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Hi. Recently my wife heard a noise in our Ford Territory car so took straight to a garage in Taupo. The garage said that one of the shocks was stuffed but probably would have to replace all 4. We were expecting maybe a cost of around $800 but given no indication of price and in fairness my wife did not ask as she was panicking as had to be in Wellington the next day.

When we went to pick this car up the mechanic (owner) did not know the price so rang his wife. We were told to pay $1500 for now as she didn't know as yet. After over 2 months my wife asked for a receipt so she could claim a percentage of the cost, we were given a receipt but with another $950 add on making total $2450. My question is it fair a garage can fix a vehicle and charge you this amount without giving a costing that it will be this amount?

Also were they taking on face value we could actually pay that amount when the cost got this high?

Hi there,
Surprises like this are the worst, but if the cost of repair wasn't asked before giving the ok to do the job, you have no way of knowing what is reasonable or not.
However I recommend taking a look at the itemised account and seeing if the parts and labour are reasonable, or get a second opinion if another garage could do the job for the same price. I would have thought a normal shock replacement would be no more than $400 a corner including labour. It is common to replace a pair if one shock fails but rare to have all four recommended - the mentality would be if one has gone, the rest might not be far away, but that is a bit extreme.