3 hours to change the TCU Battery - Rip off?

[carboyben]

I've got a problem with a battery drain that seems to be related to the telematics control unit as when I pull the fuse for it the drain seems to go away.

Rather than subject myself to the labour rates of the main dealer, I thought I'd give Arun in Pulborough a try, so called them up to book it in. They said it's most likely related to the small battery in the module having died and it needs to be changed, roughly £50 for the part and 3 hours labour.

I booked it in but then did my own research... It could be that battery and the part is about £50, but to change it you unscrew the cover and plug a new battery in. So I did that and it took me 10 minutes, including digging around in the garage to find the right tools. There is a brace that *might* be in the way and need removing which would require a bigger strip down, but it was pretty easy to wiggle the battery cover out from behind it.

Given that I've seen them recommended several times here I'm not jumping to any conclusions, but I do have to ask. Does anyone know the book time for this job and is that what they were quoting for? Or should I put them in the "rip off merchant" bucket and cross them off my list of trusted independents?

[stefan9107]

I've got a problem with a battery drain that seems to be related to the telematics control unit as when I pull the fuse for it the drain seems to go away.

Rather than subject myself to the labour rates of the main dealer, I thought I'd give Arun in Pulborough a try, so called them up to book it in. They said it's most likely related to the small battery in the module having died and it needs to be changed, roughly £50 for the part and 3 hours labour.

I booked it in but then did my own research... It could be that battery and the part is about £50, but to change it you unscrew the cover and plug a new battery in. So I did that and it took me 10 minutes, including digging around in the garage to find the right tools. There is a brace that *might* be in the way and need removing which would require a bigger strip down, but it was pretty easy to wiggle the battery cover out from behind it.

Given that I've seen them recommended several times here I'm not jumping to any conclusions, but I do have to ask. Does anyone know the book time for this job and is that what they were quoting for? Or should I put them in the "rip off merchant" bucket and cross them off my list of trusted independents?

3 hours labour at £110p/hour as well for them.

So I can't speak about the job you are talking about now, but I certainly lean towards... over priced in my experience.

I got them to quote for replacing my pads and discs and they came out as £2000 for OEM or £1670 for aftermarket. My local Harwoods will do it for £1717 and Inchcape Guildford will do it for £1380. I've always thought you get a better job at an indie as they survive off reviews more, and you can generally have a decent chat with the guy working on your car. At £620 more than a Jag main dealer though... I think I'll take my chances. They also had the nerve to offer me £30,000 for my car last year whilst we were literally standing next to a near identical one they had for sale at £41,000...

If I had to guess, I'd say their issue is that they are a car dealer first, and a garage second.

[scm]

If I had to guess, I'd say their issue is that they are a car dealer first, and a garage second.

I'd say that they think they're a Jag dealer!

[Kev]

I spent a few years in the Motor Trade as a Snap-On Franchisee and later as a Mac Tools Franchisee so got to see behind the scenes of a lot of places from 'under the arches' to high end Stealerships, and classic car workshops (Jim Stokes, Twyford Jag) where you become a bit blasé to regularly walking past cars in excess of a few squillion squid then chuckle when you see people poring over them at the Revival and clearly they don't realise they're looking at a continuation car...

Back then some of the labour rates were astronomical. Obviously some places have high overheads and wages with all their Technicians, service counter staff, admin, sales, accounts, drivers, cleaners etc. to fork out for. Diagnostic equipment isn't cheap and a subscription has to be paid, but as we know once the initial investment has been recouped then it can generate an income. There are also training courses the Techs have to go on, keeping up to date with things (as I do being an Electrician/Home Automation Installer), insurances, buying tools, various other overheads such as rent, rates, leccy, etc. and all this is factored in. Then there's the time involved of finding the car in the car park, driving it into the workshop, diagnosing correctly which doesn't always happen as some codes can be red herrings which is where your knowledge comes into it...I'm sometimes asked why I charge so much or "You were only here for half an hour and charged £xxx" but that 30 minutes has taken me many, many years to learn, I've lost money on jobs in the past, and I have overheads like any business these days

The Stealerships have all the glitz and glamour but a lot of their Techs just replace parts as it's not their money they're spending whereas an Independent will be a little bit more careful. When stefan9107 was asking about the price to change the discs/pads on his motor I had a look on Eurocarparts and almost fell off my chair when I priced up my own as it's knocking on the door of a bag of sand just for the parts. I'm fortunate in that I have a lot of tools, the knowledge and contacts should things go belly up, and can do a lot of stuff myself which both satisfies and frustrates me at times as I'm to 'go to' for (what seems like) everything!

[stefan9107]

For those of you trying to decipher Kev's point let me help with my best guess..


They are expensive for many reasons, but they aren't "rip off" merchants. If you want something investigated and diagnosed, go to an indie, if you just need a service or simple parts replacing... go to whichever is cheapest (within reason).

Edit:

OR, if you are Kev, do it yourself

[DaddyDarren]

What will you do if the battery change hasn’t fixed the issue?

Use of ‘may’, ‘most likely’, ‘seems’, ‘might’, ‘could’ suggests many variables. The garage ‘may’ be factoring in a number of possible causes that will take time & correct diagnosis, following a logical fault-finding sequence.

Hope the business owner isn’t reading this thread. You may have to find another garage.

[stefan9107]

What will you do if the battery change hasn’t fixed the issue?

Use of ‘may’, ‘most likely’, ‘seems’, ‘might’, ‘could’ suggests many variables. The garage ‘may’ be factoring in a number of possible causes that will take time & correct diagnosis, following a logical fault-finding sequence.

Hope the business owner isn’t reading this thread. You may have to find another garage.

In the OP's defense... he didn't say they ARE rip off merchants. He is simply asking about the job and how long it should take and if they are genuine or taking the piss.

And if the business owners ego was that small that they couldn't handle someone on a forum asking about other people's experience of them, well then they might have some issues.

[rtmyers1]

I replaced mine myself in 10 minutes, but I have a coupe... The telematics is right behind the console and the battery compartment is right on top... I've heard in the convertible it is hidden behind the drivers seat and needs more work to get the panels off to get to the module. Supposedly you need to reset the telematics to recognize the new battery, but mine worked without doing this... Reset requires hook up to the Jag diagnostics tool...

[rtmyers1]

Also, Jag suggests that the software be updated after changing the battery so that may be some of the time as well...

[carboyben]

What will you do if the battery change hasn’t fixed the issue?

Use of ‘may’, ‘most likely’, ‘seems’, ‘might’, ‘could’ suggests many variables. The garage ‘may’ be factoring in a number of possible causes that will take time & correct diagnosis, following a logical fault-finding sequence.

Hope the business owner isn’t reading this thread. You may have to find another garage.

The quote was specifically 3 hours to change the battery, so if they do it and the battery change doesn't fix it then I'm down 3 hours of labour + whatever else needs to be done. Probably new TCU and reprogramming at about £1k.

My issue is that it's not 3 hours to change this battery, it's 10 minutes, and I was asking for reasons that could support a different explanation to this one, not saying "they are ripping me off".