$220 Diagnostic Charge?!

88911coupe · 01-23-2002, 04:04 PM

Ok, Car is at Local Porsche Dealer (Park Place/Dallas) to fix erratic idle after warm. I have extended wrnty on car so has to go to "auth dealer" This problem is CONSTANT but it took the dealer 3 days to get the car to act up. Now they want me to approve a $220 diagnostic charge (?) which, of course, the wrnty won't cover. (I suspect the O2 sensor but they can't replace anything till it goes through this "test")
I previously used Louden Motors and NEVER got charged to diagnose ANYTHING no matter how long it took them to figure it out. Does this "diagnostic charge" sound like BS or am I off base?
TIA,
Buck
88 Coupe

Britwrench · 01-23-2002, 04:17 PM

This is the real world now. As shop rates and costs have risen dealers will charge every billable hour to each job.

For extended warranty, many of the warranty providers do not cover diagnosis, just replacement of the part. Therefore if it takes, say, one hour to find the fault but only 15min to replace the part the dealer only will get paid for the 15 min. This obviously is not a good situation for the dealer so the car owner will be charged for the diagnosis.

The costs of running and equpping a dealership (of any make) are so high now that all hours have to be charged. Most technicians are paid by the job (flate rate) so they are not going to fix your car for free. The only thing you can do is check with your warranty provider and see if there is anything that can be done.

89911 · 01-23-2002, 08:05 PM

What kind of extended warranty goes with a 14 year old car? Do you mean one of those warranties that used car dealers sell? The shortcomings of these is that you are forced to go to one of their "authorized" dealers rather then a dependable shop. Once there, they will devise ways to "screw" you or if so, do shoddy work under the warranty. I never was a proponent of those to begin with because of situations like yourself. Hope things turn in your favor.

88911coupe · 01-23-2002, 08:29 PM

Actually I may have more leeway on where to take it than I thought. However, this warranty company has reimbursed me for a repair I had done BEFORE they even approved it. I may just push it next time and take it to where I wanted to in the first place.
Thanks

911pcars · 01-23-2002, 11:38 PM

Only the most skilled master techs take on diagnosis with any sense of confidence. Others make their money changing shocks and batteries. Imagine trying to trace an electrical gremlin that only appears every once in a while. To diagnosis properly and efficiently, a technician must know the system inside and out. Arbitrarily replacing parts is what many DIY'ers call "diagnosis". Even rebuilding an engine is relatively easy compared to locating an intermittent malfunction. If you were the one assigned to do the job, wouldn't you want to get paid for your diagnosis skills. It might take them 2 hours to locate an exposed wire that takes all of $.02 of electrical tape to fix. It might take the less skilled days or never.

I'm talking about reputable shops. Perhaps an agreement could be made before starting so all parties understand the scope and extent of diagnosis and who covers/pays for what.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Right - it's always wise to agree on what you're going to pay for before you give them the keys.

As mentioned previously, it also is a function of who you take the car to. I wouldn't mind paying an expert (like Tony Callas) to check out a problem with my BMW, because I know that the time spent on this will be grade-A. However, at a lesser shop (or even the dealer), you're not really sure what 'diagnosing' you're getting.

That's why DIY is great - no one is trying to rip you off, and you're basically doing the same things that the other guys would be doing for $95/hr.

As for the O2 sensor, what are the CO and HC readings on the meter?

-Wayne