Servicing: Have I been stiched up like a kipper??

Pud, you must be very good at maths, or you are very bored. You are however correct. 5 litres at £9 per litre. = £45

I was just quickly copying off the invoice quickly without the missus seeing me. If she saw that bill I'd be on the street!

And whilst we're at to be fair, the actual price was 698.82

Seems a fair price to me to be honest. They should have told you beforehand, but you should also have asked for a confirmed price, not an estimate, and told them to let you know if it went over before carrying on.

tomfromtelford said:

yeah but you still need to adjust your stated VAT rate - you just keep your prices the same

You pay 20% VAT - you could add onto your site that you have kept prices frozen from pre VAT rise

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I didn't even realise the site was still showing 17.5%, I'll have to change it if I can remember how to do it.. We need to get a new website really.

Tallus said:

Pud, you must be very good at maths, or you are very bored. You are however correct. 5 litres at £9 per litre. = £45

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I just thought £9 was a bit cheap for 5 litres of oil, you can't even get 20W50 mineral for that, so I double checked how it added up.

To be fair nothing in particular stands out as expensive, I imagine they quoted you the price for the service and then added the things that aren't part of the service on top, such as gearbox oil, coolant, waterpump, pollen filters, and maybe half an hour of labour for the pump. That roughly gives you the difference between a £500 service and the £700 bill you have paid. Cheeky if it was done intentionally, but perhaps there was a breakdown in communication of what was included and what wasn't.

I think I might set up a business selling washers at £2.90 each

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One Double Six said:

I think I might set up a business selling washers at £2.90 each

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:lol::lol:

I actually think that's fairly reasonable for all that work.

So that we're clear, who did the work

Always calculate what you yourself costs per hour......
and did you ever got a bill from a lawyer ??!!

Sorry rarebear,

It's not appropriate at all to compare two different professions. You could say compare the £59 + vat to a Tescos checkout worker at £6 per hour therefore everyone should charge £6 per hr.

Im mindfull that when a garage itemise washers at £2.90 each its time to go somewhere else because a packet of them are under £1.00.Whilst this is nothing compared to the overall charges it does mean someone has sat down and charged as much as possible.

seymour beaver said:

Im mindfull that when a garage itemise washers at £2.90 each its time to go somewhere else because a packet of them are under £1.00.Whilst this is nothing compared to the overall charges it does mean someone has sat down and charged as much as possible.

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They may well be buying official ones from an Alfa dealer, they're probably getting 15-20% discount off list price as a trade buyer. Its not just a washer, its a steel or brass outer with a bonded rubber inner piece. Retail price on eper is £2.24 + VAT, franchise dealers will often add a margin to that as well, so depending on where they are buying them from they might not actually be 'on the make'. However they may well be using cheap ones and are on the make, who knows.

They're not cheap either would love to know where you can buy them at £1 a bag! Post a link up please someone!

Sounds about right part wise from a dealer, and times are about right too...
Labour charge is high but you expect that from a dealer, thats the price you pay for a red and black service stamp.

Sure but there are plenty of guys out there that were Alfa trained or similar that are not vat registered or have cheaper labour rates.The balance is to find a good Alfa workshop/garage that dont need to charge more for high overheads or a pretty receptionist.

...and the mechanic that does the job does not get a fair share of the hour labour rate ! if he gets 12 euro per hour , he is lucky

I would say you've been a victim of inflation. Nothing's cheap anymore. It sounds like a lot of money because it is, but when you add it up, it's not outrageous.

That said, quoting 500 and charging 700 is a bit off, they should have informed you.

"To be fair, if 700 was discussed before I could have had the option of not taking it before. Saying it after the service has been done and I can do nothing about it is the part about being stitched up.

Do you do this at JJB?"


"They're not cheap either would love to know where you can buy them at £1 a bag! Post a link up please someone!"


nice side swerve.
i'll answer. any dealings with jjb i've had, he's always phoned me of anything he's come across asking what he should do. very efficient

Next time just do it yourself and forge a stamp it'll save you a fortune :lol:

TO be fair, I don't think the £2.90 washer is the issue...

For me it is the quote of £500 and a bill of £700 that is out of order. They should have phoned you and told you of the increase and asked permission to do the work. Give them a cheque for £500 and see what they say...they won't like It that way round!