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Name: DerbyDad03
Just venting...
My wife took her car to a tranny shop to get a leaky hose repaired.
As expected, the bill had the standard line item charges for parts and labor.
However, there was an additional line on the bill:
Reset Codes & Test Drive Vehicle - $45
Seems to me that all they are doing is keeping their per hour labor charge artifically low by charging extra for something they would do as part of the repair any way.
Did she ask for a price before she allowed them to do the work? My girl friend needed a new flex pipe welded to the exhaust system. I don't have an arch welder, so I went to a few places to get prices. The price I was given is the price she paid.
How do you know when a politician is lying? His mouth is moving.
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Do YOU have the ability to reset the code? Do you know the steps involved in "retraining" a transmission once the codes are cleared? It's just like anything else, if you don't have the ability and/or tools to do it yourself, you have to pay someone to do it for you. $45 is a small price to pay to retrain the tranny so that it shifts properly. You didn't state the make/model of your vehicle, but here's how Chrysler describes the retraining procedure:
1. Disconnect the battery to erase the computer's memory.
2. Reconnect the battery and start the engine.
3. Drive the vehicle while trying to maintain a constant throttle position as it accelerates up through all four gears. If the transmission is shifting properly, it should be in 4th gear by the time you reach 45 to 50 mph. Repeat this procedure from a standing start 15 to 20 times.
4. With the vehicle traveling at less than 25 mph, do five to eight wide open throttle kickdowns to get the transmission to downshift to 1st from 2nd or 3rd gear. Drive in 2nd or 3rd gear for at least five seconds between kickdowns and remember to kick it down only when you are going less than 25 mph.
5. While driving at 45 to 50 mph, do five to eight part to wide open throttle kickdowns to either 2nd or 3rd from 4th gear. Again, continue driving for at least five seconds in 4th gear between kickdowns.
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Thank you for the detailed information on how to reset the codes and retrain the transmission, however, that wasn't my point.
I have been driving and therefore having cars repaired for over 4 decades. Test drives, sometimes both before and after, the repair, have been a part of the repair process since the first car was repaired. The reading and resetting of fault codes have been a part of the repair process ever since computers were first placed in cars.
However, I have never been charged a separate line item for resetting the codes and test driving the car. The costs are either included in the labor charge, or absorbed as part of the overall repair process.
(I have been charged to have the codes reset when that was all I wanted done and that is perfectly understandable since there is equipment and labor charges to be accounted for.)
In my opinion, the line item for Transmission Service (also part of this bill) should include the cost of retraining the transmission or the labor time should have been increased to include time it took.
My point was that by separating out items that I feel should be part of any repair, they can post lower prices for "services" that don't include all items that another shop includes in the price.
If I build a step for someone, I'm not going to quote him 4 hours to build the step and then charge him $20 to test it. I'm going to quote the total time it's going to take me to complete the job, including the "test drive".
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@quapo
In your case you were being quoted a set price for a specific service.
The best my wife could do in this case was get an estiamte of the cost due to the nature of the repair. Since she blew out most of the fluid, she was told: "If all you need are hoses, then it'll be roughly this amount. However, we need to drop the pan to see if any damage was done, therefore we'll be charging for, at a minimum, a standard Transmission Service, along with the parts and labor to replace the hoses."
For the most part, the costs were in line with our expectations since there was no other damage.
The only thing that bothers me is the "game" they played by adding a line item for something that used to be part of the normal repair process.
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The only thing that bothers me is the "game" they played by adding a line item for something that used to be part of the normal repair process.
There is notrhing "normal" any more. By the same token luggages used to be free when traveling on airlines and now a domestic Irish Airline is contemplating charging for use of the lavatory.
i_Xp/VistaUser
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So does the car run OK?
I would rater pay a little more than quoted and not have to come back.I agree in that they should of called and let you know that there would be additional fee....there is usually a line at the bottom authorizing them to do additional work if under a certain price.
If they are taking cars out on the road to test drive I bet their insurance is sky high.
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DerbyDad03: The only thing that bothers me is the "game" they played by adding a line item for something that used to be part of the normal repair process.
Try complaining to them; remind them that a 30 second procedure and a trip to the car's parking spot should not cost $45. Assuming they built it into the price quote, I doubt there's anything you can do. But if they don't strike the item off the bill, well, there are plenty of mechanics out there.
