Jag wouldn't start at times, so took it to shop that specializes in Jags (mine is a 92 xjs v12). They've worked on it before, always did good job and has excellent reviews.

After a week they are stymied. Did lots of tests, nothing shows as a problem. Looks like they are at a dead end.

What is a fair way of compensating them? Obviously I'll pay for some parts they thought might be the culprit (like fuel pump relay) but am I expected to pay for the entire number of hours they worked on it?

Assuming the car is returned with no fix, isn't that like paying for a contractor to fix a furnace when he admits he couldn't find the problem?

I do want to compensate them, labor is labor, but I don't know a fair way of doing it. Haven't gotten bill yet, they are still trying to find problem, but if it turns out they are unable to do so any advice is appreciated.

Assuming you trust them, it seems to me that you are responsible for the time they spend working on your car. Tell them to stop if you disagree.

Wait until you get the bill, they might surprise you

I'd also wait until you get the bill.

We had a work truck that went to a local diesel shop. They had it about a week working diligently to figure out why it wouldn't start. When they mentioned the computer being bad a mechanic buddy of mine rolled his eyes and said the odds of that being the problem was extremely low.

Cost me $1,000.

Had it towed to the local Ford dealership and they put their diesel guy on it. Took him 30 minutes to determine it was a compression problem.

Yes. You took it to them, they didn't come looking for you. Pay what they ask.

Of course, you're going to be looking for a better shop anyway. So it's doubtful you'll ever go back, right?

I feel your pain, but I think I'm in the pay for the labor camp. If you want a quicker time to resolution with a more certain charge, I'd use the dealer. I take my 1998 e430 to the dealer. I've spent a LOT there this past summer. But I've had a lot done and am not paying for trial and error.

That reads like I'm chastising you for not using the dealer. I don't mean it that way.

I also say that you pay them for the labor t hey expnded to attempt to solve your problem.

Yes. Have to pay it.

I recently had an isuzu distributor crap out. Isuzu is no longer in the states. Some parts are a bitch to get.

They replaced it but still no joy. Much more troubleshooting and replacing parts. They fixed it.

Yes, it was the distributor but other things also not in the quote.

They worked with me and it came out to damn near the original cost........only two weeks and untold labor also.

Good luck!

Wait....you own an English car and you are complaining about labor hours for troubleshooting?

Do you know how many pints of warm bitter they have to drink while dancing around naked swinging a dead relay they have to do to appease the British Leyland Demons....

All to figure out that having the steering wheel on the wrong side has angered them....

Jeeeesh

(owned a LR Disco that I loved / despised and a Spitfire that did not like puddles)

Forward the bill to Lucas.

I would try and negotiate although that should have been done prior to giving it to them. I sure wouldn’t want to pay for parts that didn’t fix it. If replacing the fuel pump didn’t fix it then was your old fuel pump fine? Unfortunately mechanics get paid by the hour and even if they can’t find the problem (sometimes due to their lack of troubleshooting ability) you are paying for them to guess. I’ve known some really good mechanics and some parts changers who didn’t know what to do if the computer didn’t tell them.

Is this an intermittent problem that they can’t duplicate in the shop or is the car dead and they can’t determine why it won’t run?
A ‘92 Jag V12 is always going to be a problem child, even at its best. If you think they are giving it an honest effort and are not over their heads with this car I’d give them time. Your other options finding somebody better are most likely limited for that car.

Fee to diagnose a problem are generally posted. That should help limit the damage, but so long as they are being reasonable, I'll be reasonable.

quote:

Originally posted by shiftyvtec:
Forward the bill to Lucas.

Careful mentioning The Prince of Darkness by name.

Yeah, I agree that finding a different shop to tackle this will be a challenge. Wait for the bill.

Do they have a mechanic’s lien on the vehicle?

They'll bill you as others have said and I expect it will be much more than I was charged when my Jeep dealership couldn't fix the problem. No low beam headlights. High beams work fine. Said the faulty part was the Junction Block (where fuses and relays are located). Problem was, Chrysler doesn't have the Junction Block for a 2003 Jeep. Discontinued and no longer available. The service rep at the dealership said, "Sometimes parts aren't available for years as late as 06-07." They charged me $98 and couldn't fix it. I fixed it myself by bypassing the low beam relay, which wasn't faulty and just wasn't getting the low beam switch signal, with a toggle switch I mounted on the dash. Bonus I guess is that I can now run both low and high beams + fog lights at the same time ... so don't flash your brights at me

quote:

Originally posted by GaryBF:
Assuming you trust them, it seems to me that you are responsible for the time they spend working on your car. Tell them to stop if you disagree.

This. Intermittent problems are the hardest to find and can take a very long time sometimes, but you’re responsible for the time they spent.

Try having the ignition coil wire changed. I had this issue once on a different type of vehicle and it ended up being a bad $10 coil wire.

Electrical problems on a pre-Ford Jaguar? And a 26-year-old V12, to boot? You don't say. Even a "specialist" is fighting an uphill battle.

If they don't find the problem in a reasonable time frame, at some point they and you are going to have to say "enough is enough." I wouldn't be surprised if they feel bad about it and offer a reduced (which may amount to a monetary loss) price, if for no other reason than to get the thing out of their hair and move on to something profitable. BT, DT.

Get the bill, pay the bill, that's my advice.

Depending on how much they charge, depends on if you ever use them again.

I hired a plumber for a small job. Plan was, if he did a good job, and charged a fair amount, I had thousands and thousands of dollars worth of future jobs lined up for him. He did a good job, but charged over twice the going rate. I paid the man, and as he was leaving told him this was a job interview and he failed. The thousands of dollars worth of jobs would go to another contractor.