Should you quote prices over the phone? A framework for garages

Callers ask 'how much?' before they ask anything else. Refusing to answer loses price-led customers. Answering blind on work you have not seen loses margin. The workable middle ground is to be precise about the work you can price sight-unseen and honest about the work you cannot.

Work you can price on the phone

• MOT — a fixed test fee, capped by statute.
• Interim and full servicing, banded by engine size or vehicle class.
• Common consumable jobs where you know the parts and labour, such as front brake pads on popular models.
• Diagnostic time, priced as a fixed investigation charge.

The MOT is the easiest of these because the ceiling is set for you. The maximum fee a test station can charge for a class 4 car is £54.85, and no VAT is payable on the fee GOV.UK, MOT costs. There is more on how that interacts with retests in what you can and cannot charge for an MOT.

Work you should never price blind

• Any described noise, vibration or warning light before inspection.
• Cambelt and timing work, where the kit and ancillaries vary heavily by engine.
• Electrical faults.
• Anything where the caller is describing a symptom rather than a part.

Turn it into rules, not judgement calls

If pricing lives only in your head, only you can answer the phone. Write it down as ranges per service and it becomes a rule anyone — or anything — can follow consistently.

That is exactly how Garage Ghost behaves. It quotes only where you have set a price or range for that service. For everything else it books the slot, captures the described fault and the vehicle registration, and flags the job for you to price after you have seen the car. It never invents a figure. If you are wondering whether that is enough to win the call, see why garages miss calls in the first place.