Car Mechanic -Invoice And Parts Receipts

[Barquentine]

I am trying to get the car mechanic who repaired the leaking radiator on my car and fitted a new hose and water pump to send me his invoice plus copies of the receipts for the pump and hose. I have used the same garage for years and his usual approach is to make a guess at how much I owe him - no invoice -and I just pay him cash. I feel he normally undercharges me. He is hopelessly disorganised and I do not think he charges the full cost of the work. Until now. The cost of the water pump and hose are preposterously high. I still do not know what he is charging for the work since despite multiple emails he has not send me his invoice. When I attended his garage in person he eventually located the parts receipts. I was taking a photo of each on my phone when he snatched them off the table before I had taken a picture of the second one. My question is therefore - is it reasonable of me to want to be given copies of his invoice plus receipts for any parts? He still has my car but until I get proof of what I owe him I am leaving it there.

[barry1010]

Didn't you agree a price before he started the work?

The garage I use gives me a receipt including how much they charge me for the parts but I have no idea how much they actually pay for them.

It is reasonable to expect an invoice showing a breakdown of the costs but I wouldn't expect to see the receipts showing how much he paid for the parts unless that was expressly agreed before hand.

[barry1010]

How much has he charged you for the pump?  For my car it would be around £80+VAT

[Redhelen72]

I have never seen actuals of what my garage pays for the parts they install - he writes down on his invoice the price for each part.

I don't think you have a right to see what he pays for the waterpump.

[Barquentine]

On the phone he told me the pump was over £200 and same for the hose, but the brief glimpse I got of the receipts showed them both just over £100 each. It would never be possible to agree a price beforehand. He is totally disorganised. After he fixed the exhaust on another car I picked it up and asked what I owed him. "Oh, I'm not sure. Come and see me next week and I'll have a better idea". I insisted on giving him something so he said just give him £70. I asked him again the following week if I owed him any more for the exhaust repair. "I think it was about £90 but I'll need to check". To this day I don't know if I've paid him in full for that job. So I just as much as I want to pay a fair price quid pro quo if I think a part sounds far more expensive than I would have imagined I will want proof. I don't think he's dishonest - just completely scatty!

[ladybirder]

My advice is to get yourself a new, organised, mechanic Barquentine.  I reckon yours would drive me potty.

[barry1010]

How much is he charging you overall and what make/model car do you have?

[CJHorse]

I don't think you have any right to know how much he pays his own suppliers for parts. Sounds to me like you are very happy with his work as long as you are  also happy that he is undercharging you. Doesn't sound good really.

[nicebloke1]

My garage gives me a price for the parts a labour before agreeing for the work to be done. I just check on the internet what I would have to pay to get the partd myself. So far I've been happy.

[Peter Pedant]

You need a bill for £x and written acrossit: paid cash

I dont see that you need a copy of the internal workings, his VAT return, or anything else