I took my car to Ballyrobert Vauxhall in Mallusk, Co. Antrim to have the indicator bulb replaced. They couldn't do it even though they tried for half an hour or so, said it had to be booked in to have the bumper removed. After having it booked in and giving them a hundred of my hard-earned they said the headlight was broken and could not under any circumstances be fixed. I also needed a new air conditioning compressor, suspension strut, pads and discs on the front. All in all they said I needed to spend two grand on this motor.
Now the front o/s suspension does make a bit of a noise when steering sharp at low speeds but it still passed the test like that, there's no play in it. The aircon still works fine. And while there is a bit of a lip developing on the front discs they are still plenty thick enough and I easily changed the pads myself. And the headlight? Well I took the bumper off, had the headlight out, repaired it with 'spit und kleenex' and had it all put back together again in less than an hour.
So the garage quote was two grand. I spent £30 on a new set of pads and in total spent two hours and three cups of tea working on it. And I bet my workmanship is ten times better than the main dealer.
I have lost count of the number of times I have been told that I need new discs just because there is a bit of a lip developing. It's bo11ox. Just garages touting for business. The mechanic I use for jobs that are beyond my own capabilities is honest when he advises me what needs doing and what doesn't. He is rewarded with return custom and recommendations from me.