Just like everything else it seems like auto repair cost is higher than it used to be. Of course today’s vehicles are more complex than they used to be requiring additional training and more sophisticated equipment. It is very frustrating when your vehicle develops a problem that you are not ready for. What is first thing that comes to mind? How much is this auto repair going to cost now? Well that is a good question. Usually the answer can only be found after it is properly checked out. Many motorists are surprised that there is a fee to check out a problem on a vehicle. In some cases it may be obvious what your car needs. What if it isn’t obvious? How does that work? When a vehicle has some kind of problem there are two steps to fixing it. First it must be properly diagnosed to determine the required repair to solve the problem. In most cases there is a component that needs to be replaced. The second step is to make the service and repair based on the results of the diagnosis. The diagnosis step takes time. It also requires a trained technician and specialized equipment. A quality tech that has the skills and credentials are the highest paid in the auto service industry. These top techs need to be paid for their time. The proper equipment is also expensive. Specific diagnostic scan tool equipment will range from $5000.to $30,000. The software will need to be updated every few years for the sum of hundreds of dollars. The cost of this equipment also has to be paid for somehow. The diagnosis is crucial to a proper repair. If incorrectly diagnosed you stand a chance at replacing a perfectly good part.
Motorists will often call around different auto repair facilities to try to find out what the cause and cost of the aliment is before actually having it checked out desperate to know how much it will cost. The problem is that some shops will throw out ideas and prices putting a price in the head of the consumer. Tow truck drivers will also throw out ideas that will put ideas in your head. Once again they are only guessing. By the way, tow truck drivers are not trained to diagnose, they are trained to tow cars. This is dangerous because anyone that has not actually checked out the vehicle is only guessing. They may happen to guess correctly but this is not the way to solve a problem. You need an answer that fix the problem so it will stay fixed, not always an easy task. Another scenario is when consumers price shop for the lowest diagnosis fee. This is also a risky proposition. What do you know about this shop? What are their credentials? The best way to deal with car problems is too have one car care facility that you can trust for your emergency failures and maintenance. A trustworthy auto repair shop will charge fairly for diagnosis. The other way to attempt to avoid this whole issue is by making an effort to prevent problems in the first place. We do this by maintaining the vehicle properly and to be a smart operator/operator. We do this by paying attention to what is going on and take it in at the first sign of problems. Don’t keep driving it when there is a problem and especially don’t keep driving it when there is a warning light such as the dreaded check engine light. These warning lights are on-board diagnostics alerting you of future failures. These warning lights are not to be ignored.
The age of the vehicle, condition and neglect will come in to play regarding failures. The bottom line is that it will be cost to check out and repair your vehicle when it breaks. When this happens make one phone call and put your trust in the one auto repair shop that you know will take care of you.
John Vanek
Orinda Motors Car Time