MOT - puzzled

[davey_weir]

First of all Apologies as I have posted this in the DVLA thread, if an Admin could rectify it for me I would be grateful. Anyway:

 

Just had my car MOT'd after returning home from holiday and realising that it expires today!

 

Basically, it cost me £69.19. I told the guy that the sidelamp bulb at the front was faulty and there was one bulb gone at the rear.

 

I have the following breakdown:

 

TIME RATE VAT NET

MOT TEST 0.0 £39.95

REPLACE N/S/F SIDELIGHT BULB

REPLACE FADED FLASHER BULBS

REPLACE SIDE REPEATER BULBS 0.40 50.00 17.5 £20.00

LABOUR SUB TOTAL £59.95

 

then i have 4 bulbs which cost £4.89

 

The total cost of the MOT was therefore £64.84 + £4.35 VAT = £69.19

 

I cant help but thinking

1) why replace 4 bulbs when I only needed 2

2) Does it really take £20 to replace bulbs?

3) They also said I had a nail in my rear tyre..... My car has a computer that tells you if and when you have a puncture, or the pressure is low etc, and it never has before, so if it does when i go out in a minute theyve done that havent they?

[riget]

1)you asked for 2 to be replaced, the other 2 I expect were changed so as to pass the mot.

2)Depending on the car, £20 is not enough to change some bulbs, it wouldn't even change 1.

3)why would they want to put a nail in your tyre? I think they were good at pointing it out to you, your computer didn't.

 

A mot with repairs @ £69.19 is bloody cheap in my eyes, and I would have left a tip.

[LancerQRL]

a lot of the clear type indicator lenses have orange painted bulbs. these age and the paint falls off, so the garage changed them to get the car through the m.o.t. , a nail or other object in the tyre may not have gone through far enough to cause a puncture- however there is the possibility it may do so in the future, that is why it is reported on a mot. as riget posted, a cheap mot, well done.

[Zamzara]

Next time change the bulbs yourself.

 

I can't really agree with the others that adding £20 is 'cheap' but since you asked them to do the bulbs it's above board unless a lower price was agreed.

[pompeyfaith]

£20 to change bulbs that equates to about 15 mins labour at todays rates so is about right.

[LancerQRL]

£20 to change wiper blades nowadays is usual- and you don't even lift the bonnet!!!

[Jimbo44]

First of all Apologies as I have posted this in the DVLA thread, if an Admin could rectify it for me I would be grateful. Anyway:

 

Just had my car MOT'd after returning home from holiday and realising that it expires today!

 

Basically, it cost me £69.19. I told the guy that the sidelamp bulb at the front was faulty and there was one bulb gone at the rear.

 

I have the following breakdown:

 

TIME RATE VAT NET

MOT TEST 0.0 £39.95

REPLACE N/S/F SIDELIGHT BULB

REPLACE FADED FLASHER BULBS

REPLACE SIDE REPEATER BULBS 0.40 50.00 17.5 £20.00

LABOUR SUB TOTAL £59.95

 

then i have 4 bulbs which cost £4.89

 

The total cost of the MOT was therefore £64.84 + £4.35 VAT = £69.19

 

I cant help but thinking

1) why replace 4 bulbs when I only needed 2

2) Does it really take £20 to replace bulbs?

3) They also said I had a nail in my rear tyre..... My car has a computer that tells you if and when you have a puncture, or the pressure is low etc, and it never has before, so if it does when i go out in a minute theyve done that havent they?

 

Unless I'm much mistaken the breakdown you have reproduced shows you have been charged £20 for replacing four bulbs (i.e. 0.40 of an hour @ £50.00 per hour). 0.40 of an hour I calculate to be 24 minutes and if you divide that by the number of bulbs to be changed it works out to an average of 6 minutes per bulb. Not too bad I wouldn't have thought!!

[davey_weir]

Many thanks for your replies guys, the general consensus (sp) is that I did get a fair deal. However, now my car is telling me that I have an indicator bulb faulty, a brake light bulb faulty and they also havent replaced the bulb at the back which I asked them to. The only fault that my car used to detect and also that I had identified was that the sidelamp bulb was faulty. None of the other warnings had ever been identified.

[Jimbo44]

Many thanks for your replies guys, the general consensus (sp) is that I did get a fair deal. However, now my car is telling me that I have an indicator bulb faulty, a brake light bulb faulty and they also havent replaced the bulb at the back which I asked them to. The only fault that my car used to detect and also that I had identified was that the sidelamp bulb was faulty. None of the other warnings had ever been identified.

 

Hi,

 

You say "However, now my car is telling me that I have an indicator bulb faulty, a brake light bulb faulty". By this I assume the on-board computer you mentioned when talking about the nail in a tyre?

