Evening all,

A friend of my wife just had the coil springs replaced on her 2010 Octavia Scout. When she got the bill, the garage had also charged her for replacing a brake light bulb. £50. Yes, £50.

I just looked at a YouTube video of a guy changing one on a Mk 2 estate (presumably the same job as on a Scout?). Took less than two minutes, involved no special tools or skills and looked like a pretty ordinary bulb.

Is it me? 🤔

Sounds like the garage saw her coming...

 

Yes, I know a skilled mechanic charges for the years of training and experience they've built up, the garage has overheads/rent/electricity/wages etc to pay, markup on the parts etc...

 

But £50 for a single bulb change is just plain wrong if it wasn't quoted for and agreed beforehand.

That's extortionate!  In the past I've had garages replace what is actually a 50p bulb for free.

 

She's been taken for a ride there and I'd be complaining like hell over that - especially if the work wasn't agreed in advance.

Thanks both. It wasn't just me then. Just wanted to check I wasn't missing something 😏

Nothing at all against a decent garage charging appropriately for their skills, experience, knowledge and overheads - but this strikes me as outrageous.

Unfortunately she's a single woman with quite a posh voice who knows virtually nothing about cars - and I think the garage have quickly realised that. I don't think it's the first time she's been taken advantage of by them. Makes me wonder if there even was a dead bulb!

I reckon she ought to go back and politely tell them their invoicing computer must have a glitch because the decimal point should have been one place to the left next to the bulb change. A fiver seems reasonable to me. After that, a change of garage is definitely required. I couldn't trust anyone who'd done that to me.

 

3 hours ago, brian62c said:

Thanks both. It wasn't just me then. Just wanted to check I wasn't missing something 😏

Nothing at all against a decent garage charging appropriately for their skills, experience, knowledge and overheads - but this strikes me as outrageous.

Unfortunately she's a single woman with quite a posh voice who knows virtually nothing about cars - and I think the garage have quickly realised that. I don't think it's the first time she's been taken advantage of by them. Makes me wonder if there even was a dead bulb!

I reckon she ought to go back and politely tell them their invoicing computer must have a glitch because the decimal point should have been one place to the left next to the bulb change. A fiver seems reasonable to me. After that, a change of garage is definitely required. I couldn't trust anyone who'd done that to me.

 

 

£5 seems more reasonable and is probably what the likes of Halfords would have charged.  I recall I was once charged for changing a bulb to pass an MOT but when I challenged the garage and noted all were working when I dropped it off they removed that element from the invoice.

Nice one skomaz 😀

 

A place I used to take my vehicles to lost my custom when, on mot day, they "noticed" a large puncture in one of the tyres - big enough to instantly deflate the tyre. I'd driven 40+ miles to get there ( it was the other side of my normal commute) with no sign of any tyre trouble. Must have happened just as I parked at the garage. What a coincidence!

Looked to me suspiciously like a hard stab with a sharp implement 🤔🙄