the problem with the above survey is people feel they've been ripped off as it was more that they thought it was going to be as they dont know how much things cost. a garage local to me charges £150 for a head gasket replacement, a mate of mine took it there to get a quote was stunned at the £150, came to me saying well the gaskets only £20, will you do it for me. i told him id want £150 to change the h/gasket on an escort as i thought £150 including parts was cheap, id pay it if i wasnt capable of doing it myself.
whether its cheep or expensive is a matter of opinion, there are cases like you arnold its obvious from that that they didnt want to do the job, garages with 'we never turn down work' mottos, give stupid quotes out, then at least theyve not turned down work, if they dont get the job, well they didnt get it anyway but if they do its a nice bonus.
i dont like garages as much as the next person, esp dealers, an nhs nurse is on around £20-25k pr year (dont know exactly for sure), but main dealers charge in excess of £70 per hour, thats stupid, there 1 hour is not worth 1 days wage to me, so i dont take my car there.
