Mechanic Charging Excessively for Little Work

ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 00:25

My partner's car wouldn't start the other day, and upon trying to start it - fuel would gush out the bottom.
Worried, she called a 'call-out' mechanic. He looked at it, said 'Can't fix it here, will have to tow it (Because the way the car is designed), but it could be anywhere from $600-1000 if serious.'
Partner needs the car and says to let them know if it is serious before work commences. Pays $80 for callout fee, plus a $300 deposit for towing(??)

Anyway, picks it up next day, and that day calls up, says all is done, was a disconnected fuel line (no new parts-must have vibrated off?) and says price is $880 (inc. $170 for tow). He later drops it to $750 when asked about the high price..
So, what can we do? Surely this minimal work didn't cost ~$580, especially with no new parts.. and they never called up to provide a better quote once diagnosing the work…

Thanks!

*Its a ~2010ish Mazda 3

Automotive

Comments

  • Davo1111 on 23/10/2018 - 00:44

    i'd get an invoice, and then look on WP for existing threads on how much a mechanic charges.

    Don't forget to add the time taken for the call out.

    • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 00:48

      My partner already paid $80 cash for the call out. So $750 is not including that.
      And I'm sorry.. what is WP… sorry :\ ahaha

      Ok, so if you get the invoice and it quotes like 500 for labour for clearly a small job - what can you do?

  • Flanders on 23/10/2018 - 02:06
    +2

    Check with consumer affairs, fair trading etc, in your state.
    In NSW, I think that a mechanic has to call you, and check if you want to proceed, before doing any work costing much more than initially expected. You have the option then to say no, and mechanic must leave in no worse condition, so they would have to put it back together still.
    And your partner did instruct them to call, before going ahead with anything. So definitely contact consumer affairs, if you feel you have been overcharged. If you find you haven't been overcharged, but still they did the wrong thing by not checking before going ahead with costly repair, then explain this to mechanic (after checking faur trading laws) and mechanic will probably discount further for their breach of fair trading .

    • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 11:37

      Ok - what if they don't budge - they still have the car + deposit. Any recourse if we pay the bill that we can do after?

      • subywagon on 23/10/2018 - 11:57
        +1

        I don't think it's legal for them to keep your car. Tell them to keep the deposit and $80, as that's the max the job should have cost anyway, $380. Threaten with fair trading etc.

        • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 12:34

          From google: A mechanics lien is a legal claim that you, as someone who worked on a piece of property or provided materials to, can file against the title of the property if you remain unpaid for work performed after a certain period of time.
          Applicable in Victoria

          • subywagon on 23/10/2018 - 12:40
            +1

            @ChandyMan: I'd confront them in person about being ripped off and tell them the max you will pay is $380 or what ever you're prepared to pay. They might bargain a bit, it's up to you how high you want to pay. I'd bring a friend for back up for support. I doubt things will turn violent but they may try to intimidate you. I understand about the lien again property etc for work done, but I doubt they can use that argument to rip off people. If it went to court you'd only have to supply a few quotes from other mechanics for the same work which would be sub $500 and they'd lose.

            Do you have any free legal advice near by? We have a free legal service here run pro bono by solicitors from different law firms. I'd be talking to them.

  • whooah1979 on 23/10/2018 - 07:20
    +4

    it could be anywhere from $600-1000

    The mechanic did give a verbal indication of the cost. The customer should've said no if that was to much for them. They may then contact another workshops for quotations.

    • stirlo on 23/10/2018 - 08:42
      +3

      Yep, cost is right in the middle of the quoted range. A tow for $170 sounds pretty cheap to me. I don't see what OP is complaining about?

      What did you expect them to do, tow it to their garage and put it on the hoist for free? With these kind of jobs the cost isn't in the parts/fix its in the labour to get it into the shop and get it looked at. Even if you'd got a phone call would you have then fiddled around with quotes before deciding to take it to another place (paying another $170?).

      • djkelly69 on 23/10/2018 - 10:04
        -1

        I don't see what OP is complaining about?

        I am guessing it is because the verbal estimate was "$600-1000 if serious", and they don't believe reconnecting a fuel hose is serious. (Not really sure if it is serious or not, just pointing out the complaint.)

        • whooah1979 on 23/10/2018 - 10:19

          Faulty fuel line not serious?
          https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/accidents-…

        • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 11:06

          In a car that's not moving, I'm not sure you could get much serious issues than fuel gushing out of it, and since we've no idea where the fuel line is in this car, no one - not even OP really - knows how much work was needed to access and reconnect it.

          I mean - about 90% of the comments in this thread show that most people don't have any mechanical knowledge and why mechanics do deserve to be paid at least a decent amount of money for theirs.

        • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 11:39

          Well, thats right. I would assume $750 for a tow plus reinstalling a new hose line and who knows what else. For a job that required no new parts - $580 is around ~5-6hrs labour…

      • Flanders on 23/10/2018 - 19:55

        170 sounds pretty cheap to me.

