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Why do automotive places quote you one thing and then inflate the price?

Posted by admin in Finance Saturday, 15 January 2011 10:40 5 Comments

We took our car in for a brake job. Quote was $49.95. We agreed they took the car and 30 minutes later told us it was $595.00. We said we do not have that. They said they could not undo what they did and they would keep our car if we did not pay them.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 15th, 2011 at 10:40 and is filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Comments

  1. 01/15/2011 10:48
    posted by lemonprotection.com

    If you did not sign the papers to authorize the job then call the police and they will enforce the 49. job and you can take your car out from there. And call the local news and tell them your story so other people don’t get ripped off as well. God Bless

  2. 01/15/2011 10:59
    posted by Roxanne N

    Often they will inflate the price because they will find other things that need replacing.

    In this case though, it sounds like they are just ripping you off.

  3. 01/15/2011 11:19
    posted by LeAnne

    That’s a rip-off. If they did extra work without your authorization, you are absolutely not responsible for the difference. This is one of the worst cases I’ve heard about – it doesn’t matter one single bit that they “could not undo what they did” – they did it without your agreeing to it, and now they’re simply holding the bag and trying to get you to pay for their mistake.
    Call your local Better Business bureau and tell them the story and ask them what your next step should be.

  4. 01/15/2011 11:48
    posted by Andy F

    .Always get the estimate in writing and make them write on the estimate no extra parts without signed approval.Also always tell them you want to see the old parts. As for now call the better business bureau and see what they say. I hope you didn’t sign anything that authorizes them to add any parts that they think it needed.

  5. 01/15/2011 12:16
    posted by paul4001

    If you did not authorize additional work, they eat it. However they don’t need your signature. If a call was placed to you and you agreed to the higher price, then your bound to it. However, no reputable shop would ever quote a $50 brake job. Heck, even at our cost a quality set of brake pads cost $40-$70……… when I do a brake job on the side I charge $150-$100. So for a shop with overhead…$50 doesn’t even pay for the compressor to be turned on.