If you were handed an estimate to replace a water pump on your automobile, would you know if the price was fair? Could you trust the price? How about for a tie rod end, mass air flow sensor, or an evaporative emissions sensor?

Most of us have no idea what these are, don’t worry about the price. Yet it is parts like these that are commonly used to over charge you, the vehicle correct customer.

We no longer live in a time of trust, so how will we make sure that our car repair costs are legitimate.

How many times have you had a suspicion that you paid too much, but couldn’t prove it? How many times did the price seem exorbitant for even simple repairs?

To illustrate just how “At Risk” the common-or-garden car repair consumer is to OTT auto repair prices, here’s a recent real life example from a “reputable?” dealer.

A client brought her Audi to an authorized Audi dealership for a standard timing belt maintenance service.

The price for this service averages $1575 at the dealership level, ( including pulleys, water pumpetc) and about $1275 at the independent repair shop level.

Yet the woman left the dealer with a bill for $2025.68.

What happened?

According to the repair order, there were no abnormal circumstances, no problems noted by the technician like rust or any other extenuating circumstances that would have maybe increased the work, or added additional parts.

In short, it was a straight forward service, but the bill was $450.68 higher than it should have been. There’s simply no legitimate reason to have “that much” discrepancy.

How’d they get away with it?

The answer is easy, and it is a point that I don’t want anyone to miss:

They get away with it because they can!

Think about it. The average person does not know how much vehicle parts cost. And who knows how much work time a fix should take? To what sources does one turn to find out this information? Who even has the time to investigate!

Upon examination of this lady’s fix order, it was discovered that she was charged a full 4 hours “more” than the standard work time. At $100 an hour, this added an additional $400. The leftover $50.68 came from the parts, which were billed higher than MSRP.

She was quoted $2,025 for a correct that tops out at $1575. The woman didn’t know. She just paid the bill and left.

How many times do people just settle up and leave? Just about that is all one can do given that there’s no accessible information for the auto fix shopper to adequately query a correct bill. Additionally , extremely few even know what questions to ask!

The car repair industry has been over-charging for decades-sometimes subtly, sometimes confidently, definitely frequently. The evidence for this is overpowering ; yet, there are no straightforward solutions available for the auto fix customer.

Government agencies can’t help. The Better Business Bureau can not do anything. Even supposed “car correct pros or advocates” lack the knowledge of the breadth and insidiousness of the automobile fix business at all its levels.

A dealership operates differently than an independent fix shop, and a franchise, like Midas, is totally unique. Who really knows what goes on in the underground of such a various and complex industry?

The Solution?

First and foremost, car repair customers need access to information on auto fix costs. Without this, they’ve got nothing discernible in which to determine fair charges. They also have to be able to navigate the maze of parts and labor charges for automobile repairs and maintenance.

Like everything else, information is the key to guarantee fair treatment. Without it, the vehicle fix consumer will continue to “swim with the sharks” without any protection.

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