- Never accept Ball Park Estimates. Be on alert when you’re told: “About $800 and your car will be perfect.” Or, “It should run around $200 bucks.” If you went to a hotel and asked how much a room was for the night and the clerk said “Oh…I’d say around $200 bucks.” Would you accept that? Of course not!
- When service centers suggest additional work, ask them to prioritize the suggestions in terms of immediacy and safety. Have them fax or e-mail an itemized estimate for your review.
- When in doubt—WAIT! If you are feeling pressured by a service representative to authorize work or charges of which you are unsure, wait until you have all the information you need. Get a second opinion if necessary. Service representatives are great at phrasing automotive concerns in a very ominous light.
- Get all estimates in writing, and itemized. This will allow you to scrutinize the charges. It will also let your service representative know that you mean business—fair business. Just asking for the break down will cause service representatives to think twice about price-gouging you. If a service center can’t provide a complete and professional estimate quickly, go somewhere else.
- Be nice, sincere, and shrewd. Seriously, service representatives will go to bat for you if you treat them with courtesy and respect...
Here's an example:
When I was a flat rate technician, I found a “note to the technician” in the client’s car I was servicing. It stated (paraphrased):
“Dear Technician, you folks have always done an incredible job on all my cars. I am sorry to be so picky, but my car is brand new and it has an irritating rattle at 65mph from inside the dash.”
Dash rattles on new cars are every technician’s nightmare. They’re time consuming, and they don’t pay. These types of concerns frequently get written off as “No Problem Found,” or “Could not Duplicate.” However, in this case, I spent 2 hours diagnosing and repairing this client’s rattle. I was only paid .3 hours for the repair, which amounted to $4.33 in my paycheck, but I didn’t mind.
The point is: when you treat your service representatives with respect, you’re less likely to get price-gouged, and more likely to get your car fixed correctly the first time.
IMPORTANT: Having said this, being nice does not mean agreeing with everything your representative tells you. If you’re always agreeing to your service representative’s recommendations, he’ll keep making them—that’s how he’s paid.
Even if he seems like a friend, it saves to be shrewd and to ask questions. In terms of being nice, though—everybody likes to help the nice guy whenever possible.
