How to Find Out if You’re Paying a Good Price for a Car Service or MOT

You now know what’s included in a car service but how do you know if you’re paying over the odds?

Trust is one of the most popular factors when a customer chooses a garage. Finding a trusted local garage isn’t always easy and when a car owners does, they usually stick with their choice despite and inconvenience.

Although we’ve come a long way with feminism, many women still believe that garage owners inflate prices just because they are female, as they think the female will be less inclined to understand what actually takes place during an MOT or car service.

Whether this is true or not, it’s always best to be armed with some knowledge, so when you do receive an invoice you think is inflated, you can argue for a better price. 

Compare Quotes from Other Garages

The easiest way to tell if you have a reasonable bill is to compare garage quotes on Motor Quoters. Of course, if your bill includes parts bespoke to your vehicle this may be a little more difficult. We can always give advice though and we’ll always make sure you never pay an inflated price for your MOT or car service when booking through us. 

Visit Car Part Websites

One way some unscrupulous garages make money is by adding a high profit margin onto the cost of parts. This is quite cheeky, as the garage will already charge for labour. Of course, every local garage is a business and they do need to make money, so a small mark up is understandable. They would have spent time sourcing the part after all (and if they’re a trusted garage they would also have spent time finding the best value for money solution). You can find the average cost of car parts on some websites. We like Euro Car Parts. Please bear in mind, that these guys are very good at offering discounts and your garage may have sourced the parts from a supplier without the same discounts. The website will still give you a good idea of the RRP though.

Have a Google

As you already know, Google is great for finding out information. If you think your garage or car service provider is pulling the wool over your eyes, Google to find out how much time the job or repair will take. You’ll easily find results for searches such as “how long does it take to change the oil?” “How long does it take to replace alloy wheels?”

Do a Little Maths 

Once you have an idea of how much the car parts cost, along with the time it takes to fit the parts, you can roughly work out what the bill should be. You’ll also need to know how much your garage charges for labour per hour, a previous bill will show you this, or you can ask. Don’t forget to include VAT.

A discrepancy of up to £50 may account for different car part prices or times but if you’re seeing a difference of £100 it may be time to ask a few questions!

Along with our garage comparisons and instant car service quotes online, we have tips to help you Lower the Cost of a Car Service.

Our blog also shows you What Is Involved in a Car Service so you know exactly what the mechanic is up to when you book your car in for a service.

You can also find out how to Do Your Own Mini Car Service.