Clutch Slipping

[foxyferret]

My daughter has a Peugeot 107, 8 years old. Car diagnosed by garage with slipping clutch (it had all the symptoms). We have had quotes from several garages going from £250 to £395. The nearest one to her home is the £395 garage and she was told not to drive it as it was dangerous. My question is, compared with the others, is this price a bit OTT or is that what she should reasonably expect to pay? Thank you.

[spathiphyllum]

Is the car even worth that much? Seems OTT to me especially for an old car.

[foxyferret]

Yes,it’s old but low mileage and in good condition. She cannot afford to change it at the mo so repaired it must be.

[spathiphyllum]

I think you're getting charged a high rate for service/labour. I can see the clutch parts coming to around £200, but to pretty much double that seems a bit steep. £250 would make much more sense to me.

If garage person says it's not safe to drive, then i would trust him

[Canary42]

If the £395 one told her it was dangerous to drive, does that quote include getting it there from your daughter's place. "Recovery" charges can be quite heavy.

[spathiphyllum]

Doubt it. Probably more a threat to make good parents worry their child is driving a death trap. However, better safe than sorry so i'd trust it.

[Flonska]

One suggestion is that the clutch should be replaced:-

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/40937/fixing-a-peugeot-107-s-slipping-clutch

Have a look here to get an approximate cost:-

https://www.whocanfixmycar.com/services/peugeot/clutch-replacement

[foxyferret]

Thanks everyone for all your answers. Who can fix my car is where I got my other quotes from, they seem really good at getting responses. The car is in the £395 garage as I speak, we may have taken it elsewhere but with the horrible burning smell and warnings of danger, it was obviously the safest option.

[spathiphyllum]

With motoring, the safest option is the best option. Good work

[spathiphyllum]

My granddad says, the tyres, steering and breaks are the most important parts of a car. Apart from that, it's the clutch.

[retrocop]

I would hardly call driving a vehicle with a slipping clutch 'dangerous' unless you drive it across wide busy intersections.You just are not going to get very far or quickly. It looks like the local garage are hoping to get the vehicle 'on the hook'. Puts more money in their cash register,
Clutch plates are relatively cheap. It is the labour to fit them that racks up the bill. I would say it is certainly worth getting the clutch replaced on a low mileage car in good condition. I have to ask myself why the clutch is that worn to need replacement with low mileage.
I do not think the price is OTT.

[spathiphyllum]

burning smells would imply some kind of hazard, retro. Best get it sorted and asap. I'd do the exact same for my daughter and any portrait danger is enough danger for me to be concerned.

[Ryzen]

spath @15;28...so you recon £50 is the labour rate to fit a clutch?..lol

[retrocop]

//burning smells would imply some kind of hazard, retro. Best get it sorted and asap.//
Those burning smells are friction heat with the cork inserts heating up. The clutch plates can be found in the clutch housing which is metal (most probably aluminium) between gearbox and engine block. Any likelihood of fire would be contained within the housing and of minimal danger.

[tonyav]

foxyferret, have you thought about having a mobile mechanic fix it. Daughter doesn't have to drive it anywhere then.

[Old_Geezer]

I've driven a car with a slipping clutch to Clutchmaster (I think it was called) to fix before now. I'm not seeing the danger; one takes it carefully, not accelerating rapidly.

[tonyav]

The worse that could happen ( driving it ) is the flywheel getting scored if the clutch friction plate is down to the rivets. But the flywheel can be repaired usually by having the scoring skimmed ( ground ) out.

[kvalidir]

Certainly not dangerous to drive a car with a slipping clutch, I've driven a few part exchanges we had in that'd barely move off the spot.

[alavahalf]

You could fit a clutch on a lawn mower in an hour.. not on most cars though!
Most garages will base their quotes on a book price which is based on a known amount of time that it would take a qualified technician to reasonably take to replace any car part of any car. On top of that there would be their labour fee. Sorry dont know of a garage charging only £50 an hour. My guess is 3 to 4 hours labour charge plus parts.
£395 sounds about right with a local garage .. expect to pay close to twice that amount with a franchise.

[TonyV]

Tonyav although flywheel can be repaired if scored - just more expense.

[Buenchico]

£395 sounds quite cheap for a clutch replacement to me. There will be several hour's labour involved, plus parts. The last time I had a clutch replaced was over 20 years ago and it was a lot dearer than that! (8½ hours labour on a Citroen BX - and then it turned out that the problem wasn't a defective clutch at all but something that just required a couple of minutes welding!)