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How to Avoid Auto Repair Scams
Scam 1 – Adding Unnecessary Expenses to
the Bill
First let me start off by
saying that NOT all mechanics
or auto repair shops are crooks out to get you. Mechanics for the most
part are just trying to make a living like you and me---and I am an auto repair shop
owner. Granted, I will be the first to agree that some mechanics and
repair shop owners are poor business people, and some of the mistakes they
make are due to this fact. If
they were good business people, they would probably not be in this
business in the first place. Most mechanics just like to work on
cars--running an honest and profitable repair shop is usually not on their
priority list…they just want to work on cars.
Running an auto repair shop is like most other businesses, it is
hard work! We have tons of workman compensation and OSHA laws to conform
to, lots of expenses in keeping our equipment and our personnel updated,
and high insurance and related overhead costs.
Let’s take a quick look
at another industry. My wife
is expecting our second child soon, and she had some routine blood work
done last month. The lab
billed our insurance company $422, but our insurance company
“negotiated” the price down to $67.
My question is…without our insurance in place, would we have been
“over charged” for this test? To
me this is an absurd way to run a business.
Charge an exorbitant amount and then negotiate down to a more
realistic number.
Think of the time and resources wasted by both parties
involved in the “negotiating” process.
It seems to me that charging a fair price for the test in the first
place would have saved everyone a lot of hassle, time, and money.
Why did I tell this story? I
find that mechanics and auto repair shops work on this same principle.
Start high and see how much you can get away with.
Most repair shops pay
their mechanics and service writer staff (the person who takes your repair
order) on a commission basis. A
common commission base for a mechanic is 40% of the labor rate charged by
the shop. So if you are
charged $100 in labor charges for a certain job, the mechanic would get
$40. Service writers are
usually paid or partially compensated on a commission base incentive plan
as well. So the scenario I describe below is what usually happens at most
new car dealerships and at most large repair shops.
You take your car in for
repair and talk with the service writer who takes your order.
Let’s say you think your car needs a brake job.
You ask them to inspect the brakes for wear and to call you with an
estimate. The service writer
has a few mechanics that he favors working with, and will assign your
vehicle to one of them to check it out.
The mechanic inspects the car and informs the service writer of the
repairs needed on the vehicle.
The service writer will
call you and tell you what they found wrong with your car. In most cases the service writer never even drives the
car….or in some cases will never even go out in the service area and
inspect the car personally. His
phone call to you might start off with, ”My technician says your car
needs….” I think most service writers are down right lazy!
The service writer
informs you that your car does indeed need new brakes, but while the
technician was doing his inspection he noticed a few other items that you
should be aware of. These can
be perfectly legitimate sales items that really need to be repaired, or
they can be like the blood test story I talked about above.
You will usually get a huge list of things that need repairing, and
they hope you will at least buy one of their other recommendations in
addition to the brake work you took it in for in the first place.
The idea is to get you
focused on how much work your car “needs” and to feel somewhat
responsible for the negligence of regular maintenance.
The brake job will usually take a back seat to all the other work
that they say you really need, and this additional work should be
done now.
The mechanic and the
service writer are getting a commission for any additional work they can
muster up, so it is to their benefit to be as thorough as they can in
their inspections. Sometimes
these inspections can be a little too thorough though, and something that
might be slightly worn, but still in good condition, can be added to the
repair/replace list.
So what can you do to
protect yourself against unnecessary repairs?
Ask the service writer if he or she personally inspected the
vehicle and has seen these recommended repair items first hand.
As politely as possible, let the service writer know that you will
hold him or her to their word and will be looking to them for an
explanation if you choose to take the car somewhere else for a second
opinion. If he or she is held
responsible for the decisions they make regarding your car’s
“needed” repairs, the service writer might be more inclined to look
after your and your car’s best interest.
I would also ask the
service writer to prioritize the needed repairs for you, and ask him
straight up, “What would you do if it was your car, and you were in my
shoes?” Honesty is
still the best policy, and putting someone on the spot is a great way to
test one’s honesty level.
Most service writers will
get a salary bonus for their good customer relations and customer survey
reports. The dealership will
follow up with a customer and ask how the service and the service writer
lived up to their expectations. If the service writer knows you are
holding him or her personally responsible for inspecting and overseeing
the mechanic’s recommended repairs, he probably also knows you
definitely will grade him according to his actions.
It is probably more beneficial to him to keep you a happy customer,
keep you coming back for more service, and to have you personally seeking
him out at the service counter than it is to get you to agree to a repair
his technician might have prematurely recommended.
You
can read more about protecting yourself from auto mechanics
Blessings,
Austin C. Davis
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