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Thread: Dealer rounding labor up?
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07-01-2011, 08:09 PM #1
- Join Date
- Oct 2005
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Age
- 35
- Posts
- 185
Black- 2001 Trans Am WS6
Dealer rounding labor up?
Long story short, brought the car in for a quick job. Car was in the bay for 45 minutes. Labor invoice said they started at 4:16, ended at 5:01. They charged me for 1.0 hours of labor. I insisted that it should be 0.75 hours of labor, and they told me they charge based upon what the book estimates, and that I should be happy it got done faster. I said, "your sign says $80 an hour, you worked for three quarters of an hour. There's nothing up there about flat rate prices. Their general manager said "pay it or we keep the keys." Called the police, police said it is how it is, they can pretty much do what they want. Who can I go to in order to address this?
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07-01-2011, 08:12 PM #2
- Join Date
- Sep 2005
- Location
- TEXAS... U mad?
- Posts
- 6,158
Black / Stryker Blue- 2K WS.6/ 2K9 G8GT
first, read over what you signed with a fine toothed comb......
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07-01-2011, 08:13 PM #3
- Join Date
- Oct 2005
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Age
- 35
- Posts
- 185
Black- 2001 Trans Am WS6
I never signed a thing. I gave them the keys, they took it in and did the work. This is a large chevrolet dealership.
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07-01-2011, 08:14 PM #4
- Join Date
- Sep 2005
- Location
- TEXAS... U mad?
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- 6,158
Black / Stryker Blue- 2K WS.6/ 2K9 G8GT
hmmm. I've ALWAYS had to sign the Work Order at the stealership.....
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07-02-2011, 03:18 AM #5
Not too many Lawyers gonna take a $20 dollar case.
Polly cost you 100 times that in fees just to get some ball rolling on it..
Caulk it up to lessons learned, and don't go there ever again.. imho
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07-02-2011, 06:07 AM #6
The mechanic gets paid for how long the book says the job will take. if he gets the job done faster and can do more work per day he makes more money. if he takes longer he loses money and they shouldn't charge you more. The only time they charge exact time is for troubleshooting the problem if they don't know what is wrong with the car. This is common at almost all shops that I have dealt with.
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07-02-2011, 08:13 AM #7
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07-02-2011, 08:31 AM #8
- Join Date
- Oct 2005
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Age
- 35
- Posts
- 185
Black- 2001 Trans Am WS6
I brought it in because I had a busy schedule and didn't have time to do it myself. It was simply changing one hose. I've done it before in about twenty minutes, and I'm far from mechanically proficient. I'm not sure why the book estimates that a trained, professional technician takes an hour to do it.
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07-02-2011, 08:36 AM #9
Didn't they give you a price before hand? Always ask how much it's going to be...assume nothing.
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07-02-2011, 10:52 AM #10
- Join Date
- Mar 2011
- Location
- Alberta
- Posts
- 30
black- 2002 TA
almost all dealerships are flat rate. youre going to pay for an hour labour. deal with it. there is no way around it.
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07-02-2011, 11:30 AM #11
- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Posts
- 5,823
2002 Z28 A4 NBM- Sadly now demodded :(
As stated, book rate is what the vehicle manufacturer has determined how long it will take to perform a given task. This is what dealers charge for that given task. Unless they are working for flat rate this is also how the tech is paid. Some techs are more skilled/proficient than others. Faster work means more hours booked means higher pay for less hours.
It's been like this since I can remember. Unless it's been stipulated that it's a flat rate job (chasing down electrical demons, etc) then you're going to pay book rate.
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07-02-2011, 11:30 AM #12
It depends on the shop. My shop charges 85 an hour, and they charge for actual time. Each shop has its own set of rules, and if they want to charge for an hour, and it only takes 3/4 of the time, thats what they charge.
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07-02-2011, 01:54 PM #13
- Join Date
- Oct 2005
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Age
- 35
- Posts
- 185
Black- 2001 Trans Am WS6
That's fine, I'll never go back. Poor decision on the manager's part, as now I can simply write a few poor reviews online and tell all of my friends, and they will lose a lot more than $20 worth of business.
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07-02-2011, 02:44 PM #14
Dude, everyone here is saying the same thing I learned in Auto shop: there is a universal "book" that explains how long a job should take. That is the cost of the job whether it takes longer or shorter, you pay the same.
The reason that it's like this is so that shops CAN'T rip people off for stupid stuff (you bring your car in for a 1.0 hour job, and they let it sit all day and charge you 8 hours of work).
Time to get over it, man. You didn't get ripped off.
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07-02-2011, 03:31 PM #15
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07-02-2011, 04:13 PM #16
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07-03-2011, 08:51 AM #17
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07-03-2011, 09:30 AM #18
It could take 8 hours to do a job, if the tech is on flat rate, then he is only getting paid for what the "book" says the job is going to take.
Honestly, it is $20. If it was $200, then I could see having an issue, but $20? Honestly, you've probably wasted $20 in gas just driving around, or showing off your car. I know I have!1999 Camaro Z-28 LS1 M6
Cam, Heads, Exhaust
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07-03-2011, 10:02 AM #19
- Join Date
- Jan 2009
- Location
- North Jersey
- Posts
- 11,496
Phantom Black Metallic- 2004 GTO M6
The dealership I work for doesn't rip people off. However we HAVE received negative feedback for upselling work the customers NEEDED(fluids, tires, brakes). And it is true, if I do a job that pays 8 hrs and I get the job done in 2.5(which I HAVE done), then I get paid for the 8 hours. Then...on to the next repair.
And...I am flat-rate. Start looking for another dealership OP. If you did, in fact, give negative feedback for that dealership, that shop CAN refuse work. Even if you have your car towed there. They can refuse to work on it.
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07-03-2011, 05:32 PM #20
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