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PSA: A customer in my shop yesterday said he'd rather pay for a new engine than a $200 diagnostic fee, which really stuck with me.
He was looking at a check engine light on his truck and got mad when I told him the fee. He said, 'I'll just drive it till it blows up and buy a new one, that's cheaper than you guys.' It hit different because it shows how little people value our time and knowledge. They see the part cost but not the years it takes to know where to look. Anyone else run into this mindset and have a good way to explain it without sounding like you're just after their money?
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jake_dixon13d ago
Drive it till it blows up and buy a new one." That line actually made me laugh. Does he think a new engine just shows up in a box ready to go? Someone has to diagnose why the old one failed, pull it out, put the new one in, and hook everything up. That's a five thousand dollar job, easy. Two hundred bucks to maybe avoid all that seems like a pretty good deal.
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jesse_west13d ago
Read an article once that called it the "invisible work" problem. People pay for the wrench turning, not the knowing which bolt to turn first.
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