alright heres the story. my girlfriend has a 2000 lancer CE. service was due and i was gonna do it for her but.. shes keeping the service books. she took it to her local mechanic and he charged her $288. after my enquiring to him as to what was done as i was quite unimpressed by the price and the amount of work the things that caught my eye were the fact that he charged her $30 for the air filter and $65 for the fuel filter. i understand it was major service.. but.. $65 for the friggin fuel filter? come on! i can get cheaper than that straight from mitsubishi. for that price he charged $95 for the labour, he did an electronic tune which consisted of resetting everything to factory spec (not that it needed anything and mitsubishi did mine for free in 10 minutes), all the standards - oil (which he charged $33 for 5 litres) id still like to know what kinda oil he used, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, safety check, spark plugs (charging $4.40 a pop :nuts:), checked her brakes (which they do free with any service anyway), changed a light globe in her number plate light and changed her windscreen wipers. then he noted that radiator coolant needs to be flushed and changed and brakes need to be bled and changed. for those 2 things he would charge $120 extra but he didnt do. now.. $288 + $120 is just over $400 which mitsubishi would have charged for a major service and would have included the brakes, the coolant and wheel balancing and rotation which he didnt do either. my guess is $288 is a ripoff, and if my gf didnt care about the books i wouldnt have let her go to that mechanic.
so what do you guys think? does $288 cut it or should i go back and have another go at him? im pretty unimpressed.. and did she even need a major service at 120,000ks?

thanks
Alex

sounds about right to me

dont think that service charge is making him rich


he is allowed to charge any amount he likes- just how long he stays in business is the question :nuts:

fella has to cover wages, insurance, workers comp, shop supplies and connections,services ,phone, accountant, rates lease business loan,holiday pay ,sick pay superanuation fund
then from what is left
his kids edumakation and house expensies and keeping food on the table
clothes and washing machine

next time ask him for a cup of coffee and a buscuit while you wait

at BMW and Mercedies and jaguar they have it at hand:badgrin:

haha thanks for that, i might just order a latte next time im there. i didnt mind the hourly rates so much, being $95 an hour, its just the parts that he was replacing shouldnt have cost so much.. i got my fuel filter for $15 from repco.. and that was the middle class one, not the cheapest. and the airfilters are around $15-$20 range as well from supercheap.. and thats saying something, cause supercheap isnt as supercheap as it may sound..

that's an average price from a workshop.... 120k service is an oil and filter change anyway.. read your book!
mate, if you were really concerned about your gf and her servicing, you would of done it yourself, not a professional mechanic.
nobody cares for your bitching and crying.... go to a dentist and then have a cry!

well sounds like the case of she's a female and a mechanic will take advantage coz umm:think: some girls dunno much about cars.:D

that's an average price from a workshop.... 120k service is an oil and filter change anyway.. read your book!
mate, if you were really concerned about your gf and her servicing, you would of done it yourself, not a professional mechanic.
nobody cares for your bitching and crying.... go to a dentist and then have a cry!

the 120k service i was pretty sure it didnt need a major, i did look through the book afterwards, its too confusing the way its set out.. and the book only goes in 15,000k intervals. she took it in before she told me, and her "trusted" mechanic told her it was a major service and she took his word for it.

and i did want to do the service, but she wants to keep her books, and obviously i cant fill them out.

Figure sounds about right. If you believe it should be cheaper either do it your self or get the replacement filters from your own supplier / shop and provide them to the mechanic so he can fit them for you or your gf...

Figures will always vary depending on the supplies and type of oil used. Then theres the labour some will charge heaps others won't

Me im one of the lucky ones i do what i can do and get my own mechanic to do what i cant. He charges me trade on parts and minimal labour.

A tip for all. If you have a good mechanic and get on with them buy them the odd bottle of scotch or wine or beer once in a while if they have done the right thing by you. Even pop in for a social to say hello.
You will establish a good relationship (freindly) with him and you will find they will accomadate you much better and look after you in regards to your needs. Especialy with pricing and the odd freebie here and there. Plus you may make a new freind lol..

I have been using my mechanic for the last 15 years and i travel 45mins across the city to see him when i need something done plus the odd visit here and there for a social.
Over these years i have never ever questioned what he charges me for work that i have done to my vehicles. I question him because he charges too little or nothing at all for somethings and i get the usual reply "dont worry about it" This is where the odd bottle of wine comes into it.

If its a good workshop / mechanic stick with them.

Sorry about the long post.

Regards

Figure sounds about right. If you believe it should be cheaper either do it your self or get the replacement filters from your own supplier / shop and provide them to the mechanic so he can fit them for you or your gf...

Figures will always vary depending on the supplies and type of oil used. Then theres the labour some will charge heaps others won't

Me im one of the lucky ones i do what i can do and get my own mechanic to do what i cant. He charges me trade on parts and minimal labour.

A tip for all. If you have a good mechanic and get on with them buy them the odd bottle of scotch or wine or beer once in a while if they have done the right thing by you. Even pop in for a social to say hello.
You will establish a good relationship (freindly) with him and you will find they will accomadate you much better and look after you in regards to your needs. Especialy with pricing and the odd freebie here and there. Plus you may make a new freind lol..

I have been using my mechanic for the last 15 years and i travel 45mins across the city to see him when i need something done plus the odd visit here and there for a social.
Over these years i have never ever questioned what he charges me for work that i have done to my vehicles. I question him because he charges too little or nothing at all for somethings and i get the usual reply "dont worry about it" This is where the odd bottle of wine comes into it.

If its a good workshop / mechanic stick with them.

Sorry about the long post.

Regards

thats awesome mate, good to hear that you have made your relationship with your mechanic that sort of way. its always good to have friends in those sort of places, especially if you can relate to them in some sort of way. unfortunatelly i havent found a good mechanic yet.. can anyone recommend a good mechanic in the south east melbourne?

Prices for the filter is a little much other that that the other parts are fine. Oil will cost you around 30 bucks for a reasonable oil and as stated above the shop has to make money.

Labour, $95.00 per hour is a little rich but that is what he charges and so be it.

I find it amusing that people will happily purchase a pair of jeans for 200 bucks when 5 months later the same pair are on special for $45 and they are still making money but lets stone the mechanic who makes 3 bucks on 5l or oil or 2 bucks on a spark plug!

Prices for the filter is a little much other that that the other parts are fine. Oil will cost you around 30 bucks for a reasonable oil and as stated above the shop has to make money.

Labour, $95.00 per hour is a little rich but that is what he charges and so be it.

I find it amusing that people will happily purchase a pair of jeans for 200 bucks when 5 months later the same pair are on special for $45 and they are still making money but lets stone the mechanic who makes 3 bucks on 5l or oil or 2 bucks on a spark plug!


a little like the ps3 its just under 1k give it a few months it will be half price
or less