Policies and paperwork
Diagnostic fee policy generator
What the fee covers, when it applies, whether it comes off the bill. Argued about on every ticket.
Why the fee needs explaining at all
Customers understand paying for parts and paying for labor. What they often do not understand is paying to be told what is wrong, because from the outside it looks like the shop charged them for a conversation.
The explanation that lands is the one that makes the work visible: scan tool time, a technician's hour, road testing, and a written finding they can take elsewhere if they want. That is a deliverable, and it has a price.
Say plainly whether it comes off the bill
This is the single detail customers care about most, and the one most often left vague. Crediting the fee against the repair is a common approach and an easy thing to say clearly. Charging it either way is also perfectly reasonable — but it has to be said before the car is booked in, not discovered at the counter.
Whichever you choose, put it in writing at intake. A policy that only exists verbally is one you will re-argue with every customer who forgets it.
The limits worth stating
Diagnosis is investigation, not a guarantee. Intermittent faults sometimes do not reproduce, and one fault occasionally hides another. Saying so up front is far easier than explaining it after a second visit.
What this will not do is state what a customer is owed if a diagnosis turns out to be wrong. That depends on your terms and on local consumer law, and it is not something a template should decide for you.
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