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  #1  
Old 01-09-2004, 10:35 AM
apb apb is offline
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How much to reset an SRS light?

I have my car at the shop to reset the SRS light, the cause has already been repaired.
Assuming all that is needed is to reset the light, how much should it cost?

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  #2  
Old 01-09-2004, 11:44 AM
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My dealer gives me a break sometimes, and quoted me $60 to do so. I accidentally set mine off removing the harness from the gauge cluster on the SL500 trying to replace bulbs.

I've heard quotes anywhere from $60 - $80...
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  #3  
Old 01-09-2004, 12:01 PM
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Free or maybe a can of soda or a dozen doughnuts. It's less than a 5 minute job, should be able to do it in the service entrance.

Gilly
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  #4  
Old 01-09-2004, 12:07 PM
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I know it is, and that's what is really killing me.
My other mechanic did not have the equipment to reset the SRS light . . .
So, all 3 others wanted 1-1.5 hour labor to do this, because they have to make sure everything works. What a load of .....
They all also wanted me to make an appointment. It really kills me that b/c I own a benz the word "sucker" is supposed to be tatooed to my forehead.
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  #5  
Old 01-09-2004, 12:15 PM
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Called another shop that quoted my $35 to do it while I wait.
Called the first shop, they said to bring it there - they would not lower their price. Interesting, he!
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  #6  
Old 01-09-2004, 12:21 PM
gstigler
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I'm sure that Gilly is right that it's easy to reset the light. When you're dealing with the SRS they may be obligated by MB or law to check several things in the process.
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  #7  
Old 01-09-2004, 12:40 PM
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Yeah, you could be right, and my background at this dealer may be a little different than at some other places, especially an indy shop. I was always to promote a little good-will, especially to the "regular" customers, I may have even went a little overboard with it. Probably no one there doing any of this sort of stuff, and they are worse off because of it, I feel. At least the customers are.
But especially a smaller shop, you have to try to somehow be compensated for the tool acquisition cost. In my mind if you treat people right, they will be back, so in effect you may be generating more work by treating people fairly on a small matter like this. Give them something small like this for free, and they are more likely to come to you when something comes along they can't handle. (print this off and show it to them if you want)

I don't think there would be any legal obligation, or at least common sense would dictate that if you know WHY the code was set, and the problem was repaired, that no harm would come from resetting the light. One good reason for this is that if a fault is still present, the SRS light will come back on anyways. If you somehow modify the system so that the light can't come back on (Gee, how would you do that? ), then I could see some legal problems, particularly if an accident would occur and the owner would try coming after the shop.

Gilly
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  #8  
Old 01-09-2004, 12:51 PM
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I almost removed the bulb...
Seems I'd like to know if another malfunction happens.
The shop lost big. I work downtown and most of my colleagues drive high end cars - guess what I'll be saying about the good-will of that shop . . .
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  #9  
Old 01-09-2004, 09:07 PM
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Gilly obviously doesn't pay for the tools or shop insurance. A very cavalier attitude.

If a customer brought such a request to me there is a good chance I would just reset it and be done with it. Do you understand the word customer though? It does NOT include DIYers that have done who knows what and have who knows what for expectations. What if it won't reset?

MB won't even sell their tool with the capabilities to deal with SRS because of liability issues. Given the choice of putting my business at risk for $34 or not, I can guarantee the fee is not the issue.

What all this misses is the fact that a busines can not even process a repair order for $34. Just why should we waste our time if its obvious there is no business here.

Spoken by someone who has given thousands of hours helping for only the pleasure of it. Spoken by someone who receives 10 phone calls a week from people who have read his writings and expect him to drop what he is doing and give free consultation!!!

Just a moment for understanding. We are rapidly approaching the day where we will give new customers the same forms to fill out that doctors do and accept new customers by referal only. We don't have to work on your car!
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  #10  
Old 01-09-2004, 11:46 PM
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When I got my 90 Lexus LS400- the airbag warning light was not illuminating. I called my local Lexus dealer and they said they would check the system for $30. It turned out that the previous owner (original) was the type that did not want an airbag- so they had it disconnected. When that happened- the warning light illuminated- so they also had the bulb removed. Lexus went ahead and reconnected the system and installed a new bulb. They only charged $1.50 for the bulb, so the entire repair, reset and tax, was less than $35. The normal hourly rate at my Lexus dealer is $60.00 per hour. They had my car back there for a little over an hour. I am suprised that they set a flat rate and did not charge by the hour. I was pleased with the price of getting this working again.
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  #11  
Old 01-10-2004, 12:13 AM
gstigler
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86560SEL you illistrate a great case. I agree that services cannot be given away all the time but at the same time no one is going to retire on a $35 repair.

