 = Ford Part No 1665421 RRP £12.16
fuel filter and clips £10.59 = Ford Part No 1022150 RRP £9.34
sump plug washer £0.21 = Ford Part No 1454118 RRP £0.21
screenwash (it didnt need it) £0.32
pollen filter £12.77 = Ford Part No 1132312 RRP £12.77
Valve for wheel £0.90
4.25 litres of 5/30 oil £23.33 = Ford Part No for 5 Litres = 1212636 RRP £18.31
You paid less for the air filter but more for your oil. It looks like they used Ford parts though. I think the garages labour rate or the time they took was high. Book time for a 60K service at a Ford dealer is 1.5 hours. However you did have the valve replaced which would added extra time. If the whole job took say 2 hours the labour rate works out at £72 per hour. The independent I go to in the midlands charges £30 per hour.
HTH
Charles
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Got to speak to the service manager today.He told me that the plugs and fuel filter don't get changed together on a service at this mileage (65k) (Plugs are every 40k and fuel filter is every 60k).
It was my request that the plugs were changed out of alignment with the service schedule so thats my fault.(I assumed it was every 30k....rtfm I know I know :o) )
He confirmed that the service took 3 hours beacause they always remove the rear drums and clean out the dust and also visually check the cylinders which he said "Ford don't do",and they had to source a slow puncture which turned out to be the valve.
Anyway end result is they have offered to reduce the labour time by 30mins at the next service as a goodwill gesture which I think was decent of them.
Thanks to all who replied - big help and very much appreciated.
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