Mechanic Wants to Charge for Taking a Look at Coolant Leak

Lpolyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:01
Last edited 25/11/2022 - 13:58 by 1 other user

Just wondering if this is the norm:

I had a coolant leak on Friday and managed to drive it into a mechanics shop. He said he'll take a look at it (not sure if it was hoisted) but he couldn't find the leak (he says he thinks it's the plastic reservoir or manifold inlet hidden behind the engine). I asked for some photos but not provided.

Since I need my car for work, which is now Thursday - I asked for it back and he wants to charge $100.

Is this acceptable? Happy to pay if all is fair and reasonable.

Automotive Mercedes-Benz CLA

Comments

  • wordplay on 24/11/2022 - 14:05
    +13

    Does he have a plan to fix it? cost to further investigate it.

    Do you think he should have investigated the coolant leak for free?

    Think if want these sort of things looked at free of charge need to be a member of RAA/NRMA roadside assistance etc…

    • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:14
      +9

      He said he has to open up everything and it will cost >$2000, kept on saying its a "big job".
      What I feel is if he actually found the leak, and then I decided to take the car, I would be happy to pay him for his time.
      But right now, I'm not sure if he actually looked at the vehicle.

      • Cheap Gamer on 24/11/2022 - 23:44
        +4

        He should have spent twice as long as a pink slip to justify $100.

        A coolant leak can be found with dye and UV light. It's not a big job in most cases, but maybe your car needs a new head gasket. The giveaway is he says it's a big job but won't say where it's leaking.

      • mrhugo on 25/11/2022 - 15:26
        +5

        He probably doesn't want the job, maybe the car is too old, difficult to source parts, going to take up a spot, might reoccur. He probably thinks it's not worth his time and can make more money with less stress doing other jobs.

        Like any trade you got to pick your work.

  • Master Bates on 24/11/2022 - 14:06
    +38

    His time is money, so it’s fair for him to charge you. Whether $100 is fair, depends on the effort he put in. Ask him to show you what he did.

    • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:32

      I asked for some photos of the supposed leak.

      • SBOB on 24/11/2022 - 14:46
        +19

        you mean the leak you noticed?
        "I had a coolant leak on Friday and managed to drive it into a mechanics shop"

        how is it 'supposed leak' when you noticed it and took it to the mechanic?

        • dcep on 24/11/2022 - 15:18
          +8

          he wants a photo of a hole / fissure and a video of coolant dripping out from that exact location.

        • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 16:44
          +5

          Sorry misworded, the photo of the leak. Supposed work was what I meant

    • Heaps for Cheaps on 24/11/2022 - 16:23
      +6

      He did show what he did, now he wants another $100.

      • montorola on 26/11/2022 - 02:58
        -1

        I lol'ed.

    • Murkymerv on 24/11/2022 - 19:54

      Sounds like a con artist to me , seriously $100.00 just to put on a hoist . Did he tell you he would charge to look at it ? Go to my car and get a second opinion even a third !
      That redneck has dollar signs in his eyes , bloody crook…

      • Franc-T on 24/11/2022 - 22:18
        +22

        Its not 'just putting on a hoist' its a hoist he has to maintain and pay for and his time that he takes where he couldnt be doing anything else.

        If it was a local mechanic that OP usually goes to, they might look at it for goodwill for nada, but mechanic ruled out an easy to find leak and cant progress any further.

      • skillet on 25/11/2022 - 11:58
        +16

        So the hoist fell free from heaven and the mechanic has lots of free time on his hand for charity? He's out there to generate income he's not there for volunteer work. He's providing a service and the customer pays for it.

        • Hoofee on 25/11/2022 - 13:40
          +5

          I personally would have no problem with paying for his time to look at it, but $100 to tell you that he can't see the location of the leak. I wouldn't think that would take much time at all. E.g. Put it on the hoist and notice that you can't see the location… take back off the hoist again. 15 mins max.

