mechanic prices

[Anonymous]

I think sometimes a mechanic’s diagnostic fee makes sense like if it’s an issue that requires troubleshooting. If it is a straightforward repair, like replace brakes or do scheduled maintenance, then no.

What I’m not crazy about is paying for retrieving an OBD code. There shouldn’t be a charge for that if I can get it done free at Autozone. The repair of that code is different though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think sometimes a mechanic’s diagnostic fee makes sense like if it’s an issue that requires troubleshooting. If it is a straightforward repair, like replace brakes or do scheduled maintenance, then no.

What I’m not crazy about is paying for retrieving an OBD code. There shouldn’t be a charge for that if I can get it done free at Autozone. The repair of that code is different though.

Anyone can retrieve an obd code, no skills required and the reader is $15. It is the matter of the opportunity cost of mechanics time. It is more than the autozones sale person

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think sometimes a mechanic’s diagnostic fee makes sense like if it’s an issue that requires troubleshooting. If it is a straightforward repair, like replace brakes or do scheduled maintenance, then no.

What I’m not crazy about is paying for retrieving an OBD code. There shouldn’t be a charge for that if I can get it done free at Autozone. The repair of that code is different though.

Anyone can retrieve an obd code, no skills required and the reader is $15. It is the matter of the opportunity cost of mechanics time. It is more than the autozones sale person

Mechanics may be paid hourly, but the customer is billed by the book. There should be no charge for retrieving the code. Like you said, it’s easy. Plus they can do it while the oil is draining from my pan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the markup on parts?

The repair shop rang and told me a part price and it was more that 400% higher than the retail price online. Presumably the repair shop buys at wholesale rates so what they were trying to charge me was maybe a 500% markup.

The other thing is the diagnostic fee which makes it hard to shop around for repair priced.

I hate this. For this reason, if someone says that they will have to charge me a fee just to see what's wrong with my car, I decline any further dealings and go somewhere else. The only way I'll pay this diagnostic fee is if every single repair shop charges it or if it's a big repair that I prefer done by the dealership.

You don’t ask a doctor to diagnose what is wrong with you for free, why should a mechanic do it for free?

You've never heard of "free estimates". I wouldn't pay for someone to give me a price on how much to re-paint my house, or to do a plumbing repair. Why should I have to pay for someone to tell me how much a repair job on my car will be?

I prefer to pay for a diagnostic estimate because I don't want to pay for a job tjat includes all the window shopper estimates, and I don't want the social pressure to buy from also who gave me an estimate.

This is in context of diagnostic estimates, not just getting a price for a named service from a standard book.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if it was "freon".
It was whatever makes the AC cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if it was "freon".
It was whatever makes the AC cold.

Older vehicles from the 1980s and older could still use freon.
1990s to about 2020 mfg use R-134a and newer than 2020 typically us R-1234yf.
You can look up the prices online and how to DIY if you get the fittings and such.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think sometimes a mechanic’s diagnostic fee makes sense like if it’s an issue that requires troubleshooting. If it is a straightforward repair, like replace brakes or do scheduled maintenance, then no.

What I’m not crazy about is paying for retrieving an OBD code. There shouldn’t be a charge for that if I can get it done free at Autozone. The repair of that code is different though.

Good points.
There might be some diagnostics that eat up a lot of time and should be paid for. But yeah, code reading is child's play. It's a nice feature.

Now if they would make engine bays larger again and not have so much plastic junk in the way, so getting to a part doesn't require 2 hours labor removing junk! Ugh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the markup on parts?

The repair shop rang and told me a part price and it was more that 400% higher than the retail price online. Presumably the repair shop buys at wholesale rates so what they were trying to charge me was maybe a 500% markup.

The other thing is the diagnostic fee which makes it hard to shop around for repair priced.

I hate this. For this reason, if someone says that they will have to charge me a fee just to see what's wrong with my car, I decline any further dealings and go somewhere else. The only way I'll pay this diagnostic fee is if every single repair shop charges it or if it's a big repair that I prefer done by the dealership.

You don’t ask a doctor to diagnose what is wrong with you for free, why should a mechanic do it for free?

Often they just plug in the machine that tells them what's wrong.

[Anonymous]

Garages and mechanics have the right to make money and profit but they often mark up the prices of the parts, charge you for example 6 hours of labor rates for a job they finished in 2 and all this comes after they have charged you a diagnostic fee.

They make good money. It won't be long before they offer a guarantee on their repair work, for a price of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the markup on parts?

