Well, I should have asked but didn't when I took my 5th wheel in for service. Diagnostic fees are $145 an hour. The bill came out to $1700 plus for a microwave and a converter replacement. This included an AC check (which is what it went in for under Dometics recomendation). The AC unit was arcing and they never took the cover off to look at it. I find it uterly absurd to be charged $145 to be told the microwave doesn't work and another $145 to be told the converter isn't working. Nice shop, nice folks, I still can't get over the diagnostic fees. Sir, Thank you for taking the time to respond to my review. Upon reflection, I cannot give you 2 stars and have revised it to 3. I would like to point out 2 things regarding your response. I was not told of hourly rates until I was called and told what the total would be. It did not make sense not to have it done as the diagnostics had already been completed (getting billed). I also do not recall being informed that the rates would include time spent on the phone with the waranty company until I picked my unit. I do believe the AC should have been looked at from the roof as well as I could hear it shorting/arcing and the reason I found myself at your shop. The hourly rate falls squarely on me. I had no clue the labor was going to be what it was prior to the call authorizing the work. Honestly, I thought there had to be a mistake. This is my 5ft rv and the first time I have taken one in for work other than factory waranty. I know whats involved swapping out converters microwaves, ACs and the like. Please extend my apologies to your staff if they were uncorfortable. While I was certainly not pleased with the totals I thought that it was civil transaction.
Thank you for your review Mr. B. After looking over all of the information, your extended warranty's involvement with the repairs needed, and what services were actually performed and noted, we had your approval before any work was performed or services were billed to you. When you brought your vehicle in for repairs, you are correct in stating you didn't ask what the costs were for diagnostic or repairs, we told you what was involved, the hourly labor rate and approx how much time we estimated for each of the complaints/repairs you needed. Our labor rate was quoted to you at $145, the time to diagnose your complaints also includes the time we deal with the extended warranty company as well as the time our technician and service writer have with the repairs/services on your vehicle. We did make you aware the hourly rate was the same whether your extended warranty approved or declined your repairs. On Jan. 8th we updated you to let you know we had not tested your roof A/C due to the extreme cold weather conditions and we needed warmer temperatures to be able to test. On 1/15 your extended warranty company called and approved $1215.03 of a $1769.01 repair, with your $100 deductible this left you owing a total of $553.98 plus deductible of $653.98. Your warranty company, Dometic (mfg) nor our company would absorb the 1 hour diag on your AC. We performed an Amp draw on the roof unit, checked ambient vs intake and output temp readings. We ran the A/C unit all day and we could not duplicate your arcing complaints. We saw no need to remove the shroud because the A/C worked in our facility. The extended warranty company only authorized $435 for labor, and labor total was $870. They also only allowed $720.58 in parts, parts were $759.05, and tax allowed was $59.45 with actual tax total of $66.65. This is how they came up with $1215.03 less the $100 deductible. They do not cover shop supplies or hazardous waste fees. On Jan. 16, 2018, you were explained in detail what your amount would be after the extended warranty paid, to which you stated, "It was too much", but gave approval, stating "it is what it is". Parts were ordered, installed, rechecked and again prior to you picking up the vehicle we reran the roof A/C to verify it was operating correctly. It has been our pleasure to have the opportunity to service or repair your vehicle and appreciate the trust and confidence you placed in our work. We know your experience with us also involved an extended warranty in the repairs of your vehicle. This made the pickup of your vehicle at the front counter unpleasant and uncomfortable for everyone involved. When we deal with extended warranties they dictate what must be done for the repair of the vehicle to be warranted and we strive to accommodate both the customer and the extended warranty. This is why we must have approval from the customer and document the dates/times we speak with you, the customer, as well as document your comments/or requests. Although, we may not be the shop for you or your vehicle needs we encourage you to find a technician who has the skills, knowledge and experience to know how to fix your vehicle right the first time. Building a relationship with someone you can trust is important, owning a recreational vehicle of any type may be expensive depending on the repairs you need, or if you go to the wrong person who guesses or doesn't know how to fix today's vehicle.
- LeMeilleur's RV-Truck Repair