What You Should Know About the Prices of Car Repair
If you were handed an estimation to replace a water pump on your automobile, would you know if the price was fair? Could you trust the price? What 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 parts like these that are commonly used to over charge you, the vehicle fix customer.
We no longer live in a time of trust, so how do we guarantee that our car repair costs are legitimate.
How many times have you had a suspicion that you paid too much, but could not prove it? How many times did the price appear exorbitant for even easy repairs?
To illustrate just how “At Risk” the common-or-garden automobile repair consumer is to OTT auto repair prices, here’s a is a current real life example from a “reputable?” dealer.
A client brought her Audi to an authorized Audi dealership for a standard timing belt maintenance 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 woman left the dealer with a bill for $2025.68.
What happened?
According to the repair order, there were no aberrant circumstances, no problems noted by the technician such as rust or any other extenuating circumstances that would have maybe increased the labor, or added further parts.
In short, it definitely was a straight forward service, but the bill was $450.68 higher than it should have been. There’s simply no legitimate reason to have “that much” discrepancy.
How’d they get away with it?
The answer is very simple, and it’s a point that I don’t want any one to miss:
They get away with it because they can!
Think about it. The average person doesn’t 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 investigation of this lady’s correct order, it was discovered that she was charged a full four hours “more” than the standard labor time. At $100 an hour, this added an additional $400. The remaining $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 lady failed to know. She just paid the bill and left.
How many times do folks just settle up and leave? Pretty much that’s all one can do given that there is no accessible information for the vehicle fix buyer to adequately query a repair bill. Additionally , few even know what inquiries to ask!
The car repair industry has been over-charging for decades-sometimes subtly, sometimes boldly, definitely frequently. The evidence for this is overwhelming; yet, there are no straightforward solutions available for the auto fix customer.
Government agencies can’t help. The Better Business Bureau cannot do anything. Even supposed “car fix professionals or advocates” lack the knowledge of the breadth and insidiousness of the automobile fix business at all its levels.
A dealership operates differently than an independent repair shop, and a franchise, like Midas, is fully unique. Who really knows what goes on in the underground of such a various and complex industry?
The Solution?
First and foremost, vehicle fix consumers need access to information on car repair prices. Without this, they’ve got nothing tangible in which to figure out fair charges. They also need to be ready to navigate the maze of parts and work charges for car 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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