Mechanics,
Money, and More...
by Austin Davis of TrustMyMechanic.com
Reader
Question:
I am on a tight budget, should I tell my mechanic how
much I can afford to spend?
Dear
concerned car owner,
Do
you like to take your car in for repairs? Do you ever
feel like you were cheated or taken advantage of by
the shop or their mechanics? Do you know it could be
what you are saying to the repair shop that could be
costing you more? Most auto repair shops are run by
honest hard-working people but in some circumstances
you may bring out the dark side at some shops.
For
instance, never tell the shop how much you are willing
to spend without first getting an explanation of what
you are going to have done. When you give the shop a
“spending limit” they may have a tendency
to do as little as possible but will manage to spend
up to your limit. For example, a woman came into my
shop and told me she had $500 to spend. She did not
start off her conversation with "hello", or
"can you fix my car", all she said was how
much money she wanted to give me.
Now
granted, it is nice to have people come into the shop
and actually like to pay their bills, but this lady
gave me a spending limit before she told me what she
wanted to have fixed. She thought she had transmission
trouble and assumed that it would cost her a fortune
to repair. While on a test drive with her I concluded
that the problem was not transmission-related, but that
the car probably needed a tune up or something along
those lines.
But
wait, this person wanted to give me $500! If I was not
an honest shop owner, I would have remained quiet on
the test drive and taken the money that she was willing
to pay. Let's say that I told this customer that I could
fix her car because I am a nice guy and since she only
had $500 to spend I would try to help her out as much
as I could. In reality, the actual repairs needed would
have only cost $200.
Because
this customer thought she had expensive transmission
trouble, she would probably be happy with a bill for
$350 and she will also think the shop did her a favor.
Her first mistake was to diagnose the problem herself.
I wonder if she goes to her dentist and tells her which
tooth to pull or if she thinks it is time for another
root canal? You take your car to the repair shop to
have someone else diagnose and repair your car; so let
them do their job. Her second mistake was to tell the
shop how much she was willing to spend.
Most
of the mechanics and service writers that I know of
work on commission, and in the example above, an additional
$150 would sure be a nice tip. I see this happen all
the time and it is so easy to prevent. Sometimes it
is better to simply describe the symptoms to the service
writer, remain quiet about your budget dollars and let
the shop diagnose the problem with your car and how
much it will cost to repair.
If
the problem you are having with your car will require
a test drive for the mechanic or service writer to hear
make sure you ride in the car with them at the time
you drop off your car for repairs. If they can't hear
it or feel it they can't fix it, and you will probably
just get frustrated and discouraged by them not being
able to repair the problem you want them to fix. Have
you been over-paying your mechanic?
Sincerely,
Austin
C Davis