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These are handy
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/sy...
http://www.pissedconsumer.com/
It's the trees moving that makes the wind blow
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hi
an aside..short 'youtube' on the Renault megane , you will probably not see these in the USA but one to watch out for, If you dont like paying service charges watch this.
how long to change a head light bulb and, (wait for it, the cost)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&...
:)
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bluejay: How much in US dollars would that headlamp change be?
£290.11 * 1.6496 = $478.57
Or with the quoted VAT:
£320 * 1.6496 = $527.87
I wonder if you get a discount for doing both bulbs at once.
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Derbydad03, instead of venting here, call your local dept of consumer affairs & file a complaint. I would also ask for previous complaints & ask about any place where you plan to do business.
How do you know when a politician is lying? His mouth is moving.
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Do you take your vehicles for transmission servicing often? In over 35 yrs of owning various cars/trucks/vans, I've only taken one in for tranny work....& that was only because I was working so much OT at the time that didn't have time to do the repair myself.
"remind them that a 30 second procedure and a trip to the car's parking spot should not cost $45"
If the "test drive" involves the retraining procedure detailed in my other response, there's a fair amount of time involved. IMO, the $45 charge wasn't excessive.
I have no idea how much you paid, nor do I care, but are you saying you would prefer a bill that simply stated something like "transmission service - $150" without a breakdown of what was actually performed? If you're unhappy, use the itemized bill to your advantage & call them on the $45 charge.
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jam: If the "test drive" involves the retraining procedure detailed in my other response, there's a fair amount of time involved.
My local guys' idea of a test drive is literally a trip around the lot. That's why I don't pay for their test drives.I'm not saying that's the case with DerbyDad03, I'm saying we can't assume. (Not that it stopped me.)
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re: I wonder if you get a discount for doing both bulbs at once.
On the contrary, they probably charge you for the time it takes to walk to the other side of the car.
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Two (insert name of the group you want to insult here) were working on the turn signals of a car. The guy on the inside turned on the blinker and asked the other guy if they were working. The other guy answered:
They're working.
They're not working.
They're working.
They're not working.
They're working.
They're not working.
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DerbyDad,
That shop actually did you a favor at a minimal charge. They've accepted a significant level of liability by performing and Documenting the services they provided.
If 2 weeks down the road, or within whatever warranty period they specified, the transmission should develop related problems, it's right there on your invoice that they Tested and Retrained the transmission and returned it to you as repaired satisfactorily. They can't deny it and may have to do further repairs at their cost.
An unscrupulous shop would have repaired the hoses, checked inside the Pan for obvious problems, filled the Trans with fluid, reset the Codes and done a superficial test drive, documenting as little as possible, knowing that you cannot hold them responsible for services they Neither specified nor charged you for.
Any further work is totally at your cost.
Think of it as a mini Insurance policy, Look into the cost of a total Auto Trans overhaul.
In Business;
Cheap work is seldom good!
Good work is seldom cheap!There is nothing to learn from someone who already agrees with you.
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re: it's right there on your invoice that they Tested and Retrained the transmission
Please re-read my OP as well as my responses. You'll see that I never said that "retraining" was on the invoice.
jam brought up the subject of retraining and it became part of the discussion, but there was no line item for retraining on the invoice.
As I said in my OP, the line item read:
Reset Codes & Test Drive Vehicle - $45
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I stand corrected. Have you told them how you feel about the $45.00 charge?
Would you feel any better if the final Bill was the same but there was no mention of Code Reset/Test drive?
BTW, what year & make was the vehicle? What was the total bill?
At least the charge applies to the work done.
I have a Clinic Bill with a $65.00 charge listed "Facility Fee" I was there a total of 10 minutes to get a prescription changed because I was prescribed an ineffective AntiBiotic by their ER Physician.
That's on top of the ER bill, the first prescription, ER physician's bill, 2nd Doctor's Bill and $101.00 2nd prescription.. No one has been able to explain, to my satisfaction, what the Facility Fee is, or what it's actually for. No, no insurance, my pocket.
There is nothing to learn from someone who already agrees with you.
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Dumbob,
Insofar as most consumers don't have the desire, nor time, to scrutinize their bills, "creative" billing will continue either unintentionally or otherwise. And, regarding your bill & the item that no one has been able to clarify, it seems to me like the classic Kleenex masked as mucous recovery system MO, you need to have it dropped period!
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