          $50 sure, $100 seems a bit much IMO. Paying for his time, great, getting gouged, not so great.

          This is as long as he hasn't informed you of extra time that he spent investigating it. E.g. anything other than a quick look.

          If he charged $50 every time he put a car on the hoist, that would pay that $3000 hoist off pretty quickly. At 3 cars a day that would take a month not including weekends.

          Without any other information, I personally I would find $100 unreasonable, would pay the $100 because there is little choice, and then take my car elsewhere IF he provided no good reason why it cost $100.

          • Kayrhcp on 28/11/2022 - 08:52

            @Hoofee: $50 for basically any skilled job is not fair. This isn’t airtasker. You’re walking into a dudes business who has overhead (not just the hoist) to pay for with every minute of his time. $50 during a time of massive inflation, that’s a joke.

            • Hoofee on 29/11/2022 - 10:03

              @Kayrhcp: 10% inflation on $50 would be $55.

              We're not talking about $50 an hour, we're talking $50 for possibly 15 minutes ($200 per hour) unless proven otherwise. If it was indeed 15 mins, at $100 that would be $400 p/h. Say, for arguments sake that it took 30 mins with admin - printing the invoice etc - that's still $200p/h.

              If the mechanic is asking for top dollar for an inspection, expect to be paying top dollar to get them to do the job regardless of whether or not they are an expert.

    • DazMon on 25/11/2022 - 08:11

      My mechanics always show photos.

  • AndyC1 on 24/11/2022 - 14:06
    +50

    Would you do work for no pay?

    • smartazz104 on 25/11/2022 - 10:56
      +2

      Most other jobs would produce results though.

      • AndyC1 on 25/11/2022 - 12:32
        -4

        Good luck with working for nothing.

      • GandalfTheCheap on 27/11/2022 - 02:53
        +1

        If I spend hours looking for a big in some software and don't find it, it may seem like I got no result.

        But I'm able to show list of of things I did and places I checked. More importantly, I ruled out a bunch of things, which is essential to finding the solution to any problem where one doesn't exist yet.

        Sometimes a good business will just not charge you if they know you won't understand what they did, but that's just to avoid the argument, not because they didn't spend their precious time doing real work on your behalf.

  • neo on 24/11/2022 - 14:07
    +15

    Do you work for free? Didn't think so.

    Should it be $100? Depends how long he spent looking at it.

    Find another mechanic if you think it's unreasonable but the fact remains, he spent time on your vehicle and time = money.

  • Muzeeb on 24/11/2022 - 14:12
    +12

    Mechanics work for free*

    *Said no one ever

    • pegaxs on 24/11/2022 - 16:07
      +12

      *Says everyone that I deal with in a day…

      "Can I bring it in for a look, should only take like 30 seconds to have a look…"

      *2 hours later meme.jpg*

      • furyou on 26/11/2022 - 10:35
        +1

        yeah, love it when some pleb goes to a specialist, tells the specialist what the problem is, how long it MUST take to fix it, offers to pay for parts only + 5%.

        Any FB local group: "I need to do (insert 5hr $2000 project), anyone free for 2hrs on Sunday? I got $300 cash"

  • bobbified on 24/11/2022 - 14:14
    +20

    He used his expertise, that took him years to learn, to do something that you knew you couldn't/wouldn't be able to work out yourself.

    Pay the guy his money!

    • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:22
      +33

      What expertise? He said he couldn't find the leak and isn't sure.

      • bobbified on 24/11/2022 - 14:23
        +7

        The expertise that he tried with! He did spend time on the car that you brought to him. 🤣

          • bobbified on 24/11/2022 - 14:26
            +30

            @polyteknika: You would still have to pay the call out fee and any time he spent on your roof.

            Just like how we pay doctors. They don't always have a fix for the problem, but they will still bill for their time.

            • Seraphin7 on 24/11/2022 - 14:34
              +15

              @bobbified: Bingo.

              In the absence of a specific agreement, you are not paying for an outcome.