The repair shop rang and told me a part price and it was more that 400% higher than the retail price online. Presumably the repair shop buys at wholesale rates so what they were trying to charge me was maybe a 500% markup.

The other thing is the diagnostic fee which makes it hard to shop around for repair priced.

I hate this. For this reason, if someone says that they will have to charge me a fee just to see what's wrong with my car, I decline any further dealings and go somewhere else. The only way I'll pay this diagnostic fee is if every single repair shop charges it or if it's a big repair that I prefer done by the dealership.

You don’t ask a doctor to diagnose what is wrong with you for free, why should a mechanic do it for free?

Often they just plug in the machine that tells them what's wrong.

Pretty soon A.I. machines will be able to do that for humans. Get diagnosed at WalMart while waiting.

[Anonymous]

I think brake jobs are one of the things they overcharge the most for at a shop. Why, because anyone can watch a 15 minute YouTube video and replace their own brakes. I can understand complicated jobs where a lot of things need to get removed to access something, but not the typical brake job costing what they do.

Also as someone who has done some DIY parts cannon work, diagnosis is not as simple as many think. I would pay for diagnosis and if the repair cost is too much, I can take that knowledge given to me and do the repair myself rather than risk repairing the wrong component because im going by a $40 OBD scanner that gives me a vague idea of what's really wrong.

[Anonymous]

Labor rate we pay is between $89-$100, don't remember exactly. I know you said whole price but haven't had those repairs recently. However also no shop fee and not crazy markups on materials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think brake jobs are one of the things they overcharge the most for at a shop. Why, because anyone can watch a 15 minute YouTube video and replace their own brakes. I can understand complicated jobs where a lot of things need to get removed to access something, but not the typical brake job costing what they do.

Also as someone who has done some DIY parts cannon work, diagnosis is not as simple as many think. I would pay for diagnosis and if the repair cost is too much, I can take that knowledge given to me and do the repair myself rather than risk repairing the wrong component because im going by a $40 OBD scanner that gives me a vague idea of what's really wrong.

I always paid to have brakes done, because of the asbestos involved.

Probably newer brake pads don't use asbestos anymore though, do they? Off to search on that topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the markup on parts?

The repair shop rang and told me a part price and it was more that 400% higher than the retail price online. Presumably the repair shop buys at wholesale rates so what they were trying to charge me was maybe a 500% markup.

The other thing is the diagnostic fee which makes it hard to shop around for repair priced.

I hate this. For this reason, if someone says that they will have to charge me a fee just to see what's wrong with my car, I decline any further dealings and go somewhere else. The only way I'll pay this diagnostic fee is if every single repair shop charges it or if it's a big repair that I prefer done by the dealership.

You don’t ask a doctor to diagnose what is wrong with you for free, why should a mechanic do it for free?

You've never heard of "free estimates". I wouldn't pay for someone to give me a price on how much to re-paint my house, or to do a plumbing repair. Why should I have to pay for someone to tell me how much a repair job on my car will be?

Because the slob looking at your house with the pair of eyes he was born with to evaluate how much he’s going to charge you to paint it didn’t pay anything for his diagnostic devices- he was born with them.

I on the other hand, had to pay quite a lot of money for some of my diagnostic equipment and OEM interface firmware and devices that I need to attach to the various ports in your car so I can see data.

So I should buy $80,000 in shop equipment so I can tell you what’s wrong with your car for free?


Interesting.



Let’s talk about what you do for a living now. What is it you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the markup on parts?

The repair shop rang and told me a part price and it was more that 400% higher than the retail price online. Presumably the repair shop buys at wholesale rates so what they were trying to charge me was maybe a 500% markup.

The other thing is the diagnostic fee which makes it hard to shop around for repair priced.

I hate this. For this reason, if someone says that they will have to charge me a fee just to see what's wrong with my car, I decline any further dealings and go somewhere else. The only way I'll pay this diagnostic fee is if every single repair shop charges it or if it's a big repair that I prefer done by the dealership.

You don’t ask a doctor to diagnose what is wrong with you for free, why should a mechanic do it for free?

Often they just plug in the machine that tells them what's wrong.

Pretty soon A.I. machines will be able to do that for humans. Get diagnosed at WalMart while waiting.

Yeah that’s definitely NOT going to happen. All that stuff is manufacturer proprietary. They make a lot of money on it. They aren’t just going to give it away in gumball machines at Walmart