E30 Zone

Just need other peoples opinion on this... my touring wouldnt start last friday..suspect fuel pump or relay. Got recovered to a local BMW "specialist" garage which i have been using for past 9 months. "no problem we'll have a look at it for you"..left the car with them. Got a call yesterday..cars ready. It was the fuel pump..so im told..then presented with a bill for £257! I was charged £161 for the pump..thinking this was a tad steep and already knowing that from GSF they are only £108 i questioned the price. The garage owner told me he had got it from Ocean BMW and proceeded to read the price off a bill from the other side of the room. From where i was stood i could see a large red logo on top of the bill.. He then told me he had paid £190 for it from BMW so i was actually getting a bargain!! I realised then that i was being lied to so was about to go off on one big time..but then what can you do..i needed my car back theyve been ok with me on the last few occasions so i paid up..i doubt whether i will go back there.

Ranting over..Have i been seen off?

Id like to name and shame the garage as i wouldnt want any others to be ripped off. PM me anyone in Plymouth wishes to know.

If its a fair price then ill just have to accept it.

Very steep imo, I'd say you've been had.

Nah, name and shame them publicly man, save someone else poss getting gyped

Thanks Fal, my thoughts entirely.

Georob... I dont have any problem naming and shaming..just dont want the moderators getting into a legal battle!

If you are so clever and could have done it yourself , why did you bring it to the garage ?

I appreciate that all businesses need to make a bit out of every job. What p***ed me off was the obviously over inflated price and being lied to.

phone up the dealer and ask them how much it is.

Good question Pete..i could have done it myself but i was a 50 miles from home with a dead car..ive nowhere at home to work on it and i trusted the garage to keep me informed as to the problem. This they have done in the past with my M3 and 328i sport. They werent going to lok at it till tuesday so was suprised at the call saying it had been done. Monday wasnt the best of days for me as id been told that we were all being made redundant at work!! Live and learn eh?!

It does sound a bit steep. You can change a fuel pump on a touring in around 40 minutes, doing it by the book. Add the cost of the pump and their diagnostic time on and there should be a reasonable sum, all plus VAT of course.

At the end of the day businesses do need to keep the lights on and feed the staff so you should expect a charge, just not a shafting. Try speaking to the garage about it, tell them how you feel. Check the part is a genuine item first too. (may be difficult).

If you still aren't happy then speak to consumer direct and see if they can help.

Thanks old skool..

Im happy to pay the money to a point but when i get a 5 minute lecture on how bad GSF pumps are and BMW's are the best ones to have etc etc..then i get a bit annoyed! Especially as BMW's pumps are £204 plus vat..and the invoice he had in his hand was obviously from GSF..

M3Macao wrote:Thanks old skool..

Im happy to pay the money to a point but when i get a 5 minute lecture on how bad GSF pumps are and BMW's are the best ones to have etc etc..then i get a bit annoyed! Especially as BMW's pumps are £204 plus vat..and the invoice he had in his hand was obviously from GSF..

Everywhere in the world people need to make business to feed the company and staff and some charge more than others!
If they have charged you £204 for the job + VAT I dont see that as the worst ripp off in the world! Keep breathing and you have a car who works!

To morrow the sun will rice again and new children will be born!

78dude wrote:

M3Macao wrote:Thanks old skool..

Im happy to pay the money to a point but when i get a 5 minute lecture on how bad GSF pumps are and BMW's are the best ones to have etc etc..then i get a bit annoyed! Especially as BMW's pumps are £204 plus vat..and the invoice he had in his hand was obviously from GSF..

Everywhere in the world people need to make business to feed the company and staff and some charge more than others!
If they have charged you £204 for the job + VAT I dont see that as the worst ripp off in the world! Keep breathing and you have a car who works!

To morrow the sun will rice again and new children will be born!

Read my first post at top of page.

ask him for the original bill for the pump, say you want it for the bmw warrenty on the part then if it is obviously from gsf or he cant wont give you the bill start asking questions, if it gets to a point even go down the road of mentioning to him some sort of legal advice on on you part.
I dont like being lied to and that would really grip my shite, i couldnt and wouldnt let it lie and why should anyone.
In most cases garages are too expensive and dont do a very good job for the money you pay and in some cases bodge most things, but then thats mostly Vauxhall dealers

+1

Ask for the original invoice.

If he's lost it, call Ocean BMW see if they sold a new fuel pump to that garage on that date - ask them how much it was for.

If he would have just charge me an inflated labour rate for fast tracking the job I wouldn't be bothered.
But lying in your face is out of order. Forget all this bull about 'they've got to pay the staff and nobody works for free.' - rip off is rip off.

richie_zone wrote:+1

Ask for the original invoice.

If he's lost it, call Ocean BMW see if they sold a new fuel pump to that garage on that date - ask them how much it was for.

If he would have just charge me an inflated labour rate for fast tracking the job I wouldn't be bothered.
But lying in your face is out of order. Forget all this bull about 'they've got to pay the staff and nobody works for free.' - rip off is rip off.

Calm down Ratch, you'll give yourself a migraine.