              You're paying for the cost of time and materials, delivered with due skill, care, and diligence, spent to (hopefully) achieve a desired outcome.

            • juki on 24/11/2022 - 22:19
              -2

              @bobbified: according to most european laws at least, it isnt like a doctor, since they only have an obligation of means while most other professions have an obligation of result.

              it would depend what the OP said to garage and if a quote was provided:
              - i want you to find the leak
              - i want you to take a look at the car knowing there is a leak

              i find $100 a bit stiff just to have a look if it only took the guy an hour if nothing was dismantled and it was just a "look", but then what do i know i drive an old toyota

              • bobbified on 25/11/2022 - 10:03
                +1

                @juki:

                according to most european laws at least, it isnt like a doctor, since they only have an obligation of means while most other professions have an obligation of result.

                I don't know anything about european laws, but if I understand what you're saying correctly, someone has written specific laws to outline the outcome obligations for everything except the medical profession? I find that hard to believe, but I'm more than happy to learn something new if you can show me what it says.

                The way mechanics diagnose problems is not that different to the way doctors do it. They'll take the symptoms and start with the most common problem (that causes those symptoms) first. If that is not the problem, then they'll move to the next most common problem and keep going until the work out what it is. It's a step by step process that takes time and knowledge.

                Sometimes it takes a few tries to fix it. Are you telling me that the law says that mechanics should not get paid until they fix the actual problem? And what if on the first try, it "helped a little", but didn't completely fix the problem? Does that mean they can only get paid a portion of the cost?

                • juki on 25/11/2022 - 19:14

                  @bobbified: hmm maybe i explained it poorly, in brief, you cannot sue your doctor for your breast enlargments going wrong or some incurable disease unless he has been negligent. you can sue your mechanic if you pay him to fix your engine and he doesnt do it correctly.

                  Mind you healthcare professionals often being a public service are not paid by you directly and therefore do not go through the classic contractual agreement as you would with your tradie, lawyer ect

                  furthermore many legal obligations fall upon you if you are of a specific trade, ie a car mechanic is responsible if he sells you a car with tampered mileage while a private owner not, even when they arent necessarily the ones that tampered.

                  all i wanted to say initially is that the doctor example isnt quite accurate, but i do agree, pay the mechanic, clarify things before you get stuff done

                  • callum9999 on 26/11/2022 - 22:52

                    @juki: You haven't explained it poorly, you completely misunderstand the premise.

                    You absolutely can sue a doctor (or more accurately, the medical provider) for procedures going wrong. You're correct that if there was no negligence then you'll lose, but the exact same applies to a mechanic or any other profession.

                    You absolutely do have a contractual relationship with a public service health provider.

                    Many legal obligations fall upon you if you're a doctor too. No idea what this line has to do with anything?

                    • juki on 26/11/2022 - 23:03

                      @callum9999: no there is a subtle difference to prevent it being like in the US, translated its obligation of means (dr) vs obligation of result (mechanic)

                      i was just commenting on what the other guy said but yeah im pretty tired and digress a lot

          • GrueHunter on 24/11/2022 - 16:12
            +16

            @polyteknika: "Hi doc, do I have cancer?"
            "Scans are negative"
            "Woohoo, free consult!"

            • Assburg on 25/11/2022 - 03:37
              +5

              @GrueHunter: "Hi doc, I have 99.99% confirmed I have cancer but not sure where, can you please take a look?"

              Doc looks into your mouth, asks you to say ahhh "didn't find the cancer so it's probably not in your mouth. that'll be $100"

          • Franc-T on 24/11/2022 - 22:24

            @polyteknika: He identified it isn't easily identifiable and accessible and to look and work on it further will require a substantial time and incur a cost.

            You didnt ask for a free quote, he didnt give you a free quote. He identified it wasnt a simple repair.

            And you asked for photos? What is that supposed to prove?

          • Narull on 25/11/2022 - 00:25

            @polyteknika: Yes, any normal adult would, it's a service fee.

