Hi Geza,

This is very much like how warranty work is paid for by Apple
Computer Inc.. They know what amount of time it takes to fix a
problem and that's what you get paid for. If you diagnose incorrectly
and throw too many parts at a situation they reduce your labour rate
for that month's billing. You have the tools and info and you do
what's required, and nothing more than that.

But a computer new enough to be under warranty is NOTHING like a 25-
year-old vehicle.

Personally, I wouldn't touch your conditional deal with a 10 foot
pole.  Not even for a spark plug swap. And this is exactly why most
dealers won't work on Vanagons any more.

Happy Trails,

Greg Potts
1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato
www.pottsfamily.ca

On 16-Jan-07, at 9:54 PM, Geza Polony wrote:

> Another question to ask of technicians out there is this. What if,
> before
> you begin, the customer says, "Ok, I'll pay you $85 an hour to
> diagnose and
> fix the (whatever), but only on the condition that you're ultimately
> successful." Would you go for it? What if the number of hours or
> cost had a
> cap on it?
> This approach seems fair to the customer, but I bet most car mechs
> would
> rather do brake jobs than a deal like this.
>
> Yes, a grey area. The only thing I can think of is to specify the
> conditions
> as much as possible in advance--but then you sometimes get caught,
> as Joy
> did, in a place where you're dependent on the mechanic, and don't
> have much
> room to drive a hard bargain.