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Archive for the ‘Repair Shop’ Category

Worrying whether or not you were overcharged for your car repair is an awful feeling. There’s tons of advice on how to avoid getting ripped-off, but few discuss the actual car repair prices. We really need to look at the charges on a car repair estimate or auto repair invoice to determine if we’re paying too much.

The focus needs to shift from giving outdated and ineffective advice to addressing the specific charges. Are they legitimate charges? Can they be justified by industry guidelines?

Now car repair estimates can be confusing. So let’s break it down to get a better idea if your auto repair shop is billing you appropriately.

First, a glossary of terms is in order, as the auto industry has a language of its own…

Aftermarket Parts: parts not made by or for the manufacturer.

MSRP: Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price

OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer. Manufacturer approved parts designed specifically for your vehicle.

TSBs: Technical Service Bulletins. Notes and instructions provided by the manufacturer for known and specific concerns (they are not recalls).

Flat Fees: services such as alignments that don’t get broken down into parts, tax, labor

Miscellaneous Charges: these can include, but are not limited to shop supplies – rags, chemicals, hazardous waste disposal fees, waste oil …etc.

Labor Rate: a repair center’s hourly charge to service your vehicle

Labor Time: the amount of time or hours determined that it will take to fix your vehicle

Labor Description: the step-by-step written details of repairs and/or services

Ok, let’s look at the Anatomy of an Auto Repair Estimate:

There are six basic components to a car repair estimate

1) Customer/Vehicle Information

2) Parts

3) Labor

4) Miscellaneous Charges

5) Flat Fees

6) Summary of Charges

Customer and Vehicle Information
Using a generic “top down” style estimate, the top portion simply contains your personal information and your vehicle’s specifics: year, make, model, mileage…etc, as well as your request or concern.

We also want find the shop’s labor rate. The labor rate is critical in determining if you paid too much. Most repair centers don’t list the labor rate. We’ll discuss why shortly.

Auto Parts
Parts are listed usually with a brief description, as well as the quantity, and the price. There are three types of parts: OEM (parts made by or for a manufacturer). These are the parts installed by a dealer, although many local shops use OEM parts too.

Aftermarket parts are non OEM parts, and there are various degrees of quality, depending on the brand and where they’re made – China versus USA, for example.

Then there are Used parts purchased from a salvage yard.

To determine if you paid too much for parts, first find out what type of parts are being used. With OEM parts, you don’t want to pay more than MSRP, although most people do without realizing it. Premium aftermarket parts are similarly priced across brands, although beware not to pay more than MSRP, which again, many folks do. Used parts prices are all over the place, so pick the price in the middle.

Auto Repair Labor

Labor is billed in tenths. So 1.0 equals 1 hour. 1.5 equals an hour and a half.
Labor rates range from $60 to $100 per hour at local repair shops and $80 to $140 per hour at the dealer level. Labor times are based off established industry guidelines, which are frequently abused.

If you don’t see the shop’s labor rate posted on the car repair invoice, ask your service center for the rate. Repair shops can manipulate the labor rate (among other things) with a labor matrix. Matrix pricing is a complicated and ethically questionable practice discussed at length in RepairTrust literature. What you need to know is that you can pay as high as $150 per hour rather than the posted labor rate of $105 per hour.

Thus, you’ll want to multiply the number of hours billed (which is also often not posted) by the shop’s labor rate to determine if you’ve been charged accordingly.

Most labor descriptions are poorly written and difficult to understand. So ask questions.

Here’s a “clear” labor description for a 30,000 mile service on a Toyota Camry.

Performed 30,000 mile service per customer request, and in accordance with manufacturer guidelines. Changed oil and filter, installed new air filter, cabin filter and performed all necessary tests, checks, and procedures, including road test (miles 30,123 – 30,125). Performed lubrication services and confirmed proper vehicle operation. Set tire pressures, and checked fluids, belts and hoses. Note: vehicle is pulling slightly left. Needs alignment

Miscellaneous Charges

The bulk of your car repair invoice will be parts and labor, but we can’t forget about Miscellaneous Charges. These charges can include, but are not limited to, shop supplies – rags, chemicals, hazardous waste, disposal fees, waste oil …etc. The latter of these may be billed out separately in a summary at the bottom of your repair invoice.

Very few of these “extras” are actually used during regular repairs. Miscellaneous charges are calculated off the amount of labor hours billed, not the amount of miscellaneous items used.

Flat Fees

Flat fees can be another very tricky area. Flat fees are services, such as an alignment, which don’t get broken down into parts, tax and labor. This makes it difficult to determine the real and fair price. On the plus side, most flat fees are competitively priced.

