Off Topic / What Being Ripped-Off really means!

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OldFlak
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Posted: 27th Jun 2019 09:13
Nothing to do with cyber world, but just wonder what it's like in other parts of the world:

My daughter's car has a leak in the pressure hose on the power steering thingy.

One place that is a very well known supermarket chain that also has an auto-service outlet wanted $800.00 au to fix.
The car yard where she got the car wants $400.00 au to fix it.

I googled the price for the replacement hose assembly, and it varies in price, but on average it will cost $50.00 au.

Lol Talk about ripping people off!

Reliquia....
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Belidos
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Posted: 27th Jun 2019 10:11 Edited at: 27th Jun 2019 10:17
It's not just the parts you have to figure in, it's the cost in time and space.

Remember they're businesses and the time and space in their workshops are both valuable, while they're doing an easy job for one person they could be doing a more profitable job for someone else, so a lot of them tend to have a minimum time cost, for example a job might only take five minutes to do, but their labour fee will be a minimum of one hour because they have to arrange their jobs in such a way that if they run into a problem and take longer than they should it won't effect other work,

Also note that while yo know one part is faulty and needs replacing, that will not be the only part that needs to be replaced, for example in your case when replacing the pressure hose they will also need to change the o-rings and drain and replace the power steering fluid, these things while small also add to the cost, then on top of that they will need to spend some time testing and making sure there's no leaks etc.

However, in your case, in my opinion you're seriously being ripped off (unless there are other outlying issues with the vehicle that increase the cost), the part itself as you say would be around $50au, the minor parts would probably come to maybe $40au as an overestimate, and considering for a decent mechanic the job would only take ten minutes to half an hour with a decent amount of testing and checking tops (it's a matter of unbolting two nuts, draining the fluid, putting new o-rings on the end of the new part, bolting the two nuts in and filling the fluid up again, a simple job), you should only really be charged for an hour of his time at the most, so say a generous $80 for that, making the total roughly $170au in my opinion (although that is based on converting to pounds and comparing prices i pay in the UK, average prices might be different where you are, specifically in more remote areas where there is a shortage of qualified mechanics, plus i'm basing it on my experience of power steering which is limited to one model of car so might be more difficult on your car than i realise).

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DVader
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Posted: 27th Jun 2019 11:16
Isn't everything more expensive down under? I heard games used to cost near twice as much as most places for example!

It's always difficult to find a reliable mechanic who doesn't charge the earth everywhere though!
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OldFlak
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Posted: 27th Jun 2019 12:55
Agree with all you say Belidos. But it is definitely a rip-off, in my younger days I would do it myself, but the bones are too old to be climbing under cars.

When up on a hoist it would be little more than half hour at best to do the job. So even if you allowed $100 for parts and fluids, they are still charging a hell of a lot for labor.

They probably think good looking girl, must be an air head, charge like a wounded bull.

Tis no biggie though, one of my mates is a mechanic and can do the job. But it shows why these huge companies get so big - not by service, but ripping off those who have no clue or choice.

@DVader - yep not the land down under, the land of plunder!



Reliquia....
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smallg
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Posted: 27th Jun 2019 17:58
well they are all criminals in austrailia after all...
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Earthling45
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Posted: 27th Jun 2019 18:18
A half hour at the most.
Draining the fluid is not needed, simply replace the pressure hose which usually comes complete with o rings and fill te reservior up to the required level.
When the hose is replaced, clean the attachment points with brake cleaner and dry it in order to be able to properly check for any leakage.
After steering and checking, add more ATF if needed in the reservior and done you are.
OldFlak
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Posted: 28th Jun 2019 08:46
Quote: "well they are all criminals in austrailia after all... "


Lol - indeed

Reliquia....
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Belidos
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Posted: 28th Jun 2019 10:33 Edited at: 28th Jun 2019 10:35
Quote: "Draining the fluid is not needed"


Most good mechanics would drain and replace fluid anyway as a matter of course, it's quick and easy to do, and means you're not contaminating new parts with old fluid.

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Wolf
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Posted: 28th Jun 2019 19:29
Confront them about it, this is clearly overpriced.
synchromesh
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Posted: 28th Jun 2019 20:57 Edited at: 29th Jun 2019 13:09
Quote: "My daughter's car has a leak in the pressure hose on the power steering thingy."

Thingy ?
It obviously seems overpriced on the first quote so im not defending it but that depends where you take it.
Top brand name garages charging high labour prices or as you say " The car yard " Maybe they Charge half the hourly rate but it takes just as long .. if so your not really being ripped off you just found someone with lower labour rates.

What worries me most is the " Thingy " as you don't seem to know ..
Steering rack pipe or Steering pump pipe, what does the job entail ?
What needs to be stripped to get to it … Front Subframe for the rack or most of the Bulkhead for the pump perhaps ?
Does the rack or pump need to be removed ? You need to find out more ..
Back in my day there were " Book Times " for makes and models of vehicles of labour times we had to abide by.
( yes there is a book )

I do have 2 words though that really define ripped off " Star Citizen "
The only person ever to get all his work done by "Friday" was Robinson Crusoe..
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OldFlak
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Posted: 29th Jun 2019 00:38 Edited at: 29th Jun 2019 00:39
Quote: "What worries me most is the " Thingy " as you don't seem to know ."


Yeah being a little comical I was.
I know what is needing fixed - the pressure hose on the power steering pump unit. It has a pin prick hole in it, and it is worth less than 100 bucks. The labor is clearly a cost factor but not $700 worth.

