This post is to help people realize how their car is supposed to be handled at a shop to keep people from getting ripped off by the shops that try, and do.

1. You bring in your car to joe blows side shop for a check engine light. You should be greeted when you walk in the service area and a writer should have you sit down and ask what you are in for today. You tell him/her your car has a check engine light on and you want it diagnosed. He/she should tell you there is a diagnosis fee and have you agree to pay it and sign off on it. Now you either get a ride or wait.

2. Someone will take your car and park it outside or it will be taken in right away (Depending on how busy the shop is).

3. The ticket will be handed to a technician who will bring your car in

4. Now the diagnosis will begin. The technician see's the vehicle is in for a check engine light. So he gets a scan tool and see's what code is in it and if the code is passing or failing (meaning if the problem is happening now or not):

If the code is passing (problem not happening) the technician can try and operate the vehicle in a certain way to see if he/she can get it to fail. Diagnostic Trouble Codes each have different conditions for setting. If the technician can not get the code to fail then he should clear the code and give the car back to you and explain that when the light comes back on and it is acting up to bring it in right away for proper diagnosis. No diagnosis fee should be charged b/c no diagnosis was performed

If the code is failing then the technician should look up the code in whatever online or offline service manual for the vehicle and find the test for whatever specific code is in the vehicle. He/She should perform that test to find the problem. If further diagnosis is needed it should first be approved by YOU. After he/she has found the problem, the part should be priced up and labor time should be looked up.

5. The technician should take the ticket to the service writer who will come up with a total and then come to you with an explaination and a price. It's YOUR choice if you want it fixed or not (But if it was a proper diagnosis then you are responsible for that fee). If theres a whole list of parts to TRY and fix it then ask for your car back and refuse to pay diag b/c it was obviously never performed and its just a scheme to try and get more money from you.

6. Either you want it fixed or not. If you do it should be fixed and tested

7. The car is then pulled out of the shop. The ticket gets taken to the writer who finalizes it, finishes the paperwork and sends you to the cashier to pay your bill.

8. You pay your bill and viola, get back to car (Which shouldnt have a check engine light on anymore) and drive away

I hope this was informative. Not all shops are there to rip you off

Take car to Advanced Auto or Autozone
Get scanned for free
???????
Profit.

Weebel wrote:Im to smart to go to strip clubs.

Fix it yourself?

If i ever got a RO with no money on it and I had not previously agreed to it, I refused to work on it. I wasnt going to spend 15-30 minutes with a car for free. If the SES light is on and the code is not current I had to spend time trying to get it to fail. My time was worth something even if I couldnt get the code to reset that visit.

That being said, fix it yourself and you only have yourself to blame if you feel that you were ripped off.

I don't think shops are there to rip us off but I do feel at times that they overcharge. I know a Shell station that charges nearly $40 for an oil change.

What is the point of this?

You pay daig, you approve or decline the work.... The end