**** garages

[dick65 0]

my daughter lucy put her ford KA in for its mot yesterday the guy said it wont need much,got a call this morning £281 when i see him later i want every old bit back and everything itemised sounds like hes taking the p**s a good start to the week

[streetfighter 0]

Put my daughters in, in November the bloke took it and rang me up and said that it needs two front wheel barrings should he do it so I said yes, he took it back the mot place, and then come straight to our house with the car it passed all he charged us for was the mot he took the wheels off turned out the bearing nuts needed tightening I don't no but he has got all our work on our cars there aint many straight mechanics out there

[Oldfart 0]

Took my Triumph Sprint in to have valves checked and throttle bodies balanced. They fitted new air cleaner as well. No adjustment needed to valves. £280. Thank god I didnt have full service. As a retired mechanic I can do it myself. Just downloaded TuneECU from internet so I can now check the throttles and electronics myself.

[cpt_pants 0]

Makes me glad that we don't have MOT's over here (yet, but I am sure they are on their way). But you are right, we are at their mercy when we leave a vehicle with them. I put a mondeo in for a new wheel bearing, was told it was all attached to the hub and would be faily pricey, but it had to be done £385 later. A few months later the other side went. I got a new hub and bearings, a Haynes manual, 2 new brake discs, tub of grease. did it myself in 1.5 hours at a cost of £220 thats a £165 pound saving and 2 new brake discs fitted too. The B@s7@rds.

[Stue11 0]

Being in the trade as most of you know, i personally in over 20years never carry out any work untill a customer as been quoted and are happy in us carrying out the work, our Jade lives in the midlands and whenever she needs the car done she obviously gets me to do it first, but on this one occasion her exhaust started blowing...she rang me so i told her to bite the bullet and pop into her nearest garage...that she did..she got charged for a new middle piece of exhaust costing £60 which was cheap...two weeks later she brought the car down to me to cast me eye over it..only to find that they had welded her old one up and painted her exhaust silver to make it look new....which was no blowing again...i was so with that the following day i drove her car back to this independant garage and demanded a refund...the guy behind the counter told me to go away politely as he could see i was about to explode...i wont display on here or say what i done next but we came away from there with aa full refund and a few extras thrown in job done..ive always had the attitude of...rip someone of once and youll never see em again...be honest with folk and they will always come back... sorry Dick i know how you feel mate

[cpt_pants 0]

Ther are a few good points in the link below, however most are comon sense.

Click here

[dick65 0]

thats taking the cheese stue,im pleased you sorted it m8
maries going with lucy to pick the car up later i dont want to see the guy as i might do something ill regret
ill never trust anyone to work on me bike i do all that myself and i dont know the first thing about cars so dont know whats what.

[cpt_pants 0]

@dick65 wrote:

thats taking the cheese stue,im pleased you sorted it m8
maries going with lucy to pick the car up later i dont want to see the guy as i might do something ill regret
ill never trust anyone to work on me bike i do all that myself and i dont know the first thing about cars so dont know whats what.

The majority of bikers will tend to do most of their own work. I suppose bikes can be a little easier to work on than cars. Plus bikes are a way of life, not just a method of getting from A to B So we don't mind getting our hands dirty.

[dick65 0]

yeah i love working on me bike i know it inside out the only thing the garage does is my tyres

[cpt_pants 0]

I do only faiwaether repairs/maintenance. I have no garage so I am weather dependent. used to bring it in the house before we got carpets. Only when she was out though

[Chadatious 0]

got mot on bandit tomorrow, but worried anyhow.

for example hes just passed my mates old gsxr, forks were pitted, bearing stiuff, brakes seizing, and rotton to fook, a big bodge.

my 50 failed on brake light went o9n that day fair enough, but also because a bolt was odd, and wheel beariong a little stiff dont get that but oh well.

just knowing my luck it will fail :/

[gravelrash 0]

