The only time I had to take my Porsche 993 to a pro for something I couldn't handle on my own was for diagnostics. The mechanic asked me how much I wanted to spend on his chasing the problem. I said to call me before going above $200. It took $600 to find it and I had to pay it, since it otherwise wouldn't pass smog without my addressing the problem. I still did the fix myself, but I'd have just been shooting in the dark by replacing stuff without his diagnostics.
Posts: 3534 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: October 24, 2005
Originally posted by RogB: 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.
The only fair way is to pay them for every hour spent at whatever their hourly rate is, plus parts.
Such is the nature of investigating anything. One can't guarantee a result to a mystery in a fixed amount of time, by definition.
It sucks, to be sure, but that's how it goes sometimes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Yidn, shreibt un fershreibt"
"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind." -Bomber Harris
Posts: 16120 | Location: Ivorydale | Registered: January 21, 2005
First you pay the bill you get, unless you specified something when you took it in. When I have people work on unknown stuff like this I always, always, tell them a cap on what I'm willing to invest without another approval. just fix it is literally an open book. At this point I would directly discuss it with them. How many hours do they have invested (that's already on your nickel) and agree on whatever future work you are ok with.
“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
Originally posted by P210: I believe it’s Jag-you-are.
It is.
One of my clients owns a bunch of higher-end dealerships including Jag and the rest. Way back when we first started working together I still said like most everyone I know (jag-wire). I was literally pulled aside and politely but firmly corrected on day two of the project. I still feel like a pretentious ass when I say it that way, but what's right is right.
First off if it was my shop I would not charge you for an unreasonable number of hours because of being unable to find the problem. With you being a regular customer I would discuss the situation with you and try to reach a fair amount of hours. If not you are obligated to pay the bill.
Originally posted by 9mmnut: First off if it was my shop I would not charge you for an unreasonable number of hours because of being unable to find the problem. With you being a regular customer I would discuss the situation with you and try to reach a fair amount of hours. If not you are obligated to pay the bill.
It’s a tough call because you or your tech could be working on another car and billing for every single hour you or your tech are working.
I own a yacht management business and do repairs on yachts and try not to get into cans of worms anymore for this reason. On yachts, there are no manuals or anything that says how and where wiring is routed, where some breakers or relays are located, and there are lots of hiding places and tracing of wires and pulling apart panels and woodworking to find them. In the past when taking on these projects I’ve been compassionate with billing, but if you spend an entire day working hard on it, it’s also a day of your time also.
I'm an electrician, my entire day is usually spent troubleshooting stuff. Intermittent problems are the worst to try and tackle. I usually tell my customers to consider limiting the time spent since its so hard to tell if you've fixed the problem or a problem. I expect to be paid for my time even if the problem is not fixed. It sucks but that is the nature of all intermittent problems, I much prefer when things don't work at all, then it's really easy to tell when you've fixed it.
If you feel they used a qualified mechanic using proper diagnostic tests then pay them what they ask. If you feel like you were used for on the job training or they were just randomly replacing things and praying they got it right then negotiate.
Jesse
Sic Semper Tyrannis
Posts: 20821 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014
In many cases the diagnostics and figuring out what is wrong is the hardest parts. If I have a scenario (computers) like that I will usually not charge for the entire time but it needs to be something. If I can't find the end fault then I have failed in part but something is due for the effort.
Wait for the bill? There would be no surprise if the fee for a diagnosis is agreed to ahead of time. Any work should be agreed to before the work is performed.
