I sent my car to an Audi Specialist Fontain.co.uk for cam belt service yesterday and cost me a whopping £500 !

I could have had a £300 service from a local garage but it seems to be fully booked all the time. Out of no choice I resorted to Fontain as they were the only one who would book me in this Saturday. It’s really an arm and leg experience but I hope and pray that will not happen too often. Well, if I were to plan my Preston trip much earlier, I wouldn’t be in this desperate situation calling garages to book me in. An expensive lesson learnt.

In Malaysia, we have plenty of garages to choose from. A lot of them are willing to go the extra mile for you, fix bit and bobs for free, price is negotiable and it is cheap. Then again you will need to carefully choose which one you would go to as not all mechanics are capable of handling the advance electronic system in newer cars.
In UK, things are slightly different. Standard garages will need approximately 3 days in advance to book your car in while you may find some top garages won’t be able to book you in unless you call 1 or 2 weeks in advance. Also, I realise famous garages don’t open on Saturdays which annoys me.
Labour service is charged by hour. Different garages have different rates. Some dealership garages charge £80 to £100 per hour, while some standard garages charge £40 to £60 per hour. Say if you are sending your car for a major service which requires 3 hours in a standard garage of £50/h. Total labour would be £150 excluding parts and VAT. At the end of the service you would not be surprise to receive a bill of £200-300. Luckily, most of them know what they are doing even with newer electronics gadgets packed cars so I basically have plenty of choices but need heck lot of time for planning.
Another thing worth mentioning is that, under the new European’s fair trade ruling, new cars under manufacturing warranty are allowed to be serviced by non-dealership garages without voiding the warranty requirements as long as the service schedule and itinerary are well kept. Unlike in Malaysia, where we have to stick to manufacturer’s service centre within the warranty period which is expensive compare to other garages out there.

Next thing in my list is the major service, which I am very much looking forward to (not financially) while the vehicle is still under warranty from the insurance I’ve bought.

BTW, a piece of plastic cover at the back of driver’s seat has fallen off when I first got the car. I think I am quite close to claiming a new one from Car giant. It costs £100 including labour to fix it. No kidding! I don’t mind sticking it with a double sided tape if I were to fork out that much myself for a pitiful cover! -eng

**did you realise that i have created a new category ‘Car Talk’? As though I am going to write a lot about cars which I doubt. Mel reckons everything will ‘cool’ down in 2 months time, like the old saying ‘Chicken sh*t’. Let’s see…