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Hey guys and gals,
Recently my check engine light came on, I'd been driving it like that for a few weeks now. I work accross the street from an auto place. I figured I'd let them check it out and give me an honest run down of the problem. I called last week and made an appointment to bring it in while I was at work. Dropped the car off this morning and about 2:00 they call and leave me a message stating I need to call back and speak with so and so.
I call back and he explains it's 2 knock sensors and it's honestly not that bad, he said just keep driving it the way that it is. I said I appreciate your honesty and said I'd be by at 3:15 (my lunch) he said ok and that will be 50 dollars plus sales tax. I just said ok see you at 315. I headed back to work as it wasn't 315. Then I got to thinking aren't they supposed to let you know they charge for estimates up front? To top it off I walked there on my lunch break to pay and get my car and the head mechanic took off to get some parts and had my car key in his pocket . So now I still didn't have a car and now have no lunch because I figured I'd have it by 315 if I dropped it off at 8. So I go back to work after I pay the 50 some odd dollars and said I'd be back at 6. I picked the car up at 6 and that was the end of story.
Maybe I'm wrong about them having to tell you but it would seem like a courtesy say hey we do charge for estimates, for expample before I moved I used to go to a place that would write estimates and charge you, however if you brought it there for the work they would take the charged amount off the repair bill almost like a credit. They never offered me anything like that here. I'm in Wisconsin so I'm not sure who knows the laws for consumers and repair shops.
In this day and age with the cost of labor, overhead, and diagnostic equipment being so high I think it's unreasonable to expect repair shops to do free estimates. Yes it should be included in the cost of the repair, but in this case would you rather he tell you that the knock sensors need to be replaced for a total cost of $300 but no charge for the estimate?
They performed a diagnostic SERVICE....do you not find value in that?
Usually they wave/reduce the fee if you have them do the repair.
In some cases, figuring out the problem requires removal of items...often diagnostics are tougher than the actual repair.
Friend.a CEL will cause the car to FAIL its yearly emission test. You now will have to pay the mechanic that fixes it again to diagnose the CEL and fix the problems...............If you took your iphone in and someone did electronic troubleshooting you would pay for that so pay up and stop crying.
If you took your iphone in and someone did electronic troubleshooting you would pay for that so pay up and stop crying.
I was going to mention that if I feel bad and go to the doctor he charges me the same whether he tells me to just rest up and drink fluids or whether he actually does something to make me feel better.
hey Josh, while free estimates seem to be a thing of the past, i would have thought that it would have come up in conversation there by their advisor (and on the work slip filled out) what if any fee there would be for them to check the code.
I have heard some places state they will check codes for free, but those tend to be the national chain shops and probably not at what i assume was a local place.
Note unless things changed in the past few years since i left, at least in Dane county there were not any emissions tests required (seemed they were though in Milwaukee area).
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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You took it to them because they have the (expensive) equipment that you don't to diagnose a problem, and they all
charge for that, to recover the cost of the machine and the labor cost to them for the time it takes a trained person
to use it. I have found most here charge a minimum of $85 just to hook it up. In some cases it takes more time to narrow down the problem. Once they find it, nothing prevents you from going elsewhere or changing the part yourself, so they
would be nuts to do it free.
The repair shop charged you 50.00 + tax. Their is suppose to be no tax on labor (parts only). Or is their ? I know in ca their is no labor tax.
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. So now I still didn't have a car and now have no lunch because I figured I'd have it by 315 if I dropped it off at 8. So I go back to work after I pay the 50 some odd dollars and said I'd be back at 6. I picked the car up at 6 and that was the end of story. 
