Car Mechanicing Question

[screenman]

Warranty work fills workshop hours but guess who sets the prices.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Warranty work fills workshop hours but guess who sets the prices.

Its a hard business to be in like most.
Body shop rates are terrible for most repairs.

 

[screenman]

Its a hard business to be in like most.
Body shop rates are terrible for most repairs.

Unless you are a PDR person

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

After 30 minutes of fruitless searching for the hole on the rear side of the engine, as directed by the HBoL, I found it on the front side.

Factory fitted it back to front obvs

 

[screenman]

[QUOTE 5252709, member: 45"]Why do they bother?[/QUOTE]

I think a lot wonder that.

 

[screenman]

[QUOTE 5252715, member: 45"]So why do they?[/QUOTE]

For my smaller main agents it is down to loyalty to staff, otherwise if that is all you know what else can you do, not everyone can get a public servant job.

I would not want to have my money in a Vauxhall dealership at the moment, that is real uncertainty.

 

[Nigeyy]

Hmm not so sure on this one. At least back in the 1980s I recall much pain from Haynes manuals...... I remember many cryptic descriptions or "remove part" descriptions, or frustratingly photos or drawings that just didn't show that one important angle. This is one thing that is so much better now -take a look at youtube for videos. The downside is that they may not be qualified mechanics but sometimes it's just nice to know how something comes apart or what it might take.

Haynes manuals are not a patch on what they used to be. Back in time they used to strip the car themselves so they gave an accurate description of how things came apart and went back together. Now you wonder if they've even bothered to open the bonnet.

 

[I like Skol]

Hmm not so sure on this one. At least back in the 1980s I recall much pain from Haynes manuals...... I remember many cryptic descriptions or "remove part" descriptions, or frustratingly photos or drawings that just didn't show that one important angle. This is one thing that is so much better now -take a look at youtube for videos. The downside is that they may not be qualified mechanics but sometimes it's just nice to know how something comes apart or what it might take.

Yes but, if Haynes didn't give you the clue you needed then maybe you shouldn't be tinkering?

 

[Nigeyy]

But the point is that Haynes didn't give just enough of a clue at times.... And one person's tinkering is another person's repair bill. Mind you, you have to have a sense of adventure and confidence though, as well as a reasonable mechanical knowledge -it's not for everybody.

Yes but, if Haynes didn't give you the clue you needed then maybe you shouldn't be tinkering?

 

[classic33]

Don't be sure that main dealers only use genuine parts, I used to work up the road from http://www.calderclutch.co.uk/ & would often see the local Vauxhall dealers van parked there loading up

Labour prices are silly though. Several years ago & I was thinking of buying a Saab & spoke to a local independant Saab garage & he boasted that they only charged £90 an hour labour

Used to work for them.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Haynes books were great ,i used them all the time.
The bit i particularly liked was " undo nut and slide out the bolt"
Yeah just slide it out... 2 hrs later much hammering ,loads of skin removed and a oxyacetyelne torch ..peice of pizz .

They are brilliant for motorbikes tho

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Labour prices are silly though. Several years ago & I was thinking of buying a Saab & spoke to a local independant Saab garage & he boasted that they only charged £90 an hour labour

!£!£
I've just been to check the records for my Octavia, & my (not that local; circa 10 miles) trusted garage charges £54/hour
We do get a 'mates rates' discount to £42/hour, as the owner is my wifes business partners, brother

A few years ago, WYMAS (as they were then; West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service) had their area garage in our grounds
Hospital staff could also use their services
Granted, if a 'big yellow taxi' came in, they went to the front of the queue
It was great, as a vehicle could be dropped off pre-shift, worked on, collected afterwards
Payment was either there/then, or arrangements were made to pay, direct from wages on payday

The big factor for a lot of staff was the trust factor...... there was no 'leg-lifting' to bump up a bill, as the guys got paid anyway from WYMAS/NHS, any car repair work was incidental
Sadly, due to the redevelopment of the Hospitals, they moved onto an Industrial estate, near jct 31/M62, but with the same service for NHS staff (barring the pay on payday)
I used them for a while, but now they've centralised, I think, at Birkinshaw??

If the quote was for a scimitar gte with a v6 then id rip their arm off.
My god that was a total bastid to do.

I'm sure that to change the timing belt on the TDV6 Discovery 3 (& probably 4), the recommended way is/way to remove the body-shell!!
I have heard of it being done, in-situ, by someone with small hands, & a clip-on mirror, to get a view
Not like the days of my old Tdi's.....................

EDIT @ 09:05

My mistake, it's the fuel pump belt that's at the rear, the standard timing belt is at the front, but still well buried!

 

[Jody]

It is still a 30 minute job for a mechanic with the right tools. Extortion on a grand scale.

They may only be charging 30-60 minutes labour. Difficult to know without the OP giving a breakdown of the parts/labour cost and what vehicle he has.

 

[Hugh Manatee]

It only took me an hour. Most of that was spent jacking the damn thing up on both sides. My trolley jack doesn't go high enough so I had to use the emergency jack with proper axle stands. I didn't get a breakdown other than my own.
Car is old. An X Trail to be exact.

 

[Black Sheep]

I'm sure that to change the timing belt on the TDV6 Discovery 3 (& probably 4), the recommended way is/way to remove the body-shell!!
I have heard of it being done, in-situ, by someone with small hands, & a clip-on mirror, to get a view
Not like the days of my old Tdi's.....................

EDIT @ 09:05

My mistake, it's the fuel pump belt that's at the rear, the standard timing belt is at the front, but still well buried!

easier to just leave in situ and fit an electric fuel pump?

Or does the belt drive other bits?