£330 for Focus alternator - RAC roadside fix. Fair?
 

Alternator went on M6 (corroded contacts) on way to daughter's wedding and was charged £330 by RAC for a new Lucas one (no charge for fitting). I can't find a price for the part anywhere near that so I'm wondering if there was some mistake. Please tell me I wasn't ripped off...

I would just ring a ford dealer and ask or a motor factors that stocks your alternator

a mate had his 55 plate tdci one replaced by ford and that came to 500-00
i think the patrols get a % of the stuff they sell to you so he did well out of it

nah all we get is a basic fee for fitting parts whether its £50 or £500

seems a bit high.what year focus was it?

what year focus and what engine?

53 reg (2002/3). 1.6 petrol hatchback.

So on the way to an important event, you break down. They come and repair the car letting you on your way....for only £330, parts and labour, and you think that's too much ?

Or am I missing something here ?

beat me to it Stevieturbo, was a bargain really.

I've been in the RAC for 40 years, paying several thousand pounds in membership fees. Called em out three times. Once for a puncture, once for a dodgy light connection, and this time. Son on balance, the RAC have done very well out of me. I don't mind paying the going rate. What I do mind is paying twice over the odds for a part, if indeed that is the case. That's what I'm trying to find out. Fitting is free, by the way - that's the deal. The £330 was for a part that a Ford main dealer is quoting £126.80 + VAT.

Yes, and that annual fee, the same as insurance etc isnt something you can factor in here.

It's nobody's fault if you dont use them during the year.

If you feel them coming to your aid at the roadside and helping you on your way isnt a good service, then perhaps you'd be best to tell them next time dont bother fixing the car. Just take you home or to a local garage instead.

It all boils down to value for money under the circumstances. It still sounds like you got that, even if it did cost you more than you'd like.
I'm sure you had the option of having the car towed to a garage or home ?

Don't get me wrong, I was great service for a roadside fix. I'm simply trying to establish whether £330 for the part - the alternator - is the going rate. Either it is or it isn't. The circumstances - the urgency of the trip etc - don't come into it.

Sounds pricey to me. Alternator went on my RS and didn't cost anywhere near that for my mate (who is a mechanic) to supply and fit a new one from Euro Car Parts. Will check the invoice later to see exactly what he charged me.

I'd ask myself... £330 or possibly miss my daughters wedding... Plus depending on the Lucas item fitted it'd between £110 - £185 inc vat from my work (I work at a motor factors)


Steve

Thanks for the info on pricing. Obviously I paid it and got to the wedding. But using this argument, suppose I'd called at a petrol station and they'd said, "£1.36 a litre, but seeing as your journey is important, we're going to charge you £3 a litre"? If the part costs £110 - £185 then surely that is what I should have been charged for it.

was quoted about 250 years ago for one, but then it was also a possibility there was a wiring fault or there was something wrong with the ecu

turns out it was the wiring so that was only £80

all the talk above about it got you to an important event so good value is utter trash garbage talk. a fair price is a fair price whatever event your going too.and this wasnt a fair price. what planet are you guys living on.

I think it's fair, they're a business not a charity.

From the RAC website:

"If we replace a part at the roadside to get you going again, the fitting costs are included in your membership, so you only pay for the part itself." (my emphasis).

so you would happily pay more than double mark up on something just because its delivered by a bright orange van? bollocks


if it was an independent garage coming out to repair the car, i'd be happy to pay £330 for parts and labour, expensive? , a bit but circumstances dictate that you need to pay that to get going.

the fact is they sold him an alternator that was way over priced, so that they can recoup some of the labour, which imo is wrong as he has already paid for the labour through his membership

I'm sure he had a choice at the roadside whether to have the repair or not.

If he chose not to ask how much the parts where, is that anyone elses fault ?

And when comparing prices....you need to compare like for like. ie, roadside repair prices.

I'm more surprised the RAC van had an alternator for the car on board in order to even repair it at the roadside.

and what happened the old unit ?

Planet earth, it seems you arent though. If you dont like the price....go elsewhere for the repair....

yeh iv just gone to mars on my space shuttle and picked up some parts from there. :top:

The part was not on the van - he went to get it.

I was told how much the part was before it was fitted, but given the circumstances had no choice but to go ahead with that or risk the delay of a 100-mile tow/lift to destination (I have "recovery").

After fitting the new part, he took the old one away.

The RAC terms and conditions are that if a repair is done roadside, you are charged for the part, not fitting. The guy did an excellent job - that is not the issue. The issue is whether or not the charge for the part - £330 for an alternator that Ford dealers quote £160 for - is proper. I have no issue with the RAC mechanic, who was friendly, efficient and helpful.

I gotta say, I can see it from both sides. No one likes paying over the odds for something, but convenience comes at a price.

Whilst the fitting fee's might be "free" (which they aren't; they're included in the yearly membership), you can't expect to pay shelf price for something not on a shelf. The fact is, a man came to you, supplied and fitted a part, and got you on you way. Yes, it was more expensive, but that's the cost of convenience and service.

A Burger King meal is double the price in a motorway service station than it is in a high street restaurant. A pack of fags from the vending machine in the pub are a good deal more than they are in the corner shop (and you typically get less in a box from the vending machine). A special delivery post option is about double what a 1st class option would be. You could go hungry and carry on driving till you get to a town before eating at Burger King, rather than pay the extra at the motorway services. You could jump in the car or walk to the nearest late night shop or petrol garage to get a full 20 box of Benson, rather than paying the increased cost (for less fags) and stay in the pub all evening. You could just send it 1st class, and hope it get's there the next day, rather than chose the special delivery option at the post office : You pay for the convenience and speed.

