Rip off MOT and servicing from garage

I seem to get caught with An MOT bill always just being under 1 1/2 times the cost of the MOT for things like headligh adjustment, bulb out, wiper blades, when they were fine when presented is this because they know a re test costs half the orignal price if you take it away. nice work .

Halfords do not publish their hourly rates or break them down in their quotes, but can be £85 per hour or more dependent upon location of the Autocentre. You then add on the cost of the part which is the only thing they will price match!

a message to shaws. any thing to do with cars is a case of shopping around wether it be insurance or servicing. who in their right mind would pay £400 for service and mot. last week i paid £129 for a full service at a formula 1 auto centre and £24 for mot at mr clutch. you must have more money than sense

I have just found out that my 70 year old mother and father In law went to wilsons of Epsom Renault to buy a windscreen wiper for their 2004 megane scenic, they were kept waiting for an hour and a half while someone went to look for one , my father in law questioned them as to what the delay was and then was told they would have to order one, he complained that it had taken so long and turned to leave where upon someone found the part and said they would fit it for them, my father in law turned their offer down and said his son in law would do it.

When he looked outside it was tipping it down with rain so he agreed to have the wiper fitted, wilsons told him they had done a quick check on the vehicle and it needed new tyres and a service , my father in law disagreed with them and told them it had just had a service and new tyres had been fitted for the mot. They presented him with a bill for £180 pounds to replace a wiper blade and arm they didn't even check that he would agree for the new arm just that it needed it.

Hi Mick,

This is an age old problem caused by dodgy garages and the car owners lack of knowledge with mechanical problems.

I assume the mechanic examined your old car and simply said it's beyond economical repair, then 'oh, by the way we (the garage) have this car going cheap'.

If that's so then what should have happened is the mechanic should have given you a quote to examine your car (this could be I'll take a look for free or it will cost £100 for me to tell you what's wrong), and after that examination he should have told you exactly what was wrong with the car and possibly given some rough guidance on the cost to repair. This quote would be an estimate not a fixed sum.

You can then make an informed decision as to whether the car was worth fixing. (also be aware any garage could charge you a reasonable amount for leaving your car on their forecourt).

The fact that this all happened is back ground to any case you have with the owner of the garage. Because, any employee working for a company must not complete private business without it being expressed up front that, that is what he is doing and with the agreement of the employer.

In other words your car is no good, but I have a car here I am selling privately and the owner of the garage is happy for me to do this, and the price is x

Failure to do this inferred the car was owned by the garage and would have led any subsequent purchaser of the car to believe that's this was the case, and this is miss-selling.

The owner condoning the selling of vehicle on his property does not absolve himself of responsibility just because he and the mechanic had a deal to allow his employee to sell cars using his property.

Therefore you have a case against both the garage owner and the alleged seller of the car even if it was privately owned.

So your case: Make it clear to the judge or magistrate that:
1. You were not given a quote of the likely repairs to your original vehicle.
2. You were conveniently sold a car with a 5 day MOT that was clearly not road worthy (the idea that an MOT is only valid until you drive off the forecourt is not true. In law any product purchased even second hand cars must have a reasonable safety and reliability period even low cost cars.
3. You were not told by the mechanic it was a private sale.
4. You saw no signs or notices on the premises that this would be a private sale.
5. You receive an invoice that was not correct (the sale is void if the wrong invoice is given otherwise what have you bought. You could have bought the wrong car and if you wanted to push it you could ask the garage owner for the car with the reg number on the invoice). That might solve the problem.
6. In your opinion its clear that you were sold a car with the firm understanding it was being purchased from that garage business and that the car even though it had an MOT – produced by that same garage – was clearly not road worthy.

By polite to the magistrate and he/she should see reason.

If the case against the garage owner cannot be proven you may receive compensation for him allowing private sales on his property that imply its his to sell.

Hope this helps.

Hi there
Stumbled on this site can anyone advise me.My car was towed in to a garage and told that is was beyond reasonable repair. But I was told this by the mechanic not the owner and this mechanics went on to sell me a car that just passed its mot 5 days ago. When driving out of the garage I returned it in poor state ie: brakes metal to metal knocking on steering and also lots of other problems. I was told by the mechanic he would replace the brake disks and repair the steering I said no I would like my money back he refused. I took the garage to court and the judge said the mechanic was to blame and I would have to start a claim against him and advised him he would be liable. In court the owner of the garage said all his staff could buy and sell cars for their gain on his insurance and said one side of the forecourt was for the mechanics and the other for the garage.Also the mechanic produced in court a print out from a computer of the bill of sale signed and dated by both parties with the original date from when he bought it and this was not the original nor a copy but a print out that anyone could have done. Now there's another twist this print out is the wrong registration. Being the fact the the owner said all his staff could buy and sell cars should he have a poster explaining this to the public because how was I to know if I was dealing with the garage or the mechanic.I have an appeal date on the 20th December 2013 I have been in touch with some insurance companies who informed me this could be against the law and could be known has fronting.

love to hear from anyone
mickclare73@gmail.com

@Oneup, I know what you mean I do MOTs and the amount of these cars coming in with dangerous defects is bad. the owners just dont service them and some are putting their lives and others on the line. service and repair costs for these cars are astronomical no wonder they dont get serviced properly.

The bigger the name badge ie, Audi, BMW, Merc, the bigger the service and repair charges. We really love to see the look on their faces when told how much their pride and joy is going to cost. But if you wish to drive a pose machine you had better make dam sure you can afford it.

Sent My Ford Fiesta For Mot IN A Garage In Norfolk Needed Fron t Brakes Pads And Discs Rear Brakes And Brake Cable Was Charged In All £275 Car Is Twelve Years Old Was I Rippped Of ? And Besides Your Not Gonna Get Another Car For That Price Think The Whole Mot Is A Rip Of Yes Cars Need To Be Safe But Garages In These Economic Times Are Taking Motorist For A Ride What Can Be Done?

Garages are run by scammers. MOT garage said I needed my brakes fixed: offered to do job for £380. I went to three other garages to have them checked, as a second opinion: they all said nothing wrong with my brakes.

Well never mind, thats not too bad 35£ an hour,perhaps you could rob a few more barstools. But I dont know where you could sell them thesedays because all the pubs are closing down,or even do it your self

I recently took my Audi A4 to KwikFit for a service. They told me I needed new front and rear pads and discs and that my alternator had a 'ripple'. Luckily my car is still under warranty so I took it to my dealer who said that I didn't need any new brakes or discs and that there is nothing wrong with my alternator!
This made me so cross that Kwik fit would try to charge me for these items. I'll never go there again for anything...rip of merchants!!

According to the MAIN DEALERS Ford UK fixed price servicing a value service plus MOT is £139, an interim service plus MOT is £169. A timing belt change is £249. If the timing belt has been changed as part of the service then he has probably paid the right amount although you would expect to pay less at a small independent garage than at the main dealers.

It sounds like a reasonable question to me. MOT £40. What servicing on a car can cost £360?

Sounds as if you know as much about cars as you do about everything else, Fred E.

Do you know the old saying about keeping your mouth closed and appearing stupid rather than opening it and removing all doubt?