Be warned however, another term for Flat Fee is called Menu Selling. In other words, you might see Tune Up: $99.99 or Transmission Flush: $89.99. Follow your manufacturer’s recommendations only, not a dealer’s or repair shop’s menu.

For an interesting read on this topic, click
car maintenance costs

Summary of Charges

The last part of an auto repair estimate is the summary of charges. It’s usually found in the bottom right hand corner of the invoice. Check it against the charges above to ensure that it all adds up mathematically, as well as logically.

This basic estimate outline may differ from your particular invoice, which may have other categories such as “Sublet” or “HazMat.”

A sublet charge is added when your auto repair shop uses another vender to fix or repair your car, such as a glass company that replaces your windshield.

A HazMat charge may include waste oil or other disposal fees. Just make sure that the charges are warranted, as again, they too are often calculated off the labor time rather than actual need.

In sum, understanding the “actual” charges, asking the right questions, and breaking down your auto repair costs is the best way to avoid paying excessive car repair prices.

If your car is damaged, what you need is a good auto body repair shop to help you restore it to its original glory – without unnecessary expenditure. Good auto body repair shops will repair the car; paint the dents and other damaged portions of the car with properly matching paint. They will also repair the vehicle frame as well as the electrical and electronic system of the car.

Opting for auto body repair instead of a replacement of the damaged portion of the car, will not only help you save money, but will also help the environment in a positive manner. This is why; you should choose the best repair specialist in your area.

How will you choose the repair specialist?

Remember that the best way to come across an auto body repair shop that you like is by shopping around. You should check all the aspects of a number of repair shops in your area and then compare them and see which shop scores the most. Needless to say, the Internet is one of the best places to get started in your search.

Ask your friends, family and colleagues at work. Reference is a great way of determining which auto body repair you should choose. Even your two truck company or insurance agents are a good source for the reference. However, when someone tells you that they like a particular shop, make sure that you ask them why they like it.

You need to ask them various questions about the repair shop that they are referring, before you can choose the shop. If your friend says that she likes it because they gave her a waver in her Insurance Deductible, it will be a much weaker reason to choose the shop than if she says that she really loved the work of the shop and her car works great after the repair job.

You should also check out the car of the person who is referring you the particular auto repair shop. This will help you to get an idea about the kind of work that they do.

You should also check the background of the auto body repair shop and see how long they have been in this business. The age of the company will help you to understand its quality – after all, a company can stay in business only if they are doing good work. Check if the shop is locally owned and if it has any connection with the local community.

Sometimes your insurance company may have an agreement with some of the local auto body repair shops. This Direct Repair Program will help you make a good decision about the shop. However, make sure that you check the credentials and the work of the shop, before you entrust them with your car.

Sometimes, you can recognize quality service just by interacting with the company. Call the local auto body repair shop and see how they behave – were they welcoming and friendly? Do they have a clean and attractive office? The very “feel” of the local auto body repair shop may help you to make your decision.

Some of the best auto body repair shops like Collision Shop Phoenix will also provide you extra services like free pick up and delivery, 24 hour towing and of course, free estimates. Always take your time while choosing an auto body repair shop – because the repair is not only about making your car look good, but also about your safety.

Computer Diagnostics

Any computer repair shop or technician worth your time should always perform a diagnostic of your computer regardless of how obvious the problem may seem. If you get someone who wants to start taking parts out and putting new ones in or wants to just wipe out your computer, run the other way fast.

Why so many Questions?

When you first call a computer repair shop, you might feel as though you’re being interrogated for a crime. A bright light shining on your face and a couple of tough guys standing in front of you promising to “get the truth outta ya”.

What’s really happening is the technician is trying to gather as much information as possible to have a better understanding of what might causing your problems. Some are better than others at putting you at ease during this important process. But in the long run it the best way to get an overview of what might be happening.

Here’s a brief list of what you might expect to be asked when calling…

Do you have a desktop or laptop? What brand is your computer and how long have you had it What’s the model number? You may find this around the LCD screen on the laptop or on sticker on the bottom. On Desktops this mat be on the front or back of the PC) What is the service tag number? This is mostly on Dell computers. Other use s/n or p/n numbers) What changed since the last time your PC was working? Any thing added or taken away, updates, different users, storms, power outages, etc) What error did your computer display? Write this down if possible. It’s a good resource to find out if others have had the same problem and what was done to correct it. How long has your computer been doing this? What are you doing when this problem occurs? This is not to say you are doing something wrong, but more of a way to find out if different applications or hardware are causing a problem. Does it happen the same time each day or after the same amount of time you been using the PC? Time can play a vital role in diagnostics of computers.

