£105 / hr !!!!!

hot66 · Post by **hot66** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:05 pm

wife had a slight mis-hap with refuelling our BMW

BMW dealers .... £105 / hr labour charge !!!!!

£105 / hr labour charge !!!!!

and of course the job didn't only take 1 hour either !!!

For reference ... that's Harrogate BMW

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:13 pm

you're best off ooop north lad, £126+vat in Surrey

mullerice · Post by **mullerice** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:22 pm

Ouch

Out of interest, what's the typical hourly rate for an OPC?

defianty · Post by **defianty** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:38 pm

Yep, doesn't surprise me. My local VW garage is £115 p/h. My car goes there for the service stamp only. Everything else to my local trusted garage where the rate is £45 p/h.

Post by **Bootsy** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:41 pm

Recently had a problem with our Merc ML. It had gone into limp mode.

After reading up on a few forums I diagnosed it to a fault Mass Air Flow switch.

If you book it in at the Merc OPC they charge 1 hour to dianose, £165 for the part and 1 and a half hours to fit.

Total bill circa £425

Bought the part direct for £75 and fitted it myself within 30 mins!

hot66 · Post by **hot66** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:45 pm

unfortunately £1.52 worth of proper leaded 4star ( red hose ) was put into our 120d .... mistake realised straight away ... engine not started, doors not locked/unlocked etc

BMW assist collected

BMW Drain fuel tank, clean pipes

Total cost £450 !!!!!!!

Could have been a lot worse though , but still

.... oh & BMW also managed to find 'time' to check my brake pads thickness & tire depths

Out of interest, something I didn't know was that modern diesels automatically prime their fuel pumps / injection system when you unlock the doors. Which is why if you ever mis fuel a diesel you should never lock & unlock the doors as it will draw through the fuel ...... so I have learnt some today after all

Post by **Bootsy** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:56 pm

hot66 wrote: so I have learnt some today after all

indeed you have, never trust a women with a car

KS · Post by KS » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:04 pm

It's actually getting to a point where it might be cheaper just to divorce the wife and leave her to sort it all out.

impmad2000 · Post by **impmad2000** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:07 pm

hot66 wrote:unfortunately £1.52 worth of proper leaded 4star ( red hose )

Just about 1 ltr of petrol in a what, 40+ Ltr tank? Surely with that little Petrol you just brim it with Diesel and Go ! Just don't tell anyone !!
Happened to a Guy at work... admittedly with UL, but company's recovery said <5Ltrs, just fill up and go !
Manufacturer said drain it ! (Skoda)
Leaded can damage a Lambda and possibly a Cat, but are these fitted !!
Anyone know for sure ?
Tim

964RS · Post by **964RS** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:10 pm

I'd have thought if you filled the rest of the tank up with diesel it would have been fine? That can only be a small % of total diesel in a tank surely?

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:10 pm

I'm sure she'll pay you back in kind

hot66 · Post by **hot66** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:20 pm

964RS wrote:I'd have thought if you filled the rest of the tank up with diesel it would have been fine? That can only be a small % of total diesel in a tank surely?

I did research this & according to 'the web' , on these modern high pressure diesels even a slight amount of petrol can damage the pumps, injectors etc . Bio-diesel isn't allow to be used in them either. To do with diesels lubricating properties.

Either way, didn't fancy risking it & being faced with an even bigger bill 2 weeks later when the injection system failed !

In the olde days it used to be recommended adding a bit of petrol to diesel in winter to stop freezing issues .

hot66 · Post by **hot66** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:24 pm

Mike wrote:I'm sure she'll pay you back in kind

I'm optimistic by nature, but even I think that's unlikely

cubist · Post by **cubist** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 5:16 pm

Did the same on mrs C's 120d with £2.07 worth of 2 star. Brimmed it, sloshed it around a few wiggly Narfuuuk bends on the way to the beach and it was fine. Many horror stories out there of what it can do to an engine but i've never had a problem... yet

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 5:21 pm

mullerice wrote:Out of interest, what's the typical hourly rate for an OPC?

If I remember correctly my local OPC (Guildford) was £150+VAT

Simon.