Ask an expert

I think my repair bill for my car is excessive, can you help me?

Sarah

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009

Many times this question is asked and quite often the answer is, "We can be good listeners but often little else."

On many occasions the biggest problem is lack of communication and understanding between the repairer and the bill payer, and there are a lot of "I thought you said" comments, which ends up as a no-win for all concerned.

My recommendations are:

- Ask friends and relatives for referrals to a reliable and trustworthy repair facility (ring the AA tech advice line for help if in doubt)
- Ask for an estimate of costs, including GST, as part of the booking-in process
- Ask the repairer questions until you are comfortable with their explanations
- Tell the repairer to contact you once the job has started if repairs are going to exceed the estimate, and not to proceed until you have given the OK for the extra work. Try and give as many contact numbers as possible
- Ask the repairer questions until you are comfortable with their explanations
- Recap on issues such as time frames and costs as a way of feeling confident both parties share the same understanding
- Establish a completion time
- Ask for the old parts to be retained and be available for inspection if required.
- If repairs are costly or exceed the original estimate by a considerable margin, then seek advice from a trusted source
- Retain all receipts