Why do garages charge seperately for a diagnostic check

[kambites]

MrChips said:

If your car's new enough to need a playstation to be plugged in to tell the garage what to do, then that's fair enough. But why should all the other customers who don't need this service, pay as part of a labour rate?
Surely, Labour Rate is the charge for labour. Diagnostic "rate" is the charge for a diagnostic test

To be fair, the OBD reader isn't unique in this. By that logic, they should charge more for cars with obscure sized bolts because it takes them longer to recoup the cost of the obscure sockets that they use less.

[Engineer1]

I am self employed I can send out an invoice at £300 or I can send it out at £250 Work + £50 expenses, both are £300 it is an accounting fiddle to suit the customer and make things easier in the accounts department.

[JB!]

I have full VAG-COM and a cable, will do it for beer tokens for anyone in MK...

[Engineer1]

FFS what's difficult to understand, they are charging for the diagnostic separately but depending on how they break down the bill they could easily hide the charge back in again the bill won't go down if they stop charging for diagnostics, the hourly rate will creep up as will the consumables. The garage has decided the whole job is billable at £X if X is shown at £X - diagnostic + £diagnostic not charging explicitly for diagnostics will result in a bill for £X and potentially higher charges elsewhere as jobs that didn't need diagnostics will get the diagnostic overhead spread across them.

[Clivey]

This is what boils my ps:

I take my car into the stealer - I've previously had a brake pedal switch replaced under warranty (only 18 months before) and am seeing exactly the same symptoms again (ABS/ESP faulty warnings, intermittent brake light illumination). I've removed & inspected the sensor myself (2-minute job) and noted that the switch has visibly failed - refitting it temporarily makes the symptoms disappear. I tell them exactly what the problem is yet they still want me to agree to paying a £65 diagnostic test fee. before doing any work. They want £200 to change the switch (A £6 part that's easily accessible by undoing 3 clips and removing the carpet in the passenger footwell) - It takes 5 minutes to replace!

I later bought the part myself and blocked-up their car park whilst taking my time in fitting it, then made sure to ask a punter who'd been looking around the used cars if my brake lights were working before leaving. I think they got the message.

[CO2000]

Clivey said:

I later bought the part myself and blocked-up their car park whilst taking my time in fitting it, then made sure to ask a punter who'd been looking around the used cars if my brake lights were working before leaving. I think they got the message.

Nice one

[J4CKO]

Its like my dentist, visited due to a cracked tooth, did 2 fillings and stuck on a "Check Up" of £40
despite only looking at the two teeth that he filled.

[Rich_W]

Clivey said:

This is what boils my ps:

I take my car into the stealer - I've previously had a brake pedal switch replaced under warranty (only 18 months before) and am seeing exactly the same symptoms again (ABS/ESP faulty warnings, intermittent brake light illumination). I've removed & inspected the sensor myself (2-minute job) and noted that the switch has visibly failed - refitting it temporarily makes the symptoms disappear. I tell them exactly what the problem is yet they still want me to agree to paying a £65 diagnostic test fee. before doing any work. They want £200 to change the switch (A £6 part that's easily accessible by undoing 3 clips and removing the carpet in the passenger footwell) - It takes 5 minutes to replace!

I later bought the part myself and blocked-up their car park whilst taking my time in fitting it, then made sure to ask a punter who'd been looking around the used cars if my brake lights were working before leaving. I think they got the message.

2 things.

1) Surely you have parts warranty on something less than 2 years old. So you could have had the whole job done for free, if you'd bothered to keep the invoice.
2) If it only took 5 mins, you hardly inconvienienced them did you. I daresay they didn't even notice you. vive la revolution

[Clivey]

Rich_W said:

Surely you have parts warranty on something less than 2 years old. So you could have had the whole job done for free, if you'd bothered to keep the invoice.

Apparently not...you could grow old arguing with the service managers at my local Citroen dealerships. It seems that Citroen's warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on. - They even try to charge for the diagnostic if you have a problem on a car that's within the warranty period if Citroen refuse to pay out for the work (and they do try it on in my experience).

Rich_W said:

If it only took 5 mins, you hardly inconvienienced them did you. I daresay they didn't even notice you.

It would have taken 5-minutes in a corner of the car park...if I'd have wanted it to. If you park in an obstructive place and scatter a few parts around the floor whilst you sit pretending to study the owners' manual (replacing this part isn't even covered but I needed an excuse to take ages), you can dilly-dally about for quite a long time and make a nuisance of yourself if needed.

TBH the dealer "service" is the worst part of Citroen ownership - they really are worse than useless ("worse than" because I've had my car damaged at 2 different dealerships and I won't have been the only one!). The laughable part is that one of the reasons that cars like the new C5 and C6 haven't sold well is that the dealerships simply weren't up to the task of selling and maintaining a supposed "quality" or "luxury" car. Even the old boy employed to wash the cars at one dealer told me, a customer, that they "shouldn't have C6s here because we haven't got the facilities for them". - The "technicians" are more interested in bodging together faulty bits of trim (including sticking them on with masking tape because they broke the clips when removing them) so they don't have to fit new. It's, quite frankly, a joke.

[kicker35uk]

Problem nowadays everyone thinks there a mechanic and expect you to do the hard part diagnosing the problem that can take over an hour and expect it for free so that can go change the part out themselves. I'm a mobile machanic had a guy today I said I charge £30 for a diagnostic he said he would take it to a garage and that would do it for free .that said I know the owner of said garage and I know he charges dubble what I charge so just waiting for him to phone back so I can tell him his diagnostic will now cost £40