Let’s say you wake up in the morning with a terrible headache. Your first thought, I need a doctor. You call in and state “ I’ve got a terrible headache, how much will it cost for you to fix me?” In reality, you probably wouldn’t say that. You understand there could be many reasons for your symptoms and that you will need to see the doctor for an examination, answer some questions, and probably run some tests before she can tell you what’s wrong and give you treatment options.
This identical scenario plays out every day at auto repair facilities across the country. When the cause of your concern isn’t obvious, like a flat tire or missing belt, your vehicle will need to go through a diagnostic process. The average vehicle has over 30,000 parts, including several networked computers, modules, sensors, switches and miles of wiring. Finding exactly what is wrong can be very complicated and take some time. Testing and analysis is the hardest part of the repair process. The highest skilled, most experienced technicians at the shop are the ones that will tackle the difficult diagnostic jobs. Once they have determined the exact cause of the problem, the mechanic, along with the Service Advisor can work out a plan for how to fix it, all the options available and what it will cost.
Understanding it this way, it makes perfect sense that, 1) the Service Advisor cannot provide an accurate estimate before the diagnosis is done since they have no idea what the problem is, and 2) there will be a charge for diagnostic, testing and analysis services and you should be told a starting amount up front when making your appointment or dropping off your vehicle. You expect to pay for an office visit to the doctor and for any needed tests before you can be presented with your treatment options and costs; same goes for your vehicle. At a repair facility you will be given an estimate before you’re asked to authorize any additional repairs. This is not always the case in the medical profession, sometimes it’s weeks before you find out through the mail what you owe.
We know it can be frustrating when something is wrong with your car and you aren’t sure what is going to be involved in getting it fixed and the associated costs. We’ll do everything we can to help you through the process; communicating with you at each step along the way. We have highly trained diagnostic technicians and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment to uncover the cause of your problems. We use quality replacement parts to help make sure you stay safely on the road long after the repair is done. Adding in our 5 year/50,000 mile repair guarantee, that’s our prescription for total automotive peace of mind.
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InMOTION Auto Care