Technical how much for new clutch fitting?

[feebie999]

hi there,
sorry i am a newbie. i have a fiat brava 100sx 16v 1.6, t reg, its done 101000 miles now. just had a new clutch put in. i was quoted £ 320 for new clutch. I saw him write 270 down then typed 17.5 % vat into calculator and he ended up at £ 320. i gave him my car on friday morning 9 am and he just finished today ( sunday ) about 15.30. now in my view its not my fault he worked on it on a sunday i booked car in for friday and said i needed it for monday. i also asked him to fix my door latch, well there was a little bolt missing so that the door always kept falling wide open , well i guess you professionals know what i mean. when i picked car up he said he had to take door panel off to get to the lever that had disappeared into the door and it took him two hours. he said costs now £ 360 . when i took my card out he said that that price was the cash price and if i pay by card ( debit card) he would have to put 17.5 % vat on top.
i only could take 300 out of nearby cash machine and had 20 on me, so i have to go back tomorrow to hand over another 40. my question i guess is : how i been ripped off? i think his hourly rate is £ 40. how long does it take to fit a clutch? i know he needs to make money, but can it would be handy to know if i can trust this garage.
thank you
Tina

 

[nedge2k]

£270 to supply and fit a clutch sounds about right and another 90 to spend a couple hours fixing your door, well, fiddly jobs can take time and if he did spend that amount of time on it, pricing is about right... Plus it sounds like he was trying to help you out by not charging the VAT - something he could get done for and the fact he was working on a Sunday to get it finished for you, well, you'd normally be lucky to get a mechanic to work on a Saturday afternoon, let alone a Sunday.

Depending on where you go, an hourly rate can go from £40-70 and clutches can take a few hours. The clutch itself could have cost up to around £150. In the motor trade, prices are always plus VAT.

 

[flying clutchman]

You should always double-check whether the price is plus vat or inclusive. Apart from that the prices don't sound unreasonable. Extra little jobs can often seem expensive because they can be very time consuming. Someone will now post that they know someone who'll fit a new clutch for £25, but I should'nt take that too seriously!! By the way I don't work wekends either, so I think he's done you a favour there.

 

[HOT HGT]

I dont know about £25 to fit a clutch but where i live mr clutch did my girlfriends for £165 all in dropped it off at 9am picked it up at 1pm sameday and qll with a smile

 

[flying clutchman]

Not on an HGT I don't imagine. Nice to hear somebody say something good about Mr. Clutch. Nice but rare!