Attn. mechanics need advice

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Attn. mechanics need advice

There should be a shop that only works on older cars.You see shops know that the yuppy types with their 40k SUVs, and BMWs and stuff will pay anything. This has all labor rated jacked up. Why not a shop that will not work on cars newer than 5 years old and yuppys have to pay a higher rate.You can apply this to gasoline too.A yuppy in his big navigator dont give a rats arse about the cost as long as he is in line IN FRONT OF YOU and that someoneone doesnt buy it all before he has his fill. There should be gas at a discount for working people that have to drive more than 10 miles one way to work.sorry for bending the topic

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Attn. mechanics need advice

The Toyota dealership I am working at charges one hour (minimum) for diagnostics on an average @ $70/hr.

Just becase a code is coming in because of an egr it does not mean that is the fault. They should not charge you again on the same problem and cut you a break..... maybe you old egr was working..... be polite and firm when you go back.

The franchise I work for as a wrench charges $110 an hour. Our policy would be the same as Bob's dealer and his advice of, "be polite and firm when you go back", works well.

They charged for a diagnosis and have record of the DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Code). When you take it back in and it has the same DTC, it's either a bad new part, or installed wrong and still be under warranty. Or a mis-diagnosis or an incomplete one.

The proper term for the time lapse when a DTC is erased and it's re-appearance is the time an OBD2 ECM is, "running or performing monitors".

Monitors are OBD2 pre-determined function checks through a logic-chain of tests or actual values of sensors or both. Depending on the component it can take several days or minutes for the pre-determined condition or threshhold to be met allowing a function test by the ECM and a completed monitor to be set.

Sensor monitors are quick. EGR, AI, CAT, fuel mixture trim, are logic chains, they take longer. Purge systems take the longest depending on trip length and fuel tank level.
EVAP can be fast if the tank is full and take a longer time if the tank is low.

Don't be to hard on the Father In law. I quit working on friends or familys cars, except in an emergency. I always had the inclination to do it on the cheap, to save them money, by their design or mine.
It rarely works out well.
Working on the wife's car has it's perks though, she's my faaaavorite customer.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Attn. mechanics need advice

Good post skinny,I have one of the fav customers too ,she pays the best forsure of anyone and I hear you on the rest.....Can't please all the people all the time even on the cheap

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Attn. mechanics need advice

Mr skinney ,,,knows his stuff.............I barely understood it myself. And I agree 1000% about the wife being the number one AND ONLY ONE you offer 24/7 service .

 

[stl]

Re: Attn. mechanics need advice

Update, I took the truck back in today. This time they said the egr valve had failed. They said when the last tech performed the technical service bulliten the valve was working properly. so the light went off. I asked him if it was just dumb luck that the valve failed a few days later. His best response was probably. So he said they would not charge another diagnostic fee. And it would be a little over 200 dollars not more than 250 to put the new valve in. He had said the part alone was about 200 dollars. He also said the first job would have had to have been done anyway, because it would do no good to put a new egr valve in with carbon clogging the hoses. This seems logical to me, but I still think it would have been cheaper had they done it all at once. But apperently they had no way of knowing. I really have no choice at this time but to let them put it in. Tell me what you guys think.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Attn. mechanics need advice

Can I take a moment to tell you what I did today?

1-Yesterday I diagnosed a no-start Neon. There were no codes active or stored. After some tests it was determined the PCM was faulty.
We put the new PCM in and the vehicle started immediately. It was roadtested and restarted several times before being deemed repaired.
The customer picked up the car that night and it cranked long before it started. I was headed out the door, but I went out and checked the car out, anyway. Now we had a code for a faulty Cam position sensor circuit.
So today, I diagnosed the cam sensor circuit and traced it to a faulty sensor. I installed a new sensor and reset the codes, roadtested to verify the repair, etc. ALL FOR FREE!!! FREE part, FREE labor. I explained to the customer that sometimes poop happens...but I ate the repair and made my apologies.

2nd case- Yesterday I repaired a Diesel 2500 with a coolant leak. I pressure tested the syatem and the Radiator cap..before and after the repairs. The vehicle came in today complaining that it was still leaking and overheating. I re-tested the system and noticed the overflow bottle was full to the brim, but the radiator was low. The system and cap passed pressure tests. The cap was faulty(in a way that I can't test for) and not allowing coolant to return from the overflow bottle; it had overfilled and overflowed. My diag time and the new cap were FREE....and I made my apologies.

Having said all that, I think the dealer is being reasonably fair. If you don't care about being labeled a "jerk" you could probably fight for more, but I don't think it's too bad of a deal. I wish my dealer had more balls about charging customers for things like this.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Attn. mechanics need advice

I think that's as good as you're going to get. If you wanted to be a jerk, you could jump up and down and insist that since they actually had the EGR valve off, and it failed almost immediately after, they caused it's demise. (I have seen insurance claims paid on less "proof" than that.) But that's up to you.
You could ask very nicely for completely free labor on it this time, since you feel that if it was so bad as to fail days later, they should have replaced it the first time and cleaned out the lines at the same time. Your call. Best of luck to ya.

 

[cbear34]

Re: Attn. mechanics need advice

As long as they are not charging you again for the diagnostics, it seems fair. Mostly your out your time. The first time around the EGR valve would have cost the same for parts and labor. Which means your first bill would have just been bigger. It's always tough to have a customer come back for the "same" problem when you thought it was fixed the first time. Sometimes it's just bad timing.