Posted by Kristopher Sheridan on February 3, 2014, 10:17 pm Edited by board administrator February 5, 2014, 1:52 pm
As above really, Just wondering what you guys would consider a "fair" charge..
i am a mobile auto-electrician, i have a van and a small workshop, but primarily, the majority of my work is mobile.
i do a fair amount of training and consider myself to have a reasonable amount of diagnostic gear which compliment each other nicely.
the reason i've decided to ask is i've had varying responses when dealing with customers when they call me to book in, or when the job is finished..
one example.. Saab 9-3 with the 2.0 diesel PSG16.. the vehicle was low on power and kept flagging a fault code relating to boost pressure, 3 garages each looked at the vehicle and charged £50 + VAT, cleared the codes and sent him on his way...
i went out to it and read codes, then carried out roadtest whilst monitoring live data, right enough it was low on power and didnt boost untill high up in the rev range, got back, simple visual checks with mity vac and found a split vac hose, Replaced and charged the customer £48.00.i was there an hour
So thats £180 between 3 garages and no fix and £48 with me and its fixed!
the customer complained to me saying that it was extortionate for some one in a van with no overheads!
i must advise... Prior to me looking at it, the customer said he wants it fixed... no matter how much it costs!
in the other hand,
Audi A4 2.0 tfsi, Fault codes relating to lean running.
Customer had spent £650 + with garage saying that throttle body had failed and this had damaged o2 sensor (?) had car back and still the same.
i call out to the car and spend 1 1/2 hours, find a canister purge valve stuck open and advise the customer i'd have to replace this valve, £22 odd for the valve, my bill worked out at £136, this was to include the diagnosis, parts and fitting!
Customer was over the moon with this and has recommended me to no end of people!
i dont think i'm expensive, i believe i offer a good service at a fair price, but if i had a pound for every time i heard "you have no overheads" i could give up work!
another favourite is people calling up and then saying "oh i dont want to pay you, just tell me what it is"
Sorry for the long post... Just interested to see what everyone else considers a fair charge..
Re: Pricing...
Posted by Lee Mackintosh on February 3, 2014, 11:03 pm, in reply to "Pricing..." Lee Mackintosh
I think its normal thesedays. We get told quite often thats a little to expensive.. its funny how the person who does fix it is the expensive one or struggles to get the money you are asking for without a discussion.
And I bet they'll still most likely go back to one of the other 3 garages.
Re: Pricing...
Posted by Mark Shipman on February 4, 2014, 7:59 am, in reply to "Re: Pricing..."
Hi Kristopher My business mirrors yours and I really struggle to get paid, it became that much of a problem I have totally come away from mobile and now have a larger workshop. The final straw was been called out to a Rover 25 no go, to which another local diagnostic guy had been to look at, he had told them it was the main immo box and wasnt worth fixing, he had charged over a hundred pound to get to this point. I found a blown fuse, caused by wires breaking/touching together in tailgate hinge,I then explained to customer what I had found/repaired and gave them a bill for 35 plus vat, I was sternly told " im not paying 35 for a blown fuse pal" This is from the man who told me to spend two hours to confirm the previous guys diagnosis!!! Maybe I should have jut lied??? Since having workshop it doesnt seem a problem getting paid MARK
Re: Pricing...
Posted by mike fleet on February 4, 2014, 5:33 pm, in reply to "Re: Pricing..." Mike Fleet
hi all, this type of story seems to be the norm these days,i get people ring to ask if we charge for comming out to diagnose a car.people ring up for explanation of a fault code from another scan code jockey.education of customer i think is the way forward explaining that just plugging in a scan tool is not always a fix.we can all write fault codes down and charge customer,but finding the wrote cause is another matter.i try and explain the value of our service regards experince and training.i think also if you are mobile as i am some jobs dont take long and the customer sees this.we charge £45.00 for a diagnostic fee this includes as much testing as we can do in 30 to 40 minutes.after that i consult with cusomer to see what they want to do.It is not getting any easier due to every one having scan tools even on phones,there are no easy jobs to be had.interesing times i feel.
