Are they that much of a pain to fit or have I just found a particularly expensive garage?

Sounds OTT to me!

G

it will be similar labour to changing the cam belt. Skoda do that for £299 inc parts/labour.

How much is the alternator its self?

Presumably the majority of that cambelt cost is labour, or do they automatically change the water pump and some pulleys as part of the change?

Euro Car Parts are showing a Bosch one at £400, so suddently £550 fitted doesn't look too bad

Edited 13 February, 201313 yr by RizzoTheRat

One of the common failure modes on an alternator is worn brushes. Not very expensive or difficult (assuming not a permanent magnet rotor) May be worth a check?

if it is £400 than thats about 1/5hrs labour which isnt bad imo.

As above though, you can get them fixed if its just bushes. Will be much cheaper

The price I have calculated for the Bosch Alternator from ECP is £184.23p

Unit price £245.64p + Deposit of £132.00p Briskoda discount of £61.41p refund of £132.00p when old unit returned makes total price £184.23p

I remember now why I DIY my repairs, thank you

it will be similar labour to changing the cam belt.

No it won't. The cambelt is a 4 hour job, the alternator less than 1 hour.

Sounds expensive. On the petrol at least, they aren't bad to change, an hours job tops. Don't know about the diesel.

I'd get that alternator at ECP or other similar supplier price and have it fitted at an independent garage if you do not DIY.

For a laugh followed by a heart attack, ask the dealership for a price of a start-stop capable alternator

Be prepared to hear close to double the current quote...

Edited 13 February, 201313 yr by dieselV6

Trouble is I need the car back asap so not a lot of choice.

Rizzo is your vrs a petrol or diesel? mine is a petrol & the alternator looks very easy to replace,not sure what sort of job it is on a diesel but £550 sounds way to much!

Likely you dont need a new one, plenty places around service them at reasonable cost.. Go on google maps do a search for alternator repair near <your city> I found a few locally.

alternator repair kits are typically £5 to £20:

http://www.jcrsupplies.co.uk/products/ALTERNATOR_REBUILD_PARTS/ALTERNATOR_REPAIR_KITS_AND_COMPONENTS

I dont think its a massive job to replace one.

OK - stop this now! Going to tidy up (attempt to....), but just leave it now thanks!

Are they that much of a pain to fit or have I just found a particularly expensive garage?

Which garage was it? I'd certainly get some more local quotes before proceeding. Certainly getting the parts price and an indication of the time to change (as mentioned earlier) is going to help. From what I've read, your quote from the garage sounds overly expensive.

And Mike's hire car suggestion is a great one, you could get a Ka (or similar Class-A hire car) will do the job for a couple of days. I've used them before at around £20 a day.

Yes you have. Hire a car for the day while yours is being repaired. You will still save a fortune.

I did, but the trouble was I was going on holiday 2 days later and the girlfiends MoT was due to expire while we were away so couldn't use that instead. Why is it these things always happen when you haven't got time.

I did, but the trouble was I was going on holiday 2 days later and the girlfiends MoT was due to expire while we were away so couldn't use that instead. Why is it these things always happen when you haven't got time.

Do girlfriends have to have MOTs these days? Is nothing sacred?

Do girlfriends have to have MOTs these days? Is nothing sacred?

Well I like to get her checked over once a year, don't want an airbag failure or other nasty surprises

So just get the MOT done a few days earlier, before going on holiday! You can have an MOT done up to a calendar month to keep the same date for the next renewal

2 days before going on holiday when she's working both days and already has it booked in for an MoT the first day we're back?

Well I like to get her checked over once a year, don't want an airbag failure or other nasty surprises

2 days before going on holiday when she's working both days and already has it booked in for an MoT the first day we're back?

That or pay a shed load too much for an alternator.

Indeed, unfortunatly they were the only garage out of 3 I tried that do the job in time. I guess if they're a lot more expensive it might explain why they don't ahve as much of a queue