I know they charge by hour, but is that by hour of analysis of the problem? Or is that by hour of actually fixing the car?
The dealer originally charged me one hour of work, which is about how long they took to look it over and fix it.

But I am still having the same problem, and they are going over their work and looking at some other items. They said it would be free of charge, but they have spent like 5 hours on the damn thing so far. I sure hope I dont have to pay $60+ per hour on just that...

 

Some dealers will charge you just to look at it, but the good ones don't charge because they want you to let them fix the car.
The way that the dealers figure the cost is that they have a set time for the job. Like if they have to pull an engine it could be 12-18 hours. If they're not charging you to look at it you found a good dealer!

 

LOL, by the ounce, I think, not real familar with the going prices. When I saw that subject title it made me think of something less than legal.

Martin

 

They charge by the book, no matter how long it takes. And that is how a tech makes his money.
Example, say a job calls for 2 hours of labor at $65/hour.
Tech takes one hour to complete the job.
Tech gets paid for 2 hours, dealer gets paid for 2 hours.
If it takes 3 hours for some reason, you still only pay 2 hours and the dealer and tech lose money.

 

Yep...I know a guy who works at a ford dealer, thats how it works....

 

Yep. I'm a service writer and thats pretty accurate. My dealership charges a 75$ diagnostic fee no matter what. When/if you agree to it its applied to the labor and repair.

 

Comebacks should always be free of charge. The tech will learn not to "flat rate" the job next time.