Pricing
What It Costs, and How You Find Out
You get told the price before the work starts, not after the car is in pieces.
Get Your Number Before Any Work Starts
Call and describe the job. You will be quoted before anybody touches the car.
How a Quote Is Built
Two parts, and they are always separate. There is the labor, which is his time. There is the part, which is what the part costs. Keeping them apart is what lets you check the number rather than take it on faith.
Where a part carries a core charge, the old unit goes back and the refund comes to you. That is your money and not his.
Why the Price Is Said Out Loud First
The argument nobody wants is the one that happens on the driveway after the work is done. Saying the number first, out loud, while the car is still together, is how that argument never starts.
What Changes a Quote
- A part that turns out to be a symptom of a second fault
- A battery buried under a seat or behind trunk trim, which is time rather than parts
- A seized bolt, which is a real thing and not an excuse
In every one of those cases the phone rings before the cost moves.
Get a Number Before Anyone Touches It
Call, describe the job, and ask what it will run. That is a normal question and it gets a normal answer.
Questions
Asked Often Enough to Answer Here
Do you charge to come out?
You will be told what coming out costs when you call, before anybody is on the way.
Do I pay for the diagnosis if I do not go ahead?
Ask on the phone. It gets answered straight and it gets answered before he sets off.
Can you tell me a price over the phone?
For a lot of common jobs yes. For anything that depends on what is actually wrong, he will say so rather than guess at a number to get the job.
Serving The Grand Strand
A mobile mechanic, so the truck comes to you.