Quoting car repairs before starting work, and then stopping

Aug 27
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

The single most damaging thing a garage can do is present a bill larger than the figure the customer was expecting. Not because the work was unnecessary, and usually not because the price was unfair — because nobody told them.

Almost every serious dispute in the motor trade traces back to that moment, and almost all of it is preventable with process rather than pricing.

1. Quoting car repairs before starting work means diagnosing first

You cannot quote what you have not identified, and guessing produces exactly the problem this article is about.

Charge for diagnosis as its own step, complete it, and then quote the repair. Trying to price a repair from a customer's description of a noise is how garages end up either absorbing the difference or having the conversation nobody wants.

2. Put the quote in writing

A figure given on the phone is remembered differently by each party, and the customer's version is always lower.

Send it — message or email — itemising parts, labour and any additional charges. Get a reply confirming it. This takes two minutes and eliminates the single largest category of complaint in the trade.

3. State clearly what the quote does not include

Most overruns are legitimate discoveries rather than mispricing.

Say so in advance: this price assumes nothing else is seized, corroded or damaged behind the component, and here is what happens if it is. A customer warned of that possibility accepts a variation; one who was not experiences it as a bill that grew.

4. Stop and call before exceeding the figure

This is the rule that matters more than any other, and it must be absolute.

The moment the job is going to cost more than authorised, the tools go down and the phone is picked up. It is inconvenient, it interrupts the workshop, and it is considerably less expensive than the alternative.

5. Get authorisation for the variation, not just tell them

A call informing the customer that the price has increased is not the same as one asking whether to proceed.

Explain what was found, what it now costs, and what the options are — including stopping and reassembling. Customers who were given a genuine choice do not complain about the outcome they chose.

6. Do not let one technician's estimate become the garage's quote

Verbal figures given at the counter or in the workshop bind the business.

Decide who quotes, make sure they have the labour times and parts prices, and route everything through that person or process. Half of all quoting disputes originate in a casual number given by someone who was not quoting.

7. Explain how the labour figure is arrived at

Customers understand parts prices and find labour opaque.

Saying that this job is booked at a stated number of hours at a stated rate makes the number legible. Being able to say that the time comes from the manufacturer's schedule rather than from an estimate removes most of the suspicion.

8. Quote the diagnostic separately and credit it where fair

Bundling diagnosis into the repair price makes the repair look expensive.

Charge for it as a defined step and, if you choose, credit it against the work when the customer proceeds. That keeps the diagnostic skill valued while removing the objection to paying twice.

9. Track quoted versus invoiced on every job

One number, reviewed monthly: how often, and by how much, the final bill exceeded the authorised figure.

Garages that measure this are usually surprised, and it is the number that predicts complaints and reviews more reliably than anything else. Bringing it close to zero does more for reputation than any marketing spend.

Conclusion

Diagnose before quoting rather than pricing from a description, and put every quote in writing with parts and labour itemised.

State what the quote assumes and excludes, stop and telephone before exceeding it, seek authorisation for variations rather than announcing them, route all quoting through one process instead of casual counter estimates, explain how the labour figure is derived, charge diagnosis separately with the option to credit it, and track how often invoices exceed authorised quotes.