Fletchers Tires & Auto Service Charging $ 480 hour: get-rich-quick ??? Mesa Arizona

Because they like to tell the mechanic how to do it correctly, and what they usually do, and that normally they do it themselves.. but this time they just couldn't and do you think I should do this, should I replace this, does this need attention, blah blah blah. So the reason really is that customers don't belong under the hood while a mechanic is working. The plumber, cook, electrican, painter, etc don't like customers standing over them either.

And uh, wow it's pretty obvious that flat rate, book rate whatever is THE standard! You have mechanics, and non-mechanics telling you this is the way it works, so I guess it's just not B.S. after all. You just don't agree with it.

I completely agree with what Doug said. Using a labor guide makes it easy to quote prices with a standard time. And if the mechanic has to "jump in the truck and drive to the parts store and back" you can be sure they are going to mark up the part to cover thier labor, so again you would pay the same price as the better part that they can get delivered to them from parts suppliers that deal only with automotive shops.

Like pretty much everyone said, it's a free country and it is your choice. The shop can charge whatever they need to in order to make money, and you can refuse that price at any time and go elsewhere, or do it yourself as you did. I agree that you didn't like the price, and of course- as with everything else- you found it cheaper somewhere else. But it does not make them a rip off.

So really I don't think the reason the op is mad is because "Auto shops try to take advantage of the situation when they see that someone brakes down near their shop and there is no other place around." it's because they were the only shop around, and because he didn't like the price, he had to have his wife come all the way down, drive to Autozone, and then replace the part. You are right, that only took 5 minutes I guess!

We've had this discussion before. If you don't like the price they quote, buy the part and change it yourself. There is no ripoff here. They quoted you a price, you didn't like it, you did something else. End of story. Isn't there some other guy who's famous in apache junction for working on cars on this site?

5.8L serpentine with the reverse rotation water pump I know is easily $75. now if not more. It was $45 around the year 1999 I believe.

I HAVE WORKED IN SEVERAL SHOPS IN THE VALLY AS A SERVICE WRITER AND MANAGER AND CAN TELL YOU THAT ESTIMATE IS ACUALY CHEEP! CALL THE DEALER AND I THINK YOU WOULD FIND IT COST DOUBLE AND I DON'T SEE HIM COMPANING ABOUT THAT! AUTO MOTIVE TECHS GO TO SCHOOL FOR 1 TO 2 YEARS TO START TO LEARN THIS CAREER AND MUST CONTINUE ANNUALY TO KEEP UP WITH TODAYS DEMANDS IN THE INDUSTRY!

TODAY YOU COULD DAMAGE A CAR SAVERLY JUST CHANGING A BATTERY WRONG (I HAVE SEEN IT DONE AND COST HER $1200.00 FOR A NEW ECM COMPUTER AND FUSE BUT THE CUSTOMER DIDN'T WANT TO SPEND $89.95 FOR OUR BATTRY INSTALL SO SHE PAYED AUTOZONE $59.95 AND CAUSED THIS DAMAGE!)

AS A SHOP MANAGER I KNOW WE CAN'T MAKE EVERY ONE HAPPY AND IN THIS CASE HE ISN'T SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE.
1 WARRANTY WITH BELT AND LABOR
2 THEY MOST LIKLY WOULD HAVE TOPED OF ALL FLUIDS AND CHECKED OUT THE CAR FOR ANY FURTHER DAMAGE!
3 THE TECH WHO WORKS ON A CAR TAKE THE RESPONSABILITY FOR DOING IT RIGHT AND SAFE!

THIS GENTLEMAN IS WANT SOME ONE TO FEEL SORRY FOR HIM AND GIVE HIM SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. WELL THE NEXT TIME YOU NEED STICTHES ASK THE DOCTOR HOW MUCH AND SEE WHAT HE SAYS!

WE ALL MUST WORK FOR A LIVING AND I WOULDN'T ASK HIM TO DO HIS JOB FOR ME FREE!

Steven,

Do you really expect a shop to sell you a part at cost? ALL shops markup, usually DOUBLE the cost of a part. This is standard practice.

As far as the labor goes, both the shop and the mechanic have to be paid. Why do you think they are in business? To put your $20 part on for free? NO, they are there to make money.

Do you have any idea of the overhead involved to run a shop? Rent, Utilities, Insurance, workmans comp, unemployment insurance, matching ss, uniforms, supplies, tools, diagnostic equipment, etc..

AND, these shops generall buy a higher quality part than you get at Auto Zone, as they have to warranty the job. They probably pay the same $20 for that part wholesale then mark it up to $40-45, then the tax man has to be paid, then approx .6 hrs labor at approx $70 an hour.

That $98 out the door price, installed was not bad at all really.

I am a mechanic and had to pay $110 for the belt replacement on my 95 Cougar. I was on the road and had no tools, and that car you need at least a 24 inch breaker bar to offset the tensioner.