Do I really need a diagnostics?

The short answer is YES. Even if you looking at cracked screen on your laptop it has to be checked out before parts are order for it. An that goes back to some of the questions from above. How did the screen crack? If you dropped it, then you may have other issues that may need to be looked at besides the screen.

Also, getting the correct numbers off your computer are important when ordering replacement parts. Sometimes a computer has to be opened to get the actual part number. And in some cases it may just be a loose connection that can be fixed on the spot which is a BIG money saver.

In-Shop or On-Site?

Generally speaking it’s more convenient to have a computer technician come to your location, but this can usually costs more than bringing your computer to the shop. Most on-site problems require at least two trips if they’re hardware related because parts need to be ordered.

If you problem is software based, it may just take a couple of hours depending on the problem. Software issues can be a little tricky sometimes because so many different things come into play that could be causing your computer problems.

What about the price?

Price, such a simple word, but it seems to make both computer service provider and the customer feel like they’re back in their middle school trying to work up enough nerve to talk to their secret crush.

Afterall, most people don’t know what a fair price is for computer service, so you tend to fall back into retail shopping mode and look for the lowest price. I’m not suggesting you don’t do your homework before committing to computer service, but as you always been told, you get what you pay for.

Most computer repair shops from charge $70-$100 per hour for in-shop service and $100-$300 for on-site work (This varies indifferent areas of the country). This doesn’t include parts. Some charge a flat fee for their service, but in either case make sure you know in advance what you might expect to pay to get your system up and running.

Diagnostic charges vary widely and you should be prepared to pay at least that amount even if you don’t follow through with the repair. Some computer repair shops may even roll the diagnostic fee into your final bill saving more money.

And finally, make sure whoever you decide to use is a certified computer repair professional. The most common is CompTia A+ certification which is sort of a basic credential. Other computer technicians may hold certifications from Microsoft and other certifying agencies. Computer credentials and actual computer repair working experience is your best combination, so take that into account when considering price.

Have you ever seen a person get suckered into paying more than they should have for an imaginary auto repair? Well, it happened to me. I won’t use the name of the place here. All I’m going to say is that I was taking my vehicle in for a standard oil change and left this particular place about $1,000 later. I had been led to believe that there was more wrong with my car than there really was. Truth be told, my car was brand new and there was nothing wrong with it. Shame on me, I guess- but shame on those people for trying (and successfully) fooling another customer.

It is not unusual for car owners to end up paying a lot of money to have repairs made on their vehicles. Cars require a lot of maintenance and if this maintenance is overlooked the resulting repairs can be an extreme drain on finances. While many expensive car charges are perfectly legitimate and expected there are a few auto mechanics that will attempt to take advantage of the fact that many consumers expect to spend a lot of money on car repairs. Each year car owners are over charged thousands of dollars for vehicle repairs. In order to avoid being taken advantage of there are a few tricks that consumers must be aware of.

Be wary of “specials” on oil changes, tune-ups, and other regular maintenance services. Many unscrupulous auto repair shops will use these advertised prices to attract new customers looking for a deal. Once the customer shows up to the shop the mechanic will try to separate the car owner from their vehicle and then later tell the car owner that there are many things wrong with the vehicle in order to charge more for repairs. Usually, when a scam is under way the auto repair shop will attempt to frighten the car owner into having the repairs done immediately by claiming that they will face dire consequences if they attempt to leave before having the repairs made. Don’t fall for this trap, however. If you are inexperienced when it comes to your knowledge of vehicles, don’t allow someone else to take advantage. Bring someone with you who knows a thing or two about cars, this way they catch the employee in a lie and/or give you advice. If you can’t bring someone, have your phone handy and simply tell the employee that you don’t feel comfortable with making a decision until you speak to someone more knowledgeable about car repairs.

Another way to spot repair fraud in the making is auto repair shops being unwilling to put estimates in writing. Most legitimate auto mechanics have no problem with providing written estimates prior to beginning the work. On the other hand, repair shops that are hoping to use fraud to get more money out of customer than necessary will only provide a verbal quote. This will allow the auto mechanic to complete any work they wish (or charge for parts and work not completed) without the customers consent. When this happens most customers have no choice but to pay for the repairs they did not want.

Are you opening a computer repair shop, but aren’t sure exactly what you’re getting yourself into?

Many technology professionals that decide to start a new business don’t know what to expect and don’t plan their company’s model or build real relationships. Thus, they end up without an organized business plan or a strategic method for finding high-quality, long-term clients and partners. And as you can probably imagine, going into any business venture blindly is a recipe for failure.

