Frank S >
news GMT in alt.windows7.general, wrote:

> I was told that there is a manual auto repair shops look up to
> find the number of shop hours they charge for a job.

It's not a manual per say. It's the cost/quote/job bids/expected
billable hours modules present in atleast two software packages I
know of that provide automechanics intimate details on your
car/truck/suv so that they can make repairs the right way. The
software database information is provided by the various
manufacturers of your ride, so that the repairs are proper and right
for your make/model.

I have alldata and Mitchell myself; which is what most of the shops
use (one or both) to work on your car and properly diagnose issues.
It also tells them how much time each job they need to perform on
your car should take. Billable hours, that is.

Some shops will go ahead and charge you the market value for the
repairs based on the full amount of hours the software told them it
should take, even if they were able to do it a couple of hours
faster. Others do not.

> To be fair, I'm told they all charge that many hours even if it
> doesn't take that many hours.

The software tells them how long a job should take from start to
finish, yes. it's upto the shop itself though if they want to go
ahead and bill you for the full amount of hours or not.

> Where can we car owners get that manual online?

The same places the autoshops who make use of the software can, but,
expect to pay some serious money for the software and have plenty of
storage space available to contain the database. Or, you can opt for
the online version that's subscription based. You can access it from
anywhere you have an internet connection and compatible browser.

If you feel that you're being cheated, and, it sounds like you feel
that way, I'd suggest taking your vehicle to another repair shop and
see how they treat you in so far as billable time goes for the
repairs you request/need performed.



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