          • Kayrhcp on 25/11/2022 - 09:06

            @polyteknika: YES!

      • newjerseydamo on 24/11/2022 - 14:38
        +3

        You do realise cars are complex machines with lots of parts?

        He couldn't find the leak from an initial inspection which is by looking at the most obvious and easily accessible parts. Any further investigation is going to require the car for longer and to disassemble portions of it, then find the leak.

        None of this is free.

      • pharkurnell on 24/11/2022 - 15:02
        +7

        Find it yourself then.

      • furyou on 26/11/2022 - 10:37

        how exactly do you think people pay for food and rent?
        if he spends all day investigating 50 people's problems and can't identify them immediately, he should go home with $0 that day?
        next complaint is "oh why won't any mechanic look at my small issue"

  • 7ekn00 on 24/11/2022 - 14:16
    +16

    If you want it for free, do it yourself, how hard can it be to see where fluid is leaking from ;)

    • smartazz104 on 25/11/2022 - 10:59
      +2

      Should ask the qualified mechanic who couldn't locate it, or probably never even looked at it…

  • AustriaBargain on 24/11/2022 - 14:20
    +3

    $100 sounds cheap if what he told you was correct. You should thank him.

    • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:21
      -3

      The thing is, he said he doesn't know for sure so it's not really useful information.

  • lovesabargain77 on 24/11/2022 - 14:23
    +11

    Always a good idea to ask up front how much they will charge to look at an issue.

    Do you have a regular mechanic that you use?

    • polyteknika on 25/11/2022 - 01:35

      Yes, but the only thing on my mind was to get it to the closest service station, since the engine temp was going above 120 degrees.

  • CrowReally on 24/11/2022 - 14:24
    +45

    This is a common scam, if you pay the $100 to him he will release your car back to you … and remain silent on your valuable coolant that is on the floor of his garage. By taking the car out after you've paid him that amount, you then relinquish the coolant. That's how they get you.

    You need to bring your own rags along at the time of settlement and get him to sign a Garage Floor Coolant Mop-Up Release Order [GCFMURO-440 for those of us in the biz]. Once your local JP (or MP) co-signs as "Non-Involved Signer" you can then reclaim what's rightfully yours.

    • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:30
      +2

      im so confused

      • Franc-T on 24/11/2022 - 22:25
        +14

        Its because the leak might be your spinal ceberal fluid.

        Hes taking the piss.

        • furyou on 26/11/2022 - 10:39

          How do you know what grade of spinal fluid to use? If I don't use my brain much, can I get away with a cheaper brand?

    • oscargamer on 24/11/2022 - 14:41
      +3

      GOLD !

      Edit - I short-changed you…GOLD PLUS !

    • ChrisLevo on 24/11/2022 - 14:56
      +2

      Contender for "Post of the Year" award!

  • oscargamer on 24/11/2022 - 14:25
    +8

    You might want to look up what a lien means before you decide not to pay……

    You asked the mech to spend time doing something. You didn't ask for a quote. You didn't ask if he would look for free. Of course you are required to pay for his time.

  • idonteven on 24/11/2022 - 14:25
    +2

    Unless he said he would do it for free you should pay the man.

  • SF3 on 24/11/2022 - 14:27
    +2

    Just wondering if this is the norm:
    I had a coolant leak

    No.

    How did you know?

    • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:28
      +1

      context

      • Franc-T on 24/11/2022 - 22:26
        +2

        Be funny if it was just your air conditioning condensing water under the car

        • xsacha on 26/11/2022 - 09:24

          Mentioned the temperature getting high. Could be the radiator.
          I assume it was both high temperature and visible liquid.

  • Drakesy on 24/11/2022 - 14:34
    +4

    Well, he is trying to run a business and isn't there as a volunteer.

    If he took an hour to assess then yeah, he's well within his means.

    If it was like half an hour, then maybe $50 is fair.

    Coolant jobs are a hard one. If it's in the front (radiator etc.) it could be up to around $500 dependent on the type of car and damage.