The following 7 best practices for opening a computer repair shop can help you understand what to expect as you start your business so you can build relationships with crucial clients, partners and subcontractors.
Small Business Clients Expect Your Firm to Be Knowledgeable. When you are opening a computer repair shop, your clients will often unrealistically expect you to be knowledgeable on every conceivable technology problem under the sun. To deliver on this want and need, focus on providing the complete solution to your clients. This way you can build long-term relationships that produce predictable recurring revenue, great reference accounts and ideal clients that are not as price sensitive as others looking for just a one-time purchase. To fill in gaps in your skills, you’ll want to build-up your team with non-competing technology provider partners and subcontractors. (More on that in a moment …) When You Partner, You Retain Account Control and Appear Bigger Than You Really Are. When you partner with other technology providers as you are opening a computer repair shop, you give yourself access to varied skill sets and are able to pool resources. Thus, your firm will appear to have many specialties, as well as a deep ability to solve big IT business problems and engage in major projects. Partnering with Technology Professionals Helps You Manage Clients’ Needs that Are Beyond Your Immediate Reach. You will help yourself succeed at opening a computer repair shop when you partner with non-competing technology providers in your area that fill in your skills gaps. For example, your potential partner might be intimately familiar with a specific client/server or industry-specific software application. Regardless of your specialty, look to find professionals that can help you manage major IT projects and better fulfill your clients’ needs, while you still remain each client’s main contact and project manager. Find Partners You Can Comfortably Work With and Trust. Make sure you consult an attorney as you are building relationships with potential partners. But remember that even the most thorough attorney can’t possibly cover every single contingency and scenario in an official partnership agreement. Gut feel and trust are important elements as you are opening a computer repair shop and building relationships with partners. Many that own repair shops like to start partnerships with smaller projects and gradually progress to larger projects. Find a Hook. To stand out from the crowd, look to find a hook, or something special that differentiates you from the pack. You need to also know the hooks of your partners so you can go to clients with a full set of real skills and not just a load of marketing hype. Understanding these hooks will also help you know which partnerships are long-term viable and which potential partners are your direct competitors. As an additional tip, you can print up a second set of business cards geared towards potential partners, with your hook clearly described. Understand the Difference Between Subcontractors and Partners. When you work with partners, you can potentially spend a lot of time trying to reach a common ground on whose billing and administrative procedures you will adopt. But with a master contractor/subcontractor relationship, you will handle most, if not all administrative and management tasks. This can be beneficial, because it saves time and lets you call all the shots. Be Sure to Set Up Mutually-Beneficial Relationships. No matter what, as you are opening a computer repair shop, and throughout the life of your business, you need to set up relationships with clients, partners and subcontractors that are mutually beneficial. Set up relationships with long-term interests in mind. For clients, this means providing ample benefits that make them hesitant to switch computer repair professionals because of the huge potential for disruption and loss of continuity. For subcontractors and partners, this means showing them that working with them for just a single, one-time client project is too expensive for both of you when you figure in the screening, hiring and managing duties.

In this brief article we discussed 7 best business practices. Learn more about how you can attract great, steady, high-paying clients now at http://www.OpeningAComputerRepairShop.com

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I recently visited Okinawa, Japan and found the people there are very friendly and kind. One problem, however, is that most of them do not speak English. On my first morning there, I spent the entire time looking for a person who could tell me in English where I could find a bank. I needed to exchange my U.S. dollars for Japanese yen.

In the neighborhood where I was staying I visited a grocery store, walked the streets, and finally found a small police station outside Kadena Air Base. They did not understand English, but they had a map. I said I was looking for a bank and they said “ginkou.” I thought they said “banko.” So I said “yes, yes!” They did direct me to a bank thankfully.

Now if it is that hard to discuss the location of a bank, imagine how difficult it is for a U.S. serviceman or woman to talk to an automotive mechanic about repairing their vehicle. Fortunately, I know of 2 American mechanics that are retired military who live and work in Okinawa near the Kadena Air Base. I saw firsthand the relief on the faces of customers who came in to drop off or pick up their cars.

Bill Siekert is the owner and head mechanic at B&M Okinawa. Bill explained that some of the automotive services provided on bases nearby are priced a little high because they are run under contract and frankly, they have a bit of a monopoly.

In Okinawa, some auto parts can be a difficult to find. Bill grinned as he said, “One way we have been able to help our customers is to go to the local junk yards in the area and find the parts we need.” It pays to have local connections. Bill speaks Japanese and has connections with local auto body specialists. Bill can arrange for any kind of automotive work that needs to be done.

If you are stationed in Okinawa, Japan you can contact Bill Siekert about his auto repair services or you can use this map with directions to his automotive repair shop.