17 replies to this topic

[PhilipGCaldwell]

I sent my cylinder head off to have the following machining done:
New exhaust valve seats inserted (so It can use unleaded)
Recut inlets
new valve guides inserted (I supplied the new guides to be inserted)

How much do you think this should all cost as Im trying to work out if Ive been swindled as when I dropped the head off they gave me one price and now the work is done its a new higher price (£75 more), I wont name the company yet incase its a fair qoute

[MRA]

Did you ask them why it is now dearer without consultation to yourself ?

If it's just simple standard head work then you should be querying the extra amount, also why they didn't discuss this with you first ??

Edited by mra-minis.co.uk, 26 November 2010 - 12:22 PM.

[AVV IT]

Regardless of the "going rate" for this type of work or whether or not it was a "fair quote", you accepted that quote when you gave permission for the work to be carried out. More importantly though, what was the companies justification for the extra costs incurred? At the end of the day a quotation is just a theoretical estimate of the costs involved and is usually subject to change should the work involve some unforeseen additional parts, materials or labour costs. Any additional work or charges should have therefore been explained and justified when you were presented with the bill (or preferably before they were completed), if however you were simply charged £75 above what was originally quoted but for nothing extra, then this unacceptable.

Edited by AVV IT, 26 November 2010 - 12:30 PM.

[mk3 Cooper S]

I sent my cylinder head off to have the following machining done:
New exhaust valve seats inserted (so It can use unleaded)
Recut inlets
new valve guides inserted (I supplied the new guides to be inserted)

How much do you think this should all cost as Im trying to work out if Ive been swindled as when I dropped the head off they gave me one price and now the work is done its a new higher price (£75 more), I wont name the company yet incase its a fair qoute

Did you not get it skimmed at the same time?

What is the exta cost for ?

[PhilipGCaldwell]

no skim, just the jobs stated

when I took it in and explained what I wanted he told me £160 and I said "fair enough, I will have it done", now he says it £235 as there was £170 for labour then the cost of the parts (4 new exhaust seats) and the other jobs (recut valves and inserted guides)

[mk3 Cooper S]

no skim, just the jobs stated

when I took it in and explained what I wanted he told me £160 and I said "fair enough, I will have it done", now he says it £235 as there was £170 for labour then the cost of the parts (4 new exhaust seats) and the other jobs (recut valves and inserted guides)

Why would you have all the head work done but not have it refaced / skimmed?

It is a pretty labour intensive job and the std unleaded heads seem to be around the £250 (exchange)mark from a lot of suppliers.

[PhilipGCaldwell]

iam guna get it skimmed, dont worry, reason for not doing it now is I need to work out the CR first so I know how much to get skimmed off which I cant work out till ive got the head air tight and reassembled which is why its at the machinist now

[AVV IT]

when I took it in and explained what I wanted he told me £160 and I said "fair enough, I will have it done", now he says it £235 as there was £170 for labour then the cost of the parts (4 new exhaust seats) and the other jobs (recut valves and inserted guides)

Presumably then this is some kind of misunderstanding between the two of you, as he appears to have originally only quoted you for just the basic labour costs and not for parts and other additional costs. It also seems that you clearly did not receive a specific breakdown of what the original quotation actually covered? (which is why all quotes and estimates for any works should ideally be in writing.) I would be slightly concerned at the traders behavior though, in that he failed to give you a written quotation in the first place (which is always a recipe for aggravation in any business and any decent trader should really know better!) and also that he carried out additional works without consulting you first (again from the traders perspective that is also simply "asking for trouble".) I have to say that I would therefore view his behavior as somewhat suspicious.

[xBR4DLEY]

As my business teacher said , if he didnt quote you the £75 extra originally , he has done it out of the kindness of his heart and you dont have to pay it

[Cooperman]

It's 'buyer beware' again. A 'quotation' is an agreed fixed price for a set amount of work and should be in writing. An 'estimate', which may or may not be in writing, is just that and can alter by any reasonable amount when the work is carried out.
In the case of a cylinder head, it is possible to do a quotation as it's a common job for which previous experience will exist.

[PhilipGCaldwell]

well, I will see on monday what the deal is with it and make my feelings known about it.
I probably was being naive to go in and say "i want this this and this doing, how much will that cost?" not realising he probably only meant labour cost, which is frustrating, thing is though, if I knew it was guna cost that much, I probably wouldnt of done it, would of just skimmed the head and lapped the original valves in and used additive rather than shell out £235

[PhilipGCaldwell]

It also seems that you clearly did not receive a specific breakdown of what the original quotation actually covered

No it was just a verbal arrangement, something I will not be doing in future

[Cooperman]

If you think about what is entailed first of all it may give an idea of how the price evolved:

Drive out the old guides.
Press in 8 new guides to the correct depth measuring the height of each one.
Ream guides if necessary after checking for valve stem fitting.
Set up head on to machine for unleaded seats, 4 off.
Press inserts into the head.
Face each new seat for valves
Re-face existing inlet valve seats.

That must be at least 3.5 hours work at, say, £40 per hour plus parts and materials. So your original estimate would seem to have been fairly OK.

[PhilipGCaldwell]

Yeah perhaps, but i got the impression that 160 was the total price of both parts and labour, never mind, will learn from experience
I had already removed the old guides so it was just refiting new ones (which I provided)

Edited by PhilipGCaldwell, 26 November 2010 - 03:23 PM.

[Cooperman]

Yeah perhaps, but i got the impression that 160 was the total price of both parts and labour, never mind, will learn from experience
I had already removed the old guides so it was just refiting new ones (which I provided)

£160 is about what might be expected if you supplied the guides as free-issue. The 4 off seats can't cost much really.
Were you doing your own valve lapping-in?