UK dealers aren't all bad all the time

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

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

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

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

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.

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 !!!

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.

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 ...

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