Fifth Gear - car parts/labour charges
Discussion
I work for Fifth Gear.
We're after the most outrageous car part prices charged by UK main dealers; £100 for a short piece of rubber pipe, that sort of thing. Or, an electronic plug in component that's so expensive it might make a five/ten year old car uneconomic to repair.
Also, we're after the most expensive garage in the UK.
If you've got any stories please email or call me on 0121 697 1904/ian.bayliss@northonetv.com (we must be able to identify the part).
Ian Bayliss
We're after the most outrageous car part prices charged by UK main dealers; £100 for a short piece of rubber pipe, that sort of thing. Or, an electronic plug in component that's so expensive it might make a five/ten year old car uneconomic to repair.
Also, we're after the most expensive garage in the UK.
If you've got any stories please email or call me on 0121 697 1904/ian.bayliss@northonetv.com (we must be able to identify the part).
Ian Bayliss
ScoobyZoom said:
Ian
There was a topic a month ago on Main Dealer labour rates. I recall Park Lane BMW charged £120+ per hour.
YOu should Post this thread under General gassing. More eyes.
its £100 at park lane
plus VAT surely ?
It's ninety quid an hour plus VAT at most dealers round here.
I think Scotthall BMW Watford were asking 92.50 plus VAT a few months ago.
These labout charges are outrageous. I can't charge my network engineers at these rates and they are responsible for fixing corporate IT networks. It's all about non franchised dealerships and competition, and there ain't enough of either in the car industry.
The reason the labour charges at main dealers have escalating so quickly is so they can recover the profit they have lost on car sales. The IT industry has worked on tiny margins for years when it come to selling product, and there is no doubt that concentrating on services and labour is where the profit is. But the car dealerships are protected by the manufacturers and it almost seems like a cartel (my opinion only of course). Consumer pressure is the only wa it will change.
The reason the labour charges at main dealers have escalating so quickly is so they can recover the profit they have lost on car sales. The IT industry has worked on tiny margins for years when it come to selling product, and there is no doubt that concentrating on services and labour is where the profit is. But the car dealerships are protected by the manufacturers and it almost seems like a cartel (my opinion only of course). Consumer pressure is the only wa it will change.
I went into my local dealership after my E39 528 had blown 5 brake light bulbs in a month. They looked at the car for 30 mins and claimed that i had not been using genuine BMW bulbs and charged £26 for the privaledge of changing one bulb. I had used Lucas, bosch, halfords and osram. They fitted an osram bukb incidentally.
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