How much are garages charging?

[premmington]

I'm afraid I fall into the category of end of life car driver lol. I maintain it myself and then if it's too expensive/ rotten to fix it gets scrapped.

Even thou I run a garage - I buy low mileage 5/6yr old vehicles - run them to 10/12 years old (a long as I can keep them going to be honest) - repair them myself - and when they getting too exepensive/rotten I scrap them.

@Dessieb2022 - This the right way method/most cost effective method of motoring kid.

 

[Dessieb2022]

Even thou I run a garage - I buy low mileage 5/6yr old vehicles - run them to 10/12 years old (a long as I can keep them going to be honest) - repair them myself - and when they getting too exepensive/rotten I scrap them.

@Dessieb2022 - This the right way method/most cost effective method of motoring kid.

I think it's getting harder now though. My budget was usually around 1 to 1.5k but those cars are now clapped out golfs and focus or the reliable civics and auris at that money are rotten. That's why I'm driving a Nissan note, cheap and not rotten.

 

[premmington]

I think it's getting harder now though. My budget was usually around 1 to 1.5k but those cars are now clapped out golfs and focus or the reliable civics and auris at that money are rotten. That's why I'm driving a Nissan note, cheap and not rotten.

Sad fact is - £1500 quid - not gonna buy you much of car mate...

 

[keithski122]

Even thou I run a garage - I buy low mileage 5/6yr old vehicles - run them to 10/12 years old (a long as I can keep them going to be honest) - repair them myself - and when they getting too exepensive/rotten I scrap them.

@Dessieb2022 - This the right way method/most cost effective method of motoring kid.

As an ex mechanic I do the same, but always buy something I know will be reliable and pay about £3k. My wife has an 08 suzuki sx4 and I have a 09 suzuki swift(had about 10 years), mine is up to about 130k miles, previously I had a 89 mazda 323 which I had 14 years with no major faults.
I get someone else to service them now, can't be bothered rolling around on my driveway crawling under it then having to take the oil down the tip, might do pads and discs though.
£55 an hour my local place is, just paid £150 for a service.

 

[keithski122]

Sad fact is - £1500 quid - not gonna buy you much of car mate...

Thats it , someone will pay £1500 then pay to fix all the faults and bin it after a few years, pay a bit more and get something better that will last longer.

 

[premmington]

As an ex mechanic I do the same, but always buy something I know will be reliable and pay about £3k. My wife has an 08 suzuki sx4 and I have a 09 suzuki swift(had about 10 years), mine is up to about 130k miles, previously I had a 89 mazda 323 which I had 14 years with no major faults.
I get someone else to service them now, can't be bothered rolling around on my driveway crawling under it then having to take the oil down the tip, might do pads and discs though.
£55 an hour my local place is, just paid £150 for a service.

Where in UK are you...?

£55 sounds a bit cheap (unless you are North?)

Building costs - freehold or rent - the biggest expense for a garage down South.

 

[keithski122]

Where in UK are you...?

£55 sounds a bit cheap (unless you are North?)

Building costs - freehold or rent - the biggest expense for a garage down South.

Devon, its a mate who works from a small garage just around the corner from me, just him working there, in fact he actually charged me £40ph.I previously paid similar money at the last place I took it so its not a one off.Wages are quite low around here, more so when you get further down towards the end(cornwall).
I dabble in auto upholstery from home and only charge £25ph at the moment, no overheads though.

 

[premmington]

Devon, its a mate who works from a small garage just around the corner from me, just him working there, in fact he actually charged me £40ph.I previously paid similar money at the last place I took it so its not a one off.Wages are quite low around here, more so when you get further down towards the end(cornwall).
I dabble in auto upholstery from home and only charge £25ph at the moment, no overheads though.

@keithski122

Devon and Cornwall - low wages I know. I have read about it...

But expensive when you go on holiday...?

Which is awkward - how do people in Cornwall buy a small family house on low wages - when houses are so expensive on AirB&B...?

I know the answer kid - I live in North Norfolk...

 

[Ubique]

Most non-dealer places I know charge north of £105/hr, sometimes +vat. They're always busy.
There is one place I know of (mate works there) that charges £75/hr inc vat and charges initial diag by the 1/2hr. All they get is cars that are already on 'life support', owners that think they can haggle the price - and vans, lots of vans.... Most of the jobs should really be going to a surgeon, with all the costs that implies, instead, they end up with a community first-aider sticking a plaster over the problem.

There is a good argument for pricing yourself out of the 'life support' category, for one, there's the inward investment in training, diagnostic equipment and workshop conditions (and wages) to attract good, capable tech's. A smart workshop and reception will attract younger vehicles and therefore people willing to keep the car 'as it should be' rather than doing the bare minimum to keep it on the road. Put those together and you have a long-term business (moreso if you specialise) that charges a fair rate for quality work.
Modern cars are more complex, need trained technicians and equipment - like it or not, they're here to stay.
Deride the owners all you want for 'wasting' money on them but todays new(ish) cars are tomorrows used cars and the 'cost conscious' will inevitably buy them at some point, especially once the proposed ban on new ICE vehicles comes into force.

 

[My Old Landy]

Our local garage charges £75 + vat per hour. My Shogun is being sorted after failing the MOT. £470 to fix it (just welding this time) and worth every penny!
I know, the irony of being on a welding forum!

 

[Bobupndown]

I get someone else to service them now, can't be bothered rolling around on my driveway crawling under it then having to take the oil down the tip, might do pads and discs though.
£55 an hour my local place is, just paid £150 for a service.

Still rolling around underneath all our cars, don't like paying for jobs i can easily do myself.

