My car came with me to school and was registered in another state. I needed an emissions test done in compliance with my home state's regulations, and called around to find the best price. I named the exact tests I needed done (not the standard PA tests), and Red's had the lowest prices nearby, so I took my car in. I wasn't impressed with the cleanliness of the place or the friendliness of the staff, but was shocked when it came time to pay, and was handed a bill for more than twice what I was quoted on the phone for the same tests. When I asked, the guy who was ripping me off told me that this is the cost of the tests, the guy on the phone was wrong, and there was nothing he could do. Then I saw the small sign on the wall indicating that phone estimates are not binding, so I wonder how many other people have had this problem. Every other place I've ever called for a price on a specific service (oil change, alignment, bulb replacement, whatever) gives me the price for that specific service and they've been right... it's not an estimate, it's just the price of that specific service. I just had four digits of work done on my car to diagnose some problems (not a fixed-price service job), but even then, the estimate was within $100 of the final cost. When you're offering a specific service, like a specific emissions test, it's just shady business to lie about the cost of that service on the phone and then mark the cost up more than 200% in person.
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