"Diagnosis Fee" after car towed to garage ?

long_b

Recently my car broke down and we had it towed to nearest garage.

I rang the garage and said to call me with a quote before they did any work on it. They assured me they would.

They came back with a crazy price for an alternator replacement so I'm just getting the car towed back home now.

They've just told me there's a €90 "diagnosis fee" that they want to charge me for looking at the car, and that this was standard practice. The guy who towed the car was even able to say it was the alternator that went.

Sounds like highway robbery to me ?

Four Phucs Ache

A business took your car in , spent time diagnosing a fault and told you about the charge.Fair enough 90 quid is 90 quid but they only did what they are in business for.

Toyotafanboi

Did you expect them to work on your car for free when it got there or what?

The diagnostic fee is usually waived if you get the repair work carried out with the workshop. The fee is to cover the the costs involved in recieiving, storing and inspecting your car, now that you are taking it away.

shietpilot

How long did they have the car?

bucketybuck

I'm in the industry, and my workshops have always charged a set fee for quotes, estimates or diagnostics. Whether it was a 5 minute check or a two hour check isn't really relevant, the fee is fixed.

To be honest I think the reasons why we do so are pretty obvious.

There is no point in getting hung up on the fee, and certainly not in captain hindsight fashion, if you didn't need the garage to confirm the fault then why bring it there in the first place? Sure if the tow truck driver knew the fault then why not give him a few quid and get him to fix it? Or is that you couldn't trust the tow truck drivers opinion and needed a professional opinion? Because thats what you are paying for.

Chris_Heilong

I never heard of a diagnosis charge as I usually know whats wrong with the car or if something is found I have gotten the work done but it makes sense if they are using resource and time. Think of it as a call out charge that a plummer or electrician would charge.

bucketybuck

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

Think of it as a call out charge that a plummer or electrician would charge.

Imagine sitting in a dentists chair with a sore tooth, he looks at it and says, "yep, you have a cavity in that tooth there", then you hop up and say thanks Mr Dentist but I'll sort it somewhere else.

You think you aren't paying that Dentist for his time? Sure even the receptionist knew your tooth was sore...

long_b

Four Phucs Ache wrote: »

A business took your car in , spent time diagnosing a fault and told you about the charge.Fair enough 90 quid is 90 quid but they only did what they are in business for.

If they'd have told me about the charge up front I may have asked them not to do it.

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Did you expect them to work on your car for free when it got there or what?

The diagnostic fee is usually waived if you get the repair work carried out with the workshop. The fee is to cover the the costs involved in recieiving, storing and inspecting your car, now that you are taking it away.

I specifically asked them not to do any work on it unless it was approved by me.

bucketybuck wrote: »

I'm in the industry, and my workshops have always charged a set fee for quotes, estimates or diagnostics. Whether it was a 5 minute check or a two hour check isn't really relevant, the fee is fixed.

To be honest I think the reasons why we do so are pretty obvious.

There is no point in getting hung up on the fee, and certainly not in captain hindsight fashion, if you didn't need the garage to confirm the fault then why bring it there in the first place? Sure if the tow truck driver knew the fault then why not give him a few quid and get him to fix it? Or is that you couldn't trust the tow truck drivers opinion and needed a professional opinion? Because thats what you are paying for.

The car broke down and my insurance would only pay to tow to a local garage. The tow guy was too busy to bring it my mechanic (50 kms away)

shietpilot wrote: »

How long did they have the car?

They've had it for about a week

In the end I went with their repair quote as this charge together with the tow charge to my mechanic made it uneconomic. They waived the €90 fee as I'm having the repair done there.

If they had said it was a storage charge I would have said fair enough, or if they had told me up front that it would be €90 to check the car I could have made an informed decision.

I would have assumed before this that the cost of doing quick checks would be factored in to their general charges. I wouldn't expect anyone to work for free.

endagibson

long_b wrote: »

Sounds like highway robbery to me ?

