Hourly Vs. Flat Rate
Have you ever heard of the term flat rate or book rate? These two terms refer to the way many repair shops pay there techncians and how they will quote you. Along with this method of paying employee the shop must follow what is called a labor guide.
A labor guide is a publication or software that contains the specific amout of time it should take to make a specific repair on a specific vehicle. For example, you bring your vehicle into Bob's Auto Center in Portland for a noise from the front end while going over bumps. First, your shop will usually charge you a flat amount to diagnose your vehicle. The shop finds the left front tie rod end is loose and they begin writing a quote for you. The technician or service advisor will begin assembling your quote by utilizing the labor guide publication. They will enter your vehicle's year, make and model and then search for the labor operation "replace left front tie rod end". This will give the repair facility the exact amount of labor it should take to replace the tie rod end. This is the amount of time the shop will pay the technician to perfrom the repair, no matter how long it takes them to actually make the repair. This is also the amount of time the repair facility should charge you. The repair facility will multiply the published labor time by the shops published labor rate which is the dollar amount an hour the shop request for repairs.
Unfortunetly there are many shops in America that do not follow the industry standard and will attempt to overcharge the consumer by either not following the labor times published in the labor guides or by varying there labor rate depending on how unknowing the customer may seem.
Next time you bring your vehicle in for service make sure you request to see the labor times straight out of the labor guide. Never deal with any repair facility that does not post there labor rate somewhere in clear view of the service counter. If a shop denies you access to see the labor guide then take your vehicle to a repair facility that will.
Looking for assistance dealing with a repair facility or maybe you would like a second opinion? Feel free to contact MyAutoAssitant.com by email at info@myautoassistant.com or call 888-214-6591.