I think we've all got stories about bad customer service I once got a "FREE" mot for the car from the main dealers, they phoned to say it had failed on the indicators in that they weren't yellow enough (yellow coating on bulb) so i said ....wait for it, "put a new bulb in then" . went to pick the car up "yes sir £55 pounds please , "how'd you come up with that figure" says me, "minimum 1 hours labour for bulb" says he, smugly, I told him to take it out and i'd do it myself, "that'll be another £55 for removal of the bulb" so after half an hours rant and £55 lighter I left 's and have never set foot in the place since. Now i always get written quotes one anything that I can't do myself and this was a recognised main dealer, did i mention, 's . It could be argued i'd have to pay for an mot anyway but that wasn't the point, just getting me in then failing the car on trivialities... 's Wow what a rant!

[madsod 0]

If i cant do it my mate take's it his garage , and get's it done the boss let's him save's me load's . as for the bike's no one get's alook in just me

[Stue11 0]

Dick pm what work you had done and ilke give ya an honest opinion on parts labour etc etc i know its to late now but i'd just like to know what work was carried out

[dick65 0]

@Stue11 wrote:

Dick pm what work you had done and ilke give ya an honest opinion on parts labour etc etc i know its to late now but i'd just like to know what work was carried out

will do m8

[lee1 1]

as stue said dick get a full break down of whats been done

and if ya can always get a garage thats recomended by a mate or family member

Theres some cowboys out there,and it aint just in little garages main dealers can be as bad

Ive seen some things over the years in the motor trade,I wouldnt pay some of them with tap washers

[Stue11 0]

@lee wrote:

as stue said dick get a full break down of whats been done

and if ya can always get a garage thats recomended by a mate or family member

Theres some cowboys out there,and it aint just in little garages main dealers can be as bad

Ive seen some things over the years in the motor trade,I wouldnt pay some of them with tap washers

[madcarper 0]

there e some rip off merchants out there main dealers are the worst but i know of a small garage group up here they take every customer for as much as they can in one hit and are'nt bothered if they come back. My bussiness has been going just over a year we'v never advertised,leafletted or any promotion all our work is from contacts in the motor trade or word of mouth,we are chocca with work nuff said.

[Stue11 0]

@madcarper wrote:

there e some rip off merchants out there main dealers are the worst but i know of a small garage group up here they take every customer for as much as they can in one hit and are'nt bothered if they come back. My bussiness has been going just over a year we'v never advertised,leafletted or any promotion all our work is from contacts in the motor trade or word of mouth,we are chocca with work nuff said.

Cant beat word of mouth thats a fact

[flange 0]

I used to work in a small vilage garage so do my own.We used to put bulbs in for nowt if they bought them from us.Same as wiper blades and headlight allignment

[lee1 1]

@flange wrote:

I used to work in a small vilage garage so do my own.We used to put bulbs in for nowt if they bought them from us.Same as wiper blades and headlight allignment

The good old days then when ya looked after customers

its all politics and targets these days

[flange 0]

@lee wrote:

@flange wrote:

I used to work in a small vilage garage so do my own.We used to put bulbs in for nowt if they bought them from us.Same as wiper blades and headlight allignment

The good old days then when ya looked after customers

its all politics and targets these days

Yep.Glad i dont use them.I'd struggle to run my old car if i did.

[dick65 0]

@flange wrote:

I used to work in a small vilage garage so do my own.We used to put bulbs in for nowt if they bought them from us.Same as wiper blades and headlight allignment

nice one m8,my grandad used to run a small village garage as well my dad started there also before he took an appreticeship and became an auto electrician,theyve both sadly passed away now but i remember the good old days

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

@flange wrote:

I used to work in a small vilage garage so do my own.We used to put bulbs in for nowt if they bought them from us.Same as wiper blades and headlight allignment

them days have well gone i am sorry to say , the same a staff at a shop knowing about the product they are selling