First step to prevent getting ripped off in auto repairs is to understand the fees to fix a car, car repair estimate or an invoice.

It is important to understand the industry definition for commonly used words in an invoice or an estimate:

Aftermarket Parts: parts that are not made by or for the manufacturer.

MSRP: retail price

OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer. Manufacturer approved parts designed specifically for your vehicle.

Flat Fees: services such as alignments that do not get into parts, tax, labor disaggregated

Miscellaneous Charges: these can include, but are not limited to shop supplies – rags, chemicals, hazardous waste disposal fees, waste oil, etc. …

Labor costs: Repairs Shop hourly fee service your vehicle

Established labor time: the time or hour, it will be correct in your vehicle

Labor Description: The Step-by-step written details of repairs and / or services

TSB: Technical Service Bulletins. Information and instructions of the manufacturer for known and specific concerns provided they (can not remember) himself.

Now let us look at the information which is required or provided in an estimate

There are six basic components to a car repair estimate

1) Customer / Vehicle Information

2) Parts

3) Labor Charges

4) Miscellaneous Charges

5) Apartment Fees

6) Summary of charges

Customer and vehicle information
This is quite simple. Basically the top portion contains your personal data and characteristics of your vehicle: year, make, model, mileage … etc, as well as your request or concern.

Car Parts
Parts are listed usually with a short description and the quantity and price. There are three types of parts: OEM (parts by or on behalf of a manufacturer). These are the parts installed by a dealer, although many local shops use OEM parts.

Aftermarket parts are non-OEM parts, and there are different degrees of quality, depending on the brand and where they’re made – China against the United States, for example.

Then they used parts purchased from a salvage Yard.

To determine if you are paying too much for the parts, first find out, what kinds of parts are used? With OEM parts, you do not want to pay more than MSRP, although most people do without realizing it. Premium aftermarket parts are also from the best brands, but do not cost more than MSRP and should be lower than OEM parts. Used Parts prices are all over the place, so choose the prices in the middle.

Auto Repair Labor

The work is set in tenths of a bill. So 1.0 equals 1Hour. 1.5 corresponds to an hour and a half.
Labor costs of $ 60 to $ 100 per hour at local repair shops and $ 80 to $ 140 per hour at the dealer level. Labor hours are dependent on the established industry guidelines, which are often misused.

When you see the shop labor rate posted on the car repair invoice, ask your service center for the speed. Workshops are able to manipulate the labor rate (among others) with a labor matrix. Matrix quantities are a complex and ethically questionable practice. What you need to know if you paid as high as $ 150 per hour, rather than the posted labor rate of $ 105 per hour due to ‘low’ speed of repair.

You may want to multiply the number of hours billed (which is also often not posted) by the work of the workshop rate to determine whether you have been charged accordingly.

Most of the work descriptions are poorly written and difficult to understand. To ask questions.

Here is a “clear” job description is for a 30,000 mile-service on a Toyota Camry.

Performed 30,000 miles on customer service and in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. Changed oil and filter change, installed new air filter, cabin filter and performed all necessary checks, controls and procedures, including the road test (miles 30,123 – 30,125). Performed lubrication services and confirmed proper operation of the vehicle. Set tire pressure, and checked fluids, belts and hoses. Note: car pulls slightly to the left. Needs Alignment

Miscellaneous Charges

These costs may include, but are not limited to, shop supplies – rags, chemicals, hazardous waste disposal fees, waste oil, etc. … The latter can be charged separately in a summary at the end of your repair bill.

Flat Fees

Flat Fees can be another area very difficult. Flat Fees are services such as an orientation, not to get broken down into parts, tax and labor reform. This makes it difficult to identify the real and fair price. On the positive side, most flat fees are competitively priced.

Be warned, however, another term for Flat Fee is called Menu Selling. In other words, you might see Tune Up: $ 99.99 or Transmission Flush: $ 89.99. You need to confirm that the shop will actually provide the service based on the car manufacturer recommendation and not their own menu.

Summary of charges

The last part of an automatic repair estimate is the summary of the facts. It is found usually in the lower right corner of the invoice. Check against the fees to ensure that it all adds up mathematically, as well logically.

We hope that by following above steps, you wil be able to get an estimate which is realistic and more accurate!