Is this reasonable ?

[el sketcho]

I recently brought a 1991 1.7 diesel, when driving along the van pulled to the left so I've taken it to a campervan specialist in west london. They've just come back to me and said the problem's the brakes and that it'll cost £711.90! And for a service on the van would be £600 that's including loads of little jobs like, steering wheel not straight, washer jets need adjustment, no reverse lights, indicator does not flash, rear screen demister not working and about another 5 or 10 other little jobs.

So my question is. Is this about the going rate for work? Or is it a purely London thing

[kevtherev]

second opinion time...

get another quote... for the steering problem

incidentally are the tyre pressures ok as that will cause the pulling

and the "little" jobs are part of the ownership of an old VW as is a service.. in my opinion

If you have the money then get someone to do it.. but shop around

[Mr Bean]

I recently brought a 1991 1.7 diesel, when driving along the van pulled to the left so I've taken it to a campervan specialist in west london. They've just come back to me and said the problem's the brakes and that it'll cost £711.90! And for a service on the van would be £600 that's including loads of little jobs like, steering wheel not straight, washer jets need adjustment, no reverse lights, indicator does not flash, rear screen demister not working and about another 5 or 10 other little jobs.

So my question is. Is this about the going rate for work? Or is it a purely London thing

Ouch! I think you will find that a decent percentage of the people on this forum do their own work and couldn't posibly consider trusting their vehicle to someone elses hands let alone payng that kind of money for what they (we) would consider routine mainenance work. However if you haven't done the anything up to 50 year apprenticeship which involves a lot of laying under the thing in the snow or getting covered in muck and grime while your mates are out on the town then you pays your money and takes your chance. However I would put a stop to that straight away and look for a more economical way out. If you have no redress on the seller then cherry pick the MOT failure issues and get those fixed and sort the others out at your own pace. Unless you are in some way handicapped get yourself a Haynes manual or even the Bentley manual and get learning. I have run a sucsession of what other would call bangers and currently keep an M reg Mondeo and a 1988 waterboxer on the road more or less for the price of the odd spare and consumables. You need to save your big dosh for things like gearbox rebuilds etc. So yes that probably is the going rate these days. Some plonker up the road to me put his Porche Boxter in for a new battery and a service and got stung £4,000!
Good luck anyway
Ken

[Grun]

I wouldn't trust a garage to oil my wheelbarrow.
Gorra to it all yourself these days.
Mike

[kevtherev]

I wouldn't trust a garage to oil my wheelbarrow.
Gorra to it all yourself these days.
Mike

I didn't know you still had the Bay Mike

[Grun]

Kev wrote

I didn't know you still had the Bay Mike

Kev, it is, by far, the best vehicle I have ever owned and, (so far) out of the clutches of the so called 'green lobby'........... Historic vehicle and all that
I have fond memories of six months alone touring Europe with it on a 'sabbatical' from work in the Emirates. Brilliant, and simple enough for a numpty like me to maintain. I have had it for 30 years, and am only the second owner, it has been garaged during the whole period I have owned it, and best of all the conversion is German (Westfalia).

Mike

[Spiral]

I recently brought a 1991 1.7 diesel, when driving along the van pulled to the left so I've taken it to a campervan specialist in west london. They've just come back to me and said the problem's the brakes and that it'll cost £711.90! And for a service on the van would be £600 that's including loads of little jobs like, steering wheel not straight, washer jets need adjustment, no reverse lights, indicator does not flash, rear screen demister not working and about another 5 or 10 other little jobs.

So my question is. Is this about the going rate for work? Or is it a purely London thing

Was it Jacks Garage in West London that you took it to? A workmate who has a T25 used them on a couple of occasions and said how damn expensive they were. Seems a very expensive quote for the jobs that need doing

[el sketcho]

Thanks for the replies. I'd love to do it all myself but I have no mechanical know how or garage. Plus this is the first service since I brought it so in my mind I kinda wanted to start enjoying it knowing it's all mechanically sound.

[Mocki]

apart from the steering, you can do it!
we can help you!
there are loadsa peeps around your area, you are NOT alone!

just for starters, you only need a pin to realign your washer jets,
a 24mm socket to straighten the line of your steering wheel ( unless you ment it is bent? then shout and one of us will have a spre steering wheel for a replacement) , reversing lights are going to no more than a £5 switch, or a wire ( you have checked the bulbs? havent you?)reaer screen demister is either a fuse, a relay, a wire or the screen track broken( and its not really a point to worry about anyway, your mirrors are for looking behind with), all the above will cost you no more than £25 and a afternoon or two at the weekend......... the pulling thing maybe a bigger job, but get someone else to quote you.....

[Spiral]

I also knew nowt about T25's (some may say I still don't ) although admittedly I'd messed around with old bangers in my younger days (steady now ) I was doing stuff to my T3 Westy atlantic in no time. Recently replaced the turbo on my 1600 diesel engine myself and saved hundreds of £££££££'s Bought a mig welding kit today (lethal weapon in my hands ) You can do it! Ask some more questions on here. Find a local T25 meet and ask questions. Don't let the barstewards rip you off....and believe me they are ripping you off because they know you know nowt

[maxstu]

So my question is. Is this about the going rate for work? Or is it a purely London thing

Yes & no. It's a major city thing, IMO.

Running a profitable business in greater London is very costly. Plenty of garages now charge £100 plus hourly rate to cover their overly excessive business rates or council tax, liability insurance, rent, wages etc. Add to above equipment, training and courses for staff too, then it easily becomes apparent why they charge the amount they do.

On the other hand, move your search for a reputable garage to the surrounding counties and I'm pretty certain you'll get more value for money.

Have a search through here....

http://www.goodgaragescheme.co.uk

Reading your post subject I'm sure there are a few things you could address yourself as already mentioned above.

One area of concern is....

I recently brought a 1991 1.7 diesel, when driving along the van pulled to the left so I've taken it to a campervan specialist in west london.

Are you sure it happens when just driving along? Or under braking conditions?

If you have the means to safely jack the nearside front wheel up. Do so then rotate wheel. If it's difficult to rotate or binds there is a problem that needs addressing. Pulling to the left under certain driving conditions could be caused by excessive road camber.

Forthcoming 80-90 Apps Court meet is fairly near to you. If you can get to it, I'm pretty certain other members can give their trusted opinion or help you sort out quite a few minor problems.

I'm pretty certain I could remedy some of the things you've mentioned. Even with my complete lack of mechanical understanding.

[HarryMann]

Get a 2nd opinion on the pulling, preferably from a small specialist garage, not a dealership or large city garage...

Ask specifically on the foum who recommends who in your area, be prepared to drive out of the city for a good garage.

You didn't say what they told you was wrong with the steering or why it was pulling... - why not?

[camper]

Prehaps a kindly owner with good mechanical knowledge of a T25 within reasonable mileage from you could have a look at it.I have a 1991 1.6td now with a 1.9n 1Y engine i do all my maintanance .From a safety point of view the pulling should be diagnosed correctly.But it could be some think like badly worn front discs as was in the case of my diesel T25 that had your vans pulling.I replaced the front discs&pads + fitted front wheel bearings off hand cost was under £100 GSF supplied the discs bearings obtained elsewear.