Three Tips To Avoid Getting Surprised By Huge Car Repair Bills
Posted on: 9 February 2016
Many motorists will agree that car repair costs have a tendency of being quite expensive. This may be true due for different issues like the cost of running a repair business, such as rental costs, business premises, and insurance costs. However, as a car owner, you also play a part in the cost of repairing your car. Dropping your car at the nearest mechanic shop can easily lead to a surprise when you return to pick up the car. Use these three tips to avoid such surprises:
Understand How the Charges Are Made
The first thing is to determine how the auto shops make their charges, since this may influence the final price you pay for a repair. For example, many shops charge by the hour; either for the actual hours worked or based on an estimate of how long it takes to fix the issue. Other shops have published rates for specific repairs. For example, they might have fixed rates for replacing spark plugs.
Use this knowledge to your advantage while looking for car repair quotes. Consider an example of two similar cars; one of them well maintained and the other one poorly maintained. If both of them have the same problem and are taken to a mechanic who charges by the actual time it takes to fix a car, the poorly maintained one may cost more to repair than the well maintained one. This is because it's difficult to work on a poorly maintained car; even the nuts and bolts will be difficult to remove, which means it will take longer to fix. If your car is not well maintained, opt for a fixed rate repair.
Understand How Diagnostics Are Charged
Some shops charge for all diagnostics, while others will not charge you to diagnose certain problems. Find out whether the shop will charge to diagnose your problem. For example, it may be costly to be charged for diagnostics if it turns out that other shops charge inexpensively for the repair. Remember, the second shop may also insist on running its own diagnostic.
Have the Shop Seek Your Approval for Major Works
While working on your car, the mechanic can unearth other problems other than what the car was brought in for. Therefore, ask the shop to seek your approval before undertaking on a major repair. For example, you can state that the shop has to seek for your approval for every work exceeding $500. That way you won't be surprised by a huge bill when you come to pick up your car. You can even halt/decline a repair if you think it's too costly, or it's not urgent at the moment.
Most repair shops do not treat their repair rates as trade secrets. They will gladly discuss and explain how they arrive at their prices (using different factors such as diagnostics, labor, and parts); you just have to take the initiative and ask them about it.
For more information, contact a company like Sterling Service Inc.
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