Owner's book · not a shop
Open HoodKnow the car. Then the window. Factory specs in plain English — don't authorize until you can say this at the counter.
Service writer
Beginner · short stepsExpert · spec · code · mm
LOF is oil. 'Due' is not a measurement. Pick the line you wrote.
RO decoder: LOF, MPI, alignment, trans service. Ticket slang in owner English.
03 · Service writer
Owner hears
Oil change plus a sales walk.
Say this instead
Oil and filter at the cap spec. MPI is optional; measurements are not adjectives.
Try cabin-filter, LOF, or flush
service
Lube, oil, and filter. Drain the sump, new filter, refill to the spec on the cap.
Say · Oil and filter. Ask which viscosity and whether they used the spec on the cap, not 'whatever was on sale.'
LOF is not a 'full service' and not a license to add a flush, an induction, or a cabin filter without a price.
service
A walk-around the shop uses to find more work. Useful when it writes measurements. Sales when it writes 'due.'
Say · I want the numbers: rotor mm, pad mm, tread 32nds, not 'brakes due.'
'Recommended' on an MPI is not a fail. Ask what is below spec today.
steering
Adjust toe (and camber/caster if the car has it) so the tires track straight.
Say · Ask for the printout: before and after, in degrees. A 'lifetime alignment' is a coupon, not geometry.
An alignment will not fix a bent knuckle or a worn inner tie rod. Those are parts, then the alignment.
trans
Usually a drain and fill, sometimes a pan drop and filter. Not the same as a flush.
Say · Ask: drain-and-fill or machine flush? Which fluid spec? Filter this time?
A flush on a high-mile untouched unit can be a gamble. Drain-and-fill is the conservative sentence.
service
A machine pushes fluid through a system. Coolant, trans, brake, and power-steering flushes are different jobs.
Say · Which system, and why a flush instead of a drain? Show me the contamination.
Flush packages are high-margin. Contamination or a spec interval is the reason; a menu board is not.
ticket
Remove and replace. They took it off and put a new (or reman) one on.
Say · What was measured on the old part? Keep the old part.
R&R is not a diagnosis. It is the labor line after someone decided.
ticket
Remove and install — often the same part, or a part they sent out (machine the rotor, rebuild the caliper).
Say · Is this the same part coming back, or a new one?
R&I labor can hide a machine-shop sublet. Ask for that line.
diag
Could not duplicate. The tech did not see the complaint in the bay or on the road test.
Say · That is an honest sentence. Pay the diagnosis if they road-tested and scanned. Do not pay a parts guess.
NTF plus a 'preventive' part is a parts cannon. Ask for the road-test notes.
ticket
A percentage or flat fee for rags, solvents, waste oil. Legal in many states if disclosed.
Say · How much, and is it a percent of labor or a flat? I want it on the written estimate.
A 10% 'supplies' on a $2,000 ticket is a junk fee unless they can show a policy. Ask to cap it.
ticket
Additional work discovered after teardown. Fair when they call with a price before they do it.
Say · Call me with the new out-the-door number before you continue.
Unauthorized extras are how a $400 job becomes $1,400. Silence is not consent.
ticket
The complaint as written on the RO. This is the job. Everything else is extra.
Say · Read this line. If it is wrong, they will 'fix' the wrong car.
A vague 'check brakes' becomes an MPI upsell. Write the symptom: when, speed, noise.
ticket
A suggestion. Not a measurement. Not a legal fail unless they wrote the spec.
Say · Recommended is not failed. What is the reading and what is the minimum?
'Pads at 4 mm, spec is 2 mm' is soon. 'Pads due' is a sales word.
diag
Stored = it happened. Pending = it almost confirmed. Permanent = it stays until the monitor passes, even if you clear.
Say · Ask which. A pending EVAP after a loose cap is not a canister.
Clearing codes is not a repair. Permanent codes come back if the monitor fails.
diag
The computer must re-learn a stop or a sensor after a battery or a throttle cleaning.
Say · If they cleaned the throttle, a relearn is part of the job — not a second ticket.
A new ETB quoted because nobody did the relearn is a common miss.
ticket
Work sent outside the shop. Alignment rack down the street, machine the rotors, tint, programming.
Say · Who is doing it, and what is their line on my ticket?
Sublet plus a markup is normal. An unmarked sublet is how you lose the old part.
ticket
They are fixing their own work, or eating a charge to keep you. Write the promise.
Say · What is covered, for how long, and who authorized it?
