If it’s too good to be true….

…then it probably is’! I recently read an interesting article about price-led offers which reinforces this old saying and I felt compelled to share some of the highlights with you.

We are continually bombarded with buy one, get one free offers such as half-price MoTs, servicing from just £50, free wiper blades with every service etc., all of which confound the real cost of the service.

An automotive internet comparison site recently reviewed headline offers comparing them to the final invoice that customers received. The results from the research were surprising – it found that an average work estimate was about £150, whereas the final invoice averaged £220; an increase of 46%. For smaller jobs, estimated at £68 on average, the increase was even greater at 56%.

Of course, cars do sometimes need additional work whilst in for a service/MoT, which will have an effect on the final invoice. Also, the specification of a service will vary from garage to garage, which adds to the uncertainty.

In summary, garages wanting to attract more customers advertise cut price offers. They also need to make a profit so they find other problems on the car to fix, which results in increases to the final invoice that in turn upsets the end customer. What a strange circle of events.

So how do we fix this?

Answers on a postcard to…….