Car work - price check

vastrap1 said:
I agree about all the wording, seems these places realized that some investment in "psychology" games make the people getting the quote more placid.

I also initially noticed the small charges is what they use to make up the bill substantially, that is where diy saves the most money.

Which professional takes that long to replace brakes?
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agreed, if this was me, Id go full Israeli here, and magically the bill would go down,
id be like why the engine flush, he be like blah blah better, cooler, bonds metal easier,
Id be like bullsh1t, did I ask for that?, no,

next brakes, are they brakes for a Bugatti Veyron?, no, they brakes for a Microscopic city car,
cool, dont do Brakes, I will go get Brakes and come back to you with brakes, you just fit, or screw you I will go to super quick and get them to fit it.

then Clutch kit, again same deal, crazy margins on the parts, when you could probably go to midas and get the right one for less,
hell takealot, yes, they now sell car parts, including service parts, buy that and get them to fit it, or go somewhere else

or again, pick somebody else, same with cambelt and everything else. crazy crazy insane markups on the prices, some flashy AI generated language to justify it, and people especially cape town people happily pay to avoid a scene.

if its to get a stamp I can maybe understand, but unless its a VW stamp that gets logged on their system,
don't see the point, Garages like this that charge the earth for a small car, to justify free coffee in the waiting area must die.
 
Quote is not all that bad like a typical dealer

service cost is fine but the price of the oil is a bit high
overall labour for clutch and cambelt a bit on the high side
cost of antifreeze also a bit steep.
to clean the throttle body surely does not take a full hour

They quoting on motul lubricants so just double check that they are actually using it as that is a premium brand
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
if its to get a stamp I can maybe understand, but unless its a VW stamp that gets logged on their system,
don't see the point, Garages like this that charge the earth for a small car, to justify free coffee in the waiting area must die.
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Just one more point on this, I see it often.

Let's say you do 6 services at R5k 'over' each time before you sell it second hand. That is R30k 'extra' you need to get for the sale. Let's be honest, people buying second hand is generally more forgiving of such things. If you did your own services, or at supa quick etc, you could sell for R20k less and still be better off.

I put more value on invoices than dealer stamps anyway.
 
saor said:
85k on the clock. City runaround so plan to keep it for a while still - another reason I went ahead with this. Would rather have it in good condition for a long time to come.
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Mine has 92k on the clock now ... might move it in the next 2 months
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
agreed, if this was me, Id go full Israeli here, and magically the bill would go down,
id be like why the engine flush, he be like blah blah better, cooler, bonds metal easier,
Id be like bullsh1t, did I ask for that?, no,

next brakes, are they brakes for a Bugatti Veyron?, no, they brakes for a Microscopic city car,
cool, dont do Brakes, I will go get Brakes and come back to you with brakes, you just fit, or screw you I will go to super quick and get them to fit it.

then Clutch kit, again same deal, crazy margins on the parts, when you could probably go to midas and get the right one for less,
hell takealot, yes, they now sell car parts, including service parts, buy that and get them to fit it, or go somewhere else

or again, pick somebody else, same with cambelt and everything else. crazy crazy insane markups on the prices, some flashy AI generated language to justify it, and people especially cape town people happily pay to avoid a scene.

if its to get a stamp I can maybe understand, but unless its a VW stamp that gets logged on their system,
don't see the point, Garages like this that charge the earth for a small car, to justify free coffee in the waiting area must die.
Click to expand...
Probably not going to happen. Else I need to spend half a day driving around sourcing parts. If everyone was saying the prices were excessive then I'd start shopping around for a new place to get the car done. Which I might still do. But I've also been very happy with their service and support in the past.
 
saor said:
Else I need to spend half a day driving around sourcing parts.
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dude, we live in 2026, a few lazy searches will find you everything you need and you could just have it all delivered
put it in the boot of your car, and see how magically the bill reduces, if your happy to spend 30K and have it all done,
and they do good work, then you do you,

if you asked me, I would think the margins are excessive and criminal, almost exploitive.

I mean just as an example, 1st result

service kit for a VW up
www.bossautospares.co.za

Up 1.0 Service Kit 2015+ (CPGA Engine)

VW Up 1.0 Service Kit 2015+ (CPGA Engine) Consists of: 1 x Oil Filter: Z587 1 x Air Filter: AG1962 3 x Spark Plugs - ZKER6A-10EG
www.bossautospares.co.za www.bossautospares.co.za

Clutch kit
 
saor said:
This isn't a name & shame. Don't really want to name them as I've always been happy with their work but this latest quote just seemed very high. Granted this isn't just a service - there's a cam belt replace, clutch replace, disk replace. I'm well aware those items aren't cheap but I wanted to get an idea of whether these prices are generally in line with what you'd pay elsewhere. The labour cost seems quite high but ja - not sure how other places compare. This is for a VW Up.

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On my wife's Up we paid R12k for the cam belt service at 120k km. The car is now at 180k km and the only money we've spent on it was services, tyres, replaced the throttle body last year at a cost of R3k, and brakes.