My SAAB which I would never touch myself at home is $130 parts and labor. I gladly pay someone else to do it as there is 1.5" clearance to do the job. And, I no longer have a shop.

I think there was no rip off here, other than you wanting a shop and a mechanic to work for minimum wage.

Calling a business a "total rip off place" is a very serious charge. In Steven's report, I don't see any proof of wrong doing on the part of Fletcher's Tires and Auto Service.

I don't know about Arizona, but in most states (including my home state of New Hampshire) auto repair shops are REQUIRED BY LAW to give a written estimate for a repair if the customer askes. Shops accomplish this by consulting "flat rate manuals." There needs to be some industry standard in quoting an estimate to customers.

Not every belt on every car takes "less than 10 minutes" to install as Steven claims. He doesn't give us enough information in his report for us to look it up the actual time listed in the manual. Half an hour would be a more reasonable quote in any case. The average labor rate for auto repair in the US is around $70.00 an hour. If that is Fletcher's rate, then they are charging $63.00 for the belt. That sounds like a lot for the belt, but some of serpentine belts are running around that price. Most auto shops deal with parts suppliers who have QUALITY parts and deliver to the auto shops. Otherwise a mechanic from the shop or other employee would have to jump in a truck and drive to the parts store and back!

The Auto Zone part for $20.00 is a lot cheaper. Are you sure it is the right part? The last time I went to Auto Zone, they told me there were a dozen possibilities for my vehicle, and they didn't know which belt was the right one. Some belts will seem to fit, but later break if they are not correct. If you get stranded on the road, then your $20 belt wasn't such a great deal after all.

To make a long story short, Fletchers quoted a repair for $98 and the customer thought it was too expensize and went elsewhere. That is not fraud or a "rip off". Just because a small business can't compete with giant chains on the cost of parts doesn't mean that they are thieves. If a mom and pop store charges twice as much for an item as Walmart, that does not make the pop and pop store a "total rip off place".

With auto repair, I believe you should find a small business owner you can get to know and trust. The big chains tend to have less skilled help and different faces every time you walk in the door.

If you can buy discount parts and fix your own car, then good for you! You WILL be able to save money. That still doesn't make the auto shop a "rip off place". I can cook food at home and its cheaper than going to a restaurant. That doesn't mean that the restaurant is commiting fraud. The fancy restaurant charges more than McDonalds. Hmmm. Do they possibly have better food? Or are they ripping me off?

If I think the restaurant is too expensive, I won't go there!

If I think I am so smart, and can do it better, then I will open my own business!

It's a free country.

If you dont like a shop charging you based upon the FLAT RATE guide, then I suggest you shop elsewhere for your Auto Repairs. Every Decent shop I have ever known use this method, it is the industry standard. Just because you feel it isnt right isnt going to change it. But if you dont want to pay that way, then do the work yourself. You cant tell any business how they should run their business. The only thing you can do is shop elsewhere. Good Luck on finding a shop that doesnt use the Flat Rate guides.

This is absolute bullcrap, Brian. $ 100 for changing a serpentine belt is a rip off, no matter if you call it "Flat rate". Your description just gives a deeper insight into Fletcher's business practices. What you are trying to make people believe is that poor Fletchers has to pay $ 40 for a part which Autozone sells for $ 20 (and still making a profit) Then why they don't go to Autozone to buy their parts....?

And 1.2 hours for a job, which takes me (and I am not a mechanic) 5 minutes ??? Probably your guide shows 1.5 hours for changing the windshield wiper blades, including the lunch brake, cigarrette brake, restroom brake. Probably you are one of these guys who tells grammy that only a certified mechanic is authorized to change the windshield wiper blades and that a poor job on the windshield wipers might total her car...

This is the main reason why car shops don't like it if customers watch them doing the job. If they are not present, they can tell them stories like you just did when they come to pick up their car and grammy is probably going to believe it and pay. By the way: I just talked to a shop down the street: they take $ 30 for changing the serpentine belt (labor and tax included).

Most all auto shops work on a "flat rate" system. They use a Standardized National Guide such as Mitchell Repair or All Data to come up with the labour times. For example a Serpentine Belt (such as you have) might be point 6 (.6) of an hour, you would then multiply that by the shops posted hourly rate (such as $68.00/hour) to get your labour of $40.80.

High volume places like Auto Zone see lots of parts (like Walmart sells lots of socks) and might be able to get the part to you for half the cost of the belt you were quoted. Most likely the belt through them was more like $44.00.

As per the labour...well...if the labour guide showed .8 or 1.2 then that's what they charge...whether it takes the tech 10 minutes or 10 hours. Besides, I would rather have a tech who is well experienced and done this job 100 times before and can get it done in 5 minutes than a rookie who takes the time quoted and not done this job before. And as for the experienced tech who did it in 5 minutes and you ask for a discount because he did it so fast? Why penalize for speed & quality.