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.
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.
RO glossary
Beginner · short stepsExpert · spec · code · mm
Look up the slang on the ticket. Read the trap on that line.
Invoice slang: LOF, MPI, R&R, NTF, shop supplies, 'while we're in there.'
Invoice slang
Try cabin-filter, LOF, or flush
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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.