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Hello.
I have a 2001 VW polo; the temperature of the car suddenly went very high while I was driving last Wednesday. The mechanic towed my car away and tried to find out the problem.
On Friday, I was told that the thermostat needs to be replaced, and nothing wrong with other parts. They also said that they had to order the thermostat from Volkswagen supplier directly andthe thermostat cost them over $600, and total cost for the whole service and part is $800 (excluding towing charges).
After that, I found out that the retail price for thermostat is $44.50 (including GST), and I think they have over charged me too much. Can you please advise how much it would normally charge for my case, including the labour put in (eg. finding the problems, fixing the car) and material put in (eg. Thermostat part and adding the coolant).
Many Thanks.

Christie

The thermostat itself on this model generally doesn't give trouble, but the plastic housing that the thermostat sits inside can cause problems. As the thermostat is tensioned against the housing, generally speaking the whole housing complete with thermostat needs to be replaced, so it's unlikely that the $44.50 theromstat would have fixed the problem.
However, sources we have spoken to tell us that the housing is available from Volkswagen specialists for considerably less than $600 (generally, no more than about $200).
The labour content, including coolant etc could be as much as $200 as a maximum, so the amount you have been charged to do the job sounds about right.
It is possible that a main Volkswagen dealer would charge more for the thermostat and housing, so if the part came from an authorised Volkswagen dealer, perhaps that explains the high cost.

Thanks very much for your advise.