Have you ever taken your vehicle in for repairs and the auto repair shop could not fix the problem? And now the mechanic expects you to pay for his time spent on your car. This could be one of those rip off scams revealed and you don’t even know it. Many not all auto mechanics will spend a few minutes on your vehicle and say he spent 2.5 hours working on it. As a matter in fact I saw one auto technician take a customers car to lunch and returned with no clue what was wrong with the vehicle. Another example was a auto repair shop manager sprayed some degreaser on the timing chain cover and told the customer he replaced the timing belt which amounted to over $300. One more example is a car came in with a sensor unplugged and the mechanic just plugged it back in and the car was fixed after charging the customer for a new sensor, labor to install, and unnecessary shop supplies that were never used.
So the question still remains should you pay for a diagnostic charge if the problem isn’t fixed? Another example is a car came in with an alternator not plugged in. The auto repair shop owner instructed the tech. to pull the alternator off and repaint it in the back parts room. Once it was dry it was installed back onto the vehicle and charged the customer over $400. There are so many rip off scams out there it is unbelievable. Paying for a diagnostic charge where the repair shop could not fix the problem really have you in his pocket because until you pay him he does not have to turn over your keys to you.
The only defense that you have is to stand there all day and see how much time the mechanic actually spends working on your car. But who has time for that? Price and labor mark up is getting out of hand. You get charged twice the amount for the same part as if you walked in and paid for it yourself. Then if the labor guide calls for 2.0 hours to install the part the mechanic will try and get away with charging you 3.5 hours. If you can ask the auto repair shop manager if you can see the book time you are being charged. Chances are he will not let you in the shop due to insurance purposes. As I said many times before go to QwikTalk and ask the guys there if you are getting scammed on a car diagnostics.
Keywords: auto repair scams, cars and trucks, diagnostic charges, QwikTalk
