Workshop charging double what was verbally quoted, thoughts?

[Looonie]

So I went to a workshop and asked what it would cost to get a rear muffler (that I supplied) put on, needed flange, pipe, 90deg bend to mate up existing exhaust to replacement muffler.

Also while in there wanted them to weld in rear diff bush sleeve, required plasma cutting one out from old subframe (which I supplied) and welding into my existing subframe.

Was verbally quoted about $150 for the exhaust and "we'll look after you" for the diff bush sleeve thing.

So after leaving the car with them for the day and having to organise my own way back from the workshop, they ring me up to say its done and the cost is just under $500.

This kind of thing pisses me right off, but seems to be an ongoing occurence with workshops in NZ (has happened to me just about everytime I've taken a car into a workshop to have something done)

Has anyone else had similar experiences? Is there anything you can do about it apart from bend over, grab your ankles and ask nicely for them to use some lube?

[Mr Revhead]

A quote is binding, an estimate is not... But given verablly I thik you will be hard pressed to prove that as a quote...

[touge_ae101]

feel for you man. same thing happened to me. 2-300bux turned into 800bux.

unless you got a proper quote done you haven't got much of a chance of proving anything

[Bling]

"we'll look after you" could be any price I guess. Realistically, how much do you think the work was worth? ~$300 seems a lot to do a bit of cutting / welding, but I don't know what's involved in it. what was the pricing breakdown between exhaust and other job?

Expensive lesson, but always get a quote. Unless you are mates with them i'd never trust the "we'll look after you" line.

[Girvs]

Everytime I ask Toyota for a service quote its $180-200. Generally it turns out to be $400-500. On the plus side they ring up and ask your approval before doing anything that goes over cost. I'd have expected they would have done the same for you regardless if its not a major company

[iOnic]

Yeah any decent garage would ring the customer and let them know that there is some work required that will affect the quoted cost/time. We get a lot of those jobs eg for a simple oil and filter service where we discover that the car also needs a new air filter, plugs, pads etc. Customers appreciate being asked before going ahead and it usually results in them coming back to perform the extra work at a later date if they can't afford to do it all at once.

Sadly there's no comeback on a verbal "quote" - it's a case of he said/she said and that never ends satisfactorily.

[FST4RD]

I always ask how much it's going to cost me, even get them to write it down. Then I ask them to ring me if it's going to cost more. Never had a problem.
Although now I have a mechanic I fully trust, and the only guy I would let near my car.

[tsoob]

shoulda come 2 see me

[matt dunn]

Was verbally quoted about $150 for the exhaust and "we'll look after you" for the diff bush sleeve thing.

So you got 1/2 a quote for 1/2 the job?

They priced the exhaust part, but I see no mention of the price of the other part,
unless "we'll look after you" means we'll do it for free.?

[Looonie]

shoulda come 2 see me

Would cost me just as much in gas to drive to you

[metal_sean_head]

This happened to me when my steering rack went. They verbally quoted me a price. Fixed it. And then when it was time to pay tried to charge me an extra $150. I said "when i came in you quoted me $XX" And they charged me the quoted price.

So i guess it depends on the actual workshop you go to.
The pickle in your situation is that "we'll look after you" is open for interpretation. To me i would assume that means for no charge. But obviously not to them. Pretty Poo situation really.

[Bling]

I would never assume no charge for "we'll look after you" They are earning a living after all, not doing it for love I would assume it would cost bugger all though, otherwise they would say, hmmm $XX. That is unless they are just cowboys, in which case they say "we'll look after you" then charge a LOT.... which sounds a bit likely here.

[Akane]

shoulda come 2 see me

What, you do exhaust jobs as well now?

[rollaholic]

you could try asking them why it cost so much more than what they had originally said - 150 to 500 means the cutting and welding of the subframe cost 350? seems like alot.

sadly happens a fair bit in the motor industry, mainly i think because alot of people are only interested in the cheapest way to get their WOF or whatever straightened out. so people price for the bare minimum to get the job then tack on all the extras 90% of cars need.

not calling when they've more than doubled your original estimate is pretty off though

but if you want your car back sooner rather than later you'll just have to cough up, which is how they get away with it i guess!

