Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...? Ouch…read more
Yes, we trusted VIP Tires & Service in Portsmouth, NH a second time. We felt certain that our previous poor experience - in June 2023 - had been a fluke.
This time, VIP seemed the most convenient location for what we thought would be a quick repair: My husband saw coolant leaking from the right front side of our Honda CR-V.
We assumed it was a reservoir issue. Worst case, the thermostat housing might need replacement.
RepairPal and at least one other car estimate site suggested that the repair, including labor, would be between $647 and $779.
Of course, we hoped for less.
My husband arrived at VIP in Portsmouth shortly after 8 AM; the repair bays seemed already filled. However, the VIP mechanics were able to look at the car within about an hour. They said that the problem was related to the tubing connection between the reservoir and the thermostat.
The estimate at that time was less than $500; my husband recalls it being far lower, but he's not sure of the exact figure.
After that, they told my husband that they were shopping around for the best price for the needed parts. Unfortunately, many of those resources were hours away from Portsmouth.
At 3:35 PM, my husband email'd me that the necessary part/s had finally arrived, and they'd begun work on our car.
According to the receipt, the work was concluded and our car was out at 5:24 PM.
The bill came to $1197.63. Of that, the parts came to $420.63; $849.00 was for labor. That's nearly $100 per hour for every hour that my husband was in the waiting room, even when it did not appear that the car was being worked on.
Maybe all of this is fair or even a great, low price for the work that was done. Neither my husband nor I have the necessary automotive background to be certain. Past labor costs were never that high.
But one thing that is certain is this: We'll use sites like RepairPal in the future. They'd not only quoted us a price nearly half what VIP in Portsmouth charged us, they also gave us the name of a nearby, certified mechanic who'd honor that quote.
UPDATE: Colleen C. at VIP replied promptly.
Here's part of what she said, "When it comes to our pricing, we follow what's called book time or book price... Each job has an industry-set number of hours attached to it, and that's what we charge for -- not the actual time the car's in the shop. So if the repair takes our technician longer, you're not charged more. And if it takes less time, you're still only paying that fair, consistent rate. You're never billed for time your vehicle isn't being worked on."
That's a contradiction in itself. On one hand, she says, "Each job has an industry-set number of hours attached to it, and that's what we charge for -- not the actual time the car's in the shop." But then she says, "You're never billed for time your vehicle isn't being worked on."
(And yes, I noted the EM-dash in Colleen's reply; it's often a red flag indicating an AI response.)
As I said in my initial review, it appeared that VIP had called around, looking for parts necessary to repair our car. They weren't able to work on our car until late in the day. That's fine.
However, the actual car repairs seemed to take about two hours.
But let's say that VIP _had_ actually been working on our car every hour it had been in the shop... almost nine hours. The $849 labor fee meant a labor charge of nearly $100 per hour. To us, that seems stunning. Worse, it's far longer than our vehicle was worked on.
Even if we say that it took VIP an hour to diagnose the issue, plus an hour to find a shop with the necessary parts, and then two hours to make the repair... that's four hours, adding up to $200/hour in labor charges.
That labor charge is why we won't trust VIP again. The numbers just don't add up, nor does their explanation.
UPDATE #2: By sheer coincidence, we were at the post office when a VIP staff member, Favian, was there. He explained quite a bit, including the extra work that had increased the cost of our repairs. So, I have - with some uneasiness - changed my review to 2 stars.
Favian also explained that VIP's standard labor charges are $170/hour. That's stunning. Our regular mechanic in Orlando, Florida, doesn't charge anything close to that.
UPDATE #3: We discovered that the hood release had been broken while our car was at VIP. Now, to check the oil level, etc., we have to push our fingers under the hood and find the latch to open it. So, this review is - once again - one star.
My husband and I are still unhappy that we were given an estimate of less than $500 for the repair, and then - with no warning - given a bill of over $1100. For that reason, plus our 2023 experience at that same VIP location, we will not return to that shop.
