Dealers charging for diagnostics?

[KentStu]

Had a problem with one car door which was completely deadlocked and refused to open the other day. It has now been resolved with replacement of the whole door lock etc but when I got the bill (not an official Skoda dealer) they charged for:

1) Bosch Diagnostic Test - £50
2) Door Lock - £75
3) Labour - £50 for 1.5 hours
All the above is ex-VAT.

Now I know that this is probably cheaper than it would be at a main dealer (labour particularly) but would a main dealer charge for a diagnostic check? Just seems to me that £58 a pop just for a diagnostic test seems to be quite a lot when its a fundamental part of providing the service and the equipment surely isn't that expensive Or is it a clever way of keeping the stated labour rate down but still getting a decent amount of money?

BTW not whinging as their service is excellent just thought it was a bit odd

[Dr Zoidberg]

I was quoted £50 + VAT by a main dealer just to plug my car in and read off any fault codes but they couldn't book me in for a fortnight anyway.

I bought a VAG-COM cable for £20 and did it myself safe in the knowledge that I had accurate information.

Yes , the proper diagnostics rig isn't cheap , but the usual reason for £50+ per hour labour rates is that they cover the cost of the premises and tools etc.

Surely a fairer system would be to charge you for the time it took at the standard labour rate , and as it doesn't take long to power it up and connect a cable.......

If there are fault codes that then require further investigation then this should be charged accordingly

[VRStu]

Diagnostics are normally charged at the dealers hourly rate. So the diag check you had was rather expensive I think Stu.

[Lummox]

It depends if the diag check was just a plug in.

I charge for diagnostics purely for the amount of customers who come in to have the fault codes checked and the clear off somewhere else to have the work done or do it themselves.

Getting a fault code like "camshaft/crankshaft correlation fault" doesnt mean anything to everyone, so you also pay for a little of my knowledge and training to know what the fault is.

[KentStu]

Originally Posted by Lummox

I charge for diagnostics purely for the amount of customers who come in to have the fault codes checked and the clear off somewhere else to have the work done or do it themselves.

I can understand that Lummox as thats just wasting your time etc, just thought it was a bit odd given that all the work and resolution was going to be done at the garage. Would you have expected a Skoda main dealer to have charged separately for the diagnostic in such a situation?

[VRStu]

That's why I say that, in my experiance, it is charged at the normal hourly rate.

If you pay a dealer by the hour you are paying for the expertise of the Tech, the support documentation and everything else that goes in hand with a franchised dealer service.

It shouldn't matter if the guy is finding or fixing the fault - the hourly rate is the hourly rate, and again in my experiance, dealer will normally charge a minimum of 30 mins to cover these eventualities.

[TKW]

Where did you go, just out of interest? (Pm if you prefer). Motorline at Canterbury tried to charge me for diagnostics once when the car was still under warranty!

[bluepassion]

its £25 at skoda at mansfield(rainworth)they have a sign on the desk