Some faults are cured by the trusted "change everything and charge the customer" technique. Especially if the "computer" can't log what is wrong.
What I have never come across, is a workshop that keeps a set of working spares that can be used for testing. This would save the customer from purchasing spares that aren't needed.
A deposit system could ensure that the customer returns.

I think that the extra custom would offset the extra cost of keeping the inventory.
-- Ling, Dec 29 2004

I'm all for this. The technique of "diagnosis by experimentation" (at the customer's expense) is distressingly common.
-- krelnik, Dec 29 2004


Baked, at least by my mechanic / boat captain. He's one of the last of a dying breed, the mechanic who will try to fix it so he can save you the cost of replacing it.
-- normzone, Dec 29 2004


Seems like something you should be able to buy for your own car. E.g. you buy a new car, and with it comes a cardboard box full of parts. When you bring it to the mechanic, bring the box of parts, too. Ultimately you will save money.
-- phundug, Dec 29 2004


It's been my experience that high repair costs have more to do with the labor involved in removal and replacement than with the actual cost of the part. Having readily accessible spare parts available for testing would not save on the labor required to properly swap out and test problem diagnoses.
-- jurist, Dec 29 2004


[scout] - perhaps a bad contraction of "spare parts". Sometimes my working slang creeps in when I'm not looking (But my inbuilt spelling chequer tolled me it's OK).
Yes, the idea is to save money.
Some things cost more to fix than replace.
Labout costs cannot be avoided, but this method reduces the spare parts cost. How much was that ECU again?? I just want the ECU, not buy a majority share-holding.
-- Ling, Dec 30 2004



random, halfbakery