I have a new Honda. The dealership where I bought the car recently installed some parts (floor mats, cargo cover)for which there was a charge. I am ok with the cost of the installation, but the dealer adds $1.25 fee to every repair order. No one at the dealership could tell me what the fee was for. The service advisor said it was maybe for the cost of keeping records, which is bogus.
So for every repair order generated, this dealer gets an additional $1.25 which no one questions. Does this seem unethical to anyone else? It’s not a lot of money, but it would add up for the dealer.
A dealer can charge whatever they want as long as upfront on total costs.
However you have no reason or obligation to visit the dealer again unless a warranty repair occurs. I would advise finding a trusty independent and keeping all records of work from them. If you need warranty work then visit dealer and you will not be charged the $1.25 as Honda would laugh at them when they tried to get reimbursed from warranty claims department.
Stinks, huh?
Have you looked at mortgage documents lately? The dealer is a pretty kind and gentle guy compared to the mortage industry.
Extra income for the dealership, that’s what it is. I think the $1.25 for each RO is lame but I have a bigger problem with paying labor for chunking a set mats onto the floor.
Since no one could give you a proper answer for the $1.25 did you have them remove the charge? I sure would have, especially since one one knew why it was there.
Wait until you have a repair and they stick you with diagnosis time. It is legitimate when they have to find the problem, but sometimes it is nothing but extra income.
I took a vehicle in and and instructed them to install a new multi-function switch (turn signal lever). When it was done I questioned the diag fee. They said it was needed to find the problem. I reminded them What my instructions were and there was no need to investigate. I then firmly but politely told them I will not pay the diag fee.
When a dealer has invoiced an RO it can be opened again to make changes in labor costs, tech time and comments that are needed on the paperwork. Once the payment is received and a person goes into the computer and “accepts payment”, then that is the point that no changes can be made. A service writer may not know how to reopen an RO but the service manager does.
FYI dealerships and independents alike have the potential to rip people off. That means not all dealerships are dishonest and not all independents are honest.
I know that this sounds unsympathetic, but here goes:
You have only yourself to blame.
“Installing” floor mats? You couldn’t figure out how to place them on the floor yourself??? Paying someone to install floor mats is the automotive equivalent of paying someone to “install” a throw rug on the floor of your house.
“Installing” a cargo cover? This might be 2% more complex than placing floor mats on the floor of the car, but this is surely not a complex task.
If you really need that much help with really basic tasks, then you have to be prepared to pay for it. But–trust me–you really can learn how to do things like this yourself in order to avoid onerous fees. Until you take the bull by the horns–so to speak–be prepared to pay for help, whether it is a labor charge or an administrative fee of $1.25.
I’m sorry, but I don’t think that you have a valid grievance.
Just off the cuff, I don’t think you have a valid complaint.
Some details could clear things up though.
I’ve never seen a separate charge (1.25 in this case) for a repair order but if it is for the cost of paper processing you’re getting off dirt cheap actually.
Even if a charge like this is not shown on the repair order you are paying a paperwork processing charge; it is covered in the shop flat rate charges.
Same thing applies with a shop supplies charge; say 2%. It may be listed separately or it may be buried in the hourly labor rate but it’s there. It must be.
You buy a car they hit you for DOC fees. Buy a home and you really get hammered on that monetarily speaking.
It’s unusual they do it this way but there is a considerable amount of man/woman power involved in the paperwork bureacracy and a 1.25 doesn’t even start to cover the cost of processing even one simple repair order.
Have you looked at your cable bill lately?? Talk about added costs.
Got to agree with that. Once upon a time all bills used to be pretty simple. Now it’s this, that, and the other all tacked on.
The bill for the last time I made a surgical visit to the hospital consisted of about 4 single-spaced pages itemizing everything in the world. Five bucks for an aspirin here, 8 dollars for a pair of surgical gloves used when drawing blood, and on and on.
Something I did not know about speeding fines in OK until recently. While I knew a few bucks here and there were dedicated to fees for various things, I didn’t know that a 187 dollar speeding ticket only had an amount of about 10 dollars dedicated to the infraction itself. The rest of it is spread over a page full of various groups and agencies all standing in line for a cut.
If you really think that blows, just wait for your credit card company to send you the new terms and agreement.
I’m still trying to figure out why someone would pay anyone else to “install” floor mats. What’s next for the OP–Paying someone to open the trunk for her?
Back a bit over 30 years ago I had to go on a short road trip with 3 other people in a brand new Mercedes. (a '75 model if I remember correctly)
While riding in the back seat I got to reading the window stickers from the back side.
One of the options on that sticker was a set of floor mats; or CoCo Mats as they were called. Essentially these were nothing more than inexpensive braided mats similar to macrame.
These mats were shown at 400 dollars for a set (mats only) and 40 bucks for installation. Put those mid 70s prices into today’s dollars!
Recently I bought a FSM from Helm. They charge $7.00 to process your order. They are upfront about it, nothing is hidden. I tried to negoiate this fee and was told its going to be $7.00 take it or leave it.
There is a choice, I can buy from books4cars but Helm has a better selection.
Really $7.00 to process a order? to me this is like paying the clerk at the grocery store to take your money. It $7.00 plus $10.00 minimum shipping (minimum 10 day delivery time).
Hey, if you can afford a Mercedes… 