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[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=61864]I’m honored to have you joint the conversation. [/quote]
And I, sir, honor your opinion and commitment to your “craft” !
As to your point of diagnostic fees, I break it down like this. A flat 1 hour fee needs to be on the table to start with. You might be surprised at how many people come in, thinking the repair will be free. If customers could walk in, get their codes read for free, you’d loose a buttload of business not to mention waste everybody’s time. The reason is because once a customer found out the cost of the repair they’d be out the door trying to find a cheaper means to the end.
I understand where you are coming from. You do also know, that today, there is no real reason why the code and the condition can not be displayed on the dashboard.
In addition, you can’t be pulling techs off of paying jobs to do stuff like this without paying them. Most techs are flat rate which means they get paid on what they do. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to be working on a money making car and a service writer comes to you and asks for a ‘favor’ for a customer. Those ‘favors’ many times turn out to be freebees that cut into your bottom line. Not to mention taking time away from customers that have already paid for a repair.
I agree with you 100%
Before you say the service writer can pull the codes and pass the information along to the techs, think again. What are you paying the technician for in that case? Don’t cheapen what a technician does to try and work around a diagnostic fee. Pissing off your workforce is not good policy. Wasting a technicians time is also a bad idea.
Perhaps this is where we need to “agree to disagree”. Pulling codes is not really diagnostics. It is a “courtesy” to the customer, which is why most large auto parts stores do it free of charge. Note, that I had said the writer would inform the customer after pulling the codes there would be a diagnostic charge.
I guess my point is, that with experience (Hmmm … didn’t you do a video on “experience” recently ?) good writers and technicians (when did being called a “mechanic” become second class ?) know that certain codes on certain cars require the same repair, without additional diagnostics ! I just watched ScannerDanner’s video on a P0405 on a Taurus. With that trouble code on that car, even without the live data showing out of range voltage, any mechanic who has work opn Ford products would have swapped that sensor (D@MN; I thought they would be making better DPFEs by now !)
That said, charge the 1 hour fee. Let the customer know up front the cost and have them sign off on it.
Would YOU personally charge a 1 hour diagnostic fee above and beyond the R&R price for the Taurus DPFE replacement is just mentioned ?
The fee includes more than just pulling the codes however.
Again, I agree with you 100%.
That’s just how I approach it.
This could also just be a “way of doing business” that differs from a small shop to a large dealership.
I will admit that some shops abuse diagnostic fees.
Perhaps this is what p!sses me off ! Not every repair requires 1 hour a diagnostic. (How many technicians know that a “crank, no start” can be caused by a clogged IAC ? I “remotely” diagnosed one by telephone in less than 5 minutes after a repair shop installed a new fuel pump on my nieces car.) Some require more.
Perhaps my problem is I “know too much” ! With my background I feel diagnostic charge are sometimes (frequently ?) just away to make profit. I have a car in for A/C work at the moment. I was told up front that it would cost $40 to pump down the system and check for leaks. No problem ! That is less than 1 hour at most shops. I have a problem with being charged 1 hour to pull codes and say, “we have seen that 1000 times, the repair is …”.
In my opinion, it’s the customers that expect repairs to be free or cheap that are the problem.
I am sorry you have to deal with people like that. Workers should get paid for the work they perform. Craftsman should be paid and lauded far and wide and perhaps rewarded with a six pack of their favorite adult beverage) !
P.S. I love watching Eric have a “hard time” with a connector, bolt, etc. Keep repeating your little tips (“Start all bolts first before running them down”). I going to try your tip on clamping the brake hoses and opening the bleeder before compressing the caliper piston on the next brake job I do (averaging about 2-3/year for family and friends).
[quote=”brnmw” post=61817] I am sure small engine tech. has advanced to some degree since the ’60’s/’70’s but I can’t imagine it has progressed all that much….. [/quote]
Actually it has.- Electronic ignition. 99% of the time, you have a good spark or you have no spark.
- Casting techniques have improved a lot, allowing thinner walls with the same strength and lower costs.
- Moving from the “L head” design to overhead valves allows for better intake and exhaust flow and better combustion chamber shape.
- Today’s carbs may clog more often, but they allow better emission control.
[quote=”brnmw” post=61817] I am sure small engine tech. has advanced to some degree since the ’60’s/’70’s but I can’t imagine it has progressed all that much….. [/quote]
Actually it has.- Electronic ignition. 99% of the time, you have a good spark or you have no spark.
- Casting techniques have improved a lot, allowing thinner walls with the same strength and lower costs.
