2.5 NAD rebuild - £2000!

OUCH!

Three things cross my mind initially. Firstly, having given you an=20 estimate of =A3800, which you accepted and gave him the instruction to=20 proceed, you have a verbal contract. This has the same weight in law as=20 a written one - but is harder to prove. Secondly, when he realised the=20 price was going to be much higher than the estimate I would have=20 expected him to call and discuss it with you. Did he?

Finally, on the price of parts: I would expect a competent mechanic to=20 have a trade account somewhere which would allow him to buy at=20 discounted prices and invoice to you at something like the price you=20 would have paid over the counter. Having said that, in industry mark-ups =

of more than 300% are not uncommon - but this ain't industry. I would,=20 however, expect him to be able to justify those prices.

Perhaps Richard would comment on the standard of his products?

HTH

--=20 Regards

Steve G

Included in the 6 to 800?

Had you been informed of these rising costs? Your contract (in english law you can form a contract verbally) is for =A3600 to =A3800, if the co= sts rise substantionally you should have been asked for further approval before any costs were incured. If not I say you are within your rights t= o reject the rise and have the vechicle put back to how it was (at his cost) or come to an agreement on the amount of the final bill.

Bear in mind IANAL.

OUCH!

Three things cross my mind initially. Firstly, having given you an estimate of £800, which you accepted and gave him the instruction to proceed, you have a verbal contract. This has the same weight in law as a written one - but is harder to prove. Secondly, when he realised the price was going to be much higher than the estimate I would have expected him to call and discuss it with you. Did he?

Finally, on the price of parts: I would expect a competent mechanic to have a trade account somewhere which would allow him to buy at discounted prices and invoice to you at something like the price you would have paid over the counter. Having said that, in industry mark-ups of more than 300% are not uncommon - but this ain't industry. I would, however, expect him to be able to justify those prices.

Perhaps Richard would comment on the standard of his products?

HTH

The blokes been ripped off fair & square, there is no way a simple rebuild (no bore out etc) would cost that on a V8 with double the number of pistons ffs. No crank, no camshaft.

Utter daylight robbery.

I would ask for a VERY detailed invoice & rip it to bits.

Included in the 6 to 800?

Had you been informed of these rising costs? Your contract (in english law you can form a contract verbally) is for £600 to £800, if the costs rise substantionally you should have been asked for further approval before any costs were incured. If not I say you are within your rights to reject the rise and have the vechicle put back to how it was (at his cost) or come to an agreement on the amount of the final bill.

Bear in mind IANAL.

Is it just me but, where the hell can he get 2k from????

I would go straight to the local trading standards department, chances are you're not the first he's taken for a mug and they have him marked.

Greg

I always used to try to 'quote' an accurate figure and adhere to it if the job was straightforward, but if it was an unknown quantity where there could be hidden costs then an estimate which is *only* an estimate should be given as in this case. I used to reckon an estimate could vary by about 25% either way but even then the customer should be notified before commencement of any extra work, it is only fair trading practice. If he estimated about £700 then he should have kept between £525 and £875. Now if the customer supplies his own parts then you must use them unless they are not the correct ones, it doesn't matter if you consider them inferior or if they fail, that will be a warranty claim between him and his supplier, you can only try to persuade him to use original parts and if he won't you can always refuse to do the job. As far as I can see it's only a matter of head and sump off, not a massive job, and I think it was only the TD that had the extra oil feeds anyway, but I may be wrong.

Thin air like the majority of prices quoted. As a seller you charge what the market will stand.

If only it where that way! To be honest, the market would NEVER stand 2k for that job.

Had my 300 tdi rebuilt by a local engine bod it had a re bore, new pistons,and crank re ground for £700 there was no labour for removal or refitting though. I seem to recall that you have the right to your car even if the bill has not been paid as it is your car and him keeping it would be theft! Go talk to him in a reasonable way and if he doesnt play ball call police and trading standards.

Icky

Since the pistons were AE, though in a Britpart box, I'm somewhat surprised that they are "substandard", as they were, I'm pretty sure, OEM suppliers to LR - they certainly have an excellen reputation.

The other prices are are pretty much Genuine Parts prices, so presumably he would be able to show you suitably decorated boxes, or an invoice? Having said that though, he is free to charge what he likes for parts......

If you think you are likely to get into a dispute, then a trip to Citizens Advice or similar might be a good idea, to establish the ground rules.

Richard (sapeaking personaly)

I know that and the OP knows that but there are plenty out there that just pay bills as presented without engaging brain at all. Look at the TV programmes about rogue this or that, if people weren't mugs such practices couldn't exist.

The previous owner of my 109 petrol had a full recon engine fitted for about £1200 (I have the bill), that's a short engine AND a rebuilt head, the result seems to be a gem of an engine. So £2000 for a partial rebuild is just ludicrous.

Greg

wow. that was pricey!

You should have posted here first!- i'd have sold you my 2.5 NAD (which I rebuilt 18 months ago and has also had all reconned ancilliaries including the fuel dissy) for much less than that and bought myself a tdi or v8 to replace it! :)

Turner Engineering price for a short block is 1,200 + vat supply only.

Did he do ant thing to the head or supply new injectors etc?

You should be glad you don't own a Shogun 2.8. A guy at my work has just coughed up a little over £3K, yes £3K for, get this.....Head gasket replacement. He went on holiday with the instructions to the garage to do the necessary repairs., Don't rush it, I want a good job done! - famous last words!!

Breakdown of costs Labour £2200 (40 hours) Mech Parts £425 Oil, antifreeze, water (YES WATER!!) £90 All plus VAT

So the vehicle was in for a week - £440 a day (£55 per hour = fair rate) SLOW mechanic if it took a week!!! Mech parts?? Gasket kit - £60 (cheaper on Ebay) - thermostat £5 = almost

1000 percent markup!!! Oil - take Castrol's best = £40 a gallon (probably used syrup instead) and antifreeze £10 a gallon makes the WATER costing at LEAST £40!!!

And to top it all, it lasted 3 days and overheated again!.The AA report stated several missing nuts & washers from various places around the head and rockers, loose exhaust clamp, silicone used for repairing the ORIGINAL gasket on the stat housing! Wire not refitted to a sensor, Oil change without a filter replacement?? i'm surprised they bothered to fit a new stat...or did they?? According to the AA guy it didn't look like the heads were skimmed or pressure tested. His own words "Looks like they weren't even cleaned/prepared properly before refitting them. Bloody conmen - they don't deserve to be in business!" Well i can't name the garage on the outskirts of St.Helens which did the job but i will after the court case!

Wolfie

On or around Tue, 19 Sep 2006 11:34:33 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@howl.com enlightened us thusly:

that's a monumental piss-take. No way it should take 40 hours to recon an engine.

it wasn't recon'd it was ONLY the head gaskets that were done!!!

Wolfie

On or around Tue, 19 Sep 2006 23:06:00 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@howl.com enlightened us thusly:

in that case it's a whole mount rushmore of pisstake, FFS, *I* can do that inside of a day.

I told him that i could have done it in a day too, with the exception of getting the heads skimmed and pressure tested which the garage didn't do. Its all in the hands of the legal bods now on advice of the AA. I'll keep you all posted on the outcome.

Wolfie