By: Jeffrey Ross
Autotropolis.com
It goes without saying that one of the most frustrating events regarding a vehicle is experiencing the dreaded “car troubles.” From that annoying check engine light or weird new noise to being completely stranded on the side of the road, problems can come at a moment’s notice.
On the Autotropolis.com forums, one question we receive on a regular basis regards whether or not a certain price is fair to be charged for repair jobs. Nothing can magnify the frustration of car troubles than the obvious mistrust the general public has with most repair shops. Unfortunately, there are always bad apples that spoil the whole barrel but there are ways to help ensure that your experience with a repair shop is as stress free as possible.
Here are several suggestions that we put together to help make dealing with auto repair a little easier and ways to help keep your car out of the shop altogether.
1) Shop around. Any smart shopper wouldn’t go to just one store to make a large purchase, so why go to just one repair shop for an estimate. The best way to ensure that you are getting a fair deal is to call around to at least three different repair facilities to get an idea of an estimate. Sometimes this isn’t always possible because nobody wants to be making phone calls while sitting on the side of the road. Before any repairs are performed on a car, an estimate must be approved by the owner. To make the estimate clearer and easier to understand, ask that the bill be broken down into parts and labor (this makes calling around to compare other estimates much easier as parts vary greatly depending on the shop and the quality of parts it uses).
To fully understand a repair bill, people must understand how they’re being charged. Many people probably don’t understand how the billing at repair shops work and that has to be the main source of mistrust toward mechanics. The majority of repair shops, ranging from local independent stores to dealerships and nationwide chains, use a billing method called flat rate. The general perception of flat rate seems to be similar to telemarketing - many think it’s some sort of scam. In reality, flat rate is the easiest way to uniformly charge customers for repairs while keeping the shop and the mechanics happy. While this does make unethical practices easier, all good shops follow a specific repair procedure that is predetermined by an industry standard. If you disagree with what you’re being charged, the shop can show you in writing what that suggested repair pays (the most common labor guide is made by Chilton, the household name in repair manuals). The main variable in repair charges comes from the labor rate which changes based on the management’s preference, but in some circumstances can be negotiable. The hourly rate usually varies anywhere from $60-90 per hour.
2) No good deed goes unpunished. It should go without saying that if you treat somebody with respect, you have a better chance of getting treated better yourself. This is no different when taking your car in for repair. For drivers, having to take a car into the shop for repairs is not an ideal routine and can be frustrating. On the other side of the fence, the repair shop didn’t break the car and it is there to help get it back on the road.
3) Another frustrating part of auto repair is getting upsold services or other repairs. Very few vehicles on the road today are perfectly maintained with no need for other repairs. When a car is already in the shop, some people think they are being held over a barrel. In reality, you have the money and the power to decline repairs. Have the shop separate what will fix your main concern, other recommended repairs and finally the suggested maintenance services. Break a bill down like that and it’s easy to see what the shop thinks should be done now, what can wait and what is suggested maintenance.
4) As far as maintenance goes, the best way to keep cars on the road is to make sure they stay maintained. Fluid changes at factory recommended intervals and proper care of tires will help keep cars out of the shop and running smooth. Each manufacturer has its own suggested maintenance schedule that is laid out in the owner’s manual. The most important services include: oil changes, a coolant service (spring is usually the best time to do this), tire rotation and balance (rotate the tires every other oil change and balance the wheels every other tire rotation) and flushing the transmission fluid – each vehicle has a specific time/distance schedule.
5) This is just a personal rule of thumb, but a tire shop should stick to tire or suspension repairs and a brake shop should stick to brake repairs. The engine and transmission are the two most intricate inner workings of modern vehicles and represent the biggest replacement cost. In other words, this is not where price shopping is the best idea. Except for maybe CV axle replacement, major driveline repair should be left to shops that specialize in one make of car or at least an engine or transmission specialty shop to ensure proper repair the first time.