        Definitely not a cheap tow. Pricing for toe is very different compared to the emergency tow required after accidents (where tow drivers pay finder fee to report accident and they rush to the scene).
        Last tow I had was couple of years ago, quoted $60 for my mechanic about 25km away. You ask a few tow truck drivers their cheapest quote for pont A to point B and let them know its no rush, your just asking round for best price. They will do it fairly cheap, and in next day or 2 . That's round here. Different if there was no competition and they're the only tow available in that area.

  • vinni9284 on 23/10/2018 - 07:35
    +3

    1 - Ask for a detailed invoice showing the work
    2 - Look for job done + parts + labour
    3 - Obviously towage is $170 + $80 call out fee which is a decent chunk of the bill
    4 - The lovely GST will also be added to the bill

    Get back to us of the itemised bill.

    No point at this stage asking for advice if you don't itemise the bill so we can't see the breakdown.

    Cheers

  • holdenmg on 23/10/2018 - 08:09
    +1

    Was a your partner a Member of RACV?

    If not, I'm pretty sure they could have joined instantly.

  • DarkOz on 23/10/2018 - 08:36
    +3

    anywhere from $600-1000 if serious
    will have to tow it. $170 for tow
    drops it to $750

    $750 is at the lower end of $600 - $1000. Less $170 for tow so he charged $580 for the job. A bit pricey but not excessive. It's after hour work and an emergency. Jobs like this are charged at a premium hourly rate.

    • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 11:29
      -1

      It wasn't really an emergency job though. My partner didn't have the luxury of waiting all week for a mechanic, so she called until one was available now, and they operated it like a regular job with around 2 day turnaround.

      • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 16:20

        they operated it like a regular job with around 2 day turnaround.

        In my experience that's not a normal turnaround for a mechanic. But in any case you agreed to the price estimate, they came down below that, and now you're just salty because now that you know what the problem is, you feel ripped off.

  • JimmyF on 23/10/2018 - 08:55

    Within the quoted price, and required a call out fee, requiring a tow and a urgent fix, yet you're complaining its too much money!?

    • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 11:32
      -1

      Well, if you know nothing about pulling out trees, and call out a person to pull down your tree. He umms and ahhs and says it 'could be serious, I'll come back tomorrow and have a look at it but it could be $600-$1000.' And then comes back tomorrow, finds out its not serious at all, and just lifts it from the ground (strange example), puts it in his ute and drives off, and charges you $750 - I feel like you would be confused
      *Also, call out fee was extra - additional $80
      *Was urgent for us, but not them. They were available and free to book a job (other mechanics were busy) and had a regular two day turnaround.

      • JimmyF on 23/10/2018 - 12:08
        +2

        While you claim to know nothing about how to fix it, you seem to feel it was overpriced, even when within the quoted price you agreed on.

        While it was a simple fix in the end, it would have required them to remove the fuel tank from the car to find the issue. For the Mazda its either a drop down from under the car, or a back seat removal to get to the fuel lines etc. This all takes time to pull apart find the fault, fix it, and then put it all back together again. It wasn't a 2 min fix like you think.

        Ever called a plumber out to fix a dripping tap? Its about $1 for the part, but about $150 for the call out fee etc for the first 30 mins onsite.

        Your issue is no different. You pay more as they came to you to fix your issue. Next time, take the car to them to save the towing fee and call out fees etc.

        • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 12:13

          I agree - mechanics do have actual things to do - I'm sure it wasn't a literal 5 minute job. But even at $100 per hour, its still priced at a 5-6hr job, which in my uneducated mind seems a little bit excessive. But I could be just that - uneducated on the matter.

          • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 16:21
            +1

            @ChandyMan: This is spot on:

            While you claim to know nothing about how to fix it, you seem to feel it was overpriced

            You literally have nothing to base your claim that it's overpriced off of, other than that it "sounds like a simple job", and that you "feel it's too much". Come off it. Next time if you think it's too expensive, do the job yourself.

            Oh wait, you don't know how to and that's why you need a specialist.

            • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 16:28

              @HighAndDry: Aye come on mate. Judging by other comments here and elsewhere, people have estimated a job like that to cost $500, with a replaced part. I am certainly not a mechanic but I feel like it's reasonable to be dubious at my price tag, especially given some mechanics (definately not every mechanic) infamous reputation and others reports of the price. But if it's legit, then it's legit and that's the end of the matter.

              • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 16:30

                @ChandyMan: It really doesn't matter if it's "legit" or not. What actually matters is you were given an estimated quote, and agreed.

                Others have said $500 including parts. A fuel hose, unless it's a new European brand, costs peanuts. You were charged $580. That's an insignificant difference considering again that you agreed to it.

                Go try and haggle with them if you want - just letting you know that at the end of the day you're not entitled to have the price reduced.

                Plus, "call out mechanics" are always more expensive, because they're also more convenient. They charge for that convenience too. So ultimately it was something like at most a 10% markup.

