Well it seems that the:
Shipley Bridge Garage
Antlands Lane
Horley
Surrey
RH6 9TE
Has made my list.
I took a car to be MOT’s at this garage and as suspected it failed. I was called by the owner and asked what I wanted to do. As there were very minor fail points; wiper blades, a light bulb and a weak spray from the washer on to the windscreen he suggested that it would be cheaper for me to leave the car with them to do the work as I would not be charged a re test fee if they completed the works. “OK”. I agreed. “Don’t let the cost run away if there is a problem with the washer motor”. I said.
I went to pick up the car and the total bill, including the MOT was £120.00 the test fee was £45.00. Two wiper blades cost say, a maximum of £12.00 and a bulb, what? A quid? 2 quid max? No washer motor had been replaced. So I got charged £61.00 approx labour charge for 5 minutes work? What a rip off! I said the person who I was dealing with “That can’t be right, they haven’t replaced the washer motor” So she queried it with the garage owner who told her that he had had to take apart the motor to fix it and that was why the labour cost was so high. I checked, the motors cannot be taken apart. I asked a mechanic friend of mine (ironically, the person who would have done the work for me for a fraction of the cost and still saved me money even though I would have had to have paid £25.00 for the retest) and he said that they would have just cleared the washer feed line with an air line. Typically, the washers still do not work great even after spending so much on labour.
Anyway, due to the greed of this local businessman I have decided that a fair warning to others would not go amiss.
Please note that the car sales part of this garage, which I believe is a separately owned business, is not implicated in my gripe.
I hope that it helps you to make an informed decision about the Shipley Bridge Garage if you are planning to have any work done there. They seem to be unable to check their greed even though it means that I for one will never MOT there again and this blog may further damage their pocket.
