Tips on dealing with a nasty surprise on your repair bill

• 
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  To avoid any nasty surprises on your car repair bill, clearly state you'd like to be notified before any repairs are performed.
  
  

  PHOTO: Supplied, working.com

---

Some trips to the mechanic can get your blood boiling. Here are a few tips to avoid making things worse when things go off the rails

By Brian Turner

Almost every car owner has some type of dealership or repair shop horror story they love to tell but hate to remember. That’s the great thing about vehicles; they bring out a real mixed bag of emotions. But can you avoid these nightmares or find your way through the personnel food-chain maze to a successful resolution? It does take some patience, but a little insider knowledge might help smooth the way.

James takes his six-month-old SUV into his selling dealership for a check engine light issue. He checks in with the service consultant, signs a repair order, and grabs the dealer shuttle to work. He gets a call later in the day to let him know the vehicle is ready and that his invoice total is $126.95. “But it’s a brand new vehicle,” he stammers, trying to hold his temper. “Why am I being charged for the repair?” His service advisor explains that the tech traced the check engine light code to a wire that had been chewed through by some type of rodent and as the repair was a very minor part of the time spent in diagnosing and locating the break, the tech went ahead and fixed things up.

Or consider the plight of Susan who takes in her eight-month-old compact (with less than 18,000 km on it) into the dealership with a complaint of a loud grinding noise when she applies the brakes. “They shouldn’t be worn out already,” she comments to the counter staff as she drops off the vehicle. She too gets the dreaded “it’s ready” call with a bill of $84.22. Apparently the tech found some stones lodged in between the brake pad and rotor and as the repair was simply a matter of popping out a few piece of gravel, it was completed.

While the overwhelming majority of warranty and customer-pay repair visits go without a hitch at dealerships and independent shops, it’s the exception to the rule that can raise our blood pressure to the boiling point. In these two examples, our customers might have avoided trouble by making it clear that they were to be contacted before any retail charges were incurred, for their consideration and approval. This might even include a handwritten line above their signature on repair order. While all provinces and territories in Canada have consumer legislation that spells out what repair shops can charge for and what they can’t; these examples are in a grey area.

Yes, consumers need to authorize repairs before work starts (even in the cases of warranty repairs where manufacturers are picking up the tab), but a signature on a repair order gives shops approval to examine and diagnose, and often these services entail a technician’s time and repair fees. Many dealership service departments will tread a diplomatic line in cases like these in the interest of keeping good customer relations and to avoid any negative reviews. A good practice for consumers is to be available by phone or text when they drop off their car for service. A lot of decisions on their behalf are made by shop employees when they can’t reach them for approval or discussion.

There are many trustworthy mechanics out there, but we’ve heard a lot of horror stories.
Handout, Fotolia

John stormed up to his service department counter recently and slammed down the keys and said with a snarl, “That damn check engine light is on again and this is the third time I’ve been in for it this month and I’ve already paid over $700!”

Repeat repairs probably top the list of auto repair grievances and while there may be a hundred reasons why a vehicle may exhibit the same symptom but require different repairs, few of them will ever make a customer happy. Today’s vehicles can see as many as five or six different on-board computers using the check engine light as a trouble code dumping ground. In cases like this it pays to take a few deep breaths and have a chat with the service manager about how to proceed. If the same symptoms come back immediately after the repair, you have a right to question whether or not the tech diagnosed things correctly and if you were sold parts you didn’t need.

Most shop managers will offer to re-check the vehicle at no charge in cases like this and then propose a reasonable solution that both sides can accept. However, if you run up against a gate-keeper of a counter person and can’t get access to the manager, speak with the next level of management. In most dealerships the pecking order runs from owner or dealer principal down to a general manager then down to a horizontal line of sales, service, and parts managers and then finally to the staff team under them in each department. If you’re not sure of the players, check their website; a “meet our team” icon will list them, usually with email addresses.

If you can’t get calls to the manager returned, document your efforts and reach out to the store owner. If this fails, your next step is to contact the manufacturer’s consumer hotline (the contact info can be found online or in your owner’s manual). Keep in mind dealerships are independent franchises and the automaker has a limited amount of power to move things forward.

Don’t play all your cards at once. Regardless of how upset you are or what type of money is involved, when it comes to dealing with repair shop staff, they are human beings (as much as you might think differently). So if you start off the conversation with talk of going to your lawyer or starting a negative online campaign, you’re likely to reduce your chances of a happy ending. If the issue really has you burning, you might be well advised to bring in a friend or family member to let them do the talking to keep things cool. Keep in mind if you walk out and give up altogether, you’ll still have a vehicle that needs to be fixed and you’ll be starting from scratch at the next place.

 To purchase your copy of Car Dealer Hell, CLICK HERE
For more information about the Summit Murder Mystery series, CLICK HERE
Follow me on TWTTER
Friend me on FACEBOOK
Follow my boards on PINTEREST