A year ago at car inspection, I had to have a brake job. This year, the brakes failed again, due to what they said was a faulty part, which they were able to get replaced by the manufacturer + $50 for the labor. Their standard labor was probably $125 for that job. They offered to split the balance of the labor charge. But I feel like I paid for the labor a year ago. It’s not my fault it was a damaged part. I managed to get them to drop the charge, but he told me it was standard to charge whatever labor they weren’t able to get covered by the manufacturer. Is it standard? If it is, I’ll pay it. But it doesn’t seem right.
Do you work for free ? The 50.00 was more than fair . It was not their fault the part was bad.
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In the few times a part has been replaced, I pay the full labor but not the part. A faulty part is not the same as a damaged part. A damaged part should not have been installed in the first place but a faulty part would have hidden issues.
Every shop has a different warranty on their work.
3 years ago I was manager at a large independent auto shop. All of our work came with a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on parts and labor unless otherwise noted. If your problem had happened there, the entire re-repair would have been at no charge to you. As far as I’m concerned, a business selling new parts that they don’t warranty is nonsense. But then again, that level of service comes at a cost. Many of our repairs cost more than someone would have paid at the dealer. I think you will find that if you shop for car repairs based on price, the long term results will be less than satisfactory.
Not their fault, but it is their responsibility. That shop puts their name on everything they do. It’s up to them to make sure the parts they use meet their standards. And if the occasion comes that the parts fail, the shop should take care of the customer and fight with the supplier to recover the costs.
Of course that depends on what the original warranty was. Some shops still operate with a 90 day/3000 mile warranty. In that case, the customer is on the hook for the entirety of the repair the second time around.
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Customer: “Are you saying the starter you installed a year ago failed?”
Shop: “Yes. It happens sometimes.”
Customer: “Then, I want you to replace the starter at no charge.”
The starter:
Tester
…is WAY to vague a description. What about the brakes failed?
I’ve used plenty of shops where the warranty is all of 90 days on parts. But not labor. (One of the reasons I often do my own car work). And even shops with longer parts warranties, I don’t recall ever having the labor covered.
But in the end, this is a post about all of $50? By the time you’re done arguing/negotiating with them, and then posting to some random discussion board you found online, you’ve lost money in the time spent as opposed to just paying the measly $50. In auto repair terms that’s nothing.
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Depends what shop warranty is.
Are you genuinely asking for an explanation?
Or just venting?
If you’re asking for an explanation, many of us can explain, but you may not be satisfied with the answer
But if you’re just venting, then I’m not sure any answer will be helpful
Mechanics have very little control of the parts they sell. The BEST they can do is just buy parts from a quality supplier. I know several mechanics who won’t buy from places like ADAP or Advanced Auto. Too many headaches for them. In the larger cities there are parts supply houses that only sell wholesale to mechanics. They have a fleet of vehicles that deliver the parts to them.
The shops I use have a one year warranty on their work. If they chose the part and it fails in that year, they eat the labor. If the customer choses the part, the shop charges the labor. Ask the shop what their policy is before you have a job done there.
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The rotor was faulty, and destroyed the brake pads when it failed. It’s the principle of the thing. It seems they should push the manufacturer to fully pay for their mistake. If it were my business, I wouldn’t make the customer pay for anything. But… it’s not… and obviously I’m not a mechanic. It seems some mechanics charge for labor in this situation, and some don’t.
It sounds like I’d not be happy with your answer. So, don’t bother.
If the mechanic chooses the manufacturer and supplier, and the part was manufactured incorrectly, it shouldn’t be the mechanic or the customer’s responsibility. I understand it may be “standard” to pass the failings of the manufacturer not covered by them on to the customer. But that seems unfair. To me.
OK, when a pro shop X uses a parts house (AZ, Napa, ADV, O’Reilly) for parts, that shop X has an agreement with that shop X on warranty for parts and labor on said parts, you get the standard warranty on the part, but normally the standard labor warranty of shop X… Most shops and dealers offer a 12 month, 12,000 mile labor warranty unless otherwise noted…
Now a shop can offer a lifetime part warranty if the parts house offers it, or whatever the warranty is for said part at the parts house and 12/12 labor warranty or whatever etc etc…
So now, if the customer has a warranty claim at shop X, the shop does not charge if under full warranty, if the part fails under the parts and labor warranty then the shop does the basic work for free for the most part, then shop X has to make a warranty claim for the labor (easy to go grab another part off the shelf), and once that warranty claim has been approved by the manufacture and or parts house, then they will cut shop X a check for the agreed upon pricing… Sometimes that only pays the shop for the technicians time, sometimes the shop for it’s full shop rate, meaning (easy math here, I’m not that smart) if the job pays an hour and the shop rate is $100 an hour and the tech makes $50 an hour, then the parts house/manufacture check will be for either $50 to reimburse the shop for the mechanics time, or $100 for the shops lost time…
Now, if this is going through an aftermarket warranty company, then that is whole different discussion…
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PS, also as a former shop owner and have ran (service manager) many shops and was in charge of such warranty claims (why I don’t use AZ lol), if the flat rate time is not high enough to offset my time being need elsewhere , I would just eat it anyway, my time running the shop was more needed than a hour or two warranty claim…
Also try to be nice people, if the OP knew everything, he/she would not be asking the question… gezzz
Sometimes I wonder how some of y’all would act if someone talked your mother, wife or daughter that a way, I bet most would not talk that way in person, cause they would probably get their ass kicked… 
And OP, don’t get so defensive this is an open forum and crap is said, ignore it and move on… 
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Here we go again . Someone joins and does not like the replies so they insult people.
No one here knows what the repair warranty was by this shop and the replies here are not going to change anything.
I don’t really see a major complaint so just don’t use them again and read the invoice or ask what the warranty is before having the work done.
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It’s just another example of why I won’t deal with the general public. I’d rather throw something away than sell it to someone who feels entitled to someone else’s labor or money. Called that gift horse.
Do that too much and you get on the list of customers that are not worth dealing with. I don’t know why this is such a difficult concept. Deal up front and fairly and when you need a favor, you might get it.
My response wasn’t meant for you
Seems unlikely a brake rotor defect would arise a year later. Do you have a picture of the damage?
A more common occurrence is a brake part or bolt was left loose or loosened and caused the damage. It wouldn’t surprise me if your mechanic charged you a labor fee, but it was really to cover the cost of the replacement parts.
I have seen a lot of sloppy work come from small auto shops. The picture below shows a caliper bolt fell out, also cheap aftermarket brake pad shims that shifted out of position.
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Thanks. I appreciate the kindness. No pictures available. That’s what they told me. They could have just said I used the brakes wrong and charged me for the whole job. But it was clear to them for some reason that the rotor was not up to par.