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How to Avoid Car Repair Scams

The Anatomy of Auto Repair Estimates and Car Repair Prices

If you're wondering whether or not you were over-charged for your car repair - even just a little - we can help.

While there is an abundance of advice on how to avoid excessive car repair prices (visit: auto repair prices for a host of free articles, or own the ultimate resource - learn more...), we really need to look at the actual charges on a car repair estimate.

In other words, the focus needs to be more on the numbers on one's auto repair estimate. Car repair estimates can be confusing, but let's break it down so you can get a better idea if your auto repair shop is charging you appropriately.

Car Repair Estimates: The Basic Components

Auto Repair Estimate (Customer and vehicle information)

Using a generic top down estimate, the top portion simply contains your personal information, your vehicle's specifics: year, make, model, mileage...etc, and your request or concern.

What we also want notice is the shop's labor rate. The labor rate is critical in determining if you paid too much. Notice that it's not listed in our example. That's because most repair centers don't list the labor rate.

We'll discuss why shortly...

Auto Parts

Parts are listed usually with a brief description, the quantity and price. The example below shows an easy-to-read break down of the parts list for a 30,000 mile service.

Auto Repair Labor

Labor is billed in tenths. So 1.0 equals 1 hour. 1.5 equals an hour and a half.

Labor rates range from $60 to $100 per hour at local repair shops. $80 to $140 per hour at the dealer level.

Let's look at a "clear" labor description for a 30,000 mile service. Notice, that we've included the labor rate (i.e., the shop's hourly charge to service your automobile). If you don't see the shop's labor rate posted on the car repair invoice, ask your service center for the rate.

By not posting the labor rate on your invoice, repair shops can manipulate the charges with a labor matrix. This is a complicated and ethically questionable practice discussed at length in our eBooks. Click car repair prices to learn more.

What you need to know is that you can pay as high as $150 per hour rather than the posted labor rate of $105 per hour - yes this happens - every day.

Thus, you'll want to multiply the number of hours billed (which is also often not posted) by the shop's labor rate to determine if you've been charged accordingly - at least in accordance to what the repair shop thinks is fair.

To "know" if it's fair is a bit harder, which is why we created our LIVE Auto Repair Estimate Service, and have discussed it at length in our eBooks. You can learn to determine fair charges yourself in our eBook trilogy - see side menu ad.

Let's look at a good labor description first.

Miscellaneous Charges

The bulk of your car repair invoice will be parts and labor, but we can't forget about Miscellaneous Charges. These charges can include, but are not limited to, shop supplies--rags, chemicals, hazardous waste, disposal fees, waste oil ...etc. The latter of these may be billed out separately in a summary at the bottom of the invoice.

In truth, very few of these "extras" are actually used during regular repairs. Miscellaneous charges are calculated off the amount of labor hours billed, not the amount of miscellaneous items used. The $2.75 below is cheap. Some charges can be as high as $25.00.

Flat Fees

Flat fees can be another very tricky area. Flat fees are services, such as an alignment, which don't get broken down into parts, tax and labor. This of course makes it very difficult to determine the real and fair price. On the plus side, most flat fees are competitively priced.

Be warned however, another term for Flat Fee is called Menu Selling. In other words, you might see Tune Up: $99.99 or Transmission Flush: $89.99. Follow your manufacturer's recommendations only, not a dealer's or repair shop's menu. For an interesting read on this topic, click car maintenance costs

Summary of Charges

The last part of an auto repair estimate is the summary of charges. It's usually found in the bottom right hand corner of the invoice. Check it against the charges above to ensure that it all adds up mathematically, as well as logically.

This example is a basic estimate. Your particular invoice may have other categories such as "Sublet" or "HazMat."

A sublet charge is added when your auto repair shop uses another vender to fix or repair your car, such as a glass company that replaces your windshield.

A HazMat charge may include waste oil or other disposal fees. Just make sure the charges are warranted, as again, they're often calculated off the labor time rather than actual need.

Complete Car Repair Estimate

When you put it all together, it looks like this.

Note: this particular estimate was calculated for a client who was quoted $450 for a 30,000 mile service on his 2005 Toyota Camry - not including the alignment. Notice the fair price...

Click to learn more about auto repair costs