What You Should Know About the Prices of Car Repair
Where Do You Live?
If you were handed an estimate to replace a water pump on your auto, would you know if the price was fair? Could you trust the price? How about for a tie rod end, mass air flow sensor, or an evaporative emissions sensor?
Most of us do not know what these are, ignore the cost. Yet it is components such as these that are commonly used to over charge you, the car repair customer.
We no longer live in a period of trust, so how can we make sure that our automobile repair costs are legitimate.
How many times have you suspected that you paid too much, but couldn’t prove it? How often did the price appear exorbitant for even straightforward repairs?
To illustrate just how “At Risk” the common-or-garden car repair consumer is to excessive car repair costs, here is a is a current real life example from a “reputable?” dealer.
A client brought her Audi to a sanctioned Audi dealership for the standard timing belt upkeep service.
The price for this service averages $1575 at the dealership level, ( including pulleys, water pumpetc ) and about $1275 at the independent repair shop level.
Yet the girl left the dealer with a bill for $2025.68.
What happened?
According to the fix order, there were no aberrant circumstances, no issues spotted by the technician such as rust or any other extenuating circumstances that would have maybe increased the labor, or added additional parts.
In short, it seemed to be a straight forward service, but the bill was $450.68 higher than it should have been. There’s simply no bonafide reason to have “that much” discrepancy.
How’d they get away with it?
The answer is very simple, and it is a point that I don’t want anyone to miss:
They get away with it because they can!
Think about it. The average person does not know how much auto parts cost. And who knows how much labor time a repair should take? To what sources does one turn to find out this information? Who even has the time to investigate!
Upon examination of this lady’s correct order, it was found that she was charged a full 4 hours “more” than the standard work time. At $100 per hour, this added an extra $400. The leftover $50.68 came from the parts, which were billed higher than MSRP.
She was quoted $2,025 for a correct that tops out at $1575. The woman didn’t know. She just paid the bill and left.
How many times do people just settle up and leave? Pretty much that’s all one can do given that there is no accessible information for the auto fix shopper to adequately query a repair bill. Additionally , few even know what questions to ask!
The car repair industry has been over-charging for decades-sometimes subtly, sometimes confidently, definitely frequently. The proof for this is overwhelming; yet, there are no easy solutions available for the car repair customer.
Government agencies can’t help. The Better Business Bureau can’t do anything. Even supposed “car repair experts or advocates” lack the experience of the breadth and insidiousness of the car repair business at all its levels.
A dealership operates differently than an independent repair shop, and a franchise, like Midas, is totally unique. Who really knows what goes on in the underground of such a diverse and complex industry?
The Solution?
First and foremost, vehicle fix consumers need access to information on auto fix costs. Without this, they’ve got nothing tangible in which to figure out fair charges. They also have to be ready to navigate the maze of parts and labor charges for automobile repairs and maintenance.
Like the rest, information is the key to ensure fair treatment. Without it, the auto correct buyer will continue to “swim with the sharks” without any protection.
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