Reacting To A Viral TikTok On The Cost of Auto Repair

[@jeffcompton6937]

Think about how far we've come in this industry to now be at a place where enough shops are charging customers for inspections and diagnosis that it's become a viral topic. That's progress albeit we're still looked at with such distrust but at least we're finally starting to rethink the nonsense of so much free checks and repairs. We need to stay the course.

[@eddiesopatron4148]

I still diagnose cars for free. Shit today I worked for free. haven’t flag a single hour in three days. Ten years as a tech ends next week! But I glad you guys are changing one shop at a time😅 “ changing the industry”

[@AutoMotoMechanic]

​@@eddiesopatron4148you need to find new job. You should never diag or work for free.

[@R3YNZ]

​@@eddiesopatron4148 so you're mad because YOU DECIDED to stay in that toxic work place?

[@danielk4014]

I think her shirt said enough for me not to take anything she said seriously.

[@jeffco908]

Working flat rate there is no way i will "roll" the diagnosis into a repair. I think a minimum half hour charge to plug in my scan tool that cost 6000 dollars is fair. If i spend an hour to diagnose a problem and the repair ends up being a wiring repair that is say 1.0 hours due to reassembly time of trim or components that means i would already be down 1 hour for my 8 hour shift. Not gonna happen. I have no problem being fair but i refuse to cut my wage in half to please someone. They would not do the same i guarantee it. Im in Western Canada and we are at 198 per hour. The thing she does not get get is the tech does not make that much, some people kids just dont get it.

[@Quickwrench75]

There is a thing called overhead costs. Employees nor is anything getting any cheaper. 150.00 is median price. My shop is 185.00 an hour and we are gonna go up. Sales pep aren't free nor are techs nor is equipment building insurance and such. Auto idustry needs to come together so everyone learns the price is what price is. Also remember on that new vehicle 716 a month ya still need to perform maintenance.

[@brycedavis907]

David nailed SO many valid points in this video! Normally he’s pretty on point, but this is next level stuff!

[@12brmien]

Cash for clunkers was one of the first moves for the long game.

[@HH-le1vi]

It was also very short lived and had very little effect on today's vehicles. It barely lasted 8 weeks. 8 weeks of old cars in 2008 has almost no effect on today's vehicles.

[@webreakforsquirrel4201]

@@HH-le1viit has an affect on todays cost of vehicle ownership. It has an affect on used vehicle prices. It has an affect on parts cost. What are you talking about? Removing a chunk of salvageable vehicles and parts has a huge affect on the entire economy. Why were these automotive manufacturers too big to fail back then but now are free to leave the country? If you think handing out free money fixes broken systems start by offering your money first.

[@12brmien]

@@HH-le1vi rust did the rest of the work. Hell I have a 2007 Santa Fe in a lift right now that has a rusted out frame and subframe. This is an older retired guy's vehicle and this may leave him without a vehicle due to the market.

[@carrcovers3775]

Listen up. NEW CARS NEED REPAIRS TOO! Now you got a car payment and a repair bill… check-mate

[@drewcrews3967]

I just had a water pump replaced at a new car dealership under warranty. Of course they had to let me know about a bunch of maintenance things that needed "immediate attention". I then inquired about their labor rate.... long pause.... "um' $189 and hour". I said, just do the warranty work. Oh, btw... one of their recommended maintenance items was a $200 coolant flush. I said, "don't you replace the coolant when you replace the water pump". The tech said "oh yeah, my bad, disregard that one". 😄

[@jeffcompton6937]

@@drewcrews3967 but no not all the coolant is removed when a water pump is done.

[@thatguy7369]

The idea that cars have progressed more in complexity from 2014 to 2024 than it did from 2004 to 2014, or from 1994 to 2004, is inaccurate. Obviously the 2024 is far beyond the complexity of a 2014, but a 2014 is a monumental upgrade over a 2004, and a 2004 was like a space shuttle compared to a 1994. I think a huge part of the change in customer perception is simply that this country is balls deep into the consumer concept where they want everything as fast and cheap as possible. Unfortunately, the industry has had so many NTB's and Firestone's feeding into that over the past 20 years or more, and those companies have so many locations doing it the same way, costumers have just gotten used to it and other shops have spent the last 20 years trying to emulate the NTB's of the world to get a piece of their market share. We are only just now starting to see the balance hit the industry. But remember, there are still far more NYB's and Midas' and Monroe Mufflers than there are quality shops performing quality service on quality vehicles and charging an appropriate rate. So while some of us have made a big difference in our specific communities, it might be decades before the majority of the nation starts to comprehend the changes that are happening in the industry. And it certainly doesn't help that a lot of chains are starting to charge the same rates as quality shops in their area, while still chucking out the same garbage work they always have. That makes it harder to explain to customers that you charge what you charge so you can fix the vehicle properly, because they are witnessing other shops charge the same high rates and still not fix the vehicles.

[@710diagnosticsandfishing]

26:30 Is the most important part to understand. A consumer would rather pay MORE monthly than the occasional 1k repair. Now, this is, in my opinion, a strategic play by the manufacturers. If a subscription model ever becomes viable, we may go the way of the tv and radio repair man.

[@bobbywarthan5173]

If I have a vehicle come in that has been to several different shops and they have been throwing parts at a car I charge $200 an hour 3 hours paid up front

[@smitty2jones]

tbf most of those cash for clunkers cars you mentioned just rusted into a crumbly pile lmao There's definitely a disconnect where customers thing shop rate is what the tech is taking home. I see that all the time, and they don't understand that the tech is getting like 1/5th of that rate.

