Just had to replace car headlight bulb so went to Halfords got bulb & asked for it to be fitted . Cost just for fitting £7 & it took less than a minute ! Yes fitting price is displayed but I had no idea how long it would take. What a rip off

Believe it or not but kwik fit fit a lot of bulbs for £2.99. Price includes bulb and fitting. I dont know if its gone up but thats how much it was to replace a headlight bulb in an astra about 18 months ago

Being in the trade I know how very difficult fitting some bulbs can be so I imagine that they just have one standard price.

Come on?

They're known as 'Halfrauds' for a reason.

You live & learn.Will do it myself next time.

How long would you have liked the lad to faff about for before you considered you'd had value for money? The price was displayed, you chose to pay, job's a goodun. I'm surprised you didn't ask for a rebate, or did you?

The trouble I've had with some bulbs over the years,I would gladly have parted with £7.00 .

Get my bulbs off ebay--you can get half a dozen posted to you from China for the price of one at Halford/motor world.

same with gillette razor blades, 1/4 of the price, free shipping.

I'm still amazed how much they actually charge for bulbs. I got a two pack of stop and tail bulbs for £4.99 once. Now I pick them up for about 20p each

Bulbs can be very hard to fit. I had Ka that involved removal of a panel behind the front wheel to gain access. In fact the Halfords guy - who had more dextrous wrists than me, managed it in about five minutes of struggling. This sort of thing is exactly what I want to read in a review of a new car - along with cost of things like tyres, filters etc. but they are NEVER published.

That said if you go to places like Halfords for things like bulbs, you can expect to get ripped off something awful! It is a bit like Curry's. I recall wanting a few feet of Ethernet cable. Curry's wanted £25 for it! I got it on the internet for £3 including postage.

I remember my OH commenting when reading Auto Express a while back about a woman who had needed the LED bulbs replacing in her Volvo headlight and was being charged a couple of hundred! Bet she would have like to have seen that in a review too. I wonder if its missing from reviews because bulbs dont really 'go' during the time reviewers are considering the car, so it just doesnt crop up.

Yes, LEDs do slowly degrade, especially if they run hot. They need fans to keep them at a reasonable temperature, which in the environment of an engine bay is a crap idea in my opinion. In all probability they will quickly get clogged up with dust and dirt and the LEDs will overheat and fail.

As to motoring journalists, they are great at telling you fatheaded things like the controls all being at hand, or that their is an air of well-bred luxury or how long it takes to get to 60 for some reason. (I've been at 60 many times; it's nothing special and I'm in no particular hurry to get there again at speed)

What most motorists want to know is how long the tyres last, and how much they are, an honest mileage figure, how easy bulbs are to change, and how much a remote key fob is going to rush you if you lose one etc. These often come up with embarrassingly high charges so are omitted in case it offends the manufacturers who will refuse them the cars and jollies they love so much. None of these petrol heads are worth reading in my estimation.

It all depends on the car. Take the Peugeot 107 for instance. The engine bay is so tiny you have to take out the battery to change the nearside headlight, a good 20 minutes of messing.

Its no wonder are manufacturing base has almost gone. Lots of people search the internet to buy cheap imports and then cry and shout when more and more people are made redundant as are factories close down.

Good point, Jim. We all want cheap prices, but there are consequences.

I've had to replace the running lights on my Astra a number of times , they are located in a tricky spot, which my fat fingers can't seem to cope with. Hence I go to Halfords and see it as money well spent.

I've got a Honda Jazz and you have to remove a panel under the front wing to get at the headlight bulb so I would consider £7 to be a bargain price to change a bulb.

I needed to have both front main headlight bulbs renewed yesterday .Mainly because i did not how / hubby working till the weekend ,and his hands are too big for the job .I watched the fella do and will do my-self next time .One of my 'PET Hates' seeing Cycolps all over the place ,be my luck to get 'pulled' so payed the fitting price .As already said a very effcient job in 'minutes' .