How do you know what good service is in a retail industry such as Auto Repair in Cary NC? Some industry expert like to compare auto service with dentist office visits, OUCH! I would much rather have someone inflict pain on my Mercedes Benz than on one of my back molars. Sometimes the billing can look similar though, when things cost something and it is difficult to decipher if you are being charged appropriately.
In the auto repair business there are set fees, by which I mean a labor guide and retail parts pricing. Shops, including dealers will add up the hourly labor cost and additional margin to the parts, but there is “real” national retail pricing. I am not sure if this is the same for dentists, but it is definitely not true for medical expenses and there is an actual lobby to fix this.
Some dealers and independent repair shops “Matrix” no not the movie, matrix the pricing for labor. Normally we would think that labor has an hourly rate and the rate remains the same per hour but more time may be required to complete a job or task. With matrix pricing, as the time per job goes up so does the hourly rate.
At Peak Auto in Apex NC we do not believe in this pricing policy. At Peak Auto in the Cary NC area we believe that the second or third hour should cost the same as the first. Every car dealer that we do business with uses matrix pricing for not only their labor but also for their parts. How can you matrix-price a part you may ask? Well the list price is usually set by the manufacturer such as BMW of North America, each dealer can then apply more profit to each part depending n the cost of the part. Usually less expensive parts get more of a boost in profit margin.
Believe it or not, if you are quoted list or book price for a part or service, this is a good deal. A strange contrast to the way our Walmart society has been programmed. If you buy aftermarket parts over the internet or at Walmart or other big box stores like Pep Boys, you are getting an inferior in quality part, then you would at a respectful independent auto repair shop such as Peak Auto in Apex NC or the dealer.