The attitude that is going to stimulate further business is to let the little ones slide. This impresses customers. If you nickel and dime customers every time they will continue to look for the facility that they feel they can better relate with.

Stevebfl I probably am not fully understanding your post but it sounds like you may have a minimum dollar amount for cars that go into your shop. By the number of posts I'm sure that you have helped a great many people for nothing. But I was surprised to read "why waste our time if it's obvious there is no business." If I got the feeling that my mechanic felt an issue I was having was a "waste of time," I would find a new mechanic.
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  #12  
Old 01-10-2004, 09:36 AM
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Geoff,

Once you have been in this business (or any business)as long as I have, one can quite quickly determine whether a propective customer is a prospective customer. I deal with a lot of DIYers locally and how much I help them depends mostly on respect; more than money.

To give you only the barest of insight I'll give an example. Yesterday I got one of those phone calls while I was doing the third of five alignments I knew I was sceduled for. In a wandering preamble including the statement that since he was in Texas he obviuosly couldn't bring me the car, he got around to the question about his late model MB that pulled down the road and had just been to the dealer for the x number of times.

Part way through I asked him to speed it up as I was busy. He paused, obviously offended (he may have had a speach impediment as he spoke very slowly). He then went on to repeat much of what he said. As I started to mention aspects of his problem he acted as if I might not actually know about his type of car and he left me in a position of having to explain or prove myself (he had called because he read my "Import Car" article on MB alignments from a google search). I spent way too much time with him and gave him a direction of diagnosis that may or may not help.

The point here is that there was no business there for me in this example. A DIYer fresh from setting his SRS light while playing with his car, likely is no business for me also. If he comes at me with demands he is history. Our basic shop charges (to address the original question) go like this: One half hour labor ($34) to read and reset the codes, up to one hour ($68) to evaluate the codes and run any other scanner based testing. Two hours and up for on the car circuit and component testing.

It was pointed out that it's a free country and each has the right to pass on a businesses service and go else where. At some point in one's business life one realizes there is no point in buying poor business. My final paragraph points out that our business passed that point some time ago. We have paid our dues to thousands of current customers who continually send us new customers. A DIYer, price shopping, or interested in a dissertation to prove our capability may find us not to their liking and go elsewhere. I answer the phone a lot in the early morning and always spend to much time (I like talking cars). The easiest way to get a short conversation is to talk about price.

This reply realy only applies to diagnostics in general. There is a very good chance we would not be in the market to assist a DIYer working on an SRS system, just too much liability.
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  #13  
Old 01-10-2004, 09:59 AM
gstigler
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Steve,
I understand now and you have explained your position well and given an excellent example. Where our opinions had differed relates directly to our lines of work. I work in marketing where results are less tangible. I will spend significant time on the phone working with people that are not current prospects for my products. I do this because someday I know that they may be a prospect and people can be influenced the positive experience/conversation that they had.

In reading your post I agree completely that from a shops standpoint you cannot afford to spend significant parts of your day working with customers where there is ZERO prospect of future profitability. It is probably good that you sped the conversation with that individual and made him feel rushed. If I were in your shoes I wouldn't want that guy to refer people to calling me from different parts of the country because I helped him out. I can picture the person you described in fact I work with those types of people every day. It sounds like he was in a position of power in an organization and thought that everyone should listen to his every word. Someone that could take 20 minutes describing how he zips up his pants.

A very important part of business is protecting good customers. Giving them a break here or there can ensure that and it sounds like that is something that you do.
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  #14  
Old 01-10-2004, 04:32 PM
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I had that happen a few times when I was at the dealership, best thing to do, if you know it is someone trolling for info is to cut them off and tell them they have to contact you through MercedesShop, not during working hours at your place of employment.

Gilly
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  #15  
Old 01-10-2004, 06:18 PM
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I should point out that almost all of the ten or more phone calls I get a week are NOT from people on MBshop. I have writen a number of articles about MB and BMW that evidently appear quite easily through internet searches. Put my name in a google search and you will see. Probably the one that gets the most phone calls is one I wrote on BMW transmissions although the one I wrote on diesel transmission adjustments is a close second.

I try and put inquiries, mostly email, to the site as whatever I say is then viewable by many (for better or worse). I do have a problem with people who call me and expect me to look things up or give free consultation on demand. If posed in an email that I can deal with at my discretiion I have no problem.

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