What's worse than AutoZone Doing Free Check Engine light scans?

[Joe Marconi]

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[xrac]

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[Jeff]

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[Dee1234]

I usually handle it like this: "oh ok so just tell me which parts you want me to replace and ill give you a price. If you want me to replace everything in that system then lets start with $1000 tab and go from there. Or pay me $85/hour to narrow your list down from 100 parts to maybe only 3 or less. Im game either way :-)" ive been pretty successful with convincing customers to pay me to diagnose because many mechanics in my area just throw parts and success rate isnt that great..so when customer gets tired of throwing money out the window they give in and are usually happy they did...especially when AUTO ZONE told them they needed a fuel pump because their car wouldn't start and i found a bad fuse from where they straight wired their fan and caused fuses to blow not allowing power to fuel pump. So $450 fuel pump job not needed...$85 diagnosis and $35 electrical repair (my time isnt free) and they are back riding. I love it! Ill make a believer out of them...bring that lil printout to me all day long...I'm easy to get a long with ;-)

[JimO]

In my area Advance was running radio adds touting free battery testing and free Remove/Replace labor for battery purchases. When Advance acquired Car Quest we were told it was done because Advance needed to increase their trade with professionals since their DIY trade had been faltering. Understandably today's complex vehicles has caused that reduction. When I heard the free battery testing and replacement radio advertisements I quickly informed my Advance salesman that they lost me as a customer. We need unity and the ability to have large corporations realize that when they want our business they need to respect us and not be greedy. They need to decide who they want to attract as a customer and the methods they use to accomplish their goal. When the methods remove money from our pocket or cheapen the value of our labor then we need to remove the money flow to their pockets.

 

Concerning our lack of recognition as professionals that Jeff wrote about - I agree. Years ago we were told that certification would be required and that it would

professionalize the trade. ASA has the framework in place but the required licensing or certification has never happened except for our states emission repair program.

 

While on the subject of respect - how about the recent full page Auto Zone advertisements in some of our trade magazines showing a very dirty/greasy tech with filthy hands named Mohamed and a statement about "rusted nuts". The dirty, grease monkey image with slightly questionable dialog about " when your nut's are rusted" has to go, What was Auto Zone thinking when they came up with that advertisement?

[Joe Marconi]

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[Jeff]

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[flacvabeach]

Let's face it - the guy who goes to the corner auto parts store for a free "diagnosis" is never going to be a good quality customer for your good quality shop. Let them struggle with the misdiagnosed problems and you continue to provide great service to your customers who are interested in professional service for their cars. How many counter guys at Advance are aware that the PCM now controls battery charging on modern cars? They just want to sell a battery or alternator rather than establishing a relationship with their customer.

[mmotley]

Let's face it - the guy who goes to the corner auto parts store for a free "diagnosis" is never going to be a good quality customer for your good quality shop. Let them struggle with the misdiagnosed problems and you continue to provide great service to your customers who are interested in professional service for their cars. How many counter guys at Advance are aware that the PCM now controls battery charging on modern cars? They just want to sell a battery or alternator rather than establishing a relationship with their customer.

^^^^This^^^^^

 

Why worry or waste your time over these people

[Jeff]

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[Gonzo]

I read everyones comments and I would agree its a problem, a problem that has only gotten worse with the electronic age. I really think the problem starts when a person buys a car. Most people buy a car with the thought of how much it costs per month and what the insurance will run, and never give a thought to maintenance or repairs. When something does need serviced they first look at their personal finances and then go to the cheapest source first. Namely... Auto Zone.

 

Like Joe said about answering the question, "So, what do you do for a living?" For me, I usually get one of those frowns and I start to grumble, because you know.... no matter how good of a tech you are the person who asked the question usually thinks your name is Mohammed and ya keep a can of grease around to rub my hands in.

 

Hard to change peoples perception if they can't see the need in quality service.

[xrac]

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[hartcoauto]

Hey, is your check engine light ? Why waste your time and money getting that so-called free diagnose and then buying the wrong part at the parts store, when you could have your check engine light tested once, the right way and the right part installed at your local professional repair shop, saving you time, money and aggravation

 

Excellent advertising statement mind if we use it

[Joe Marconi]

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[carolinahigear]

Advance, Autozone, NAPA, and O'Reilly's are within 1/2 mile of my shop, and I get a good many folks that have been referred. Some have had scans, some have just been talked with, but quite often I get some good business (AKA money) this way. Many times I will just be upfront and ask them if they are prepared to invest several hundred dollars on their vehicle. Many say yes.

