Repair Costs

I have always been fairly happy with the repair costs charged by my local Land Rover main dealer in Surrery. However today I sent my Freelander in for a 90,000 mile service and was told it needed about £1,500 worth of work on top of this. Looking at the breakdown of the quotation £1,200 of this is labour and whilst I don't object to paying for good quality work this seems very steep.
I have an oil leak from the engine crankshaft rear seal (£39 parts and 7 hours labour @£105) being the main repair needed.
Does anyone know of a reputable garage near Guildford, not necessarily a land rover dealer who may be more affordable?

LindaR said:

I have always been fairly happy with the repair costs charged by my local Land Rover main dealer in Surrery. However today I sent my Freelander in for a 90,000 mile service and was told it needed about £1,500 worth of work on top of this. Looking at the breakdown of the quotation £1,200 of this is labour and whilst I don't object to paying for good quality work this seems very steep.
I have an oil leak from the engine crankshaft rear seal (£39 parts and 7 hours labour @£105) being the main repair needed.
Does anyone know of a reputable garage near Guildford, not necessarily a land rover dealer who may be more affordable?

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Hi LindaR

As per forum etiquette I suggest you introduce yourself in the 'Introduce yourself' section, then look at the stickies at the top. there is a fred dedicated to your question....


PS not many people can spell, just read it phonetically

How bad is the leak ? If its just weeping I'd forget it - if its too bad to ignore then a decent independent would carry out this for a lower price,not a job I would want to take on as I only have a 4 post ramp.It really needs a 2 post ramp to make gearbox removal easier.PM me if you need directions to a decent indy.

I would agree if it's only a small leak then leave as is.

Freelander 2 repair manual below.

I don't think the leak is too bad - I hadn't noticed there was one at all - it was only when I took it in for the service and the garage did their "health check" that it came to light. It was dark when I got home so I'll check the driveway for tell tale signs in the morning.

Just keep a close eye on your engine oil level , and how the hell can they justify £105 labour ph , £50 ph is bad enough !!!!

LindaR said:

I have always been fairly happy with the repair costs charged by my local Land Rover main dealer in Surrery. However today I sent my Freelander in for a 90,000 mile service and was told it needed about £1,500 worth of work on top of this. Looking at the breakdown of the quotation £1,200 of this is labour and whilst I don't object to paying for good quality work this seems very steep.
I have an oil leak from the engine crankshaft rear seal (£39 parts and 7 hours labour @£105) being the main repair needed.
Does anyone know of a reputable garage near Guildford, not necessarily a land rover dealer who may be more affordable?

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I would certainly take it to any other garage for a second opinion, sounds to me like they are looking for work

Main Dealers always want to take your drawers down and spank you, its how they make money and pay for all the 'free' coffee and fly fishing displays in the showrooms and of course they don't have any real mechanics, they are all technicians who unless the computer says no, they wouldn't have a clue.
Steer clear, find an old salt with a fag but hanging from his mouth and a debatable brown staining the the rear of his overalls and you'll be fine and enjoy many years of Land Rover motoring

And of course

:welcome:

£100 ph labour rate is around the going rate for a main dealer.......

Crankshaft rear oil seal leaks are not uncommon in many cars. I've had a couple. Just leave it and check oil levels weekly.

Ian jones said:

Just keep a close eye on your engine oil level , and how the hell can they justify £105 labour ph , £50 ph is bad enough !!!!

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If you knew how high the overheads are and what TATA expect of dealers you may not think it so expensive.Just a for instance dealers are forced to decorate and furnish their showrooms to LR's spec - using contractors that THEY specify.Then there is the wage bill,training and equipment costs,rent/mortgage on the premises - it goes on and on.
Not many make good profits,a few years back a local Peugot dealers profit one month was £36 - not good really.
I'm not trying to back them,just saying how it is.

eightinavee said:

If you knew how high the overheads are and what TATA expect of dealers you may not think it so expensive.Just a for instance dealers are forced to decorate and furnish their showrooms to LR's spec - using contractors that THEY specify.Then there is the wage bill,training and equipment costs,rent/mortgage on the premises - it goes on and on.
Not many make good profits,a few years back a local Peugot dealers profit one month was £36 - not good really.
I'm not trying to back them,just saying how it is.

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A mate of mine owned a Honda garage, he was one of the top sellers in the UK, then Honda started on about showroom upgrades, relocation etc etc. He told them where to go, sold the garage for redevelopment and went off to enjoy himself

eightinavee said:

If you knew how high the overheads are and what TATA expect of dealers you may not think it so expensive.Just a for instance dealers are forced to decorate and furnish their showrooms to LR's spec - using contractors that THEY specify.Then there is the wage bill,training and equipment costs,rent/mortgage on the premises - it goes on and on.
Not many make good profits,a few years back a local Peugot dealers profit one month was £36 - not good really.
I'm not trying to back them,just saying how it is.

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Not all Land Rover owners are millionaires I have a mate who is and owns four , unfortunately a few of us are not and £105 ph labour charge would sharp clear me out

Rangers 4x4 in Slyfield Industrial Estate, off the Woking road, Guildford.
Independent LR garage, I've had work done by them before. Very quick, very helpful and reasonably priced.

When my auto was changed the engine and auto were taken out by the main dealer and the auto changed over before it was all put back. They noticed a slight leak on the crankshaft seal (seal was £35 + vat at the time) but didn't bother to say anything as they didn't think it was worth changing and it saved me a bit of money. It never leaked before. It's only a slight leak so it will be like for everer and everer. hopefully it won't ever need fixing.

You may not have noticed yer leak due to the oil landing on the plastic guard under the engine. The oil jumps oft the guard at speed.

What grade of oil do you have in your engine? If its a 5w/30, might be worth trying a 5w/40, or 10w/40 Slightly thicker oil might just plug the leak...I use 5w/40 in all me engines now.....I don't trust them rat pee oils....unless its in a moped

Main dealers always will have a different approach - they are governed to some extent by the manufacturer and will always act to keep the vehicle to the same standard that it left the factory. A manufacturer would rather have a reputation for high repair costs than a reputation for poor reliability, and as others have pointed out - the costs of operating a main dealer site are phenomenal and for many the profits are very low in relation to their turnover.

Also as others have pointed out, main dealers will want to fix anything that is showing signs of deterioration - such as a minor leak. My sister has a 2002 Volvo V70 with 130k+ on it, 2 years ago Volvo wanted to change the power steering pump as the seal was leaking and "it could fail at any moment". 2 years on it looks exactly the same, no fluid ever needed - it's fine.

Unless your car is leaving oil deposits on your driveway I would suggest slight weeping is commensurate with a 90,000 mile engine. As others have said - check the oil weekly.

Main dealers are required to report anything that is 'worn'.

If you vehicle has any oil leak, they have to report it. Their aim is to keep the vehicle as it left the factory.

What they are doing is reporting these to you, its your job to pick and choose what you think needs doing. It will cost you a fortune if you are just going to say yes to everything.

Very, very rarely do the rear crank oil seals drip. Mostly they mist. I'd get the undertray off and have a look yourself or ask an independent to remove the undertray and let you see the leak.

If its misting, I'd probably just ignore it.

if its just a weep ,i certainly wouldn't bother , as others have said keep a check on oil levels,
the worst that could happen is your clutch becomes contaminated with oil and it starts to slip, then you have no choice