Dealer prices... Airbag light reset
Discussion
This isn't a rant, but does anybody know how dealers justify the cost of resetting an airbag light?
I have just been quoted £78 (inc VAT) from a local independent. That same garage charges £44/hour labour. So as there are no parts, that's an hour and a bit labour, to plug something in and turn the reset button. So this isn't even a fault code read and quote, just a button press.
Is there some sort of weird way customers actually pay rates for use of these tools? Unlike say, a set of spanners, or the four post lift?
I have just been quoted £78 (inc VAT) from a local independent. That same garage charges £44/hour labour. So as there are no parts, that's an hour and a bit labour, to plug something in and turn the reset button. So this isn't even a fault code read and quote, just a button press.
Is there some sort of weird way customers actually pay rates for use of these tools? Unlike say, a set of spanners, or the four post lift?
What about buying your own? Do a little research online to see if your model of car is easy reset by these cheap generic readers. If there is a fault the light will just reappear. It happened to my A4 which needed a new airbag ECU.
To answer your last question, yes the equipment costs need recovered somehow. I have a snap-on Solus which is entry level and that was a good £500 second hand. The full on stuff will be thousands, then there is the annual license fees to keep it updated.
To answer your last question, yes the equipment costs need recovered somehow. I have a snap-on Solus which is entry level and that was a good £500 second hand. The full on stuff will be thousands, then there is the annual license fees to keep it updated.
Can't you just get one of these and do it yourself?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004KL0I9I/?tag...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004KL0I9I/?tag...
Tool is already bought. I'd hoped to avoid the delays in postage is all.
Simple fact of the matter is though, I'd have happily paid £20 for an Indy to do this but not six times what the tool to do it myself costs for a job requiring no specialist skill.
I would have thought as I own a BMW it would also have been a good opportunity for the trader to introduce me to his business as a potential customer. Now I'm not interested, and any new work I require there will be a grudge transaction, which strikes me as an odd business model, but none the less one most places seem to insist upon.
Simple fact of the matter is though, I'd have happily paid £20 for an Indy to do this but not six times what the tool to do it myself costs for a job requiring no specialist skill.
I would have thought as I own a BMW it would also have been a good opportunity for the trader to introduce me to his business as a potential customer. Now I'm not interested, and any new work I require there will be a grudge transaction, which strikes me as an odd business model, but none the less one most places seem to insist upon.
Prof Prolapse said:
MajorProblem said:
They've probably got a really expensive snap on scanner that requires paying for.
Then they should really invest in a £10 tool from eBay so they can do the same job for less money.You don't get the (suck through teeth) that'll be expensive mate it's gotta go on a 4 poster for that job.
MonkeyBusiness said:
Can't you just get one of these and do it yourself?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004KL0I9I/?tag...
Highly unlikely that will work. Airbag system most likely on a different system.http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004KL0I9I/?tag...
Certainly doesn't work on the other halfs Toyota Corolla.
Prof Prolapse said:
This isn't a rant, but does anybody know how dealers justify the cost of resetting an airbag light?
I have just been quoted £78 (inc VAT) from a local independent. That same garage charges £44/hour labour. So as there are no parts, that's an hour and a bit labour, to plug something in and turn the reset button. So this isn't even a fault code read and quote, just a button press.
Is there some sort of weird way customers actually pay rates for use of these tools? Unlike say, a set of spanners, or the four post lift?
What tool did you buy in the end?I have just been quoted £78 (inc VAT) from a local independent. That same garage charges £44/hour labour. So as there are no parts, that's an hour and a bit labour, to plug something in and turn the reset button. So this isn't even a fault code read and quote, just a button press.
Is there some sort of weird way customers actually pay rates for use of these tools? Unlike say, a set of spanners, or the four post lift?
dooosuk said:
MonkeyBusiness said:
Can't you just get one of these and do it yourself?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004KL0I9I/?tag...
Highly unlikely that will work. Airbag system most likely on a different system.http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004KL0I9I/?tag...
Certainly doesn't work on the other halfs Toyota Corolla.
I also used to have that same OBD2 tool and I don't recall it ever worked on this.
Campo said:
What tool did you buy in the end?
Don't laugh at what I paid... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121338479425?ssPageName=...
HumbleJim said:
Prof Prolapse said:
MajorProblem said:
They've probably got a really expensive snap on scanner that requires paying for.
Then they should really invest in a £10 tool from eBay so they can do the same job for less money.You don't get the (suck through teeth) that'll be expensive mate it's gotta go on a 4 poster for that job.
Prof Prolapse said:
Yes but when you go in for job and read the invoice it doesn't say "use of ramp" etc, does it? That's my point, everything else is a fixed cost in the hourly rate, except for diagnostics where apparently you pay an additional hours labour for nothing which doesn't even get broken down on an invoice.
I suppose every garage has a ramp, most don't have a given manufacturer's diagnostics equipment so it's "value add" (and probably not cheap value add from their point of view, if they've bought the OEM system) that they can charge for. Prof Prolapse said:
It doesn't work. It's OBD2 and the airbag is on the SRS code (IIRC).
SRS is not a diagnostic standard. OBDII is used to communicate to multiple different control units within a car over the same bus, but the problem is that most of the cheaper tools are designed only to address the engine management system.Mr2Mike said:
SRS is not a diagnostic standard. OBDII is used to communicate to multiple different control units within a car over the same bus, but the problem is that most of the cheaper tools are designed only to address the engine management system.
I'm fairly sure you can still use the cheap things to address anything if you know the protocol. You just have to form the non-standard commands manually. I've certainly used mine to access manufacturer specific, non-ECU stuff on our Octavia. Mr2Mike said:
Prof Prolapse said:
It doesn't work. It's OBD2 and the airbag is on the SRS code (IIRC).
SRS is not a diagnostic standard. OBDII is used to communicate to multiple different control units within a car over the same bus, but the problem is that most of the cheaper tools are designed only to address the engine management system.Most cheap OBD 2 readers can't read the code however. Like the ELM one in the original link, I know because I own one.
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