Only if charged before they towed it away.

shietpilot

long_b wrote: »

They've had it for about a week

Seems fair enough if they charge you then. They had to deal with the hassle of taking in your car, storing it safely and taking care of the keys for a week. If something happened to the car while it was there you would be straight back into them so it makes sense that they want some sort of charge!

ironclaw

I think the trip up is in your wording.

You asked them to call you before doing any work. This could have two meanings: 1) Talk to me before you even touch the car or 2) Talk to me once you have ascertained what is wrong with the car and before you begin any repair.

The latter option is the more widely accepted one and will incur a fee as they need to do diagnosis work.

Kevin!

OP did you honestly expect a garage, which has numerous overheads including insurance, equipment, council rates and labour time to diagnose your problem and wave all charges because you didn't want to go ahead with the job?

Error was with your wording and naivety in believing that it would be free of charge in my opinion

long_b

Kevin! wrote: »

OP did you honestly expect a garage, which has numerous overheads including insurance, equipment, council rates and labour time to diagnose your problem and wave all charges because you didn't want to go ahead with the job?

Error was with your wording and naivety in believing that it would be free of charge in my opinion

I would have expected them to have informed me of the charges up front.

Toyotafanboi

long_b wrote: »

I would have expected them to have informed me of the charges up front.

What did you think was going to happen after the car arrived?

long_b

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

What did you think was going to happen after the car arrived?

"Sounds like the alternator has gone. If you want us to have a closer look it'll be €90. If not you'll have to get it towed away"

It was towed there as it was the only option to get it off the road at the time.

Toyotafanboi

long_b wrote: »

"Sounds like the alternator has gone. If you want us to have a closer look it'll be €90. If not you'll have to get it towed away"

It was towed there as it was the only option to get it off the road at the time.

How could they say what has gone without looking at it first?

Imo, you should have called first and said not to touch your car as you didn't want to pay.

A garage is naturally going to do a diagnosis as par of the course on a car trailered into them, they are obliged to.

billy few mates

€90 parking and storage fee for a car for a week sounds quite reasonable to me, and they even threw in a fault diagnosis in that fee, this thread should be moved to Bargain Alerts....

Trojan

What was the price for the alternator replacement?

long_b

Trojan wrote: »

What was the price for the alternator replacement?

€390

Toyotafanboi

long_b wrote: »

€390

Also sounds very competitive.

What car? Main dealer?

TanFlash

bucketybuck wrote: »

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

Think of it as a call out charge that a plummer or electrician would charge.

Imagine sitting in a dentists chair with a sore tooth, he looks at it and says, "yep, you have a cavity in that tooth there", then you hop up and say thanks Mr Dentist but I'll sort it somewhere else.

You think you aren't paying that Dentist for his time? Sure even the receptionist knew your tooth was sore...

So if you bring your mobile phone into a repair shop for diagnosis, would you expect a charge? Doubt they'd be in business doing repairs for long.

endagibson

TanFlash wrote: »

So if you bring your mobile phone into a repair shop for diagnosis, would you expect a charge? Doubt they'd be in business doing repairs for long.

I'd expect something. I wouldn't expect it to be for free.

TanFlash

Must only happen in Dublin

Kevin!

long_b wrote: »

"Sounds like the alternator has gone. If you want us to have a closer look it'll be €90. If not you'll have to get it towed away"

It was towed there as it was the only option to get it off the road at the time.

Sounds like the alternator has gone



did you want them to inspect the car or hazard a guess?
If you don't want your car to be towed to the nearest garage, upgrade your recovery policy.

the_syco

long_b wrote: »

I wouldn't expect anyone to work for free.

But you had an issue with the charge?

As for the tower "being busy", that to me sounds like the insurance company would only pay a fixed amount to the tower.

BorneTobyWilde

Cost few pence to plug it in, it's a rip off, a fixed fee, what a joke
Personally if I need to do a quick check on a car for a tiny issue ,I would not charge anything.

TanFlash

They probably lost a potential service customer and sales customer in being too greedy.

Toyotafanboi

TanFlash wrote: »

They probably lost a potential service customer and sales customer in being too greedy.

Terribly unlikely.

BreadnBuddha

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Also sounds very competitive.

What car? Main dealer?

