Because without inspection, one can only speculate about equipment condition, faults, service history, etc, and what might be needed in each unique case.
I’m proud of our reputation and the trust people have in Liquid Audio, but I promise this didn’t come about by accident. Carefully diagnosing what each precious piece of equipment needs rather than guessing is part of our process, and why people trust us. Each piece receives hands-on assessment and diagnosis – the correct way to do it.
Guesswork
Let’s say your amplifier won’t turn on. Why not? The repair costs vary greatly, depending on the failure mode, so this isn’t something one should guess about. What if your turntable won’t play records? Is it a belt, a motor, a switch? Who knows, but know this: nobody knows without inspecting it and diagnosing the issues!
How would you feel if you threw away a perfectly repairable piece of equipment because of an incorrect guess? Well, that’s exactly what happened with this Sansui AU-317 integrated amplifier, below. The same technician deemed a Marantz CD-52 “Unrepairable and should be thrown away”. I fixed that one, too.
Both repairs saved pieces of equipment that were otherwise being thrown away, proof that nobody knows what your equipment needs without inspecting it, and some don’t even know when they HAVE inspected it!
Estimates vs Quotes
Some customers expect what we call blind quotes, meaning a quote before a job has been assessed. This is just as silly as ringing a mechanic and saying, “My car won’t start, what’s wrong with it?” and then expecting a quote to repair it.
Delivering a quote for work on equipment one hasn’t assessed, to customers who will go elsewhere unless you deliver some magical low price based on a guess, is highly problematic and a driver of poor work for businesses desperate enough to take on such customers.
Work driven by the faux value of low quotes will always deliver corner-cutting, poor knowledge, workmanship and results. Those driving this quest for the lowest price will, of course, be unhappy when work isn’t done properly, a classic catch-22.
But Mike, another business provided a quote, why won’t you?!
Actually, they haven’t; they’ve provided a guesstimate because they felt pressured, or because they are one of many corner-cutters and recappers doing mediocre work, desperate to get their hands on your equipment. Naturally, we don’t work that way.
Estimates allow for variables that may affect the cost of a job, including discovery factors like condition and service history, fault analysis, previously unknown issues, and specific customer requests. We provide estimates after assessing equipment, because this allows us to be as accurate as one can be when dealing with vintage electronics, whilst allowing some breathing room for the inevitable unknowns.
If this approach makes sense to you, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Mike … you, of course, are a gem. We are so lucky to have someone as passionate, intelligent, ethical and hardworking in little ol’ Perth.
David H
More…
Find out more with these repair-related FAQs:
- How much will my repair cost?
- The six steps to fault finding and repair
- Why some equipment shouldn’t be repaired
- Why we are often fully booked
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