[Looonie]

Sorry I should have clarified a little more in my original post, when they called me to say it was done and I asked what the total cost was, upon receiving the answer of near to $500 I asked why it was so high, and was told that the majority of that was for the fitment of the muffler. When I mentioned that I was told it would be about $150 for that work, he then said the parts alone cost more than $150, flange, reducer, pipe etc. Also I did not in anyway expect the "we'll look after you" to equate to "free", but I don't think I was unrealistic in expecting an hours labour charge, maybe two at the outside.

What bugs me the most is two things:

1) I went in there and asked for a price to fit the muffler, they said about $150 but if i wanted it cheaper I could go to specific exhaust place up the road because they only had facilities to do mandrel bends etc, I went to the recommended exhaust shop and they said it would be about $150-$200 so I figured I'll stick with the workshop I (used to) like as they can do other work for me also. Now it ends up costing me probably twice what I was originally told, negating my decision.

2) I didn't want to spend that much money on *this* car, if I had known it was going to cost this much I would have just left the stock muffler on and used an angle grinder and JB-Weld to sort out the rear diff bush sleeve.

As I expressed my concerns over the phone last night with regards the charge and what I was originally told, I am going to pickup the car this morning so it will be interesting to see what, if anything changes.

Out of curiosity, does anybody actually get written quotes for work on cars? Everytime I've asked what a job will cost, I get given a figure verbally, but when I ask for it to be written down they say "oh well we can't give you a written quote because the job might need more work, we just won't know till we get into it". I can understand that some jobs have problems and take more time/effort than others, but I think its absolute bullshit that people can't give a written quote. Would you accept a builder/plumber/electrician who refused to give written quotes?

[Leon]

Saying one price, and charging another price is probably the most common complaint on car forums. Closely followed by unauthorised repairs.

I guess unless you know the tradesman (mechanic, plumber, sparky, builder, whatever) try to get a quote not an estimate, and maybe repeat the number back to them as well "Ok, so I will bring $150 with me when I see you on Tuesday".

Even then, unless you've got a written quote, your in for a fight if the price suddenly changes. Record them on your cellphone?

I can deal with unauthorised repairs if it is somebody I know and trust. My gearbox work turned from a 3 hour labour to a full day labour and the bill went WHOOOOOSH accordingly. But, because I know the guys who did the job, if they tell me it needed a full day, then I know it must have needed it.

Unlike the very first car repairer I ever encountered as a young lad, who turned the instruction to fit two u-bolts to a mini exhaust into $400 labour to rebuild the entire exhaust ... oh, and 20 years later, he's STILL ripping people off (most recent story I heard about the same mechanic ... was on Monday).

[Mr Revhead]

Wow! $400 back when you were a young lad would be about 40k in todays money!

[Leon]

Yes!!

Or in terms you'd understand, that's like four years worth of goat rental.

[wde_bdy]

Personally I would show up with $250 to $300 cash, tell them you relied on their verbal estimate which under consumer law should not be too much more with a rough guide being 10 to 20% depending on size of the job. If they won't settle at that you then need to decide how far you are prepared to argue. If you are willing to fight over the principal or the extra money then here are some tips.
Tell them you had a similar estimate from another business and that they will have to justify their significant price jump. Also ask for a copy of the job card on the spot if they won't drop the price, this will stop them fabricating any details on it later. Record their refusal to provide it if they won't give you a copy. If you have to pay in order to get the car ensure you write without prejudice and advise you will be persuing repayment of the difference through the Disputes Tribunal.
If their breakdown of parts shows more than $150 of materials then advise them it is clear they failed to use their knowledge and experience in preparing the estimate and you are not legally liable to pay for their lack of care. Also point out that any significant variance from the esimate should have been communicated to you prior to them proceeding. Ask at what point they became aware of what the actual cost would be and why they chose to proceed knowing that it would cost more than their estimate.
Basically you want to make yourself enough of a pain in the ass that they cut the bill down rather than having to deal with you, this works best if you can do it in front of other customers.

Callum

[Mr Revhead]

Just a point, an estimate is not binding.... A quote is.
So if they give an estimate they are under NO legal obligation to stick to it.
MTA recently clarified that in their Radiator magazine.