2001 1.8 Mondeo. Ford main dealers. According to the OP's thread asking how much it should cost on the Motors board.

Toyotafanboi

long_b wrote:

my mechanic is more back street

We have been comparing apples and oranges by the look of things.

quadrifoglio verde

TanFlash wrote: »

So if you bring your mobile phone into a repair shop for diagnosis, would you expect a charge? Doubt they'd be in business doing repairs for long.

Do I expect them to charge for diagnosis on top of repair. Nope, I expect it to be part of the repair price.

Do I expect them to mind my phone for me for a week, tell me what's wrong with it and not charge me for that service if I get it fixed elsewhere? Nope. They've done work for me.

They won't stay long in business if they store and diagnose for free.

390 for alternator replacement sounds reasonable to be honest op.

kirving

The fact that's it's reasonable isn't really the point.

What they should have done is given him a one minute phonecall and said "Hi, if you'd like us to diagnose the fault and provide a quote, it's €90. Otherwise we'll have to charge €15 per day for storage, etc.

bucketybuck

TanFlash wrote: »

So if you bring your mobile phone into a repair shop for diagnosis, would you expect a charge? Doubt they'd be in business doing repairs for long.

I know laptop repair shops charge a fixed fee for diagnosis regardless of repair, and would fully expect mobile phone repair shops to do the same.

TanFlash wrote: »

They probably lost a potential service customer and sales customer in being too greedy.

Your "probably" is wrong. The OP has his own mechanic and doesn't appear to live local so the chances of him ever using that garage again was already incredibly slim. He then stated that he got them to complete the repair because the sunk cost of the diagnostic fee plus further towing charges meant it became the most economically prudent option.

The facts show that charging the diagnostic fee got them a job they would not otherwise have had from a transient customer they would probably never have seen again anyway, so from a business point of view it appears to have been very successful.

And thats without even getting into the fact that without that charge they would have had to handle an incoming breakdown from an insurance company, spend their time inspecting the vehicle, use their expertise to confirm the fault and store the vehicle safely on their premises for a week, all for free.

bucketybuck

Kevin Irving wrote: »

The fact that's it's reasonable isn't really the point.

What they should have done is given him a one minute phonecall and said "Hi, if you'd like us to diagnose the fault and provide a quote, it's €90.

The OP did call them and ask for a quote. They did the necessary and returned to him with a quote.

The problem seems to be that the OP and others think that accurate quotes happen by magic and that no reasonable person could expect that there would be a cost involved.

CianRyan

It's a given that if you have a car towed to a garage that you're expecting a diagnostic, if not you'd have had it towed home.
It's also a given that if someone is spending an hour of your their working day on your property, you're going to owe them their hourly rate.

Unfortunately, and especially in the motor trade, it's a given that (some) customers are tight *****.

Atari Jaguar

bucketybuck wrote: »

Imagine sitting in a dentists chair with a sore tooth, he looks at it and says, "yep, you have a cavity in that tooth there", then you hop up and say thanks Mr Dentist but I'll sort it somewhere else.

You think you aren't paying that Dentist for his time? Sure even the receptionist knew your tooth was sore...

Eh, that's Dr Dentist.

Atari Jaguar

Kevin Irving wrote: »

The fact that's it's reasonable isn't really the point.

What they should have done is given him a one minute phonecall and said "Hi, if you'd like us to diagnose the fault and provide a quote, it's €90. Otherwise we'll have to charge €15 per day for storage, etc.

Even at that cost OP would have been €15 better off.

chicorytip

long_b wrote:

They've just told me there's a €90 "diagnosis fee" that they want to charge me for looking at the car, and that this was standard practice. The guy who towed the car was even able to say it was the alternator that went.

long_b wrote:

Sounds like highway robbery to me ?

You're right. It is daylight robbery. 30 euro is the average charge for such tests in most independent garages. A problem like a bad alternator shouldn't need to be "diagnosed", in any event. It ought to be immediately obvious to any competent mechanic.

Grolschevik

Atari Jaguar wrote:

Eh, that's Dr Dentist.

Don't think that's true. Think it's still an honorific. Though I believe vets get to call themselves 'doctor' now, so you never know.

