How do you know if the PC doctor is ripping you off?

Hi guys!
How can you tell what is reasonable for the PC repair person to charge? I brought my pc in and gave the guy a laundry list of tasks for estimate, including virus scan, and repair external cd rw drive. The guy called me and said I had a virus, to clean would cost $75.00, if I wanted to back up data, an extra $40.00, to fix CD $20.00. I asked what kind of virus, he said "oh several," and then I asked what was wrong with the CD drive, and he said "installation" I said "software?" and he said "yes" OK there was a language barrier too. Also the $20.00 diagnostic fee is not deducted from the total bill. I only had him put memory on the computer and replace an internal CD. I can back up my own data and clean my own virus and reinstall my own iomega cd software. Am I wrong to think he was ripping me off? He doesn't know I have a phd.
New CD rom (not rewritable, 2 month warranty) $42.00
Increased memory to 512 RAM, $42.00

What do you think?????
Squeakytoy

 

considering you can get a brand new DVD burner for under $50, $42 for a CD-Rom is double the cost of a normal store. The RAM is about right, depending on what kind of RAM it is.

his prices may be a bit high, but he doesnt seem like a crook. From personal experience, its much more of a hastle labor wise to work on older and slower machines because there is a lot of waiting around involved, which is frustrating.

otherwise, $40 for data backup is reasonable, and $75 to clean the system is somewhat reasonable--but hard to estimate since I don't know what he would have included (anti-virus, spyware and adware removal programs, firewall, defragment etc..)

 

Actually im leaning the other way, as a good computer guy would say, some like this. (all data made up)
1. you had both sassar.d infecting 30 files
2. also had word.be infecting 14 files,
3. the cd drive no longer worked as is it had two pbj's stuffed in it.

He or she should be able to give a itemized detailed list like above, did you have any problems with the cd drive, if not i wouldn't pay for a new drive, as you didn't request it.

 

He did not say what viruses I had. At first he said I had one virus, and then I asked him what virus it was, and he said that there were several and that they slowed my system and made it freeze up and didn't say what they were. I just bought norton utilities and run a scan and several updates, along with spybot and mcafee stinger, and I had one minor worm that's been quarrantined. Other than that nothing's coming up. The machine is working great since he added memory.

BTW, I did ask for the new drive (internal) but didn't have him reinstall the external CD RW drive software. So I have 2 internal CD's one RW and one just regular play (the one I just got from this guy).

Do you guys ask to see the invoice or proof of purchase for a new CD rom? I once got a new computer with a CD rom that wouldn't work, and we went back and he put in another new CD rom, and that didn't work either and neither did anything else, so we took it in to another place and they told us it was a used CD rom they installed. Everything about that computer was a disaster and we spent a lot of money on it, so I'm really paranoid now.

 

Yeah, the RAM is alright but I think that the whole thing is a ripoff, not really that it is but just that you can format your hard drive if you have the installation disc for free, plus all viruses go away and free ALOT of space. Or just get AVGfree, update, and do a scan.