Hi, my car was overheating and I took it to a local independent garage two weeks back and today I got a call saying it is repaired and emailed me the invoice. here is the breakdown. Please let me know if it is reasonable. apparently the head gasket is blown up and other parts also needed replacement due to this according to the mechanic. their customer service was very poor and they were very rude whenever I called them to get an update. they gave very high estimate initially and I made a mistake of not getting quotes from other garages.

Please let me know if there are any parts in this bill that aren't anything to do with overheating, so shouldn't be included, or if the parts charge is high or if the labour charge or effort is high etc.

(all amounts rounded to nearest one). the estimate was £1200 and the total to pay now is £1365 out of which warranty company agreed to reimburse only £450 (for head gasket alone). the timing belt is also covered under warranty, but they said they don't pay because it isn't broken. they said the same when I had to replace my clutch and fly wheel earlier and they didn't pay a penny for that saying they will pay only if it is broken.

my car is Ford Focus 2003 diesel £70K mileage

1. labour = 8 hours = £400 (£50 per hour)
2. Cylinder head work = £260
3. head gasket = £44
4. head gasket set = £40
5. head bolts = £27
6. timing belt kit = £70
7. Engine oil = £6.25 (quantity 5)
8. oil filter = £7
9. environmental disposal = £6
10. car anti-freeze per lt = £7
11. Fote water flush = £13
12. Forte oil flush = £12
13. Drive belt F1133960 = £24.36
14. Exhaust studs & Bolts & sundries = £45
15. Pulley (belt tensioner) F1473384 = £140.96
VAT = £227
total = £1365

Thanks in advance.

Edited by rkp on 02/07/2011 at 00:23