Car Repair - Understanding The Costs

Most vehicle owners know one thing about car repair: it is expensive! When you get the bill for the latest work you have had done on your vehicle

, do you really understand where all of the numbers came from? Here are the basic costs that are rolled into the bill you hold in your hands.

Labor Charges

The labor charges are the charges for the mechanic's time. Often, these are set as an hourly rate, but for some jobs they are set per job. Most shops will offer a quote based on their set labor rate and what is known as book time. Book time is the industry average for the repair. Once the quote is given and the amount of hours is estimated, the mechanic then strives to finish the job in that allotted amount of time.

Labor rates vary tremendously. A locally owned shop is likely going to charge less than a national chain, but you may not get as good of service, or the mechanic may not be as skilled to do the job quickly. A specialist, such as one who focuses his work on transmissions, is going to have a higher labor rate, but you could end up actually saving if the mechanic can do the job in a timely fashion.

The Parts

When you have car repair done, you will likely be paying for some parts. When a shop buys parts, they will pay a fee to the parts supplier. However, the charge they will pass on to you is usually marked up a little from the fee they pay to the parts supplier. This is part of the way they cover their overhead costs. Typically, the increase is around 30 percent. You may find that this is still cheaper than you could buy the parts, since you cannot get the lower prices that the shop can get.

You can save money on parts by asking the mechanic to shop for aftermarket parts or used parts. Some shops are willing to do this, but others are not because they work with one or two parts suppliers only.

Supplies

There are some types of repairs that do not necessarily require parts, but rather supplies. Oil, transmission fluid, nuts, and bolts may not be ordered from the parts store, but may rather be something the shop keeps on hand. If these are used to fix your vehicle, you will be charged for them, and the fee will probably include a little bit of a markup.

Overhead Costs

Some shops will add diagnostic fees and other fees to help cover more of their overhead. That equipment they use on car repair is not cheap to buy or maintain. They also want to make a profit for their company as well.

So the next time you hold a bill for hundreds or thousands of dollars of car repair, before you cry, remember all of the costs associated with getting your car fixed. It just might make the big bill a little easier to handle.

by: Andrew Stratton

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