    If it's an engine out jobby then yeah it might be a bit more. My advice is get a secondary mechanic to look at it (and as for a quote this time).

    If your car is chewing coolant you could also have a cooked head gasket which would get expensive fast (is there white smoke coming out the back)
    else if its a drip it'll just be a faulty fitting/hose.

    • Needles on 24/11/2022 - 21:19
      +1

      then it would be another 100 bucks. same answer, then the third mechanic, 100 again, and on and on and on.

      • Franc-T on 24/11/2022 - 22:27
        +1

        He could solve his problem by only driving in flood water, will be plenty of cooling for the engine.

        SOLVED.

    • Franc-T on 24/11/2022 - 22:26

      If your car is chewing coolant you could also have a cooked head gasket which would get expensive fast (is there white smoke coming out the back)
      else if its a drip it'll just be a faulty fitting/hose.

      Depending on the car the engine could be dead already (my stupid mazda had a overheated and died before I even saw the temp gauge light come up)

  • Muzeeb on 24/11/2022 - 14:35
    +3

    I had a coolant leak

    Are you sure that your diagnosis of a coolant leak is correct?

    Is the car low on coolant?

    Did the engine overheat?

    he couldn't find the leak

    It wasn't just AC water under your car?

    How old is the car? Make? Model?

    • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:39

      100% coolant leak - I tried to pour coolant in, and then it flushed on the ground.

      • Muzeeb on 24/11/2022 - 14:40
        +4

        That may have been the overflow because the coolant reservoir was full.

        • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:45

          No it was already draining below as soon as I poured distilled water/coolant in.

          • Muzeeb on 24/11/2022 - 14:47
            +2

            @polyteknika: Was the motor hot or cold while you did this?

          • spaceflight on 24/11/2022 - 23:18
            -5

            @polyteknika: You should not use distilled water in your car (or any appliance)

            It lacks ions which it takes from things it comes into contact with, that degrades those metals.

            • Leiothrix on 25/11/2022 - 08:15
              -1

              @spaceflight: Unless it's something like an iron, a vaporizer, your windscreen washer or anything else that you should be using DI water in because it doesn't contain ions.

              • spaceflight on 25/11/2022 - 17:42

                @Leiothrix: If you read what I said you would see I said

                You should not use distilled water in your car (or any appliance)

                Don't believe me?
                Maybe you'll believe this

                after combing through some of the manuals of our recently tested steam irons, we found that just may be another suburban myth and, worse yet, can possibly void the warranty.
                https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2012/03/another-myt…

                None of the things you suggested need distilled water or should use distilled water and using distilled water will only cause long term damage.

                Want more proof?
                Have a look at your iron instruction manual.
                Too lazy too (you probably are) here's a Braun iron selected at random

                Never use distilled water exclusively
                https://www.braunhousehold.com/en-au/manuals/texstyle-9-si-9…

                As I said

                It lacks ions which it takes from things it comes into contact with, that degrades those metals.

                And that means that you should not use distilled water in your car (or any appliance).

                Having ions is a good thing, you don't need to be scared of them.

        • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:47

          and also the engine temperature was overheating

      • CrowReally on 24/11/2022 - 14:50

        Was this on the ground on common/public property (e.g. the road) or on the ground at the garage (which is the mechanic's property)?

        • oscargamer on 24/11/2022 - 14:54
          +2

          Stop baiting him, especially when he doesn't even know that's what you are doing

          • CrowReally on 24/11/2022 - 15:01
            +9

            @oscargamer: And then of course the final step is make my own post in the Automotive section "HELP NEEDED: I am a mechanic and a client is aware of my intention to retain his coolant on my flooring, need legal advice re: parallel claim of ownership"

      • trapper on 24/11/2022 - 17:45
        +5

        100% coolant leak - I tried to pour coolant in, and then it flushed on the ground.

        This makes no sense. If it's pouring out onto the ground how could you not see where it's coming from??

