How do you avoid getting ripped off? Auto electric

Most places will have a minimum labour charge, IE: 1/2 hour, the job consists of more than the 10 mins it takes to connect a couple of wires, the paper war has to be paid for by the customer along with overheads, the companies that charge too little are either gone or on the way out of buisness.

I should also add that if the job was so simple we would not need to take it to the experts in the first place so their knowledge is generally worth the rates they charge also, I had a gas heater which I couldn't get going, the young guy took it out to the workshop and blew the dust out of it and told me there was no charge, I gave him $20.00 for the knowledge and told him to buy smoko for the staff, I now do the repair myself thanks to his knowledge