Up only takes 3.5 liters of oil, they're over charging there. The brakes seems well priced.

Why are you doing all the other work, clutch and stabilizers? That is very low mileage to have clutch issues? As I said, our car is already just over 180k km and there is not a thing wrong with the car. Is it really necessary to do all this work?
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
dude, we live in 2026, a few lazy searches will find you everything you need and you could just have it all delivered
put it in the boot of your car, and see how magically the bill reduces, if your happy to spend 30K and have it all done,
and they do good work, then you do you,

if you asked me, I would think the margins are excessive and criminal, almost exploitive.
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If the prices are exploitive then I'm happy to shop around for a new place. Hence the thread asking for feedback so I can make a decision going forward. It's easy (for me at least) to be in a little bubble of not knowing what other places charge for these things.
 
Craig_ said:
Why are you doing all the other work, clutch and stabilizers? That is very low mileage to have clutch issues? As I said, our car is already just over 180k km and there is not a thing wrong with the car. Is it really necessary to do all this work?
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I drive from southern suburbs to these guys in bellville because I've always had good service from them and have been there enough over the years to have established a certain level of trust with them. So when it happens that I get a high quote like this and they say they'd recommend the work being done, do I abandon that trust because the price is high? Or do I trust them and accept that these unusual circumstances occur sometimes. In this instance I trusted them.
 
saor said:
Probably not going to happen. Else I need to spend half a day driving around sourcing parts. If everyone was saying the prices were excessive then I'd start shopping around for a new place to get the car done. Which I might still do. But I've also been very happy with their service and support in the past.
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Goldwagen usually has whatever you need for a VW, Maybe call them to do a price comparison? I also don't like driving around for prices, wastes a lot of time, then it's almost easier to just pay and move on.
 
saor said:
I drive from southern suburbs to these guys in bellville because I've always had good service from them and have been there enough over the years to have established a certain level of trust with them. So when it happens that I get a high quote like this and they say they'd recommend the work being done, do I abandon that trust because the price is high? Or do I trust them and accept that these unusual circumstances occur sometimes. In this instance I trusted them.
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Ask them to do the service and the cam belt, and don't do the rest then. Do you feel something is wrong with your clutch to justify replacement?
 
I’d personally rather spend a bit more with a reputable shop than cheap out and get shoddy workmanship and cheap parts.
 
saor said:
85k on the clock. City runaround so plan to keep it for a while still - another reason I went ahead with this. Would rather have it in good condition for a long time to come.
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Price doesn't seem bad but seems way too early for a cambelt change, so maybe skip that now and do it the next time round.

Actually seems way too early for discs and a clutch as well...so is the car being problematic that you are opting to have these done or is it because "someone said so" ?
 
What isn't being fixed or replaced on this car? OP need to give background on the car's condition.

Engine flush is suspect - the flush that breaks down the old oil and sludge sits there and breaks down the new oil and continues to release sludge. Theres a reason manufacturers tell you never to use a oil change pre flush
 
SauRoNZA said:
Price doesn't seem bad but seems way too early for a cambelt change, so maybe skip that now and do it the next time round.

Actually seems way too early for discs and a clutch as well...so is the car being problematic that you are opting to have these done or is it because "someone said so" ?
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Cambelt replacement is usually km or time dependent. If the Up is from 2015, its been due for a while now and driving on borrowed time. Waterpump replacement is excessive, if no issues with it, don't replace it.

Agree on the clutch and brakes, seems abnormal considering the distance driven.
Could be driving style that caused the excessive wear.
 
A3@MBB said:
Cambelt replacement is usually km or time dependent. If the Up is from 2015, its been due for a while now and driving on borrowed time. Waterpump replacement is excessive, if no issues with it, don't replace it.

Agree on the clutch and brakes, seems abnormal considering the distance driven.
Could be driving style that caused the excessive wear.
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Aah I missed the 2015 bit. In that case yeah it makes perfect sense
 
saor said:
85k on the clock. City runaround so plan to keep it for a while still - another reason I went ahead with this. Would rather have it in good condition for a long time to come.
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Why does the clutch need replacing at such low mileage on what is a pretty lightweight vehicle?
Also how worn are the brakes really, it’s easy to check that yourself.

Their spares prices are very steep, they are quoting you on too much oil and that minor service bs, aircon service bs, oil flush bs.
If you get the spares prices down a bit and cut all the useless fluff you could take a good few thousand off that bill.

You could also try Alan Edward's Motors in Kenilworth, everyone i've asked raves about them, old school type workshop and maybe closer for you:
www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com
 
Get it serviced at VW. There's a reason a car is not sold with a toolkit lol. Have it fixed properly by a dealer, and if its not done properly you can take it back and complain to a proper group company not some backyard mechanic. Bosch are also good at servicing I believe, although a manufacturer is usually best.

Yes, it costs more but in the long-run the vehicle will be far better off. I've never had problems with dealer repairs, except once they said they need to keep the car for 3 days. I complained, they gave me a replacement to drive while waiting for a part.
 
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