 

Last week I did a $1972.00 job on a referral from O'Reilly's. It's all in how it's handled and whether they have access to the funds and/or financing.

 

Hi-Gear

[mmotley]

I really think it's in how you present it to the customer. Take for example an oxygen sensor heater circuit code. If I had a customer walk in that had just left auto zone and said their car had that code, I'd start asking questions like "did they tell you if it was the actual sensor itself, or JUST the circuit or wiring to the sensor? Did they make sure the computer wasn't misinterpreting the data? Did they check for rat damage?" Usually questions like these help the customer understand the value in diagnosing the car. If they persist, you can always put the code into all data, Mitchell, or whatever you use and explain to the customer that codes really only tell you what tests need to be performed. Scroll through and show them how it could be the circuit, fuse, module, or component. Tell them you'd be more than happy to let them guess and spend money with you, but you'd rather see a happy customer leave you're shop and refer friends and family. Not everyone can be convinced though. Those are better left to their buddy who just bought a tool set and $50 harbor freight scanner and wasting 3 hours in their driveway making a mess.

[bigdonstang]

Funny story. We had an elderly lady come in on a hook a few weeks ago. 1999 cavalier. Quick evaluation revealed a locked up engine. After explaining to her that the cost of a replacement engine would far outweigh the cost of the vehicle. Especially when you consider the rest of the car was roached out and full of issues. So we advise her to have it towed to the boneyard in the sky. Still she insist that the engine could be somehow cheaply fixed. Long story short we didn't charge her a dime. Mainly because it was a super quick diag for me and also I'm a softy for old folks. So the tow guy gets to the shop to pick it up and she tries to get the driver to haul it to autozone so they can do there free diagnostics. Obviously he refused and also tried to explain to the lady that this is not how any of this works.

[hartcoauto]

Wow I've never had someone ask the tow driver for a tow to autozone that's a first, guess it takes all kinds. Agreed on a no charge same here on the elderly big softy.

 

 

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[xrac]

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[lmcca]

They have been doing it for years. Although i dont agree with it for obvious reasons, its not a problem for us. We get 1 to 2 a week and once we explain it properly and politely we usually are diagnosing the problem.

[JimO]

My post today strays a bit from the Auto Zone code testing topic but instead addresses some comments made within this thread concerning our image and how it is portrayed to the public. Lately Ford has been running advertisements in our trade publications and on the web for FordParts.com. Ford is clearly depicting us all as a group of workers with dirty, greasy, oil soaked hands. That image is an insult to me and it should be an insult to all of us in the trade. I personally will never use FordParts.com because of this blatant disrespect from a company that should know better. I have emailed my feelings to FordParts.com and I urge everyone else to do the same.

 

[a1966f100]

Our commercial rep for Advance told us our local stores have stopped doing CEL diagnostics. They will not pull codes, but will refer the customer to a local shop. This is apparently a test by Advance. He is hopeful it will catch on and become company policy. I say about time.

[Jeff]

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[NCTransmission]

Wow, such venom against the code readers. I LOVE it when people call up and tell me they had it diagnosticated at the Vato Zone. I am glad to perfom your parts swap for this price. If you want us to be sure that we are repairing your vehicle, we will need to properly diagnose WHY the part went bad. Your parts store will gladly SELL YOU PARTS, I am here to fix the problems.

[Dennis R.]

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[Reynas1]

I use these free diagnostics to my advantage. When a potential customer wants a free diagnosis, I tell them to go to AutoZone, get the diagnostics report and bring it to me for analysis.

 

I will tell them that for $15.00 I will do a reset, re-scan and explain the codes I get.

 

After showing them how many unnecessary parts were listed on the AutoZone list, 90% of them will become loyal customers which of course increases my customer base.

 

I have a Commercial account with AutoZone, the only benefit being not paying Sales Tax and free and prompt delivery. Having a good relationship with this department has resulted in getting an average of 2-3 weekly referrals.

 

Here in Idaho it's still the old West.

[frostytire]

We have been doing free code readings since we have opened. We then charge for diagnosis. I figure why charge for read a code if others are going to do it for free. It is also a way to meet and greet the customer. 80% of them let us do the diagnostic and repair.

[alfredauto]

We do the same thing. Free code read, diag costs money. It's not my first choice but sending people away unhappy is not an option.

 

The fact of the matter for some low income people is if the light is on for an evap code they might let it go until inspection. Cigarettes & scratch tickets or a purge valve? No cash for both. Tough times.