Does it ever end.

[Tr1p]

Took my car to the garage today and had a full service and cambelt change done, when they were doing the service they replaced a dipped beam bulb which was an extra £20 so the total came to £481 .

Not only this, but next month, the MOT and TAX are due and the garage gave me a list of work that needs doing which includes 3 new tires, a new strut bar as ones leaking, brake pads as there 95% worn on the front and a few other little bits and bobs. Comes to £526 to get this work done.

So next month, it's probably going to cost me the price of a MOT at £60, parts and labour £526, TAX for 6 months at ~£145. A few months back it cost me £200 to get a new exhaust from the catalytic converter back. Shocking thing is, the car has been well looked after before I bought it with a full service history and only every failing 2 MOT's in it's 9 year life. Just decides it wants to throw the bills at me now .

 

[Tr1p]

It's not shocking, it's just all the bills come at once and when I don't have thousands of pounds saved because of other things, it's just a little bit annoying.

Cars a Fiat Brava 1.6, 104,000 miles.

 

[Tr1p]

£20 for a bulb is pretty shocking

I know it is, but they had done it and saves me doing it

Anyway some guy at work paid £40 for one bulb on his 02 plate Clio. That's shocking!

Is this with the official Fiat dealership?

It was with a Alfa/Fiat/Audi specialist. Heard good things about them so used them.

tyres/pads/cambelt services/tax don't just spring out from no where you must have had some idea the bills were comming and saved a bit ?

Actually the tyres were done about a year ago and the pads around the same time, it's in the service history so didn't think the pads would be 95% worn. Suppose as said, once all the works done won't have to worry about the bills for a little while after. Plan on getting rid in ~June next year.

 

[Tr1p]

There's places round here that advertise them for £35 so might give them a try. Can just see it coming back with loads of faults knowing my luck

 

[Tr1p]

Only one new strut?

Something to change in pairs if you value handling.

and what kind of "Mechanic" leaves pads on a car with 5% life left?

They make Krap Fit sound professional!

Well the MOT is due next month so I will get the pads changed then. I'm on holiday for 2 weeks from next week and the drive to work is only 4 miles total so it's not going to be used over the next month much.

My car isn't seen as a good handling car. In fact I don't really know what it's seen as

Man point fail. Why not learn how to do basic maintenance yourself? It's really not that hard.

Oh yeah, because I want to be changing the water pump, timing belt, tensioners and idlers on the car when I don't have much mechanical knowledge. Somehow I don't think this is the best idea as it's 'quite' a big job. Took them 4 hours.

 

[Tr1p]

It's because they were a Alfa/Fiat specialist. Then one of the guy's who worked there bought a Audi A4, did loads of work on it himself and knows a lot about them now, so they are now a Alfa/Fiat/Audi specialist.