Brought in a BMW with no heat and the estimate was around $800-$1k. i declined the work after they did a diagnosis because of the cost to fix it and the time the car has to be at the shop because it was approaching the weekend. meaning i would get the car back Monday or Tuesday which i can’t do. they did a great job at diagnosing the problem (heater control valve)but what i didn’t understand was the bill if i had them fix it. i’m no mechanic myself but after some reading and no experience it took me 30 mins after work to replace it and the part cost less than $200. the estimate as i recall was for the part which wasn’t to much of a difference. labor was to me not justifiable. let’s say the total cost based on the estimate was 1k and the part is $200 give or take. what’s the $800 remainder for? labor and test drive was left. remember with no experience it took me 30 mins to replace the valve and the shop was charging a 2 hrs worth of labor and a test drive.that’s a big loss of money and time on the customer end.i notice this with the industry. had my tires changed with les schwab they charged 1 hr labor i watched the guy doing my car he spent half the time talking to his buddy’s and eating snacks while i’m paying for the hr labor and the time i have to seat there waiting for him to chat and eat. the heated works like a champ i gotta keep it on low settings. recommend having someone that have some knowledge about cars with you or have a second shop take a look before you decide to spend your money.
Hi Russell. This is very strange. We can find no record of this in our system, which is done whenever we look at a vehicle. We would be happy to discuss further.
- German Car Specialists