Dealership problem solving, is this good customer service or a shameless rip off?

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by cram_it_frog

ebv8 you have a good point there especially when local sparky wanted $100 just to plug his machines into the cars computer

We charge $65 for a check with the scan tool, its a piece of equipment worth in the $4-$7000 range for the usual stuff and we've got 3 of them which are different types.

The better ones are up to $13,000+ such as Snap-on's Verus.

This is why you get charged when a shop uses one on your car.

[chookaradley]

Mechanics getting paid peanuts, and getting bonuses to upsell is a recipe for disaster. Brakes that are 50% worn are worn out. Proud to say as a mechanic for a major motoring organisation I've never had to work on commission. Whether your car costs $2000 or $2 to fix I get paid the same.

[xisled]

Originally Posted by Phildo

So discuss it with the customer.

Give him/her the choice.

Make notes on the computer record during the conversation.

On the invoice: "Customer was advised that replacing the starter motor was the recommended option but customer elected to retain existing starter motor for now."

That creates documentation that the customer was given the option. If the starter motor then dies two days later then the workshop is clear of liability.

Even if you tell people and have it documented you will still be liable as you have repaired the car and given the warranty.

Telling customers what may happen in the future does not mean you are exempt from the warranty.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by ebv8

its better value for the mechanic to replace parts than spend hours looking for a fault, a 5c part might take 3 hours to find then they have to justify 3 hours of time, why not replace 4 parts and 1 hour of time?? less time spent and more money made from markup of spare parts
i just do everything myself, if i replace a part and there is still a fault, i just tell myself well at least there are more new parts in my car.
however i still have an airbag fault in my commodore so one by one i'm replacing parts as its cheaper than getting holden to scan it to find the fault

I just picked up a bike and the seller said he was told his new Kia has to be serviced every 5,000km even though the book says 10,000km...hungry dealer if you ask me

Very well if you are doing it your self & you want to waste money on parts second guessing what the fault is but an experienced mechanic should know where to look in the right place & diagnose correctly & fix, granted at times some faults can be a bastard to diagnose but this would be rarity.

A business which just replaces parts in the hope of fixing problems & charges excessively is one I would avoid.