Date:         Sat, 3 Sep 2005 21:48:26 -0700
Reply-To:     John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Estimates for service - is it not the law in all states?
In-Reply-To:  <431A7495.70306@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

> 
> How do those of you who live in places where it is not custom to give an
> estimate when you take your car in for repairs, deal with the situation?
> Blind trust?
> 

Tell them up front you need to know how much the repairs are going to cost 
before having them done. They may not be able to give you an estimate up 
front, but they ought to be able to after an hour's inspection. If you've 
found a mechanic who "can't rightly say" about how much a repair is going to 
cost and just wants you to give him carte blanche to fix it and just present 
you the bill after, say "thanks anyway" and get the heck out of there. Part 
of the problem may be that it's a Vanagon. Probably he's not a Vanagon 
expert and he has no idea what he's up against. He'll be shooting in the 
dark and will likely as not overlook (or even CAUSE) as many problems as he 
fixes. I had so much trouble finding a mechanic who even inspired a smidgen 
of confidence that he could handle it that, after almost 10 years of happily 
paying others to fix my cars, I dusted off my toolbox and swore to never let 
another torque-happy tire changer greasemonkey work on my Vanagon. If you 
can't find a guy who knows Vanagons, at least find one who knows VWs in 
general. Failing that, I guess just try to find someone who's not a crook. 
Variations in state law aside, it's just sleazy/sloppy business practice for 
a mechanic to not give you an honest estimate beforehand, and call you for 
instructions if he finds more work that needs doing. If he can't give an 
estimate up front because he doesn't know what's wrong, an honest mechanic 
will tell you how much he thinks it'll cost to troubleshoot it, and THEN 
call you with the results and and to get a yea or nay on the repair.