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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

how much for a service these days... am I out of touch??


Mike B
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just got a bill for the skyline on saturday. We took it in to get a few niggly jobs done on it; to one of the top regional places so I was told..

 

wanted;

sort idle problem; they plugged a diagnostic tool into it but it's an apexi fc ecu so it didn't read - they gave up then and there - after telling me that they had a mapper in that knows FC and could sort it.

service; they changed oil, oil filter and front brake pads, and adjusted handbrake.

change battery; they changed the battery

stop a squeak in suspension;they say then need to order a part and did not do it.

 

total cost, after not sorting the idle isue or suspension squeak which was the primary reason for taking it to these "experts" was

 

650 quid.

 

which included 8 hours labour!!!

 

comments??

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yeah...

 

just shocked me is all... especially when they did not address the primary problems.

 

we take this forum for granted....!

All probs I have had so far have been easily solved with bbs help, and I do a lot of oil changes on my car, all myself and it takes 15 mins.

 

being injured at the mo my car is in getting the injectors flow tested at the, but I pinned them on price before they started the job.

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I do all my own work on the sup, it's just I'm not looking after the rest of the family's cars....

 

the garage is up north Red, so don't worry you won't fall fowl.

 

I'm waiting to see how they do with my inectors before I draw any final conclusions.

 

I actually enjoy working on the car when I know have plenty of time to get the job done properly. I hate working on the car when I know I have to get it done to a timescale.

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hi Chris,

just engine and filter.. nothing else.

 

I just talked to them again about a few followups to the problems they didn't sort, they kindly phoned me back.

 

We have a squeaking bush, so instead of stripping and lubricating their answer is to put complete pair of arms on only one side of the car at a cost of 600 quid. I have not looked at it personally, our local garage says it is the arb link, these guys say it is the upper wishbone.

 

There is an idle problem as well, they want to replace the lambda sensor, again, I'm certain this has nothing to do with the problem, as it was mapped recently and afr's double checked.

 

I did ask them what they did in the 8 hours of labour and they said the it took a long time, much longer than they thought; battery was tricky too.. yet my unskilled hands replaced the last one in 40 minutes (have to remove a section of the boot.)

 

Again we are lucky to have this forum and the trust between members and traders.

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Our RRG Toyata in Macclesfield charge £79.90 an hour which I think is outrageous, I just had a quote off them to replace the panel where the ignition is and they quoted 1hrs work which is OTT. I not too concerned because somebody else may well be paying.

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tbh Mike, your better off ordering your parts and lubricants/oils so you dont get charged for the middle man. A bit late I know but I ordered filters and oils from Opie and Steve Manley and saved a mint. You need a ramp to get to the diff and its a PINTA to bleed the brake fluid but you can do the brakes with the help of a mate and do the engine oil yourself. Maybe next time ;)

 

I got charged £60 ph which was harsh but finding someone who knows their way around supra's is a tough call as they are few and far between and rarely close by, hence its good to be able to do some things yourself :)

 

Linda

x

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I don't think it's that far out.. just a bit too much time (but the labour rate now seems cheap) and the parts are too expensive, together with the feeling they really don't know what they are doing gives me the heeby jeebies a bit!

 

When I came to Supras 4-5 years ago I knew nothing technical about cars, and I still have a huge amount to learn, as my sig attests, but what is frightening is how much more I know than 95% of garages... and these guys came recommended!!! lol

 

still, this was my old man's car and his bill, but I'm still getting it in the ear as I recommended it to him... lol

 

:hide:

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in all seriousness,

 

with good financial backing, some effective organisation to get it prommoted and running profitably it would work well, it's just that everyone has their own lives!

 

would be the otc of aftermarket, make a good series for discovery too.

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A lot of garages will view you supplying your own service items much as a restaurant would you bringing in your own shrimps and steak and expecting them to cook it :) To continue the analogy, if you got food poisoning they would be unwilling to carry the can, likewise if you supplied the wrong bits, or the bits gave a problem, would you happily accept the consequences? Like ramp time and hassle costs? It doesn't bother me so long as the customer accepts that any issues with what they supply is strictly their problem, or my problem at their expense, and I still expect to make a living at the end of the day ;) If I supply a part that's wrong or fails prematurely I eat it, if the customer does, they eat it!

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