MYTFASTSS

iTrader: (5)

Im not sure this is the right place. I was wondering if there is a regulation on how much a shop can charge you for parts? Are they allowed to charge what ever price they feel like, or are they supposed to stay within reason.

Say for instance, they charge $12 a Quart for oil that normaly goes for $6, thats a 100% profit to the shop. Is this considered O.K?

Another example,

A clutch (Center force DF) goes for what, $415 online, and a local shop decides to charge $900 for that same clutch, is this O.K considering it's more then 100% profit?

There must be some regulation on how much a shop can bend you over, right?

LukePhillips

iTrader: (2)

If people are dumb enough to pay 100%+ over invoice, then sell away!

T-rex

iTrader: (3)

Buy your own **** and take it to 'em.That's what I do.Then all they can charge is labor.

Z28LS1camaroguy

iTrader: (3)

what shop are you going to?? where are you located at, the shop i go to gets the parts for cheaper than i can and then there is installation cost which can be expensive but they have to make money somehow but your shop just is outragous and i would look around for another or find a board member on here that can help you out.

ACW

Just thought I'd mention that unfortunately, some places have started refusing to use anything the customer brings in, with the excuse that they 'can't verify the quality' or some junk like that (geez, get a waiver form or something if it's really that big of a concern).

navy02ws6

iTrader: (4)

Well, I know the way it works for Pep Boys is that they can't charge you more than list for parts. For example, the computer won't even let you enter a price higher than the list (original retail) price.

2K2WS6TA

iTrader: (2)

Private shop can charge whatever they want, if you're crazy enough to go there, that's your choice
A chain like pep boys, the price is probably set by the corporate offices

davered00ss

iTrader: (4)

They can pretty much charge as much as they want.

davered00ss

iTrader: (4)

Learn to fix your own car.

MYTFASTSS

iTrader: (5)

Now that we got that out of the way......................Don't you guy's think there should be some protection to the Comsumer in regards to how much "they can charge"???

As for "Learn to fix your own car" comment.....Not everybody is a DIY or has the time

Example....What if your Mom took her car down to a "private shop" and they charged her over 200% on a $500 part...Is that fair???

What if your wife took the Family Mini Van in for a Transmission repair and they charged $4500 for a new tranny, when in reality, that same transmission is $2700 from the dealer. All this, Minus "labor

Sounds like there should be some sort of regulations or everyone you love is going to pay way more then the excepted 15-20% markup.....when they take their cars in to a shop....

Kenafin_02TA

Not everyone has the space to fix their own cars either..especially if you live in a city, or in an apartment/condo, or even some townhouses. Heck we have a house with a driveway, but can only do limited work on the cars there because we have no garage, and the driveway is small and on a hill.

As far as private shops overcharging, that's why you get an estimate from them before they do the work. If you don't like the estimate or think it's too high, find another shop and get an estimate from them. Compare the estimates..see if they're inline with each other. I know the owner of the private shop we go to, he's a fellow fbody owner, and we completely trust him, we still get an estimate of how much the work is going to be beforehand. The only time I don't get estimates before my car gets worked on is if it's a place that has done the same work before (like mounting and balacing tires) because I know how much it should be.

CashMoney

iTrader: (2)

Your right there should be standards to protect people from this. However your average joe knows how to make minimal repairs. If they have the money and not the time they will do whats easiest (because we all know people by nature are lazy) and they will take it to a shop, bitch about the prices but continue to go to said shop. Besides its a business and all businesses are out to make money.

jyeager

You can lodge a complaint with the local better business bureau.

Also, if they buy their parts wholesale from a distributor I would think that you could report them for that to the distributor. They'd get a wrist-slapping and if they persisted I think that it's possible the distributor would drop them.

jyeager

Also, I think there are 'gouging' laws in most states. Look in to this, and if you find that a law like this exists you can report them to the state consumer affairs office and they'll get fined if found guilty.

quiksilver9531

From personal experience, the shop that I used to work at charges 2.8% on the cost of the parts for us, so for example, a part is 10 dollars it costs the customer 28 dollars. But for expensive parts it drops to 2.5 then I beleive real expensive is 2.0, but keep in mind that shops get parts a lot cheaper then a normal person could get them, we get parts half off the list price. Also a distributor would careless if you marked up the prices, they expect you to make money on the parts, and its unlikely a distributor will drop a shop, because shops give them the most business.
Keep in mind that a shop relays on money from parts too, usually when someone brings in their own parts, up goes the labor time to do it and then you have no warrenty on the work.

Shirt_Ripper

Shops can charge whatever they want. If theyre up front and honest about what youre getting into and you agree then theres nothing you can do. If you talk to AAA or the BBB the first thing theyll tell you is to call around and to get references, which is common sense. A little research and youll know what you ought to be paying.

yak

iTrader: (15)

yeah it's reaqlly funny to see what the dealer says. my parents take thier cars to the stealerships while I do all my work myself in the garage. i always look at the estimates when my mom gets stuff done, last time I almost killed the ******* mechanic. she goes in and tells the mechanic that she drove for a couple miles with the ebrake engaged, so they look and tell her that the e brake is fine but she needs new rear shoes. 125 for new shoes, 45 to cut each drum and 189 in labor. then they say there is junk in the brake lines due to heat (break fluid is made to withstand heat, not break down) ok so they drain the fluid and refill and bleed the brakes. they call my mom back in two hours later telling her it's ready, we pick the car up, and go home, later I took the car out, there was so much air in the brake lines the pedal went a good inches before the brakes started working. asnd the rear brakes were squeaking like a ****, so I go home and pull the tire and drum, there are a bunch of dirty fingerprints inside the drum, did these guys hear of brake cleaner? so I go back to the dealer the next day and ask if they tech 2 bled the system since it has abs and they pulled air into the abs block, they just looked at me confussed and one guy goes 'we didn't need to tech 2 bleed' so I just looked at him and said yeah you did. we took it for a ride and i told the mechanic how much the brakes sucked. he had some other mechanic bleed them right and now it is finally normal again. so;
125+45+45+189+350 (fluid and bleed) =$754 and the job wasn't even done right, and that is why I and only I do work on my car.

stinkfinger

Shops will charge the most amount that they can get away with consistantly. In most cases, they make money on the part and the labor, thats why if you bring your own part, 5/10 shops won't guarntee the labor.
Its a dirty business that has alot of players and the general public just keeps paying money into it. Ilove it when my g/f told me she paid $70 for an oil change because the guy told her with her high mileage engine she needed synthetic, etc... Or when someone i know has a major repair done and they are charged overlapping labor rates for replacing parts, or paying $145 for wires that can be had for $60... There are alot of circumstances where shops can loose money on a repair, but for the most part they make very descent coin. Its america right? If the consumer is too lazy or uneducated, or their lifestyle won't allow, then the standards of trade say you price gouge right?

Good shops are hard to find, but there out there. Some guys are real honest and you cqn usually tell by thier staff and reputation.