A garage may not simply charge more than was agreed. With a fixed price the customer pays the agreed amount. With an estimate the bill may come out at most 10% higher, unless you warned the customer as early as possible. You may only charge for extra work if you pointed out the higher price to the customer in time.
These rules are in the Dutch Civil Code, under contracts for work. A repair or service is a contract for work: you make or repair something for a price. The rules apply to private and business customers.
In short
- An estimate of the price may be exceeded by at most 10%. More is only allowed if you warned the customer as early as possible.
- Extra work the customer wants added may only be charged if you pointed out the price increase to him in time. You cannot deviate from this in your terms.
- Record the price agreement and every consent to extra work on the work order, with date, time and amount. In a dispute you have to prove that you gave a warning.
In this article
- Can a garage charge more than the price quoted in advance?
- How does the 10% limit on an estimate work?
- When can a garage charge for extra work?
- What price must a garage quote in advance?
- What does a garage put on the work order?
- Why are complaints about a garage so often about the price?
- What if the customer refuses to pay the higher bill?
Can a garage charge more than the price quoted in advance?
That depends on what you agreed. With a fixed price, no. With an estimate at most 10%, or more after a timely warning. If you agreed no price, the customer pays a reasonable price.
A repair or service is a contract for work: an agreement in which you produce and deliver a work of a physical nature for payment (Civil Code, article 7:750). Article 7:752 then governs the price. If no price was set, or only an estimate, the customer owes a reasonable price. What you usually charge and what expectation you raised with the customer both count (Civil Code, article 7:752).
With a fixed price you have to carry out the work, even if it turns out harder. That is how the ACM explains it to consumers (ACM ConsuWijzer, more or less work). The risk of a job that takes longer then lies with you. Anything outside the agreed job is a new question to the customer.
How does the 10% limit on an estimate work?
You may exceed an estimate by no more than 10%. If you expect it to be more, you must warn the customer as early as possible. He can then choose to limit the work or have it done more simply (Civil Code, article 7:752(2)).
An example. For a repair you give an estimate of €400 incl. VAT. Without a warning the bill may then be at most €440. If you see halfway that it will be €520, you call first. If the customer wants to limit the work, you must cooperate within reasonable limits.
The same rule applies if you give an estimated time, for example "about three hours" (Civil Code, article 7:752(3)). If it takes more than 10% longer, you must warn in time then too. If you do not warn, according to the ACM you may add at most 10% extra to the bill (ACM ConsuWijzer, more or less work).
Do not wait until you reach 10%. The limit is a maximum, not a margin you are free to use. A customer who heard €400 in advance and pays €440 without being called is rarely satisfied.
When can a garage charge for extra work?
Only if you pointed out to the customer in time the higher price the extra work brings. That is not needed if the customer should have understood it himself. You may not deviate from this rule to the customer's disadvantage (Civil Code, article 7:755).
Extra work is work the customer wants added, or wants done differently from what was agreed. At a garage it is often something you find along the way: worn brake discs, a leaking water pump, a tyre at its limit. That work was not in the order. If you do not call and do it anyway, you later have to prove that the customer wanted it and knew the price.
You must also warn the customer about errors in the order that you know or should have known, and about defects in his property (Civil Code, article 7:754). If the customer asks for new brake pads while the discs are worn out, you tell him. You record that too.
A confirmation by text message or email straight after the call is strong evidence. For example: "As discussed: replace front brake discs, €210 incl. VAT extra. Agreed at 10.42." If you get no consent, do not do the work and put your advice on the invoice.
What price must a garage quote in advance?
With a private customer, the total price including VAT. If the nature of the work makes that impossible, for example with a fault, you state how you calculate the price. This must happen before the customer is bound (Civil Code, article 6:230l).
Costs the customer always pays belong in the first price he hears. The ACM calls them unavoidable costs. A business may not add them later (ACM ConsuWijzer, prices and additional costs). If you quote €129 for a service and then a fixed environmental or sundries surcharge appears on the invoice, the quoted price is not correct.
BOVAG members work with general terms that use the same figure. The repairer gives a quote in advance. If, with a price that is not fixed, it becomes more than 10% more expensive, he must discuss that with the customer (BOVAG Autobedrijven General Terms, article 9). Those terms only apply to BOVAG members.
What does a garage put on the work order?
Everything that counts in a discussion about the bill. The law does not require a written work order, but without one it is your word against the customer's. Have the customer sign, or send the work order by email or text message.
What the customer asks for
The complaint or job in the customer's words, with registration number and mileage.
The kind of price agreement
Fixed price or estimate, with the amount incl. VAT. For a fault: what diagnosis costs and up to what amount you may search without consulting.
How you call about more work
The phone number and the sentence: "If it costs more than the quote, we will call you first. Without your consent we will do nothing extra."
Every consent to extra work
Date, time, amount and who you spoke to. You also note a refusal.
What happens to old parts
Whether the customer wants them back. Showing an old part makes clear why it was replaced.
Why are complaints about a garage so often about the price?
Because the customer usually cannot judge what work was needed. He sees a bill, not the brake disc. A clear price agreement and a customer who was called remove the largest source of distrust.
Research shows how large that information gap is. In a field experiment in the United States, researchers visited garages with the same test car, as a one-off customer or as a regular customer. Too much and too little work were both common. The prospect of the customer returning did not clearly improve the outcome (Schneider, 2012).
For an honest garage that is an opportunity. Anyone who quotes the price in advance, calls about every extra part and shows the old part stands out. It also keeps a complaint from ending up with a disputes committee.
A customer can only complain to the Geschillencommissie Voertuigen (vehicles disputes committee) about a garage that is a BOVAG member (De Geschillencommissie, Vehicles). A garage without BOVAG membership can join the Geschillencommissie Algemeen (general disputes committee), for disputes with private customers. The contribution in 2026 is €591 a year excl. VAT (De Geschillencommissie, General).
What if the customer refuses to pay the higher bill?
Then you first look at what you can prove. If you warned and the consent is on the work order or in a message, the extra amount is owed. If you cannot show that, with an estimate the customer is only bound to at most 10% above it.
In any case, ask the customer to pay the part that is not in dispute. That keeps the dispute small. Do not hand over the car before the bill is paid: as long as it is with you, you are in a strong position.
A customer may also cancel the order halfway through. He then pays the agreed price for the whole job, less what you save because of the cancellation (Civil Code, article 7:764). You hand over the work that is already done.
Sources
- Dutch Civil Code Book 7, articles 750, 752, 754, 755 and 764, in force from 8 October 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
- Dutch Civil Code Book 6, article 230l, in force from 16 July 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
- ACM ConsuWijzer, What do I pay if a business does more or less work?, accessed 22 October 2026. consument.acm.nl
- ACM ConsuWijzer, Prices and additional costs, accessed 22 October 2026. consument.acm.nl
- SER, BOVAG Autobedrijven General Terms for sale, repair and maintenance, with amendment of October 2024. ser.nl
- De Geschillencommissie, Vehicles, accessed 22 October 2026. degeschillencommissie.nl
- De Geschillencommissie, General, accessed 22 October 2026. degeschillencommissie.nl
- Schneider, H.S. (2012). Agency problems and reputation in expert services: evidence from auto repair. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 60(3), 406-433. doi.org