Comment of the Month
This month’s Comment is another posting from Quora, a question-and-answer site we spend a lot of time on. A questioner asked…
”Is it necessary for mechanics to have 30-40 minutes of diagnostic time to determine car issues?
Our answer- “You didn’t give any detail about what problem they were trying to diagnose, so it’s impossible to tell if 30-40 minutes is necessary or not. It may take 10 minutes to diagnose something obvious, or it may require many hours to track down something unusual or elusive.
In general, though, mechanics absolutely require time to determine car issues before they attempt a fix, and they should absolutely be paid for that time. It can be expensive and painful as a vehicle owner, but is absolutely legitimate.
There’s an old joke that explains why. An office copier is down and the office has been crippled for weeks. Office staff tried their best but couldn’t revive it. They call a repairman who comes in, looks at it, and replaces a screw. Copier works, office is saved, and he’s out the door in 15 minutes. He sends a bill for $200, the boss is outraged, and demands a breakdown of the bill. Repairman responds with “Ten cents for a new screw. $199.90 to know which screw to replace.”
When you’re paying for diagnostic time, you’re paying for the knowledge and time of the Technician and overhead of the shop that employs them. You don’t have the knowledge or tools or you wouldn’t be going to someone else to begin with. You can’t expect to get that value for free.
If a joke doesn’t explain this to your satisfaction, we do have longer responses on our website, TomDwyer.com. Check out “Do mechanics do free diagnostics? The short answer is “no”, but the longer answer is important”, or “Shop Talk- Why do we charge for diagnostic time?””
We have a couple ongoing offers you might find valuable…
Carbon Neutral Program–
Our company’s commitment to the environment led us to partner with Bonneville Environmental Foundation to create our Carbon Neutral Program in 2007. Client members offset the carbon production of their vehicles for one year AND save 10% on Labor Charges here at the shop! It’s a win for you AND our environment and it’s been very successful… since we instituted the program our members have prevented over 1.9 MILLION POUNDS of carbon from being dumped into our air!
Referral Reward Program–
Year after year, referrals from our existing clients are our greatest source of new clients, so we’ve tried hard to think of some way to appropriately reward people for their referrals. Our solution is our Referral Reward Program, where we make donations to the non-profit group of your choice to say ‘thanks’ for your generous referrals. Here’s how it works…
Your reviews and referrals matter
We are constantly grateful for the supportive and loyal clients we have developed over the years. Your comments and appreciation keep us on the right road to providing the superior automotive service you deserve. Your reviews and referrals are not only the highest compliments we can receive, but they’re the lifeblood of our new business. If you like what you’ve found at Tom Dwyer Automotive Services, please tell a friend or take a minute to write a review on Yelp, Angieslist, Google, or the review site of your choice. Thank you!
Latest Automotive Recalls
Automobiles are just like any other product; occasional flaws in manufacture or design can cause problems once they leave the factory. When an issue is identified the manufacturers and government work hard to bring the vehicles back in for refit or repair, but not all recalls make the front pages. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains a constantly updated list of recalls from every manufacturer. The last month’s recalls are below, but clicking the button at right will take you to the full list at the NHTSA website.
