Fault code reader - am I being fleeced?
Discussion
When requesting a quote from my friendly local garage for a small piece of work on my hypermiling diesel Vectra, they've included £27.50 for plugging their fault code reader in, confirming the fault (which I know already), and clearing the fault code reader.
Am I being robbed? I can buy a fault code reader for less than that on eBay.
Am I being robbed? I can buy a fault code reader for less than that on eBay.
k off pills and fThey haven't done any work - it's just a quote. This £27.50 is lumped on top of the labour charge.
They ran the fault code read for free when I sent the car in for a main service last week - it flagged my perennially worn EGR valve as being the issue for the engine management light being on.
Do most garages charge for a fault code read on top of the labour charge?
Surely the labour charge should cover their mechanics' use of their basic equipment?
They ran the fault code read for free when I sent the car in for a main service last week - it flagged my perennially worn EGR valve as being the issue for the engine management light being on.
Do most garages charge for a fault code read on top of the labour charge?
Surely the labour charge should cover their mechanics' use of their basic equipment?
My local garage charges £38 for a read and reset. I have an OBD2 reader of my own but the BMW doesn't work so I had to cough up!
The equipment and software +upgrades is expensive for the garage to purchase, why shouldn't they charge you for using it? Much better than them saying they can't afford to buy one because customers aren't prepared to pay for the service!
The equipment and software +upgrades is expensive for the garage to purchase, why shouldn't they charge you for using it? Much better than them saying they can't afford to buy one because customers aren't prepared to pay for the service!
The garage I use will charge for diagnosis - this includes use of the fault code reader, but if you choose to then have them fix the fault they usually waive the charge for the diagnostic.
I know the guy that owns the place and it costs a lot of money to buy a decent diagnostic machine and keep it up to date. People come in with a light on and expect him to scan it for free then they go and do the work themselves or get someone else to fix it. Why should he do that ? Garages are not charities....
I know the guy that owns the place and it costs a lot of money to buy a decent diagnostic machine and keep it up to date. People come in with a light on and expect him to scan it for free then they go and do the work themselves or get someone else to fix it. Why should he do that ? Garages are not charities....
mcgandalf said:
They haven't done any work - it's just a quote. This £27.50 is lumped on top of the labour charge.
They ran the fault code read for free when I sent the car in for a main service last week - it flagged my perennially worn EGR valve as being the issue for the engine management light being on.
People seem to be missing this - they know what's wrong!They ran the fault code read for free when I sent the car in for a main service last week - it flagged my perennially worn EGR valve as being the issue for the engine management light being on.
Yes, when I think about it, it is a bit cheeky.
Surely a fault code reader / warning light turning off machine is a tool, one of many a garage has, and shouldn't be charged for, like they don't charge for using their spanners.
But it is their time, as a charge of labour. So if I took a car just for diagnostics, I'd expect to be charged for their labour/time, which would involve plugging the code reader in and pressing buttons.
If it was in for actual repair work, doing this would be part of the overall labour charge.
Surely a fault code reader / warning light turning off machine is a tool, one of many a garage has, and shouldn't be charged for, like they don't charge for using their spanners.
But it is their time, as a charge of labour. So if I took a car just for diagnostics, I'd expect to be charged for their labour/time, which would involve plugging the code reader in and pressing buttons.
If it was in for actual repair work, doing this would be part of the overall labour charge.
The garage won't be using a £20 ebay scan tool, they'll be using something that has probably cost them 3 or 4K, it will also require someone to steer the diagnostic tool, and he'll be earning a wage - Both of these things need to be paid for
As someone above said, garages are not a charity, they're in business to make money
Still, it's a simple choice, if you think it's too expensive, don't go there
As someone above said, garages are not a charity, they're in business to make money
Still, it's a simple choice, if you think it's too expensive, don't go there
That's fine *if* you absolve the garage of responsibility for the fault diagnosis being correct. You might know what you're doing and have a proper code reader but 95% of people who turn up at a garage having "diagnosed" a fault probably don't know what they're talking about.
The reason good garages charge for code reads is because they are not using a £20 reader. The proper readers which actually read a wide range of things cost many thousands (check out the price of just a basic SnapOn SolusPro) and then cost a lot in constant updates and training and support.
A cheap reader will just read OBD2 engine codes (and some gearbox). OK for very basic stuff but they won't do anything else (ABS, airbags, parking sensors, body control modules, adaption, coding etc.) and can will only generate a basic "P" code not a manufacurer specific one which can be misleading.
The reason good garages charge for code reads is because they are not using a £20 reader. The proper readers which actually read a wide range of things cost many thousands (check out the price of just a basic SnapOn SolusPro) and then cost a lot in constant updates and training and support.
A cheap reader will just read OBD2 engine codes (and some gearbox). OK for very basic stuff but they won't do anything else (ABS, airbags, parking sensors, body control modules, adaption, coding etc.) and can will only generate a basic "P" code not a manufacurer specific one which can be misleading.
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