maf260
Part of things
Posts: 513
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Oct 19, 2023 13:59:41 GMT
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I've just been to my go-to place to have some tyres swapped and it appears to have been taken over by a very rude, grumpy and greedy individual. He wanted £40 plus VAT to swap a pair of tyres and balance them; no valves as TPMS fitted. I last had a pair fitted there earlier this year for £20 cash - am I completely out of touch?
Does anyone know of a cheap fitter in the Watford area please?
Thank you
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Last Edit: Oct 19, 2023 14:00:09 GMT by maf260
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zeberdee
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 937 
Club RR Member Number: 2
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Oct 19, 2023 14:36:25 GMT
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Place next to my work charge’s £40 a pair . It’s their flat rate for tyres .
I always talk to one of the lads & he will sometimes do them for me , £20 cash a pair .
Unfortunately everything is going up in price .
👍
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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I've known of a couple of places to fit things that cheap, but not many these days, with the pool shrinking.
I'll sound like a broken record, but there are a few reasons for it:
-Overheads have skyrocketed. Folks moan about energy bills, but if you run a business, you'll be crying. Electric has gone up from 11p over a year ago to about £1 a kWh. I know a friend of mine struggled to even find a supplier for his new place last year, with many saying 'they'd not take on new customers'. He figured out it was cheaper to run his place on his generators and VAT paid diesel! (For him, that's not an option, and let's be honest, it's not really an option for anyone. I know for a PAS business, he can't even pass on his material costs to customers as much as he'd want to. If he didn't, he'd be a busy fool.
I work doing paints for an OEM, and our costs have doubled on materials, and tripled on overheads.
-Things have gone up in price. Cars have gone up, repairing them has gone up. Building materials are pricier too.
-Mortgages across the board have gone up. Unless the place he's getting it off is bought outright, that cost can only be partially absorbed. The chap in my example about has two businesses within his complex. My friend hasn't put the price up, and is unsurprisingly, seen as the nicest guy on his road, compared to other Landlords, but he bought the premises recently.
Christ, my weekly shop is depressing, as is the cost of fixing things. My tyre fitter got the price of my tyre on the motorbike wrong. He didn't, but the price changed when I came to buy the tyre. It was a near 30% discount he gave me on the tyre, which I offered to pay him for. After all, he can't run his business on goodwill.
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maf260
Part of things
Posts: 513
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Oct 20, 2023 10:59:50 GMT
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All valid points, Chas - the cost of living increase everywhere certainly hasn't passed me by! I guess my surprise was more that the same job at the same place about 3 months ago was £20 cash and is now double - that's way more than any current inflation (excuse the pun!). Thankfully I managed to get the tyres fitted this morning at another local place for £30 cash. Still 50% inflation but money given to a far nicer chap than the gruff, rude nob I encountered yesterday!
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Oct 20, 2023 21:52:52 GMT
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All valid points, Chas - the cost of living increase everywhere certainly hasn't passed me by! I guess my surprise was more that the same job at the same place about 3 months ago was £20 cash and is now double - that's way more than any current inflation (excuse the pun!). Thankfully I managed to get the tyres fitted this morning at another local place for £30 cash. Still 50% inflation but money given to a far nicer chap than the gruff, rude nob I encountered yesterday! Good result, at least they smile when they take your money. I can't stand giving money to miserable people who treat you like you are an inconvenience. |
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