Star Citizen - lol - agreed, big con if you ask me. I wonder if it is even playable yet.

Reliquia....
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Belidos
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Posted: 29th Jun 2019 14:57
Quote: "what does the job entail ?"


When it comes to replacing the pressure hose on power steering, there's no model of car that will take more than half an hour, it's a really simple job and certainly not worth over $300 for labour from the cheapest quote he got, and most definitely not worth a $700 labour charge.

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Wolf
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Posted: 29th Jun 2019 15:58
Quote: " " Star Citizen ""
Oh yes! I hope you never spent a dime on that.
synchromesh
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Posted: 29th Jun 2019 20:05 Edited at: 29th Jun 2019 20:11
Quote: "When it comes to replacing the pressure hose on power steering, there's no model of car that will take more than half an hour,"

Without knowing the exact hose, Make and Model i personally wouldnt be comfortable making that statement specially as the cheapy garage has also quoted much more than 30 mins labour.

Got caught like that before many years ago on an old Alfa Romeo quoting about 30 minutes to change a starter motor... Turned out you had to remove the engine to do it .. Learnt a big lesson that day … Never quote until you see the job.
Perhaps if reliquia can post those details we wont be guessing so much.
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synchromesh
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Posted: 29th Jun 2019 21:07
Quote: "Oh yes! I hope you never spent a dime on that."

Just the £35 bucks for the original planned single player Star Citizen game ( now called Squadron 42 )
Which it seems you have to pledge for again if you want it
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OldFlak
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Posted: 30th Jun 2019 00:32
Honda Odyssey 2002

Reliquia....
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DVader
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Posted: 30th Jun 2019 13:00
You would have think some bright spark would have come up with a nice easy fix for minor holes in hoses now Like a blob of super glue injected in
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KeithC
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Posted: 8th Jul 2019 20:34
Let's not forget that the makers of newer model vehicles LOVE to cover everything under the hood with plastic paneling of some sort....held together with break-away parts that must be replaced. They try to push you to go to the dealer or garage to get even a simple fix done.
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GubbyBlips
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Posted: 11th Jul 2019 05:28
Exactly @ KeithC
I was replacing a battery, and broke a small secondary to the the upper radiator
hose connection! Luckily that part (very uncommon) but could be replaced itself.
Here's the thing about power steering lines. These new cars, usually they
are difficult or impossible to reach, can't even get your hands into the place,
or even see where the line begins and ends... it's one of those jobs I am
pretty leary about doing. Kinda like A/C work when parts are required.
Unless they stated otherwise, the line might connect to the rack,n, pinion?
But those prices still sound pretty awful.
How'd I get here? Oh, I was searching for something else! Best wishes.
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synchromesh
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Posted: 13th Jul 2019 16:59 Edited at: 13th Jul 2019 17:09
" Honda Odyssey 2002 "
From what I can see on google its a 3 to 4 hour job ( one guy took 3 days doing his own ) and its a common issue so probably only the best quality hose is used or you would be back moaning at the garage in 6 months that its leaking again. There are some vids online ( speeded up ) but it seems to take most the best part of a day from start to finish.

So at an average £80 an hour here in the UK with and a £180 high quality line then add VAT its not that far off TBH.
Some garages are topping the £120 an hour if its a main dealer.
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Belidos
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Posted: 13th Jul 2019 21:27 Edited at: 13th Jul 2019 21:27
Quote: "So at an average £80 an hour here in the UK with and a £180 high quality line then add VAT its not that far off TBH.
Some garages are topping the £120 an hour if its a main dealer."


My family's been in the business for thirty years (we owned nine garages across herts, beds, bucks, essex, and kent until my dad sold out and retired the year before last) and we would never charge anywhere near £80 an hour, let alone £120, £250 labour was our full day rate (just over £30 per hour for 8 hours), and Honda Odyssy 2002 is a little trickier than most, but still no more than a couple of hours tops. Main dealers however, are complete and utter rip-offs and should never be used.

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synchromesh
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Posted: 15th Jul 2019 11:50 Edited at: 15th Jul 2019 11:51
Varies a lot across the country and ye main dealers are always the most expensive especially if you went for the Honda main dealer. Just look at some of these prices .. https://www.honda.co.uk/cars/owners/repairs.html

This is also quite interesting to see the variations in Dealers and locations.
https://garagewire.co.uk/news/uks-garage-labour-rates-revealed/

Generally the golden rule is to shop around
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Belidos
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Posted: 15th Jul 2019 13:29
Quote: "Generally the golden rule is to shop around"


Absolutely agree.

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AmenMoses
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Posted: 15th Jul 2019 23:03
One tip is to ask an independent cabby who their garage is, they always know the cheapest!
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Posted: 16th Jul 2019 00:13 Edited at: 16th Jul 2019 00:15
Yeah its about 30 quid an hour here, last MOT I had two tyres a track rod end and something else minor, forgot now came to 160 quid including the MOT.
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OldFlak
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Posted: 17th Jul 2019 01:20
Yeah, ended up getting job done by a respected mechanic shop for 350.00

Reliquia....
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granada
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Posted: 20th Jul 2019 12:37
Garages ,dentists ,vets ,they are all rip of merchants .licence to print money

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synchromesh
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Posted: 20th Jul 2019 16:35 Edited at: 21st Jul 2019 01:17
Quote: "dentists"

Oh My God your right there.
Never have I seen an industry in the UK milk money so much using peoples pain as a way to get it .. Some of their methods shouldn't even be legal and its pretty unethical. Pay the hygienist £60 or whatever on a regular basis or we wont treat you is a good one.
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