Steve's Auto Clinic
Extremely high charges on spares and labou

I dropped off my Toyota Land Cruiser VX100 and the issue was for them to fix the idling problem. I then called the following morning to tell him to go ahead with the service as well. They called later to tell me that the mechanic had told him that the cam belt was badly worn and that we must replace it.

The cam belt was replaced 61000km ago from the service records and should get 150 000kms.

They said that the mechanic told him it was too bad and should be replaced. I said that if they were so sure it needed replacing then I have no choice. They quoted R14 000 for the entire job, including service, cam belt and idling issue. I was told that the cam belt replacement was expensive, so I assumed this was the normal fee.

When I fetched the car I got the bill for R15180. The next day I called Palm Service Centre and they quoted me R5700 all-inclusive with the Toyota parts for the cam belt and tensioners.

From what I can see the parts were all marked up by 42% or more.

The labour at R385.96 per hour was charged as follows:

Major Service labour 3.5 hrs - R1380
To fit rear brake pads - 2.5 hrs - R964.75
To change cam belt - 7 hrs - 2701.72
To clean throttle body - 3 hrs - R1157.

Company: Steve's Auto Clinic
Country: South Africa
City: Durban

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