i charged them as much as they agreed to match the security chain just for starting the car , which was steep , i did it more to punish their incompetence. And guess what ? They were ecstatic that i found the problem and paid without comment.
@JMR: More than a tad off-topic, but with your indulgence - I've always been fascinated with the process of how "repairers" (any sort really -not only those that fix cars) decide their fees.
I've never run a repair business- but it seems to me that the number on an invoice (at least, the labor cost ) is highly questionable. No offense intended -maybe "fluid" is a better word.
I suspect that some repairers simply charge as much as they can ; they start with an outrageous number and negotiate down until the customer agrees! This kind-of aligns with my understanding of economics (I'm certainly not well versed in the discipline) - which says that these services are value based (not cost based) and therefore the end market will accept a wide range of fees. But of course, the down-side of this method is that the market reputation of the repairer's business gets hammered with each client negotiation. The other down-side is that some (most?) repairers aren't comfortable (and aren't good) with negotiation - it requires a certain commercial confidence and personality!
Alternatively, I have a couple of self-employed friends who believe that it's kosher to charge a sliding scale based on customer attitude (i.e. a kind-of variable client tax). From your words, you appear to fall into this category -maybe? I tend to agree that most repairers favor this method and it's the reason why I ALWAYS engage in a few minutes of persiflage (look it up - I call it "the Flarge") whenever I engage a repairer's services. I've lost count of the number of times that it has paid-back dividends -its been amazingly successful and it doesn't require much practice to become second-nature (and it's fun)!!
Please don't tell anyone else - or everyone will want to use "the Flarge"
Now- back to the small matter of possible armageddon in Ukraine!
Don