Shop disposal and environmental fees getting out of hand

[53' Stude]

Doesn't work that way . Try buying tires and telling them you will take the old ones with you . You'll still pay the disposal fee .

No I don’t. I take my old tires to work to be recycled. Same if my friends tire shop changes my oil: he gives me old oil back so I can recycle it at work. I cut my oil filters apart

 

[D60]

I mean at the end of the day its the bottom line price so it doesn't much matter - but I will never understand these fees. If its a state mandated fee then fine - for accounting makes sense. But everything else is normal - should be baked in. Why not a lift maintenance fee, or a tool cleaning fee, or a floor scrubbing fee? A calculator fee to figure how much to mark up the parts. I mean these are all business costs, just like every business you have supplies you need to buy .

Its usually a percentage of the hourly rate. Why not just raise the hourly rate?

I realize those in the industry think its justified, but no other industry does it. I grew up in a small business - we had an hourly service rate and that was it. I work in a small business now. We have a hourly fee and minimum charge - no fees. Restaurants don't charge you a dish washing fee. Some guys painted my house. They didn't line item the masking tape and paint brush fees.

Its just strange.

I completely agree. And I also believe the separate line item fee gives them an out to charge more no matter what.

Say they raise their hourly rate and increase parts mark-up such that the total billable is equal to having the separate line item fee. Human nature is still to then think of how to increase billable and add on other fees like this. IOW, it never ends -- it can ALWAYS be added on to even healthy profit margins and seemingly explained away.

Really the only thing that stops it is what the market will bear, just like always. Typically 1) someone starts offering comparable services at a lower price (competition) or 2) they price themselves out of the market and consumers find other solutions like postponing repairs, DIY, alternate transportation etc

 

[anderson]

i charge 22 dollars shop supply on every invoice over 250 that excludes tire service. under 250 its a 8.20 charge

that is outside of government tax and levys. ie , b.s.

 

[Rmay635703]

Doesn't work that way . Try buying tires and telling them you will take the old ones with you . You'll still pay the disposal fee .

That might actually be illegal.

I know on batteries one of the places was charging a $60 core fee and apparently the law that forces recovery is also only supposed to cover the actual shipment and reasonable handling costs which resulted in a lawsuit because apparently it wasn’t reasonable.

 

[2005jettatdi]

i charge 22 dollars shop supply on every invoice over 250 that excludes tire service. under 250 its a 8.20 charge

that is outside of government tax and levys. ie , b.s.

The question is, do you disclose this up front? If you tell me you will fix my car for $250 then I will pay you $250.

 

[anderson]

The question is, do you disclose this up front? If you tell me you will fix my car for $250 then I will pay you $250.

its all printed out on paper for every customer before any job is started. i cant think of a better way to do things imo

parts, labor , fee/disposal if any(TIRES ECT) , shop supplies , taxes. all itemized and disclosed.

 

[Cheetah-kins]

Maybe right, but no government charges $39.99 enviro fee. It would have been $40. Was likely $4, or maybe zero.

Discount tire direct charged me the $2 state fee which is legitimate and makes sense, but added another $2.50 tire disposal fee on top for each tire. Did they not expect to have to dispose of the tire? I assume they charge everyone. Why not mark the tires up another $2.50?

Yeah I hear you. I have no doubt some shops are adding extra to help their bottom line. But as others have said, you end up paying it one way or the other. What would be nice is if all businesses followed suit with some of the recent changes restaurants and airlines are being forced to make, that is making the price they tell you initially the total price you'll pay. Would love to see that transparency in the hotel business, too.

 

[2005jettatdi]

its all printed out on paper for every customer before any job is started. i cant think of a better way to do things imo

parts, labor , fee/disposal if any(TIRES ECT) , shop supplies , taxes. all itemized and disclosed.

Then you are handling it correctly and you would not have a problem with me.

 

[zzyzzx]

What was the shops hourly rate?

 

[4WD]

There is a huge market for discarded tires in the US. Where do they go? They get shredded and put into a 4-6 foot thick layer in the bottom of landfills to protect the waterproof membrane that keeps water from leaching into the groundwater. The landfill close to my hometown just built a new cell. They hauled in a huge pile of shredded tires, like 50' tall x 200' x 300' and that was just for one cell. That takes a lot of tires.

Any shop that charges anything more than the state required fee is ripping you off.

Love the rubber mulch made from tires - especially good to make walking paths from …

 

[bdcardinal]

We have a disposal fee on tires based off what the Lakin Tire charges to take them. There is also a California environmental fee we have to charge per tire. I think it ends up being $19ish for a set of 4. In California it is illegal to charge a blanket shop supplies fee, everything has to be itemized.