Verbal goodwill evaporates at shift change. Get the RO number.
brakes
Friction material and the iron discs. Thickness is in millimeters. Below minimum is a fail.
Say · Write LF/RF/LR/RR in mm, and the hat minimum. 'They're due' is not a number.
Machining a rotor already at minimum is a comeback. Measure first.
brakes
The clamp. Seized sliders or a stuck piston pull the car or eat a pad on one side.
Say · Which corner, and did both pads wear even? Uneven wear is the caliper story.
A caliper on every brake job is a habit. One stuck corner is a part.
brakes
Hygroscopic fluid ages. A flush is interval or contamination — not automatically every oil change.
Say · Test strip or boiling-point number, or the year-old interval in the book.
Menu-board brake flushes at every visit are a pitch. Copper/moisture test is a reason.
steering
The damper. Leaking or failed rebound. Springs are separate unless they sell a loaded assembly.
Say · Leak photo? Bounce test is weak evidence. Ask for the leak or the broken spring.
Four corners 'because we recommend in pairs' — pairs on an axle are fair; all four needs a reason.
steering
Steering link. Inner vs outer are different parts. Alignment after.
Say · Which end, and is the boot torn? Alignment is part of the job.
Replacing outers and skipping the alignment is a tire bill.
steering
The steering gear. Leak at the boots or a dead EPS motor.
Say · Photo of the leak. Is it the rack or a line? Alignment after.
A 'steering leak' can be a power-steering line. Confirm the wet part.
hvac
Recover, evacuate, recharge to the gram. A leak test should be on the same ticket if it was low.
Say · How many grams went in, and where was the leak? A top-off without a leak is a subscription.
Cans from the parts store on a hybrid/EV electric compressor can kill the compressor.
service
Clean intake or injectors. Fair on some GDI carbon jobs when they show the camera.
Say · Show me the carbon or the misfire that this fixes. A bottle is not a camera.
Menu induction at every LOF is an upsell. Camera or a documented GDI interval is a reason.
service
The filter behind the glove box (usually). Air you breathe.
Say · Show me the old one. If it is white, I can decline.
A $90 cabin filter at the dealer is often a $15 part plus 0.2 hours. Ask to see it.
tires
Tire-pressure sensors. Service kits (stems) at every tire job are a shop habit; batteries die with age.
Say · Which corner failed, and is it the sensor or a leak?
Four new sensors because one battery died is a parts cannon unless they are all 8–10 years old and you agree.
tires
Move tires to even the wear. Torque the lugs to the chart — not an impact-only snug.
Say · Pattern (forward cross vs rearward) and lug torque. Ask them not to guess.
Rotation sold with an alignment you did not need. Wear pattern decides the alignment.
tires
A balancer that loads the tire like the road. Finds a stiff spot a spin-balance misses.
Say · Fair on a shake that survived a normal balance. Not automatic on every tire sale.
Road-force plus four new tires plus an alignment is a bundle. Split the complaint: shake vs pull.
service
Belt is a service part with an interval. Chain is 'lifetime' until it stretches — then it is a job.
Say · Belt or chain on this VIN? If belt, the water pump is usually 'while we're in there' with a price.
Calling a chain a belt to sell a kit. Identify first.
service
Moves coolant. Weep-hole crust or play is a fail. Not a thermostat.
Say · Photo of the weep. Thermostat is a different part unless they price both.
A pump on every overheating ticket. Temp graph first (see P0128).
trans
Gear oil in axles and the transfer case. Interval or leak, not every oil change.
Say · Which unit, which spec (GL-5, limited-slip additive), and did they find metal?
A '4x4 service package' without naming the units is a bundle.
steering
The shaft with the rubber boot. Click on turn is the outer joint.
Say · Which side, and is the boot torn or is it already clicking?
Two axles 'in pairs' when one boot is torn. The quiet side can wait if the boot is intact.
diag
Software or a control unit. Needs the right battery voltage and factory software.
Say · New module or a reflash of the old one? TSB number?
A module because of a U-code. Read /jobs/obd — silent is often voltage.
tires
Air is already ~78% nitrogen. A paid fill is a F&I or service extra.
Say · I can decline. PSI on the door sticker matters more than the gas blend.
Sold as if air were wrong. It is not required for the warranty.
ticket
Compared to a published number. Close-to-spec is a judgment; below-minimum is a fail.
Say · Write both numbers: measured and book. I decide close. You decide fail.
'Close' on a rotor that still machines above min is a sales word.