 

[Craig-SM]

I don’t mind paying for garage labour if you get good work but it’s getting harder and harder to find them. The BMW we now take over 20 miles away as local dealers and “specialists” have been very poor and expensive. It’s now has the work done at a dealers who isn’t any more expensive than the last specialist we used and only came across them due to it being the only place that could do the recall before we went away.
The Shogun I do myself after fixing so many bodges done by garages but I only started doing my own work after paying a small fortune on a Peugeot 406 having £000s of parts replaced at a dealers when it wouldn’t idle correctly and judder violently. Out of desperation decided to investigate myself to find the original spark plugs warn out even though it had full dealer service history. That lead to the coil pack failing. Cost me less than £150 to sort it but lost confidence in garages.

 

[Beanwood]

I have an ailing car at the moment- probably a front wheel bearing. I was using Volvo main dealer when the car was eight years old as they were doing a good job- but when it comes back from a full service and they don’t even mention the split wiper blades I had forgotten to mention on checking in- I started to question their thoroughness.
Since then I have mostly done my own work- but would prefer not to have to buy the kit to replace the bearing wheel I hope to use it only once…
So how do I find a reliable cost effective garage, without driving across to @premmington

 

[premmington]

Most non-dealer places I know charge north of £105/hr, sometimes +vat. They're always busy.
There is one place I know of (mate works there) that charges £75/hr inc vat and charges initial diag by the 1/2hr. All they get is cars that are already on 'life support', owners that think they can haggle the price - and vans, lots of vans.... Most of the jobs should really be going to a surgeon, with all the costs that implies, instead, they end up with a community first-aider sticking a plaster over the problem.

There is a good argument for pricing yourself out of the 'life support' category, for one, there's the inward investment in training, diagnostic equipment and workshop conditions (and wages) to attract good, capable tech's. A smart workshop and reception will attract younger vehicles and therefore people willing to keep the car 'as it should be' rather than doing the bare minimum to keep it on the road. Put those together and you have a long-term business (moreso if you specialise) that charges a fair rate for quality work.
Modern cars are more complex, need trained technicians and equipment - like it or not, they're here to stay.
Deride the owners all you want for 'wasting' money on them but todays new(ish) cars are tomorrows used cars and the 'cost conscious' will inevitably buy them at some point, especially once the proposed ban on new ICE vehicles comes into force.

The bottom end of this job - is the hardest place to trade in. It's not a place for the faint hearted!

 

[Erie Fred]

I have an ailing car at the moment- probably a front wheel bearing. I was using Volvo main dealer when the car was eight years old as they were doing a good job- but when it comes back from a full service and they don’t even mention the split wiper blades I had forgotten to mention on checking in- I started to question their thoroughness.
Since then I have mostly done my own work- but would prefer not to have to buy the kit to replace the bearing wheel I hope to use it only once…
So how do I find a reliable cost effective garage, without driving across to @premmington

Some helpfull advice for your struggles:

 

[Beanwood]

Some helpfull advice for your struggles:

I laughed- but have no idea why as that seems to be the main dealer pricing model…

 

[Erie Fred]

I laughed- but have no idea why as that seems to be the main dealer pricing model…

It is about how some people (very cheap people) can't come to terms with settling on an amount.

 

[mtt.tr]

Sad fact is - £1500 quid - not gonna buy you much of car mate...

Im damn lucky pug 407hdi 140k miles now nearing 200k £900 brilliant car plush interior. That's a car I'll keep on the road.

Mx5 for fun £1200.


But it is hard to find cars nowadays, especially when used older cars are thin on the ground with most cars being financed.

 

[Smallfry]

I have an ailing car at the moment- probably a front wheel bearing. I was using Volvo main dealer when the car was eight years old as they were doing a good job- but when it comes back from a full service and they don’t even mention the split wiper blades I had forgotten to mention on checking in- I started to question their thoroughness.
Since then I have mostly done my own work- but would prefer not to have to buy the kit to replace the bearing wheel I hope to use it only once…
So how do I find a reliable cost effective garage, without driving across to @premmington

I worked at a main dealer back in the late seventies, when I was doing my apprenticeship, not on mechanical though. I could tell you some stories, and is one of the reasons I will never put any vehicle of mine in a garage. Another is when my ex missus took her car in for a service, she was told the water pump timing was out, so needed a new one, and a drive belt.

My daily is a 2004 Vauxhall Combo van that I have had since it was nine months old. No rust on it other than the front subframe is getting a bit crusty, but a new one is only £110, so will change it in the summer. I don't mind spending money on it because I know there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it. It can hardly depreciate any more, and even if I spent £500 in parts on it every year (I don't) it will still cost less overall than a newer vehicle.

People say to me its not "worth it" , but its my choice whether I spend or not. If I had £20k on a newer vehicle, and it needed a £3k repair, what do you do ? Scrap it, or are you compelled to spend the £3k because the vehicle is "worth it" ? To me, this is plain stupid.

 

[Beanwood]

My daily is a 2004 Vauxhall Combo van that I have had since it was nine months old. No rust on it other than the front subframe is getting a bit crusty, but a new one is only £110, so will change it in the summer. I don't mind spending money on it because I know there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it. It can hardly depreciate any more, and even if I spent £500 in parts on it every year (I don't) it will still cost less overall than a newer vehicle.

Here’s one of the problems. I have 2 cars- both approaching 17 years old and high mileage. Both in fairly good condition- but SWMBO wants a newer one as ‘they’re more reliable’. Neither have so far put a tyre wrong beyond a battery, tyres and brakes as far as I recall. How can I explain newer isn’t always better..???