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Final quote came through from Brightwell Garage near me. £457.15 all in. Perfect! Lesson: read up on the issue whenever you get slapped with a giant bill from your chosen garage... Can't believe they originally asked me to pay £1311.54!!

Hi all, I have just had the same issue (coolant leak, pump responsible, TPI: 2049883/6) just after my warranty expired. So, August '24, a fair while after the quotes/issues above. Marshalls in Newbury first took it in, charged the £100 diagnostic, then they thought they could charge me £1311.54 for: "Inspection Notes: Carried out investigation into coolant loss, carried out system pressure test, found leaking around coolant pump area, TPI 2049983/6 is relevant. Requires coolant pump seal and associated parts reference TPI." (Note: there is a typo in their TPI reference, it's actually the one identified earlier in this thread, I checked.) So, after the initial panic attack, I hunted on forums and such for the issue to get informed, including this thread (thank you so much!). I called them back to challenge the work, they itemised the breakdown and apologised for "putting the wrong labour cost by accident" and said £995 instead for the job: ~£225 for parts and the balance for labour (all incl. VAT). That's apparently 4.5hrs labour (I'm in the wrong industry!), down from the "accidental" 6hrs. I asked them why it would take so long and they had no answer, so I said fine I'll get some other quotes... Checking the nearest Skoda Approved repairers on the Skoda map, I got (all inclusive) quotes to replace the water pump: £573 from Banbury, £536 from Swindon, £589 from another Marshall garage in Reading, £556 from Winchester, and £629 from Southampton. The cheapest is a £459-£775 saving on the original quote (£995 or £1311, your choice). VERY importantly some of them shed a little bit of light on the price: 2.2hrs is the "Skoda National Catalogue" book time to complete the job. Southampton were a bit pricier on the parts, hence the range. Still awaiting some local indy Skoda specialist garage quotes to come back to me tomorrow, but the lowest so far is £472 from Oxford. I phoned Newbury back and gave them the information, and there was no manager in or anything, so the lovely but very new service assistant couldn't do or say anything to help, so I've collected my car, given them the £100, and will not be going back there again. Thought you should all be made aware of this. I was very disappointed in the garage I've previously enjoyed great service from. Currently debating how important the "approved Skoda" repair credentials are considering the attempted theft so far.