Repair Guides for Cars
Car repair prices: understanding the costs and saving money
Repairs at a garage or main dealer cost more and more. In the vast majority of cases, it is the labour that pushes up the bill, not the parts themselves. Yet a great many jobs can be carried out without a professional mechanic, with the right tools and reliable technical documentation.
Understanding how a repair price is made up also means understanding where you can take back control, and make significant savings by working on your vehicle yourself.
How a repair cost breaks down
Every quote rests on the same two items, whatever the job or the garage:
Labour
Charged by the hour or on the basis of a manufacturer standard time. It is usually the heaviest item on the bill, and the one you remove entirely by doing the job yourself.
- Main dealer: £100-160/hr on average
- Franchised network: £80-120/hr
- Independent garage: £50-90/hr
Parts
Genuine manufacturer parts (OE), matching-quality aftermarket parts (IAM) or reconditioned parts. By buying the part yourself, you choose the quality and avoid the garage mark-up, often 20 to 50% above the retail price.
The saving from doing it yourself
On a clutch charged at £800 at a garage, the parts often come to £200-350. That is £450 to £650 of labour saved. On a timing belt, the savings are comparable. Technical documentation is the only condition for doing it safely.
The standard time
The standard time is the theoretical time set by the manufacturer for each job. A garage charges this time regardless of the actual time spent. As a DIYer, you work at your own pace, only the cost of the parts is down to you.
The common repairs you can do yourself
Routine servicing
Battery, oil filter, air filter, cabin filter, fuel filter (petrol or diesel), spark plugs, glow plugs, jobs within reach even with little experience, which make up the bulk of service work.
Braking
Front brake pads, discs and pads, handbrake cable, jobs within reach of a careful DIYer, with a direct impact on safety. The exact method is essential so as not to compromise braking.
Timing and transmission
Timing belt kit (belt + pulleys + water pump), auxiliary belt kit, clutch, long and technical jobs, but achievable with the right documentation. These parts are critical to the engine: a detailed procedure is essential.
Suspension, engine and exhaust
Front and rear shock absorbers (individual or kits), rear silencer, turbocharger, water pump, particulate filter (DPF), jobs that are often underestimated, fully documented in the Haynes manuals specific to your engine.
When to do it yourself, and when to call a professional
Jobs within reach for DIY
- Routine servicing: filters, oil, plugs, battery
- Braking: pads, discs, brake fluid
- Lighting: bulbs, fuses
- Auxiliary and timing belts (with experience)
- Suspension: shock absorbers, accessible bushes
- Clutch on common vehicles (with the right tools)
Jobs needing a professional
- Air-conditioning circuit (regulated refrigerant)
- Reprogramming ECUs or pairing electronic units
- Retracting an electronic parking brake without a dedicated diagnostic tool
- Wheel alignment after replacing suspension parts
- Work on the high-voltage circuit of hybrid or electric vehicles
The key: the right technical documentation
- The Haynes manuals cover each job step by step, with torque settings, precautions and special tools required
- Each manual is specific to your engine, no generic documentation
- The data comes from the same sources as those used by professionals
- Available in digital format for instant access from the workshop