 

Have you checked outside the car by looking at the indicators and brake lights that the bulbs the computer says aren't working are actually not working. I have known "bulb check" systems to show wrong information after a bulb change.

[LancerQRL]

sometimes cars need to have the warning systems reset, ie i had new front brake pads on mine a couple of weeks ago, and as the warning light had come on a new sensor was fitted as well, when the car was started the low brake warning light was still on, a quick scout around the internet and i found out that if carried out a certain procedure the light would go off- hey presto it did.

[davey_weir]

sometimes cars need to have the warning systems reset, ie i had new front brake pads on mine a couple of weeks ago, and as the warning light had come on a new sensor was fitted as well, when the car was started the low brake warning light was still on, a quick scout around the internet and i found out that if carried out a certain procedure the light would go off- hey presto it did.

 

Where did you find that and for what car??

[LancerQRL]

bmw 3 series, what type of car is yours?

[davey_weir]

peugeot 407

[the winkler 72]

aha french car, did anyone see the watchdog programme about it taking upto an hour to change one headlamp bulb on a Laguna 2!!

Unless I'm much mistaken the breakdown you have reproduced shows you have been charged £20 for replacing four bulbs (i.e. 0.40 of an hour @ £50.00 per hour). 0.40 of an hour I calculate to be 24 minutes and if you divide that by the number of bulbs to be changed it works out to an average of 6 minutes per bulb. Not too bad I wouldn't have thought!!

I agree with jimbo44, doesnt sound a bad deal, when you told them to change some bulbs anyway.

french cars steer clear...

[Conniff]

Official time to change a Laguna ii front headlamp is 1hr 30 mins.

[davey_weir]

Official time to change a Laguna ii front headlamp is 1hr 30 mins.

 

Well my mate is an auto spark, he came around and changed a bulb for me in about 2 and a half minutes.

 

Its done now anyway, Im just not going to go back to that garage, ever.

[dw190]

My last MOT required a Number Plate Bulb replacing. The MOT was £30.00. When I asked what I owed for the replacement bulb the answer was "nothing".

 

Been going to the same place for 20 years now and will continue to do so.

[flyingdoc]

Sorry Davey - I think you are being overly critical here. They have charged you a reasonable amount and done what they said. Just because your "mate" fitted a single bulb in 2 and a half minutes does not mean that they could all have been changed in that time.

I feel sorry for legitimate garages - they are tarred with the same brush as all the cowboys out there so that even when they do a good job they are seldom praised, but god help them if they mess up in any way.

 

Give the guys a break and credit where it is due, and to be perfectly honest if I was the owner of the garage you are so lucky to have found (ie an honest one) Im not sure I would want you as a customer.

 

dw190 Good on you - credit where it is due....

Edited January 2, 2009 by flyingdoc
dw190 Good on you - credit where it is due....

[yiddo]

Well my mate is an auto spark, he came around and changed a bulb for me in about 2 and a half minutes.

 

Its done now anyway, Im just not going to go back to that garage, ever.

 

I think the garage would also be happy in that case:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[DorsetStrider]

I was told by a customer today that the local renault main dealer are charging £500 to change the headlight on a Megane.

 

*legal disclaimer* I am simply quoting what a customer told me. I take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.

[DorsetStrider]

Well my mate is an auto spark, he came around and changed a bulb for me in about 2 and a half minutes.

 

Its done now anyway, Im just not going to go back to that garage, ever.

 

 

It does depends on the model and detail of the car. Some lagunas are easypeasey to do. Others are not. I know that the later Turbo Diesels are a nightmare to do as the bulb unit has to be removed from the vehicle and replaced and reaimed.

[davey_weir]

Sorry Davey - I think you are being overly critical here. They have charged you a reasonable amount and done what they said. Just because your "mate" fitted a single bulb in 2 and a half minutes does not mean that they could all have been changed in that time.

I feel sorry for legitimate garages - they are tarred with the same brush as all the cowboys out there so that even when they do a good job they are seldom praised, but god help them if they mess up in any way.

 

Give the guys a break and credit where it is due, and to be perfectly honest if I was the owner of the garage you are so lucky to have found (ie an honest one) Im not sure I would want you as a customer.

 

dw190 Good on you - credit where it is due....

 

I think the garage would also be happy in that case:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Well I have since discovered that the bulb they fitted was wrong and blew the earth in the light unit. The connector was burned out. My mate has had to wire the connection to the unit itself. So like I said, I wont be going back there again.

[the winkler 72]

its wrong

[davey_weir]

its wrong

 

What is?