im having all the pads and discs replaced on my car. hyundai coupe 2.0se.
been ringing around some places and had some quotes that a have huge differences.
nationwide - front = 197.34
back = 183.28
national - back = 230
kwik fit - front = 213
back = 400
local - back = 218
local - 300 all in
anyway i have purchased the parts my self from www.buypartsbuy.co.uk for £117 including VAT and delivery and i have a local mobile guy coming to do it. he said it will be no more then £50 for rear and probably same for front. i have used him a few times and he is honest and fair so i know i wont be getting ripped off.
the thing is that they all seem realy high especially the 400 one. the guy said it will take a couple of hours to do the back.
assuming the rear disc and pads cost £100, thats £300 labour for two hours!!!
it amazes me some of the costs.
moderator - i dont feel i am shaming anyone by putting names of companys, just giving an insight into my quotes
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The mobile mechanic is bound to be cheaper, his overheads are lower.
But £400 seems OTT.
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dont get me wrong, i realise that bills and labour need to be paid but some places do take the micheal
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The only 1 thats surprised me was the local quote.
Was he a local and small type garage? I would have expected his bill to be comparable (plus a little bit?) to mobile mechanic.
labour rates for mobile and small garage would normally be similar?
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There's local garages and local garages....
Got a quote for discs and pads on my old Sunny from a local fast-fit centre (not a nationally recognised name) - £125.
Same job from a small one-man-band, £70. I bought the parts from Halfords (£45), and he charged me £25 to fit them, which took him 45 minutes.
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Basically a lot of places will charge what they can get away with. Garage labour rates do seem very high these days, even though mechanics wages are pretty much stagnant. The fast-fit places will be paying £6-10/hour depending on where in the country you are - mostly toward the bottom end of that. They will also be able to source the parts for considerably less than you did - so you can work out the profit. Before anyone jumps in - yes, I know all about overheads etc., but friction products are extremely profitable. I think there was a bit in this month's AM about friction products accounting for 40% of the value of all service work.
As an aside I was at the VW agent yesterday to pick up some parts. They now employ a 'greeter'. Basically a woman who stands just inside the door and says hello and asks you what you want (parts, service, sales etc). She then points you toward the parts desk which is about 3m away and has a great big sign saying 'PARTS' over it and another sign saying 'PARTS' stuck to the front of it. I asked the parts chap (who I now know reasonable well) how much they pay her to do that - £14k approx. No wonder they charge £75 to change the brake fluid on a car (£3 worth of fluid and £72 for max 30mins of work - that's about £145/hour labour rate and the tech gets £10/hour of it if he's lucky). Anyone hear Digby Jones (ex-CBI chief) on the radio on wednesday saying that immigrants are taking jobs ahead of locals because British workers are greedy and have been 'overpaid' for years?
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And I wonder how much he earns a year?
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