Glow Plugs - Have I Been Ripped Off?

[glappy mick]

I've recently been having problems starting my avensis 2.2d4. It wouldn't start on the first turn of the ignition but usually started on the second turn.. A local garage initially diagnosed the fault as the diesel filter needing replacing, which they said they would do while i waited. An hour in they said that diesel was leaking from the bottom of the unit and it needed a new filter sensor, which they couldn't do till the following day, so i left the car. When i went to collect it i was told that they had also changed 2 glow plugs. The total cost was £201.50 The filter was £11.10, the sensor £78 and the glow plugs £21.95 Each! The starting problem occurred when the engine was hot and cold so, my questions are:

Did the glow plugs really need changing?

Is it common practice to change 2 glow plugs or would you always change all 4?

I think i know the answer to this question, particularly on the ridiculous price of the glow plugs but i would value other members opinions. (labour was £75, all the prices i have mentioned exclude vat)

Thanks, mike

[Exvec]

/Was the fault code light on for the glow plugs at all,they can be tested quite easily using a multi meter,on the ohms setting because all they are ,are resistors and the resistance can be measured about 3 to 4 ohms is what they should be reading,anything higher and the plug is a chucker.

[glappy mick]

no, no warning lights have come on at all. the garage didn't say if they had plugged in a fault reader, i'm sure they would have charged for it if they had!

[mintalkin]

£44 for two glow plugs, they could have put a complete set in for that, was it leaking diesel before they looked at the car? and now does the car start ok.

[glappy mick]

It was leaking a small amount of diesel before they changed the 2 glow plugs, but this could only be due to the problem with the fuel filter and the filter sensor. (it passed it's mot 6 days ago and the starting problems have been ongoing for at least a couple of months, although not too problematic or i would have seen to it a lot sooner). My thoughts are that they saw the opportunity for a huge mark up on the sale of the glow plugs. They said that they wanted to keep the car until the next morning to see how it started but i insisted on taking it there and then. I'm fairly sure that if i had let them keep it they would have told me that it needed the other 2 glow plugs changing and would have charged me another £44 plus labour. It now starts perfectly the second the key is turned. Thanks for your reply.

[BigMo82]

They may have over charged you or changed a part that didn't necessarily need changing but at least the problem was resolved.

Mo

[glappy mick]

you're right Mo. the problem has been resolved, but still, £44 plus labour for 2 glow plugs does seem excessive, My only comfort is that that i've had 5 years cheap motoring with my avensis, that's why we drive em!

[Parts-King]

You have been charged maybe 1.5 hours which does not seem excessive considering they spent an hour trying to sort out the leaky filter and you have only had two glow plugs replaced when they could have spanked you for 4. I think you have done your garage a diservice if you ask me. Why not make enquiries with your dealer and ask how much glow plugs are? Hang on, I will save you the trouble, I can tell you genuine ones are nearly £31 each, so again, they saved you a tenner on each glow plug. Instead of bemoaning your lot on here why not have a word with the garage doing the job and ask for an explanation? Surely they are in the position to give you a better idea as to how much time they spent and the quality of the parts used, rather than seeking an answer from anyone on a forum? Remember you garage will be using a factor most likely, and it is not uncommon for a garage to make a profit on the parts they sell you (yes it is legal to make a profit-just) they dont have the time to source the cheapest parts possible via the net.

Phrases like "ripped off" are very emotive, you should take the time and care to seek out if you have actually been "ripped off" before shooting somebody down before you have the answers

Kingo

[glappy mick]

Kingo, the point is that all i asked them to do was replace the fuel filter and sensor. They did the other work without asking me. If they had decided the car looked a bit tatty and given it a respray should I have not moaned and just been grateful for how nice it looked?

[Parts-King]

Well you told them it was having trouble starting. In the diesel world you do the basics first, change fuel filter, check glow plugs if you are having trouble starting the car

I agree that you should be informed as to what is required, that is common decency, you never mentiond NOT being informed in your original post, you just made reference to the price and should you change 2 or 4. Good engineering practice would be to change 4, and to inform you of what is required and the cost, that is something you should take up with the garage. You clearly have no idea on the cost of the parts and have made no effort to find out how much they are, if you did you would not have made the comment about the "ridiculous" price of them. A quick search on the popular Euro Car Parts site lists them at 19.50, so you cannot say you were "ripped off"

Kingo

[Owdjockey]

I think you are being rather harsh on Mick, Parts King. As you can see from the topic title, he was asking a perfectly legitimate question.

For what it's worth, the charge does not seem overly excessive, expensive yes.

BTW I bought a set of Glow plugs recently from my local motor factors for £12.20 each. The last lot I purchased did me for over 90k.

[Parts-King]

Well I apologise if it seems harsh, but the title is harsh, and IMHO I don't think he was ripped off

We can all spend time and buy parts cheap on the net, your local garage does not have the time to search the net to find you the cheapest price. We use factors that have decent warranty policies and returns procedures, who is going to pay the garage to fit another set when they fail in12 months and a day?

The garage used let themselves down by not keeping Mick in the loop and for that they failed miserably, but by fitting 2 plugs they did not rip him off and their prices seem fair for the time spent on the job

Kingo

[Exvec]

I think you are being rather harsh on Mick, Parts King. As you can see from the topic title, he was asking a perfectly legitimate question.

For what it's worth, the charge does not seem overly excessive, expensive yes.

BTW I bought a set of Glow plugs recently from my local motor factors for £12.20 each. The last lot I purchased did me for over 90k.

This is the reason why i do my own simple servicing and repairs,as garages cannot be trusted I'm afraid,and in my opinion he has been over charged for the glows anyway.

[Druid Boy]

Presumably, when we all source our own cheap spares we account for the time spent looking and the fuel cost of going to collect them rather than ringing our reliable supplier and having him deliver the parts that day, charging our account so we can settle up at the end of our 60 day credit period? Hence them appearing to be a bit more expensive perhaps.

Presumably, on the rare occasion that we do use a professional, we always instruct them to check with us before spending more than £2.70 on the car and never, ever ask them just to fix it?

Nope? Oh, probably just me then.......

[Exvec]

"Presumably, on the rare occasion that we do use a professional, we always instruct them to check with us before spending more than £2.70 on the car and never, ever ask them just to fix it?"

"Nope? Oh, probably just me then"

Precisely DB is what i do,and always have done,if they do something without my say so and agreement they don't get paid .......