                Edit: I don't want to be too harsh, but I kinda want to stress that you don't actually know how much work was involved. It reminds me of (a likely apocryphal) story of an engineer charging Henry Ford $100 to fix a machine that only needed a screw to be tightened. Ford is outraged and asks for an itemized invoice, an the engineer gives him: $1 - Tighten screw. $99 - Knowing which screw to tighten.

                Same here, basically. If you knew exactly what was wrong, what needed to be done, and told the mechanic to do that and just that? Then yes, this kind of price would be outrageous (so long as you didn't agree to it). But you didn't, the mechanic only had "fuel gushing" which could mean any of a number of things, had to diagnose the problem, locate it, and then fix it.

                Maybe I'm biased because I'm also a service provider of sorts, but it's a basic level of respect for others having the knowledge and skills and experience that you don't have and that's needed to solve the problems you asked them to solve.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/10/2018 - 09:07
    +1

    You gave consent to be ripped off.

    Not knowing what is the issue and agreeing to cost estimate is a terrible idea.

    If the issue was major and will cost >$1,000, you'd be getting a phone call to tell you the price has just changed.

    If the issue was minor, you've already signed a blank cheque for $600-$1,000.

    • subywagon on 23/10/2018 - 09:32

      Yep this ^ The OP said call first if it's serious… It wasn't serious so they went ahead with the job. Probably a 2 min job with a set of pliers unless the hose was in a difficult to get to place then it may have been an hour if they had to remove other parts to get to it.

      • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 11:27

        I agree that my partner agreeing to a price of that range was a mistake. But she was led to believe that there could be serious problems, and not just the hose popped off and needed to be reattached. She isn't particularly car savvy, and was buying whatever the car call out man was putting down sadly.

        *I should add that neither am I and probably would have accepted that if the mechanic told me my goddamn fuel tank exploded I probably would have believed him.

  • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 09:19
    +1

    Reconnecting the fuel line might only have taken a few minutes. Putting the car up on the hoist urgently (taking another car off), diagnosing and checking to see what the problem is, etc - that also takes time.

    • jellykingdom on 23/10/2018 - 09:36
      -1

      I don't know stacks about cars, but i doubt that "fuel coming out of the car" is a particularly long list of problems, and i'd imagine "Check fuel line connection" is very high up that list when you think of how likely that problem is to occur

      The problem with mechanics is they're not trained for troubleshooting, they're just trained to fix…also trained to rip you off, and unfortunately we've kinda just let that happen over the years to a point where it's essentially EXPECTED that they'll rip you off

      Essentially i'm calling BS on the price, but i'm also not surprised at all

      • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 09:47
        -1

        Do you know where the fuel line is located and what other parts might need to be removed to access it?

        Do you know what other steps are required so people don't die in a fireball when reconnecting the fuel line?

        I don't - but I feel these are important factors so if you don't either, you're really not in a position to comment.

        • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 16:22
          -1

          Heh. I'll take the empty neg as an admission that whoever negged has no idea either.

          • [Deactivated] on 23/10/2018 - 16:53

            @HighAndDry: You'll probably get negged for that too.

  • Sshanaz on 23/10/2018 - 09:44

    I recently had a fuel leak on my holden barina. Luckily I have NRMA roadside assistance so the car was towed free of charge to the mechanic.

    My mechanic charged me $240 to install new fuel hose which included genuine part from the dealer and 1.5 hours labour.

    If you exclude $80 call out and $170 tow fee, $500 seems very excessive to just put the hose back.

    You should definitely get itemised bill which shows labour charges and parts(if used).

    • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 11:23

      The $80 was additional, not a part of the $750.
      This is what I am thinking, but don't know what I can do after getting an itemised bill? Can I challenge it later?

      • Sshanaz on 23/10/2018 - 11:55

        My mechanic rang me and provided cost before ordering part so I knew total cost from the beginning.

        I am not sure how will challenge it if you authorised to tow the car and fix at their shop.

  • brendanm on 23/10/2018 - 17:34

    Hi OP, I'm a mechanic. Have you had the car serviced recently? Mazda's use a horrible fuel clip onto the fuel filter, so whoever has replaced the fuel filter last obviously didn't put it on correctly. They don't come off for no reason. Having said that, the price you have been given is ridiculous, he would have been able to jack the car up at your house, remove the plastic cover, and reclip the fitting in under 30 minutes.

    • ChandyMan on 23/10/2018 - 19:19

      Car was serviced not too long ago - within a year, maybe 9 months.
      Yeah, I'm getting conflicting answers here, half saying its a quick no hassle job and I got jibbed - and the other half saying to respect the process/profession otherwise I should do it myself…

      • brendanm on 23/10/2018 - 20:16
        +1

        As I said, this is my trade, there is no way in hell I would charge that much. In my opinion, it should have been fixed then and there, don't do mobile work if you can't take 5 minutes to jack the car up and have a look. They are a very easy fuel filter to get to. You can respect a profession to an extent, $800 is approx 8 hours, taking off $200 for the tow, is still 6 hours ish. Fuel gushing out from a popped hose is not hard to find, and not hard to fix.

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