        • polyteknika on 25/11/2022 - 12:32

          Because the actual leak is somewhere under the engine (where I can't see). I can only see the coolant pouring onto the ground, but the hole/leak is elsewhere.

    • newjerseydamo on 24/11/2022 - 14:40
      +1

      Maybe it was pink/red fluid for power steering and the OP assumed it was coolant?

      This is why it's not cheap to diagnose something with a car. So much to go through and check, and usually the owner has no clue about cars in the first place and is just taking a wild guess.

      • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 14:46

        its coolant leak because my engine temperature was overheating.

        • pegaxs on 24/11/2022 - 16:15
          +5

          And that's why they are a mechanic and you…. are not.

          Over heating can be caused by a number of factors, not just "coolant leaks"…

  • ifyareckon on 24/11/2022 - 14:42
    +10

    If he can't get to the area where the coolant is coming from without spending more time taking the engine apart to get to it, how do you expect he would have taken photos? If he was able to take photos, he would know exactly where it's coming from. There really is no incentive for him to spend more time pulling apart the engine to get to the leak if you aren't committing to fix it.

    • pharkurnell on 24/11/2022 - 15:03
      +3

      Dont bring logic to this…

    • Krankite on 25/11/2022 - 20:43

      Maybe OP can provide us with photos of the work the mechanic didn't do?

  • That Guy on 24/11/2022 - 15:11
    +7

    You knowingly drove an overheating car with no coolant to a mechanic…. you'll be lucky not to have done a head gasket. Seeing as how little you know about cars I think your only choice is to trust the mechanic.

    Edit - please do not drive this car in its current state.

    • polyteknika on 24/11/2022 - 15:35
      +7

      No, I parked the car on the side as soon as I noticed the engine was overheating. After noticing the coolant pooling, I walked 40 mins to get distilled water and added and drove less than 2km to the closest service station.
      I think I did everything within reason.

      • Batapotamus on 24/11/2022 - 20:38

        Done this for a 100km journey. My passenger mate had drunk half a carton by the time we got home!

        Substitute servos for people's garden hoses!

  • Jssmstr on 24/11/2022 - 15:16
    +8

    $100 is extremely fair, $50 if it was a much easier look/find on a standard falcon/commodore; however, considering the additional work he has mentioned to investigate further I can only presume the engine bay was pretty tight and a pain to look around to try and source the leak.
    This is one of those ones where he has spent time on it but also understand that it didn't fix the solution, he is only charging you for the 1.5 hours he spent throwing it on a hoist and having a look.
    I'd just pay it and move on, you're not being ripped off.

    Source: Ex-Mechanic

  • dscott85 on 24/11/2022 - 15:18
    +2

    The mechanic looked at your car - obviously he looked in areas accessible without removing a large number of parts, because removing parts = labour = time = money.

    He didn’t find the leak in this initial inspection but to do a more more in-depth inspection requires taking the car apart, removing the engine or such thus the mechanic saying it’d be “a big job”.

    Pay the man what he’s owed, of course he can’t take pictures of the leak if it’s behind the engine block, which would take lots of labour = time = money to confirm.

    The mechanic rendered you a service if you don’t pay him your a thief.

  • brendanm on 24/11/2022 - 15:22
    +1

    What's the car?

    • Muzeeb on 24/11/2022 - 15:33
      +7

      Has to be a 15+ year old euro for sure. I'm guessing BMW 3 series.

      • pegaxs on 24/11/2022 - 16:18
        +2

        Nah, I'm going VW Golf or some Audi heap of shit, like an A3.

        • Muzeeb on 24/11/2022 - 16:24
          +4

          You're right. All VAG owners treat mechanics like d!cks.

          • MorriJ on 25/11/2022 - 01:20

            @Muzeeb: Not all women treat mechanics like d!cks.

      • Drakesy on 25/11/2022 - 01:14
        +1

        Mercedes CLA high yield eurotrashmachine
        Ding ding ding
        We have a winner

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