Chapter Four
What’s it gonna cost?
Have you ever wondered why your automotive technician cannot seem to give you a straight answer from a fairly simple question like, "Hey, Vern how much to fix this bucket of bolts?" Or, how about "What do you mean it is going to cost me?" These questions come up all the time. This is the first misunderstanding between the technician and the customer. Just like any other industry, whether it is a plumber, electrician, doctor, dentist even your washer repair man, you cannot receive an accurate estimate on what it is going to cost if you do not evaluate and narrow down the problem. If there were a crystal ball that told auto technicians the car's problem I would own it, and would be living on the top floor of the Wynn’s in Las Vegas because you would be paying me for this information. Have you ever pulled a weed and thought you got that entire dirty bugger, only to find it back a few days later? Sometimes things are not what they seem to be.
I remember a close friend speaking with a persistent auto body shop customer on the phone one day, before cell phones and Skype. This customer felt that my friend should be able to give an estimate to the very penny of what it was going to cost to fix their car. After a lengthy conversation, to my amazement, my friend finally said, "Listen, why don't you put the phone up to the car so I can see it, and then I'll give you an estimate." This may seem ridiculous, but you cannot do what you cannot see, even with a cell phone or Skype. The same goes for diagnosing a problem on your car. The approach should not be "how much will it cost to fix my car?" It should be, "how much will it cost to diagnose my car's problem properly?"
HOW IMPORTANT IS DIAGNOSING?
Diagnosis accounts for close to 80% of the job, leaving 20% for the actual repair. Diagnostics is the final frontier of the automotive industry; cars of today have computerized electrical components. To fix these components, you have to diagnosis the problem first.
Back in the l960's and 1970's your technician could easily tell what the cost was going to be to repair your car. Since then, things have changed. In the "Good"ole"days" we were listening to cassette tapes and CD’s. We had no idea that we could talk on a cellular phone, and see the person we were talking to, and the changes Google would make to our lives. Since we have arrived at the full blown computer age, it is virtually impossible to give an exact estimate on repairing a car without diagnosing the car first.
HOW DOES THE COMPUTER AFFECT MY CAR? Let's use the brake system for an example. The first brake ever designed was the hand brake. Think back to the covered wagon days, where you grabbed the lever with all your might, using both feet to brace yourself as you slowly came to a stop. Sometime after that came the manual hydraulic brake system. This system enabled us to stop much more quickly after having reached much higher speeds of travel. There was less physical force required by the driver. However, we still had to jam pretty hard on that brake pedal. Years later we saw power brakes, boy were they easy, just tap that baby and you could go into a four" wheel skid in a matter of seconds. How about today's ABS brakes, better known as Antilock Brakes. Who would have imagined a brake system where you just push the pedal to the floor and if one wheel starts to skid, the computer kicks in and pumps the brakes for you, at a much quicker and safer interval.
Now, let's evaluate what the repair on each system would involve. The old hand brake system required a brake shoe, some sort of pivot pin, and a handle. Could I give you a close estimate about what it would take to repair it? You bet, after all, I can see everything we mentioned.
How about the manual and power brake system?
Yes, I could be fairly accurate as to what is causing the problem. After all, we still have the brake shoes, but instead of a lever we have brake fluid pushing a piston that pushes on the brakes, against a drum or disc. If your brakes squeal, you probably have brake dust build up or you are close to hearing a very obnoxious growling sound, when this happens it’s probable the cost of repair just escalated. If the brakes drag, you might have developed a leak, which in turn soaked your brake shoes leading you back to replacing them, after fixing the leak of course. And sometimes, the mechanical part or "master cylinder" as we call it, would need replacing. Fairly simple, so far?
Now let’s take that system, add an Anti"brake System (ABS) light, a Traction Control Switch (TCS), 4 Wheel Speed Sensors (WSS), Electric Brake Control Module (EBCM), Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC), Brake Control Module (BCM), Brake Pedal Position Sensor (BPS), Brake Pressure Modulator Valve (BPMV) and an Engine Control Module (ECM) waiting for a signal it will receive telling it what to do. And OOPS! I forgot the multitude of wires. For example, did you know a 2008 Chevy Malibu ABS brake system contains the following wires:
Orange " Black " Brown " Tan " White " Red with Black tracer " Pink " Light Blue " Yellow " Dark Green " Brown with a White tracer.
I hope you understand that when you ask how much is it going to cost to fix? You really should start by asking "What is it going to cost to diagnose my car properly?" If your technician continues to give you FREE (the most popular word in the English language) diagnostic charity, the chances are his bottom line of his business is running in the red unless he chooses to sell you other items you really don’t need. It is stated that billions (with a b) of dollars are spent every year on unneeded repair. If the technician is honest and has the proper equipment and tools and he gives a FREE evaluation every time a consumer enters his shop after paying tens of thousands of dollars to be open, you will be looking soon for another repair facility as he won’t stay in business very long. You may not care about this right at this moment, but with fewer repair shops to serve you, the cost of repair will drastically escalate. Everything your technicians uses cost him money i.e. tools and equipment increase every year to the tune of 5%"15%. A good technician has to charge for his diagnosis, or he cannot afford the proper diagnostic equipment required to fix your car properly and efficiently.
“In a perfect world doctors would complain about what automotive technicians make”