Garage will not give you the original reciept but one of there own , You will find they will add 10 or 20 % or more on the price as they get it trade and you will pay retail .
All garages will do this and depending on what there hourly rate is £50 + a hour and they will charge the full hour no doubt .
eg
pump plus 20% £144.00
Hours labour £60.00
Plus vat .......... £35.70
Total £239.70

Seems about right to me even though it seems a tad on the steep side , Remember they made add more than 20% and there labour may be steeper .
I wouldnt be happy with it but its the way garages work mate im afraid .

Steve-E30 wrote:Garage will not give you the original reciept but one of there own , You will find they will add 10 or 20 % or more on the price as they get it trade and you will pay retail .
All garages will do this and depending on what there hourly rate is £50 + a hour and they will charge the full hour no doubt .
eg
pump plus 20% £144.00
Hours labour £60.00
Plus vat .......... £35.70
Total £239.70

Seems about right to me even though it seems a tad on the steep side , Remember they made add more than 20% and there labour may be steeper .
I wouldnt be happy with it but its the way garages work mate im afraid .

I agree with that if the pump was supplied by GSF £108 retail. But i was told that BMW had supplied the pump £204 + vat...put 20% on that and see what it comes to. My issue is being lied to. I understand that business is business but to deliberatly decieve is on. Im disappointed with their attitude as ive taken my other BMW's to them in good faith and never had a reason to question them.

last time i looked a fuel pump from ECP was about £150 and if you take about roughly £50 of your total bill off for the vat then it looks like youve paid about £50-£60 for an hours labour which isnt overly excessive although smaller garages charge much less.
you should have changed it yourself as its an easy job to do.

BMW trade is only 10% though

dannyboy759 wrote:BMW trade is only 10% though

Not neccessarily so, depends on the item.

Not neccessarily so, depends on the item.

ok, never knew that

I get 10% discount from GSF and BMW and what the garage usually do is inform you of the fault and then give you the option of supplying your own parts. This is what i would have done and obviously gone to GSF. £108 less 10% no problem. But i wasnt informed and they went ahead and did the job.

What got me was that ive been told that there is a genuine BMW pump now fitted in the car but the invoice was obviously from GSF and the price £161 on the bill makes it clear that it couldnt have come from BMW as their pumps are £239.

I think the real issue here, and possibly the only point in law, is that you have been sold a pump which has been described or portrayed to you as a genuine part. If it is not then the garage are in trouble under the sale of goods act.

What does your receipt say?

dannyboy759 wrote:

Not neccessarily so, depends on the item.

ok, never knew that

And who buys stuff from them and the quantity.

I get 12.5% on Alpina parts from my dealer and up to 30% on normal parts dependant on what it is.

It could be that he had a genuine pump lying around and he just picked up a random receipt to make it look to you like he had just bought it. There could be an innocent explanation.

However you may also have been shafted. I see a lot of people get shafted by mechanics and they give the rest of us a bad name. I do a lot of work at weekends from my own shed and it really pisses me off when people interrogate over prices as I try and be honest about everything. People are just suspicious of mechanics and garages I guess.

patrick85 wrote:It could be that he had a genuine pump lying around and he just picked up a random receipt to make it look to you like he had just bought it. There could be an innocent explanation.

However you may also have been shafted. I see a lot of people get shafted by mechanics and they give the rest of us a bad name. I do a lot of work at weekends from my own shed and it really pisses me off when people interrogate over prices as I try and be honest about everything. People are just suspicious of mechanics and garages I guess.

Couldn't agree with you any more. There are plenty of bad garages and cowboy mechanics or people who think they are mechanics that have given the motor trade a bad name similar to the building trade.

Does the buiding trade have a bad name?!

ive never met a dishonest member of the construction industry. no corners are ever cut to my knowledge.deadlines are always met and within budget.where do people get that idea from?

think you have a case for a refund but only because they lied to you about the part fitted,they would get more discount from gsf so probably paid about £80 for the pump so have doubled the price which is about right for a business,you should have asked for an estimate to repair it as you didnt they have went ahead and fixed it thinking you would be happy to pay the bill!!.
go back to them and ask for a refund or you will take it further although he will probably deny telling you it was a genuine part,find another garage anyway i wouldnt trust them now.good luck

rather then getting upset simply go and sit down with the guy and say i want to know where you bought the pump from and you would like to see the receipt.

If he refuses then ask him why, and tell him at this point you suspect he has not sold you an orginal part.

If he still refuses them your only course of action is to vote with your feet and find another garage.

i found the one at the bottom of Alexander Hill through the lights, ont the right just before the bend to be a good garage (but that was ten years ago!!)

should go down the garage and get it sorted, most people in this country get ripped off and just accept it for some reason , less talk on here and more action is required

Thanks for all your opinions..much appreciated. I think i can safely say ive been ripped off! But mostly ive been lied to. I shall take some of your advice given and see how it goes.

fuzzy wrote:ive never met a dishonest member of the construction industry. no corners are ever cut to my knowledge.deadlines are always met and within budget.where do people get that idea from?

You are kidding me right?

bss325i wrote:

fuzzy wrote:ive never met a dishonest member of the construction industry. no corners are ever cut to my knowledge.deadlines are always met and within budget.where do people get that idea from?

You are kidding me right?

yes. im in the building trade and its the complete opposite of my statement