How to avoid a nasty surprise on your vehicle repair bill
Almost every car owner has some type of dealership or repair shop horror story they love to tell but hate to remember. Can you avoid these nightmares? It takes patience, but a little insider knowledge might help smooth the way.
James takes his six-month-old SUV into his selling dealership for a check-engine light issue. He checks in with the service consultant, signs a repair order and grabs the dealer shuttle to work.
He gets a call later in the day to let him know the vehicle is ready and that his invoice total is $126.95.
“But it’s a brand new vehicle,” he stammers, trying to hold his temper. “Why am I being charged for the repair?” His service adviser explains that the tech traced the check-engine light code to a wire that had been chewed through by some type of rodent, and as the repair was a very minor part of the time spent in diagnosing and locating the break, the tech went ahead and fixed the problem.
Or consider the plight of Susan, who takes in her eight-month-old compact (with less than 18,000 km on it) into the dealership with a complaint of a loud grinding noise when she applies the brakes.
“They shouldn’t be worn out already,” she comments to the counter staff as she drops off the vehicle.
She, too, gets the dreaded “it’s ready” call with a bill of $84.22. Apparently the tech found some stones lodged in between the brake pad and rotor, and as the repair was simply a matter of popping out a few pieces of gravel, it was completed.
In these two examples, our customers might have avoided trouble by making it clear they were to be contacted before any retail charges were incurred.
While all provinces and territories in Canada have consumer legislation that spells out what repair shops can charge for and what they can’t; these examples are in a grey area. Yes, consumers need to authorize repairs before work starts (even in the cases of warranty repairs where manufacturers are picking up the tab), but a signature on a repair order gives shops approval to examine and diagnose, and often these services entail a technician’s time and repair fees.
Many dealership service departments will tread a diplomatic line in cases like these in the interest of keeping good customer relations. A good practice for consumers is to be available by phone or text when they drop off their car for service.
John stormed up to his service department counter and slammed down the keys and said with a snarl, “That damn check-engine light is on again and this is the third time I’ve been in for it this month and I’ve already paid over $700!”
Repeat repairs probably top the list of auto repair grievances. In cases like this, it pays to take a few deep breaths and have a chat with the service manager about how to proceed. If the same symptoms come back immediately after the repair, and you were sold parts you didn’t need, you have a right to question whether or not the tech diagnosed things correctly.
Most shop managers will offer to recheck the vehicle at no charge in cases like this and then propose a reasonable solution.
If you can’t get calls to the manager returned, document your efforts and then try contacting the store owner. If this fails, your next step is to contact the manufacturer’s consumer hotline.
Keep in mind dealerships are independent franchises and the automaker has a limited amount of power to move things forward.