Settle the diagnostic charge first
Before a technician lifts the hood, there is a question of money that is easy to skip: what does it cost just to find out what is wrong?
The Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division says no Georgia law requires businesses to disclose diagnostic fees before giving auto repair estimates, but a business must follow its own stated policy on how fees are charged.
When you phone a Warner Robins shop, put these to the person who answers:
- Do you charge to track down a fault, and is that a set amount, an hourly rate or something else?
- Where is your policy on diagnostic charges written, and can I read it before I leave the car?
- If I go ahead with the repair, is the diagnostic charge taken off the total?
- If I turn the repair down, what will I owe, and what will I receive in writing for it?
Jot each answer next to the date and the name of whoever gave it.
Keep a fault log for a few days
A technician who can reproduce a problem has somewhere to start. Before the appointment, keep a running note on your phone each time the fault appears:
- the date and the odometer reading;
- what you noticed: a noise, a smell, a shake, a pull, a leak or a light;
- what the car was doing: starting cold, idling, climbing a ramp, braking, turning, cruising;
- whether the air conditioning, the headlights or anything else was switched on;
- a short video or audio clip, recorded only when the car is parked or someone else is driving.
A fault that comes and goes may take longer to pin down, and the shop may ask to keep the car until it shows itself. Ask how that time is billed before you agree.
Read the repair order before you sign it
The order you sign at the counter can set out what the shop may do. Look for wording that limits the first step to finding the fault and contacting you with a price. If the form allows repairs up to an open-ended amount, ask to change it to a figure you choose, or to "call before any repair."
Give a number where you will answer during the day, and tell the service writer which hours suit you. Ask that any parts taken off the car be set aside for you to see.
When the shop calls back
The call after diagnosis should leave you able to explain the problem to someone else. Ask:
- What is wrong, and what test or measurement showed it?
- If a trouble code was read, which one, and what did the follow-up testing find?
- Which items bear on safety now, which can wait, and which are routine upkeep?
- Can you send the estimate by text or email, with parts and labor on separate lines?
Then read the estimate on your own time. Check whether each part is new, used, rebuilt or remanufactured, and ask what warranty comes with each choice and with the labor. Approve only the lines you want, and confirm the approval in writing with the new total.
Questions about the shop itself
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Do you work on this make often, and do you have the service information for it?
- Is your labor warranty written down, and is it honored only here?
- Will you install parts I supply, and what warranty applies then?
Ask, too, for proof of liability coverage while the car is in the shop's care, and call your own insurer if you want to know how a loss at a shop would be treated.
Vehicles kept outside: what Code Enforcement says
Warner Robins Code Enforcement says the city does not limit how many vehicles a resident may own, but any vehicle stored outside must be operable and display a current tag or registration.
Where Warner Robins gets its drinking water
The City of Warner Robins says its water comes from the Cretaceous Sand Aquifer known as the Tuscaloosa Group. Some areas of the city are served with water produced by Houston County, Georgia.
Picking the car up
Go through the invoice line by line with the service writer before paying. Each charge should match the estimate or an approval you gave. Ask which parts were replaced and which were only inspected, and look at the old parts you asked to keep. A short drive nearby, before you head home, can show whether the original fault is gone; if it is not, say so at the counter.
Before you hand over the keys
- Ask how the shop charges for diagnosis, and where that policy is written.
- Bring your fault log, with dates and mileage.
- Read the repair order and put a limit on it.
- Get the estimate in writing, with parts and labor apart.
- Ask the license question and keep the answer.
- Keep the order, the estimate, your approvals and the invoice in one folder.