Why are car garages such complete *****?

grudas said:
have you actually looked at the prices of brake pads for your a6?
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£35 a pop. Discs can't be much more.

I know how much it *really* costs. I'm just disappointed that an indy I thought was fair, turned out to be crooks. The fact Audi charge 500% is a given, but that's for another rant :p
 
wedrum said:
do it yourself ??
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Sure, I'll do something I've never done before, with no experience or tools, while working 6 days a week with 2 small children back at home.

Why has it become acceptable to pay far too much for a simple service, or be expected to be ripped off by crooks in the car industry? I don't want to do it myself, but neither do I wish to overpay if I don't have to. Hence this rant.
 
Its unclear whether the prices you are quoting are comparing apples with apples here... Do ANY of them include labour i.e. are the high prices (indy garage @ £250 and the others at £600+) all inclusive of fitting?
 
mjt said:
Sure, I'll do something I've never done before, with no experience or tools, while working 6 days a week with 2 small children back at home.

Why has it become acceptable to pay far too much for a simple service, or be expected to be ripped off by crooks in the car industry? I don't want to do it myself, but neither do I wish to overpay if I don't have to. Hence this rant.
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yeh because no one else on the planet has kids and works and unable to change some little pads.
 
Ask for a breakdown of a quote into parts and labour?

If they are charging £250ph labour then you'll know.
 
I'd never changed pads or fluid before, and this weekend just gone I popped round a mate's (he does everything on anything with an engine) and he showed me exactly how to do it. Super simple, and minimal tools needed, not even £50 total in cost assuming you already have a jack and axle stand in the shed.

Needless to say, all future wheel related tasks I'll be doing myself and saving a small fortune in labour costs and faff with having to drop the car off and pick it up again.

Previous to this I'd just buy the parts myself and drop everything off to the indy, and they'd just charge me labour which is fine. But that also meant taking time out of my day, twice for the whole affair.
 
Fine a garage that lets you buy the parts you want and you just pay labour.

I found one. And the Garage was excellent. Once I had established I was buying the parts they had no issues with it.

I'd buy the parts from Eurocarparts parts and leave them in the boot. Job done.
 
wedrum said:
yeh because no one else on the planet has kids and works and unable to change some little pads.
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Cut him some slack. I wouldn't have a clue or even attempt it.

Nice advice two say that a noob should should fit brakes to car with no experience with 2 kids...:rolleyes:

Have a roll on me....:rolleyes:
 
mjt said:
£35 a pop. Discs can't be much more.
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Discs can be quite a bit more - not sure what year your A6 is, but assuming ~2010 ECP lists 3 different sizes, with the two larger sizes coming in at £72-£78/disc for Pagid or Brembo discs.


mjt said:
I know how much it *really* costs. I'm just disappointed that an indy I thought was fair, turned out to be crooks. The fact Audi charge 500% is a given, but that's for another rant :p
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Audi fixed price repairs (e.g. brakes) actually don't work out that bad if you have a higher spec car (e.g. S-Line) etc that have bigger than normal brakes - if you are in a poverty spec model with tiny brakes, then no it probably does look terrible value if you price the parts.


EDIT: also your £35 a pop Pads have the possibility to not be - on ECP again, for the larger disc sizes (321 or 347mm) then Pagid are £101.99 for a set


What Year/Engine/Spec is it? Not something daft like a "Le Mans" edition is it?
 
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easyrider said:
Cut him some slack. I wouldn't have a clue or even attempt it.

Nice advice two say that a noob should should fit brakes to car with no experience with 2 kids...:rolleyes:

Have a roll on me....:rolleyes:
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sorry didn't understand any of that.
OP its an easy job and lots of tutorials on the web.
 
mrk said:
I'd never changed pads or fluid before, and this weekend just gone I popped round a mate's (he does everything on anything with an engine) and he showed me exactly how to do it. Super simple, and minimal tools needed, not even £50 total in cost assuming you already have a jack and axle stand in the shed.
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And if you dont have a mechanic mate to hand?

The OP wants his brakes doing. Maybe he doesn't want to get his hands dirty....

You know....I don't...
 
wedrum said:
its a basic tool kit that is needed.
your making it sound like he's dropping the engine.
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No.

What I'm saying is maybe the OP is not confident in doing it himself...

Maybe he CBA

Buy the discs and pads and pay an indy to do it...

Unless you have the confidence and time to do it.

My mate has an Audi A3 HE WORKS ALL HOURS GOD SENDS...He pays someone to wash and wax his car...as He just CBA to waste time doing it himself.

But there are plenty of tutorials on the net to show you how...:rolleyes:

I'm struggling to understand what you're not getting here.
 
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