Way I see it, you had two choices - pay the inflated cost of a replacement part (fully fitted, and guaranteed) and be on your way with minimal bother and lateness (to what was actually a very important event) or you could have been recovered, completely FOC, to a local garage, or back home, and set about buying a starter motor yourself, fitting it yourself (with no guarantee) or pay a local garage an extra fee to fit it (with only a labour guarantee) and waste a whole day, or more, and miss a very important event.

I know which I'd choose...

It all boils down to the same thing.

You chose to accept the price. There is no point crying about it afterwards. Nobody held you to ransom, nobody forced you to pay. You could easily have chosen not to accept the price.

Bottom line here is that it's a premium service, and commands a premium price for anything they supply. You're quite within your right to disagree and go about your business. Whether it says fitting is included in the membership is irrelevant, if he had decided to leave it and bought an alternator elsewhere, plus time to fit it DIY or elsewhere he would've saved about £40 if you're lucky. So is the hassle worth it, for me that's a no brainer.

In answer to your original question, its about double what it should be for the part cost.
I guess the cost has been bumped up to include a fitting charge

Personally, I think they have had you over a barrel.

A couple of years ago my wife had a mk6 fiesta, and the wheel bearing suddenly collapsed causing the rear wheel to lock up. I went over to see what was going on, realised it was fooked so called the RAC. They came out, diagnosed the issue and offered to fix it there and then. To speed things up I went up to the Ford dealer (about 3 miles away) to get a new bearing while the RAC man cracks on with stripping it down. So I dropped the wife at work got the new bearing then went back to her car.

RAC man had all the hub off, then took it and the bearing back to their workshop to press the old one out and new one in. He then went back to the roadside, put her car back together, drove his van to my wife's work, picked her up, dropped her back to the car, then followed her back to her work to make sure she was happy with it. Apart from me buying the bearing myself, it didn't cost us a penny more.

So no, the RAC should not charge a premium for a roadside repair IMO.

They didnt have anyone over a barrel. He had a choice. A FREE choice. He chose to accept that quoted price.

As others have said. When you buy something in a shop at x price. You dont decide later that day you got ripped off because you could have bought it cheaper 5 minutes down the road.
Again, you made the choice to buy it there and then.

Or same as main dealer servicing etc. If you choose to pay £100 p/h for work on your car...well, clearly you're mental. But some people choose to do it.
No sense crying about it afterwards when you know full well what you're getting into cost wise ( incompetence levels are another argument though )

I bought a new washing machine with a 5 year parts guarantee last Month, well known brand.i phoned up to register the warranty. Was told the parts are only guaranteed if their own service guys fits the parts, which is £130+vat call out charge, but if i payed for extra cover £175 there is unlimited free call outs. I bought the washer as it was on offer £200 reduced from £350. So i told the lady on the other end of the phone to stick the warranty where the sun doesnt shine. I explained that if i kept needing repairs to do i would save my £175 and buy a more reliable machine. She had no answer.

Thank you. In two sentences you have summarised the essence of the argument. If the cost has indeed been bumped up to hide a fitting charge then this goes against the RAC terms and conditions that pledges "free fitting" for roadside repairs.

No problem :)

So have you raised this with the RAC?

Yes, after finding out here what the top rate for the part was. Customer service guy agreed it seemed high and said he would look into it. Said it might be 7-10 days before he got back to me.

No, in two sentences he's written what you want to hear.

The fact is you paid more (by your own choice, as you could have refused to take the part at that price, as has been pointed out) for a part to be supplied (and physically fitted) to your car, at the side of the road, in a quick turnaround. THAT is why you have paid more. Simple as that. Convenience costs money. And you are not just paying for a part - you are paying for a service. Had you posted here that you were charged £330 just to supply a part to you (ie, the RAC man came out, gave you a box with an alternator in, took £330 from you, and left) then yes; you'd have been ripped off. But that isn't what happened. You paid £330 for a part, having it fitted, getting you on your way, avoiding inconvenience of being recovered to a garage, minimal waiting, and the service as a whole.

Sound like you got a good deal

I suppose you're half right. But still, I've written the facts.

The fact is that an alternator doesn't cost that much...... That was his original question!

And that's fine, if the question was purely how much it costs "off the shelf". But the fact it was supplied and fitted at the side of the road by a breakdown company is more than pertinent to the question of cost.

Like I said, if the RAC man came out, handed our chap a box with an alternator and left, and THAT cost him £330, then hes been ripped off. You could then easily compare that the price you'd pay if you walked into a Ford maindealer, or motorfactors, and bought the same alternator off the shelf and left with it in the box.

But neither of those scenarios is what actually happened.....

I already paid for the service - convenience, free fitting etc - with my RAC annual membership.

No, not really. You paid a membership fee, which is the right to call them when you need them, and for them to attend. They might word it as "your membership cost includes your fitting cost" but really it doesn't. Because they can't possibly know what it is you will need fitting later on in the year at the time you pay the membership fee. And if it was actually a fitting cost, you could reclaim that cost back at the end of the year since you've not had any fitting done.

Regardless of how it's worded, you pay the fitting charge in with the product. Why do you think batteries are 1.5x the price of the same battery you can buy in Halfords? Because there's a fitting charge lumped in with the "purchase" price.

Same as when you buy something that includes "free" postage. Postage is not free, it's just lumped in the the cost of the item you buy.