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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / January 2007Legitimate mechanic charges?
I took my '94 S10 to the mechanic to see how much it would cost to fix the horn, which didn't work at the time, and how much to replace the two front tires, which where worn out. He quoted me around $500 to fix the horn and put on a set of tires and $600 to do the same but with a slightly more expensive tire brand. The horn itself was to cost around $300 to fix, as he wanted to replace everything, which included both horns at $50 each dealer price. Nevertheless, I declined the offer but was still charged an $86 checkout time. Which basically means I paid $86 to get my truck back with no work performed other than checking out the horn and tire prices. Does this transaction seem fair? I live in Loudoun County, VA, which is a busy area but this still seems excessive. >I took my '94 S10 to the mechanic to see how much it would cost to fix the >horn, which didn't work at the time, and how much to replace the two front [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >Does this transaction seem fair? I live in Loudoun County, VA, which is a >busy area but this still seems excessive. Doesn't seem fair to me. Why? Because it is highly unlikely that you need to replace everything related to the horn for $300. Chances are good that only one thing, maybe two, is broken. He is charging you $86 to diagnose a problem but he didn't diagnose the problem.... he just gave you a price to replace everything he could think of. If he had actually diagnosed the problem and told you exactly what it needed then a diagnostic fee should apply. $86 seems kind of high to me for an independent mechanic but I am not familiar with your area of the country and costs there could be different than they are here in my little corner of the world. Steve B. > >I took my '94 S10 to the mechanic to see how much it would cost to fix the > >horn, which didn't work at the time, and how much to replace the two front [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Does this transaction seem fair? I live in Loudoun County, VA, which is a > >busy area but this still seems excessive. > Doesn't seem fair to me. > Why? Because it is highly unlikely that you need to replace > everything related to the horn for $300. Chances are good that only > one thing, maybe two, is broken. He is charging you $86 to diagnose a > problem but he didn't diagnose the problem.... he just gave you a > price to replace everything he could think of. > If he had actually diagnosed the problem and told you exactly what it > needed then a diagnostic fee should apply. $86 seems kind of high to > me for an independent mechanic but I am not familiar with your area of > the country and costs there could be different than they are here in > my little corner of the world. > Steve B. Or, the guy was telling you that he did not really want your business but for enough money he would fix it. >>I took my '94 S10 to the mechanic to see how much it would cost to fix the >>horn, which didn't work at the time, and how much to replace the two front [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Steve B. Loudoun County is now essentially part of the DC metropolitan area and $86 is probably an average hourly rate. nate  Signaturereplace "fly" with "com" to reply. http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel If you went for an estimate and he did no diagnostic work, then I think the charges are bogus. I think this mechanic is FOS to want to replace every item in the horn system, unless something really disastrous has happened. As another poster has mentioned, $86 is not totally out of reason for one hours work. > I took my '94 S10 to the mechanic to see how much it would cost to fix the > horn, which didn't work at the time, and how much to replace the two front [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Does this transaction seem fair? I live in Loudoun County, VA, which is a > busy area but this still seems excessive. It's difficult to tell what really needs to be fixed on your car without seeing it. I would suggest that you separate the repairs and have the tire work done at a one of the chain tire shops. You may want to then get another opinion on the horn from a dealer. It will have to be fixed before the nnext safety inspection though. It is common for shops to charge for estimating repairs if they don't actually do the work. That price is not out of line although it's on the high side. Yup, the sleazebag mechanics are out to just plain make money, free estimates are only at 'good' repair shops. One hour labor isn't out of line for a diagnostic check, but you did not even get that. He also has the intent of just plain ripping you off with the quote for a shotgun horn repair. (shotgun repair = toss everything at it until it works because the brains to figure it out properly are missing) I would highly recommend you find another shop.... Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115147590 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page) > I took my '94 S10 to the mechanic to see how much it would cost to fix the > horn, which didn't work at the time, and how much to replace the two front [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Does this transaction seem fair? I live in Loudoun County, VA, which is a > busy area but this still seems excessive. |
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