[@Joe.O_623]

You can't rail against the cheap shops that don't solve every problem the first time. At the same time, you charge a premium and still don't solve every problem the first time, but then expect the customer to be understanding.

[@ChangingTheIndustry]

The difference is how the shop stands behind it and the level of service. There's no such thing as solving every problem an automobile has. And there's no such thing as not making mistakes. But there is a such thing as a shop that takes extensive measures to catch mistakes and handle issues properly. The cheap shops? They can't afford to do that. Trust me....I know. I was once one of them.

[@ZeldaBeats42]

I feel like you could communicate all day to most customers but they don’t know wtf you’re talking about and then just get mad that it’s expensive because they can’t afford it lol they’re just gonna have to deal with it. Maybe one day they’ll wake up but I doubt it

[@anthonyhiscox]

Naw, they'll just start looking more to ride sharing tech like the WEF is talking about and then a ton of mechanics will be replaced with in-house cheap labor. The poor will probably suffer the most, per usual, and the small shops will get driven out of business ensuring there's more poor people. Most cars don't actually need all the new crap (I've heard many horror stories like thousands in repairs because a modern taillight got water in it). But manufacturers like it because now you need all their proprietary equipment to be able to do the most basic things, consumers think they like it because it's flashy and right now mechanics like it because it's harder to DIY. Sad, it seemed like we had a good thing for a while, people that didn't want to DIY could take it to a reasonably priced shop, people that did could do a lot on their own and take the complicated stuff to the pros. Pros online were sharing tons of useful info for the dedicated DIYers. They still try to help but by day it gets harder for them to do so unless you have access to all their equipment.

[@El_Chompo]

I know a repair shop that does work fast, cheap, and does a really good job. It's like knowing a secret source of gold. One of the most special finds a car guy will ever find. Of course none of my cars are newer than 05 so they are way easier to repair anyway than modern ones.

[@webreakforsquirrel4201]

"Put wiper blades on that car" Technician: goes to vehicle and places the wiper blades on the car. Does not open them does not install them. You got what you asked for (and probably paid about that much too).

[@StreetSports1]

Another cost that needs to be taken into account is that the newer, more expensive vehicle will also have higher registration/property taxes as well as a higher insurance premium.

[@Joeyyyy87]

When you go to the Doctor you still gotta pay the copay just for them to look at you !!! PEOPLE SUCK SMH

[@familyfleetdiy5977]

My copay is 20.00

[@thomaswoitekaitis8977]

Interference engines ruined a lot. What used to be a couple hundred bucks,is a couple thousand now, if you can find a good used engine Overly complicated cars are also ruining things. They're rolling computers now, for no reason.

[@bobbywarthan5173]

So when i go to the grocery store,there is no one there to explain to me why it cost so much more if i need it i buy it i feel the same way about auto repair,i am not putting someone on my front counter to hold every customers hand on every repair

[@brycedavis907]

While I understand the sentiment of your comment, just remember there are many places that will and will happily steal your customers away when they need that person to help them understand the cost of a repair. Perhaps thinking of it as explaining why their yearly purchase of milk became double what it was might keep customers, I for sure don’t feel like I need to tell you how to run your business (for all I know you’d like to drive off some of your clientele, lord knows many of us would!), I just feel it’s worth a friendly reminder our world is changing, I’m struggling to keep up myself.

[@bobbywarthan5173]

@@brycedavis907 I think every shop is different and I am most of the time a last resort,they have already been to several shops before they come to me and I know 99% of the time after I fix the car that several other shops couldn't fix I will never see them again,they will go back to the cheaper shop for there other repairs

[@anthonyhiscox]

I (DIYer) had an O2 sensor go on an '06 Honda Element. Researching online, several mechanics said not to replace it with a generic one, that the Element didn't use a typical sensor. This was downstream and I read that they'll frequently break off when removed, which can be a difficult thing to fix. So I decided to let the shop handle it. Got my toaster back and sure enough -- they used a generic O2 sensor. Less than 6 months later it died again. Went online, ordered the recommended one (NOT Bosch, forget which one) and since the old one had been removed recently I bought the socket and took it out. That was almost 3 years and 10's of thousands of km's ago and it's working like a champ. Had the tech told me that they were going to replace it with the wrong one I would have stopped them, but I foolishly believed they would just know this was an issue since that's their area of expertise. I learned a valuable and expensive lesson, that mechanics -- while smart -- have to know about ALL the cars, and I only had to know a lot about one part of one specific year of one model of one make. The reason this matters is because when I walk into a grocery store I buy milk, I don't find out 6 months down the line that it's the wrong milk, if someone suggests a recipe works better with oat milk then I go to the store and buy oat milk, I don't just say "I need milk like substance" and hope the cashier is educated enough on my recipe to sell me the right thing. Comparing the grocery store to a mechanic doesn't make sense, it would be more apt to compare the grocery store to your local parts store. The mechanic is more like a baker you hire to make a wedding cake but they won't explain what they're doing and you just get the cake on wedding day and if doesn't work out you better hope you figure that out before enough time has passed that the baker won't replace it for free.

[@nickayivor8432]

Please interview Richard McCuistian 🙏,Changing The Industry Podcast 👍 PERCEPTIVE, Changing The Industry Podcast Brilliant video From start to finish ❤️ it From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧 ⏰️ 00:10AM Good Night 😴 🥱 🌃 🌙

[@euroblackicechronicles8177]

Line item. Diagnostic. Always.

[@henrytav]

I too blame Obama…

[@chasenorton5345]

Obama has not been in office since the end of 2016, those cars that were clunkers in 16' would have been mostly off the road by 24'. Maybe switch your corny Fox News biased blame it all to Biden?