40 quid - for oil?

I just had my Zafira serviced at a Vauxhall main dealer yesterday.
The service was costed at 144.50 UKP, but just looking at why the total
bill was so large they've charged 40 quid for oil!!!
I've had good service from two Vauxhall dealers, with no complaints so
far. Does anyone know what the retail cost from a dealer is for that
amount of oil? I bought a litre bottle from the dealer once, didn't seem
so expensive to me.

 

Sorry - I don't know. But in similar vein, I was stunned when we had to
have the auto-box oil changed in a volvo... £180+vat just for the oil (£15 x
12 litres)... labour extra. And that was about 3 years ago.... :-((

 

Auto fluid has never been cheap, I've had to run them since starting to
drive in 1969, a small bottle for topping up was always 3 or 4 times
engine oil prices.

I think back then they used something from whales but now it's
synthetic.

My best was £18 + VAT for 4 key batteries, to 'cure' an alarm that was
going off at random, this after the set were replaced six months
earlier, The Chrysler UK dealership were not amused when I told them I
could get 5 for under a fiver from the web and if they didn't amend the
bill I might just explode in reception.

Mike

 

To keep costs down I supply my own oil for the servicing, and let the
service department know when I take the car in. Just make sure that it is
up to the required standard for the vehicle.

Ian

 

LOL - I must try to remember that line for the future....!

 

Last time I bought proper Vx 10W-40 from a dealer, a few months back,
it was about 23 quid for a 5 litre can. Trade club price is about 12
quid IIRC.

 

i must be lucky
oil 5x4.20 = 21.00
plugs 4x3.23 = 12.92
brake fluid = 2.84
battery (key) = 3.19

main dealer too

dB

 

Mine is £15 a litre fromt he dealer but the last time I went in to get
a top up they didn't have any so whether they actually used the right
oil or not I really wouldn't like to say. I remember back in the days
when you could get budget oil for less than a fiver for 5 litres and
the good stuff was about £12 for 5 litres and *everything* was in a 5
litre can not 4.

 

£40 sounds a lot but the newer Vauxhalls use fully synthetic oil which
is very expensive.

You can supply the oil yourself but make sure it is up to spec.

Quite often dealers charge more in the workshops than over the parts
counter too! Ask at the parts counter how much it is. You might need a
5 litre can plus a single litre depending on the capacity.

Alan

 

Alan, thankyou for the reply.

My Zafira has now come up to the three year old mark, so time to
consider whether or not it deserves further main dealer servicing.
In fact, I've already had its oil changed by the main dealer 10000 miles
ago, I consider 20000 mile oil changes to be a bit ambitious, to say the
least.
What is the going rate for a Vauxhall service at a non-main dealer?
I would offer to take it to your garage, but not worth the trip from
London I think.

 

I have a 2006 Zaffy and the main stealer wanted £155 + VAT for basically an
oil change and a visual check. I went to a local guy (Wakefield) that I
have used before and he charged me £94.00 all in. He apologised for the
'high' price but said it was due to the expensive oil (£20) and having to
use a genuine Vauxhall filter (£10) so my warranty was still valid.

HTH

John

 

As has been said, it will be 5W/30 fully synthetic long life oil which
has to go up to 20,000 miles between changes but then again Vauxhall
fully synthetic oil at Trade Club prices would be a fraction of the
dealer's price - but they have a shiny showroom & workshop to pay for!

 

My local garage charged me £25 for the 6L of pukka VX supplied fully
synthetic oil (the stuff that goes 30k miles on the diesel, but I get it
changed every 20k).

The remaining £15 "fitting" charge seems reasonable given their £150 per
hour rate they charged me for replacing a £3.50 (their extortianate rate for
a 10p part) 1 inch rubber connector for a vacuum tube on the turbo. I had
the last laugh though - I got them to change the other 2 similar parts while
they had the engine stripped down for an additional 2 x £3.50! Only £100
per part!

Bob

 

Probably not clear - the £150 per hour effective rate is what the main
stealer charged, not my usual garage.

Bob

 

Who charges £150 per hour and where?

We do have to charge a fair bit, but not only because of our
buildings. I have to spend a fortune on training (courses fees, hotels
and wages), special tools, diagnostic equipment etc and someone has to
pay for this. We also pay a decent wage to our staff. Most of whom are
very skilled even if you do not believe me!

What you find in practice is that people use someone cheap for
servicing then complain when they have to bring it to us to diagnose
something their mechanic was either not capable of finding or not
equipped to find. Either way, we make a reasonable charge to cover our
overheads and a modest profit.

Don't forget that most Main Dealers stick to 'book times' and do not
charge more if their staff take longer. I have had a case where
someone with half our hourly rate ended up charging more than we
quoted for a job! We quoted to do the full repair in 4 hours but he
took a full day!

I acknowledge we are not cheap but I can justify our charges.

Alan

 

VX main stealers in Leeds. I was there for 2 hours, and was charged £300
for a split vacuum tube "somewhere deep in the engine".

From memory, it was something like £60 for the diagnostic computer, £30 for
a software upgrade, £100 to strip the engine down.

At this point, a bloke who looks like the Abbey employee in the Abbey
adverts comes out to get approval to replace the part and tell me it will be
another £100 to put it back together again.

Bob

 

VX dealers in Barnsley charged me £240 for a service on a Astra with 16,000
miles on the clock. When questioned they said the car was 3 years old and
required a 40,000 mile service. Even tho it had been serviced before.. But
not with the VX dealer.

Tonatk

 

Lisles in Welwyn, went there for some suspension bolts which they say
get replaced along with the arms etc, but they didn't have any and
said that they were special order (so i guess they don't actually
replace them). As I was walking out they were rolling back a non-
runner from the workshop and pushed it straight into a wall, followed
by lots of giggling.

It's a general dumbasses working for a large company syndrome.
Everyone gets a reasonable wage so no-one really gives a damn. Yeah,
we have training at work too and it's in one ear and out the other.

 

Lisles in Welwyn, went there for some suspension bolts which they say
get replaced along with the arms etc, but they didn't have any and
said that they were special order (so i guess they don't actually
replace them). As I was walking out they were rolling back a non-
runner from the workshop and pushed it straight into a wall, followed
by lots of giggling.

It's a general dumbasses working for a large company syndrome.
Everyone gets a reasonable wage so no-one really gives a damn. Yeah,
we have training at work too and it's in one ear and out the other.

It may not even get in the one ear, but if the training is not attended then
the franchise goes away.

All to the benefit of the customer, or so the cessation of block exemption
was supposed to engender.

Pah

Cheers

D

 

My old company Astra managed 103k on 20k oil changes without any problems.