Re: Pricing...
Posted by Pete Mutlow on February 4, 2014, 8:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Pricing..." Peter Mutlow
Hi Kristopher,
This topic has appeared before and my response is the same as then.
I have been a mobile tech for about 25yrs and I always quoted a fixed price for diagnostics depending on the vehicle. I normally spend about an hour or so on a vehicle and if it takes 2hrs....the price is the same. This response last time out attracted a bit of mirth and merriment but the way I see it, it is swings and roundabouts. The customer feels more secure with a fixed price but once the problem is diagnosed I will then quote for parts and fitting and then it is down to the customer to decide on what he wants to do.
Works for me and the customer is happy he is not going to get any surprises when I give him the bill.
Regards
Pete M
Re: Pricing...
Posted by mark mcgrath on February 4, 2014, 8:59 pm, in reply to "Pricing..." Mark McGrath
Everybody on autotalk could recount similar stories about this subject Main problem is if they have spent money before they get to you most times you are going to get abuse All I can suggest is you tell them minimum charge before you go this will weed out some of the really tight b******* Good luck
Re: Pricing...
Posted by Chris Angus on February 5, 2014, 12:42 pm, in reply to "Pricing..."
When we get a customer with a problem (diagnostic related)we tell them all the same, it will need a diagnostic test first and it's £59.95, thats to start with. You need to tell them from the start what they will be expecting, then there's no awkwardness later.
Re: Pricing...
Posted by Kris Sheridan on February 5, 2014, 9:23 pm, in reply to "Re: Pricing..." Kristopher Sheridan
i tell customers the price before i turnup... with out fail, however some customers think because i've only been there 20 mins they only have to pay a much smaller amount...
i have seen that (and also read one of the comments on this post) some companies charge a fixed rate - no matter how long it takes to diagnose faults, this i believe is a good idea as the customer knows where they stand, but what would be a "going rate"?
currently i charge £58 retail to come out and spend up to an hour,if more time is needed then the customer is informed and an hourly rate agreed (or a budget to work to)
as i've said, this has mixed reactions,
i've thought about pricing depending on what vehicle it is and what tool i have to use on it ie.. BMW - MERC - JLR £65 Ford, Vaux £45 for example.. does anyone else do this? if so how successful do you find it?
Re: Pricing...
Posted by Pete Mutlow on February 6, 2014, 5:04 pm, in reply to "Re: Pricing..." Peter Mutlow
I don't want to hi-jack this thread but what would be a reasonable rate to programme Ford injectors? I recently charged £58 (incl callout) for four injectors and the customer was a bit disgruntled as it only took about 30 mins.
Unfortunately no price was discussed before hand and that is what I would normally charge. Hope I haven't ripped him off.
This included a road test and diagnostic afterwards to make sure all was well.
Regards
Pete M
Re: Pricing...
Posted by Kris Sheridan on February 6, 2014, 5:29 pm, in reply to "Re: Pricing..." Kristopher Sheridan
Pete,
Thats what i would charge normally,
i was called out to cardiff (about 30 miles away) and charged £65 for coding and roadtesting, £45 to cover my time travelling to and from his house, He was over the moon with that! although i'd imagine fords would have been roughly about the same but he loved the fact i was able to come to his house and he didnt have to drive to fords and wait around!
Kris
Re: Pricing...
Posted by Mark Carter on February 6, 2014, 7:48 pm, in reply to "Re: Pricing..." Mark Carter
There is NOTHING as queer as folk !!!
You will never keep EVEREYBODY happy ALL the time.
Aim on keeping 90% happy 90% of the time and you are not doing bad.
Communication is the key, make them fully aware of the costing's before you start and get their agreement (of the costing's) before you lift a spanner.
Yes you will lose some but at least you will not have done the work for fook all
