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UK dealers aren't all bad all the time

I noticed a loss of coolant in my '97 Cherokee 4.0l just before Xmas, which developed into a large leak by Christmas eve. After Xmas I got the local radiator specialist to look. They advised that it would almost certainly be the water pump, but they'd pressure test it anyway. It was the water pump (which they don't do) so I rang the local (well known, Portsmouth, independent Jeep specialist). He quoted "around" £95 for the pump and 3 hours labour and wouldn't look at the job until 1st week January. For a laugh, I phoned the Jeep dealer and asked for a price for the water pump. £65. I then asked how much to supply and fit. They said it was a 1 1/2 job, total price including parts, fitting and tax £240 and they could do it immediately after the bank holiday. This was given as a firm price for the job so I booked it in. The job took the amount of time they quoted and when I queried the fact that coolant had been added to the bill they promptly removed the item as it was a fixed price quote. Compared to the independent, whose price would have been more like over £300 without the guarantee that the main dealer offered, I thought this was fair service from a dealer.

Reply to
Danny
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Danny.

They don't all deserve the name "Stealer" but we seldom hear about the good ones. Nobody complains about them.

JoBo Columbus, Ohio USA

Reply to
Jo Bo

The Jeep dealer in Greenville TX has been the best service I have ever gotten and the prices are reasonable. Maybe they ARE trying!

Reply to
Tom P

you have to go to a VW or benz stealer.. my friend has a jetta and it cost around $70 to get a oil change

Reply to
Jon

I don't. That's 116 quid per hour or just over $200 US !!! Ryfield Jeep in Birmingham charge 76 quid per hour, and I thought that was expensive.

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wagoneer, '99 TJ

Reply to
Dave Milne

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

No, the Labour rate was £70-odd per hour, with extras included in the price of coolant/flushing and VAT. They also fitted a serpentine belt, but the cost of the part isn't in the original quote, just free fitting since they had to remove the old one anyway.

Reply to
Danny

Well, as long as you are happy ... That's still around £90/hr inc VAT at least assuming they have enough gall to charge you more than £30 for the antifreeze....

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wag> > I don't. That's 116 quid per hour or just over $200 US !!!

Reply to
Dave Milne

You're missing the point. I don't know how long it took to do the job, since it was a fixed price job, but it had to be done. When I phoned, the person said it was at least a 1 1/2 hour job, when I dropped the car off they said at least two hours, and they actually finished and phoned me in 4 hours. I can't compute the hourly rate myself, but was told it was £70 someing per hour. This is a bit irrelevent since I only wanted to know if they were quicker/cheaper than the local independent, for the whole job, which they were. If the Independent puts 50% markup on parts, charges less per hour labour but takes longer to do the job it is more expensive. 3 hours labour @ £50 is worse than 2 hours @ £70 and £95 for a pump is worse than £68. The main agents price for the pump was the same as any online source that I could check at the time, including Ebay.

I've no doubt that I could have secured a water pump from somewhere and found a mechanic to fit it, but this would take time, which I don't have when it's Christmas and the vehicle is my dailer tow car.

Reply to
Danny

You are missing my point. Both your dealer and your independent are expensive.

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wag> > Well, as long as you are happy ...

Reply to
Dave Milne

The U. S. Airways flight I was on over the holidays was selling the same drinks for five dollars, five Euros, or three British pounds. You can do the math yourself. What are you calling Real Money these days?

Earle

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Reply to
Earle Horton

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

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