- Moving from the “L head” design to overhead valves allows for better intake and exhaust flow and better combustion chamber shape.
- Today’s carbs may clog more often, but they allow better emission control.
When you say you swapped coils around, did you physically moved the COP from one cylinder to another ?
Next step, is to physically move the injector in question from one cylinder to another.
When you say you swapped coils around, did you physically moved the COP from one cylinder to another ?
Next step, is to physically move the injector in question from one cylinder to another.
I don’t think I have EVER seen a 5+ year old vehicle with an automatic transmission where the owner does not religiously use the parking park every time the car is parked where the cables are not frozen up with dirt and rust.
Perhaps if the cable itself was stainless steel and the sleeve that it rides inside of was lined with silicon/nylon/UHMWP … But very few if any customers ever complain.
Getting a frozen parking/emergency brake cable working again after not using it for a long time is very difficult and the repair is not likely to last long.
I don’t think I have EVER seen a 5+ year old vehicle with an automatic transmission where the owner does not religiously use the parking park every time the car is parked where the cables are not frozen up with dirt and rust.
Perhaps if the cable itself was stainless steel and the sleeve that it rides inside of was lined with silicon/nylon/UHMWP … But very few if any customers ever complain.
Getting a frozen parking/emergency brake cable working again after not using it for a long time is very difficult and the repair is not likely to last long.
There is a big debate on other forums about what oil to use in small engines. Single weight vs. mult-weight, detergent vs. non detergent. There is only one thing to remember.
A sufficient quantity of pretty much any oil is 1000 times better than NO OIL !! 😳
There is a big debate on other forums about what oil to use in small engines. Single weight vs. mult-weight, detergent vs. non detergent. There is only one thing to remember.
A sufficient quantity of pretty much any oil is 1000 times better than NO OIL !! 😳
The most important thing that Eric has said about transmission fluid is use the OEM fluid !
Now a days, the OEM “blend” of additives for transmission fluid is a “dark art”. Buy the OEM fluid.
Do NOT have it done at a quick oil change place. Do NOT have it done at a transmission repair shop, unless that write on the work order the exact type of fluid they are using (verify it with the owners manual) and can show you they have it IN STOCK !!
The most important thing that Eric has said about transmission fluid is use the OEM fluid !
Now a days, the OEM “blend” of additives for transmission fluid is a “dark art”. Buy the OEM fluid.
Do NOT have it done at a quick oil change place. Do NOT have it done at a transmission repair shop, unless that write on the work order the exact type of fluid they are using (verify it with the owners manual) and can show you they have it IN STOCK !!
[quote=”crypkilla” post=61780][quote=”Tech42″ post=61542]I have a cheap handheld for reading codes and live data.[/quote]
curious which “cheap” handheld reads live data[/quote]
Cheap is always relative to how fat your wallet is ! 😛A fellow shade tree mechanic owns this one and recommends it. INNOVA 3160B
EDIT: Sadly, like all “moderately priced” scan tools, there is no way to update the firmware. If some one knows of such a beast, clue me in.
[quote=”crypkilla” post=61780][quote=”Tech42″ post=61542]I have a cheap handheld for reading codes and live data.[/quote]
curious which “cheap” handheld reads live data[/quote]
Cheap is always relative to how fat your wallet is ! 😛A fellow shade tree mechanic owns this one and recommends it. INNOVA 3160B
EDIT: Sadly, like all “moderately priced” scan tools, there is no way to update the firmware. If some one knows of such a beast, clue me in.
[quote=”DavidBWood3″ post=61786]I never knew the torque specs to start with, when I work on my car I usually just use my 200lb self on the end of a crowbar.[/quote]
I did that as a kid. I quickly found out that I could tighten the lug nuts with a “4-way”, cross lug wrench tighter than could be taken off by any impact !The flip side is that I think it is crazy that tire stores want you to come back and have them check to torque on the lug nuts a week later. The place I go to triple checks the torque (torque stick, torque wrench, supervisor with a torque wrench).
[quote=”DavidBWood3″ post=61786]I never knew the torque specs to start with, when I work on my car I usually just use my 200lb self on the end of a crowbar.[/quote]
I did that as a kid. I quickly found out that I could tighten the lug nuts with a “4-way”, cross lug wrench tighter than could be taken off by any impact !The flip side is that I think it is crazy that tire stores want you to come back and have them check to torque on the lug nuts a week later. The place I go to triple checks the torque (torque stick, torque wrench, supervisor with a torque wrench).