Free Brake Inspections

Free Brake Inspections

Courtesy of www.fixcarorange.com

Have you ever seen an advertisement like this for a local shop?  Ah, there's nothing quite like the smell of bait and switch in the morning.  In essence this seems like quite the bargain, but in reality it could end up costing you a lot more than you think.

Let thee count thyne ways.

So, you heard a strange noise coming from your car and saw this ad and thought, "Hmm, that sounds like it's not a bad deal."  You go to the shop that offered the free service, fill out their little form with all your personal info, that who knows what they'll do with, and take a seat in their dreary waiting area.

I like to call this waiting area purgatory for the living.

Anyways, as you read your outdated magazine you begin to wonder just how long this might take.  I mean it was just a minor noise the other day no big deal right?  Perhaps not, but you would be surprised with how many services your car all of a sudden needs.

After an indeterminate amount of time you hear you name called as tho you were in a doctor's office and you approach the service desk.  "Well, Mr. or Mrs. so and so, looks like your front end is shot and your rear brakes look bad too.  If you would just sign here we can get started with this work order."

Whoa!  Hold on.  Don't sign the dotted line just yet.  Because you see, once you sign that work order, you are now legally responsible to pay it in full.  No matter if those repairs are needed or not.

First off, I would scrutinize any work order before agreeing to it.  Just like your phone bill, most shops have all kinds of erroneous charges.  For instance, miscellaneous shop supply fees, hazardous disposal fees,  blinker fluid fees, and so on.  Ok, no such thing as blinker fluid fees but you get my drift.  ALL of these fees are arbitrary in nature.  There is no government agency that regulates these fees and they vary greatly from shop to shop.  A good negotiator can argue down the cost of these fees in most cases, provided the shop wants your business.

Another HUGE factor on work orders is the shop's hourly labor rate.  And if there is one piece of advice I give in this post today it would be shop around for the best hourly rate you can find, but be careful if the hourly rate is drastically lower then some of the shops you have called.  Remember, you get what you pay for.  You just need to make sure the hourly rate for the shop you are dealing with is on par with other shops in the area.

Here is a link I found to help determine the labor rate for repairs on your particular vehicle:

Auto Repair Estimates