Why We Don't Provide Repair Quotes (Estimates) On The Phone

As much as you do your best to keep your vehicle running smoothly, it’s bound to need repairs. If you are proactive and bring in your vehicle for its regular preventative maintenance, you will avoid some of these high repair costs.

When the time comes to have some work done, you may do your homework. You may call different shops and ask for quotes over the phone. You want to make sure you are getting a great value.

Why Don’t You Give Me a Price Over the Phone?

We have adopted a customer-first model of providing quotes only after we’ve diagnosed the issue. What you will hear from us is to bring your vehicle in so we can properly diagnose it and provide you with an accurate price.

There are four reasons why we have adopted this model and why it is truly a customer-first model.

Each Vehicle Is Unique

We believe in giving you a price that is accurate to your specific vehicle and its particular condition. Every vehicle and its condition can vary. The care with which you drive and treat your vehicle is different than what other people do. Your vehicle’s condition is unique to you and for that reason, we need to see it in person to see what condition it’s in and determine what repairs are needed.

An Accurate Price

We do not play the bait and switch game – some shops will actually quote you a low price to get you in the door and raise it once you arrive. We will never do that.

We want to make sure that the price we give you is accurate and we can only do that by inspecting the vehicle in person. Although you may tell us what the issue is, we might find that something else is involved. In many cases we do find a more favorable solution that will be at a different price point.

It’s best to know the first time exactly what your vehicle needs.

A Correct Diagnosis

We cannot give you an accurate price based on someone else’s diagnosis work. We understand that you know there is something wrong with your vehicle, and you may have a good idea what it is. For us to really know what your car's issue is we need to run the diagnostic ourselves.

We know cars and we are confident that we will discover what is wrong with your car. However, each shop and each mechanic works differently. Their diagnostic may be different than ours. They may not be able to see what we see. In some cases, you may have received a quote from another shop and think some of the things aren’t needed; it makes you feel like they’re taking advantage of you. We are committed to full transparency and this model of quoting is just one way we fulfill our commitment to you.

Apples and Oranges

We have found that people have been trained to call around and find a shop that gives the lowest number. This is not always the best way to find a reliable shop. No two shops are alike, so using this method is not comparing apples to apples.

For example, you may call two different shops in Morro Bay, CA, and one gives you a quote for installing a low-price/low-quality part and the other shop uses a high-quality part. You will get two different prices, for what in your mind is the same part. Or perhaps one shop left off a key part of the repair, while the other shop did not. One shop might quote their price including tax, while the other did not. As you can see, it can get real messy and none of the quotes can be accurately compared.

There are many situations when an over-the-phone quote is useful for everyone. However, when it comes to auto repair, it is usually best to do it in person. Meeting in person is the best way we can give a real-world diagnosis of your vehicle’s needs and provide you with an accurate, competitive and real value quote. Truthfully, we want to see you, we want to meet you, and we want to hear from you what’s going on and not just take care of your car, but take great care of you.

Shopping around for automotive repair is much like shopping for anything else, right? There’s many factors to consider: price, quality, convenience, etc.

We get it. You’re just wondering how much a certain repair will cost so you figure you’ll call a few shops, see how much they’ll charge and go to the one that tells you the lowest price. That’s smart shopping…You want the best deal.

But, you also should know that a good deal doesn’t come at the cheapest price. Either way, you call around the area and ask, “how much does _____ cost?” Maybe someone tells you a price or maybe..worse..you’re told you need to bring the vehicle into the shop! My goodness, how inconvenient. And we know, annoying.

So, what do you do from here?

We’re the shop that won’t give you a price over-the-phone if we haven't seen and properly assessed the vehicle. (Note: there are SOME exceptions to this rule, where pricing is more standard). We’re the annoying ones who say, “we’ll have to see it in order to determine how much it will cost to fix it, when’s a good time for you to bring it in?”

Because, here’s the thing: we don’t give phone quotes because it’s a bad service to you. It does more harm than good for everyone.

See, and you think the shop that tells you how much _____ is going to cost, without even having seen the vehicle, is the one giving you want you want. But this is one of those times where we have to tell our customers or people calling in asking for a price, “I’m sorry, but you don’t know what you want”. First of all, with all that goes into a repair, from the complexity of moving and related components, to all the different parts, bolts, fluids, etc., it is impossible to know exactly what needs to be done and what needs to be used to accurately fix a problem without physically assessing the vehicle. Shops that give you a price over the phone are trying to give you what you want, and trying to do the right thing. But oftentimes, the price ends up being more in the end, or the shop will eat costs and try to honor the price they told you. Either way, it’s not honest.

Without seeing the vehicle in it's current configuration, there may be no possible way to know for sure. Vehicles are so complex these days, oftentimes there’s a million things that can cause the issue your car is having. Mechanics now are more like doctors; they have to go through a whole process of diagnosing a problem to determine what needs to be done to fix it! And that takes a lot of time and training. Definitely not something that anyone can do over the phone.

Some might try and think they can. But they can’t. No one can. And no one who knows what they’re talking about attempts to do so.

In order to accurately answer your question, to give you the best possible answer and solution; to help you to the best of our ability, we need to give your vehicle a physical assessment. And this is the best way to shop for auto repair: bring your vehicle in, have them inspect it, and get a proper estimate. This way, too, you can see the shop, meet the people, ask any questions, and decide whether it’s the right shop for you.

Our #1 priority is to provide the lowest lifetime operating cost to achieve the greatest reliability. And in sticking to our ethical standards, we don’t give estimates over-the-phone without having seen and properly assessed the vehicle. Honesty is a commitment we have to you.