Scandalous Price of HID Bulbs

[sharktank123]

Hi,

 

Just got Superb L&K estate back from local garage. It needed a nearside HID bulb. Phoned local Skoda dealer and was quoted £187 for the bulb pack. This was just for the pack and fitting would be extra. Local garage fitted it for £120 charged me 2 hours labour plus bulb at £40. The mechanic said it was a bit of a pig to do as he had to take the wheel and a panel to get to the headlight unit. The point I am making is that Skoda used to be ok on pricing of parts and if you look on line the same bulb pack costs anywhere between £30 and £40. How can Skoda be justified in charging such an extortionate amount for something that is essentially made by only a few companies in the world. One other point is that gone are the days when you could change the bulb yourself, now you need a garage full of tools and diagnostic computers to reset and calibrate them.

 

Just Saying

 

Graham 

[xman]

Osram HID bulbs if you buy them have a 4 year warranty,  ultralife versions the warranty is 10 years.

Edited 28 January, 2020 by xman

[Jules Tohpipi]

You might have been ripped-off more than you think, unfortunately. Last week I changed both Xenon dipped bulbs on my 12-plate Superb (saloon) and all I need do was lift the bonnet. No tools required. First bulb took 10 minutes (never done it before and the plastic locking collar befuddled me for a while) and the second bulb took about 3 minutes. Unless the estate is different?

Edited 28 January, 2020 by Jules Tohpipi

[sharktank123]

Hi

 

I think it is different as it has a whole host of different parts when compared to the standard models. It is the Lauren & Klement. I know that the heater fan is different (having this repaired recently) than the standard one and is twice the price of the standard one. The reason given was that it is linked via the climate control to the reclining roof. So although the car is reasonable to run the parts needed when something goes wrong are expensive.

I could of changed them myself having done so on a Volvo xc90 some years ago. Yes it is easy to actually change the bulb part its the getting to them that is the problem as you have to strip away so much to get them out.

 

Just Saying

Graham

[langers2k]

There are now a lot of fake xenon bulbs on the market at a fraction of the cost. Hopefully your garage sourced a quality genuine bulb otherwise you might be paying another 2 hours of labour sooner than you'd hope.

 

Proper xenon bulbs are expensive, a single genuine D1S from Osram or Philips have RRP's in the £70 to £160 range. I believe the OE bulbs used to be Osram Xenarc (silverstars?) so by the time VAG have upped the RRP for the special VAG packaging/stickers and various links in the supply chain take their cut, £187 certainly seems plausible. However, it's rare to pay anywhere near the RRP, for instance the current selling price on powerbulbs for the aforementioned bulbs is £50 to £75. They are an authorised distributors for both brands so they should be genuine.

 

The headlights changed between the pre-FL and FL MK2 Superbs which is why Jules may have had a somewhat easier experience. At least for some cars, the official method for replacing bulbs now involves taking the front bumper off which is absolutely daft! On my FL MK2 Octavia, the headlights both slide forwards and off the car making bulb replacement very easy

[DEL80Y]

@sharktank123

I have  L&K pre Fl and its a 5 minute job to replace headlight bulb

no need to take bumper off unless the ballast is away then headlight needs removed which requires bumper removal which is still only a half hour job

What car do you have pre or FL?

 

[sharktank123]

I have a 2014 model L&K. Not sure if its the pre Fi?? The garage who I do trust as he has done other work for me before said he had to take wheel off then the sill panel to get to the light unit. The car itself is really nice to drive. I also like that is so big have fitted loads of things in it that would otherwise have to be delivered. I also had a tow bar fitted which the specialist said that all the wiring was actually already there so was actually cheaper to do. I know I am complaining about the bulb but the car when working is great. Looks good too!!

One last thing don't know if this makes a difference but the light do a little dance every time I turn on ignition as I have them in auto mode?

Edited 30 January, 2020 by sharktank123

[chimaera]

6 minutes ago, sharktank123 said:

I have a 2014 model L&K. Not sure if its the pre Fi?? The garage who I do trust as he has done other work for me before said he had to take wheel off then the sill panel to get to the light unit. The car itself is really nice to drive. I also like that is so big have fitted loads of things in it that would otherwise have to be delivered. I also had a tow bar fitted which the specialist said that all the wiring was actually already there so was actually cheaper to do. I know I am complaining about the bulb but the car when working is great. Looks good too!!

One last thing don't know if this makes a difference but the light do a little dance every time I turn on ignition as I have them in auto mode?

The facelifted model hit the market in late 2013 so your car would be the facelift and by the sounds of it all that labour is plausible. The dance the headlights do on startup is the AFS doing its self-test, making sure the motors and position sensors are working properly. It's when it doesn't do the dance that you should be worried.