Took my car in monday to have a seal replaced behind the gearbox and got a phonecall today saying it is ready but they had to replace the clutch and it was nackerd so its gone from the agreed £100 to £170 what options can i have to argue against this?
Work done by garage but not requested/asked
- Thread starter D18241
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Soldato
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Sounds cheap for a new clutch. 
If it did need a new clutch then absolute bargain!
If it did need a new clutch then absolute bargain!
Caporegime
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You want options for arguing against a £70 clutch replacement? Your options are to thank your lucky stars!
If they'd replaced your cylinder head for £400 without permission I might understand the angst, but I'd just go and pay personally, especially if the clutch needed doing!
New clutch should be standard whenever the bell housing is off anyway, as the cost of the part is usually small compared to the labour involved.
I agree though that they should have contacted you to check first, but maybe they couldn't get hold of you and took the decision?
If they'd replaced your cylinder head for £400 without permission I might understand the angst, but I'd just go and pay personally, especially if the clutch needed doing!
New clutch should be standard whenever the bell housing is off anyway, as the cost of the part is usually small compared to the labour involved.
I agree though that they should have contacted you to check first, but maybe they couldn't get hold of you and took the decision?
Several years ago, I left my car into a Ford garage to get a repair done, but stated, they were not to carry out any work without calling me first with pricing and to confirm if i wanted the extra cost...
When I arrived later to collect the car, I was hit with an additional charge for Extra parts required???
I argued that they were told to Call before doing Any such work, the girl that booked my car in, even wrote it on the work sheet...
After a few minutes, the Service manager conceeded and I left with my car, a few free parts better off!!
So Its all in the wording, If you did not state as above, then a hard corner to fight, but you could then always ask them to replace the new part with the old as it was Not requested, or left in for such work.
When I arrived later to collect the car, I was hit with an additional charge for Extra parts required???
I argued that they were told to Call before doing Any such work, the girl that booked my car in, even wrote it on the work sheet...
After a few minutes, the Service manager conceeded and I left with my car, a few free parts better off!!
So Its all in the wording, If you did not state as above, then a hard corner to fight, but you could then always ask them to replace the new part with the old as it was Not requested, or left in for such work.
fitting a new clutch entails removing the gearbox and putting it all back together.
Cant see how anybody could remove and refit a gearbox in under 3 hours, even at cheap independant rates thats £150 of labour, plus parts. Are you sure they changed the clutch ?
For reference, the cheapest i could get the labour done was for £350, and then it needed a £130 clutch / £70 slave cylinder. Making the grand total £550
they have apparently changed yours for parts and labour of £70 !!!
Unless they have charged you for parts only and free labour i've no idea how they've done it.
Cant see how anybody could remove and refit a gearbox in under 3 hours, even at cheap independant rates thats £150 of labour, plus parts. Are you sure they changed the clutch ?
For reference, the cheapest i could get the labour done was for £350, and then it needed a £130 clutch / £70 slave cylinder. Making the grand total £550
they have apparently changed yours for parts and labour of £70 !!!
Unless they have charged you for parts only and free labour i've no idea how they've done it.
£70 for a clutch seems unusually cheap... I'd enquire about that to make sure they're not just profiteering from you. Either way, a reputable garage should ALWAYS ask before carrying out extra work, and the fact they didn't bother means you're well within your rights to complain.
I removed a gearbox single handedly in just over an hour.
With the right tools and a ramp, it's easy enough to do. I did mine on the ground but when we had the unit, a mate swapped his box in under 2 hours.
No because the gearbox had to come off to change the crank seal anyway. They have added £70 on for new clutch which tbh is about trade price for a clutch on a punto. Might as well change it if the box is off and for £70 you can not argue!
The clutch plate was perhaps contaminated in oil anyway and needed changing.
This is what I said before. From the OPs description, it sounded to me like the box was already off.
I know of hundreds of garages who are jumping through hoops to do clutch changes not asked for at pretty much less than cost price. Hundreds.
If they had done loads of work already and it made changing the clutch only a 5 minute job then why was he only charged £100 in the first place.
Why are all other clutch changes not £100 for the first bit and then £70 for the part?
Si is obviously thinking they charged £100 for labour and that incorporated a few pence worth of oil seal.
Whilst they had the box off replacing the seal, they replaced the clutch at a parts only cost of £70
The last part makes ense, but still removing and refitting the gearbox for £100 and fitting a new seal ? Its possible i guess, but very very silly given what others are charging.
Whilst they had the box off replacing the seal, they replaced the clutch at a parts only cost of £70
The last part makes ense, but still removing and refitting the gearbox for £100 and fitting a new seal ? Its possible i guess, but very very silly given what others are charging.
Yeah, You could probably do it yourself in the time if you knew the car well enough and didn't want to make a single penny.
It's a garage (not going to be a main Fiat dealer - could be a Fiat specialist or could be Bobs Garage who don't actually know the car and would have to take more time following a manual) who are out to make money as a business.
I'm gonna say they've screwed you somehow. Not replaced the clutch, just cleaned it up, not done something right as that is stupidly under charged.
I'd expect to pay more than £170 for that work to be done if it was my best mate and he was doing me a favour and had the car for a few nights.