I was quoted £195 including VAT for a full service on my car. I was therefore stunned to receive a bill for £320. The garage pointed out all the extra jobs they had done, including changing the windscreen wipers. We paid them the £195 quoted, but we have now received a bill for the extra £125. Should we pay it?
No. A quote is a fixed price, as opposed to an estimate, which is merely a statement of intent. The garage will be bound by the price it gave you, even if it involved more work than was originally envisaged. Ideally you should obtain quotes in writing, but you shouldn’t have much difficulty convincing a court of your case since few garages would offer an estimate for a service.