Lucifer

chicorytip wrote: »

You're right. It is daylight robbery. 30 euro is the average charge for such tests in most independent garages. A problem like a bad alternator shouldn't need to be "diagnosed", in any event. It ought to be immediately obvious to any competent mechanic.

I have had a volvo s40 come in not charging that had corrosion on a pin on the engine ecu that caused it to not charge. Would you think that was immediately obvious or took a few minutes to find? The previous garage obviously took a guess because there was a brand new volvo alternator on the car when I got it. 9/10 times not charging will be an alternator, but without checking properly, you are only guessing, and any competent mechanic should be doing a proper diagnosis before giving a price for an alternator because of low voltage at the battery. On some cars this can be a 5 min quick check with a multimeter where you have easy access to everything. Other times there can be more involved such as a buried alternator or bad wiring.

Lucifer

Audi not charging because of wiring loom burned. Just another example why there can need to be a diagnosis for an alternator issue. If the garage just quote for an alternator without checking properly and it doesn't fix the problem who will pay then?

pa990

Op

Buy your own diagnostic kit.


Next time you break down, find the fault while you're waiting for the tow truck.

Save a fortune.

Then, YouTube how to fix it

kirving

Can anyone explain why it's okay for a garage NOT to give the OP a call with the details before going ahead with the diagnosis work?

I actually think it's good value for money personally.

the_syco

Atari Jaguar wrote: »

Eh, that's Dr Dentist.

Funny enough, but it's not. They are a doctor if they had studied for a phD after their dentistry degree. Otherwise, no Dr.

Also, why did the garage take a week to give a diagnosis?

TanFlash

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

TanFlash wrote: »

They probably lost a potential service customer and sales customer in being too greedy.

Terribly unlikely.

Terribly likely

BreadnBuddha

TanFlash wrote: »

Terribly likely

Terribly unlikely.

The OP has a 15 year old Mondeo and a spare parts car sitting in his driveway.

The garage is a Ford main dealer, probably charging 90 euro per hour, which the OP thinks is unreasonable.

These two things do not for a minute suggest the OP will be a service customer of this garage. The garage know it and they're making a good decision in getting paid for the diagnostics. The OP won't spend anything else with them, preferring his own mechanic, who he says himself is more 'back street'.

Again, terribly unlikely. Did you not say you were in the business yourself? You must see this to be true.

TanFlash

So he might not ever buy a car or recommend them to someone else?

TanFlash

I work for a main dealer and have found a sale comeback to me from the most unlikeliest of situations. The most extreme one was when someone quoted me that they'd buy a certain car when they won the lotto.

Toyotafanboi

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Can anyone explain why it's okay for a garage NOT to give the OP a call with the details before going ahead with the diagnosis work?

I actually think it's good value for money personally.

Because, unfortunately, it's a given. He had his broken down car towed to their workshop, it'd be a reasonable expectation on the garages part to anticipate that they wanted a diagnostic. Think from the garages point ofof view, the other 99 customers out of 100 who would be pissed if their vehicle wasn't diagnosed swiftly on arrival.

TanFlash wrote: »

Terribly likely

There's no way the garage lost a sales or service customer to greed.

The waive the diagnostic fee if you get the repair carried out there and he still declined that.

I mean no offence but someone with a 16 year old vehicle who will not spend €390 in legitimate repair costs because their back street mechanic can do it for less with parts harvested from their personal "spares car" is generally never going to willingly or otherwise become a main dealer client.

To be fair, i'd say there'l be no love lost from the dealers end of things either.

Edit: beaten by BreadnBuddha

Toyotafanboi

TanFlash wrote: »

So he might not ever buy a car or recommend them to someone else?

Absolutely not.

They've already been on t'internet twice to say how poor and expensive the service was.

TanFlash

It didn't need to go on diagnostic to see if alternator gone

The fact the you say a guy with a 16 year old car might not be a potential customer would be incorrect. How do you know that? If I uttered the words "tyre kicker" in a sales meeting to describe a customer , I'd get a bollocking. They're not tyre kickers, they're customers!