20 Intake & Write-Up Practice Questions & Answers

Every Intake & Write-Up practice question from the ASE C1 Service Consultant Practice Test, with the correct answer and a short explanation.

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1. A service consultant is on the telephone reviewing an estimate with one customer when a second customer walks in and waits at the counter. What is the correct action?
- A.Keep working through the estimate on the phone and greet the arriving customer after hanging up
- B.Tell the caller you will call back with the estimate, then start the write-up for the arriving customer
- C.Place the caller on hold, write up the arriving customer, and return to the estimate call afterward
- D.Make eye contact with the arriving customer and signal you will be right with them, then finish the call✓ Answer
Acknowledging the person standing in front of you costs a few seconds and does not abandon the caller, so both customers are served. Putting the caller on hold, cutting the call short, or leaving the walk-in unacknowledged each sacrifices one customer for the other, and an unacknowledged walk-in concludes that nobody is going to help.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide, Automobile Service Consultant (C1), Content Area A (Communications), Task A1 — greet and acknowledge customersReport a problem with this question
2. This question contains the word EXCEPT. Read the question carefully before choosing your answer. All of the following are correct practice when a customer arrives at the service drive EXCEPT:
- A.walking out to the vehicle with the customer to look at the concern together
- B.standing up and greeting the customer at the moment of arrival, giving your name
- C.using the customer's name during the write-up once it has been taken down
- D.finishing the paperwork in front of you first, so the greeting is not rushed✓ Answer
The greeting is measured from the customer's arrival, not from the moment the consultant happens to be free, so finishing paperwork first is the one item that is wrong. Standing, giving your name, using the customer's name, and walking to the vehicle together are all standard arrival practice.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Tasks A1 and A12 — greeting customers and maintaining a professional imageReport a problem with this question
3. A repair order written this morning shows: 1. Customer name and mailing address. 2. Vehicle year, make, model and VIN. 3. The concern in the customer's own words. 4. The estimated total. The customer has already left. Which omission is most likely to stop the job later today?
- A.No fuel level was noted on the vehicle condition line
- B.No promise time was entered on the face of the repair order
- C.No confirmed phone number or contact method was recorded✓ Answer
- D.No license plate number was recorded beside the VIN
The moment the technician finds work beyond what was authorized, the job stops until the customer is reached and approves it, so an unverified number or unknown preferred contact method halts production. The other three entries are useful records but none of them blocks an authorization call.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A2 — obtain, confirm and document customer and vehicle informationReport a problem with this question
4. A vehicle is written up without confirming the odometer, and the mileage is copied from the last visit. What problem does that most directly create?
- A.The technician is not permitted to road test a vehicle whose odometer reading is unverified
- B.The customer's stated concern has to be documented again before the vehicle is dispatched
- C.The condition check taken at drop-off loses its value as a record of pre-existing damage
- D.The maintenance schedule and mileage-based warranty coverage cannot be applied correctly✓ Answer
Both the manufacturer's service intervals and any mileage-limited coverage are decided by the actual odometer reading, so an estimated mileage makes every interval and coverage judgment unreliable. Nothing about an unconfirmed odometer prevents a road test, forces the concern to be rewritten, or voids the drop-off condition check.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Tasks A2 and A8 — document vehicle information; identify recommended service and maintenance needsReport a problem with this question
5. A driver delivers a van that belongs to a company fleet account and asks for a repair. Before the work begins, the consultant must:
- A.have the driver sign the repair order, since the driver presented the vehicle for service
- B.obtain a purchase order or authorization number from the fleet account that pays the bill✓ Answer
- C.bill the repair to the fleet account and mail the invoice under the account's standing terms
- D.record the driver's name and number as the party authorizing any additional work found
Authorization has to come from the party responsible for payment, and on fleet work that party is the account, not the driver who happens to be holding the keys. A driver's signature does not bind the payer, and billing or documenting the driver as authorizer leaves the shop with work it cannot collect for.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Tasks A10 and A11 — obtain authorization; identify customer type and source of paymentReport a problem with this question
6. A customer says the repair should be covered by an extended service contract. What does the consultant need before the repair is performed?
- A.Proof of the contract in the customer's file, along with a signature for the deductible
- B.Approval from the contract administrator for the covered repair, before work begins✓ Answer
- C.Diagnosis entered on the repair order, with the claim submitted after the work is done
- D.Written agreement from the customer to pay the full amount, with the claim filed later
On contract work the administrator is the payer, and only the administrator can say what it will cover, so its approval has to be in hand before the repair is performed. Filing afterward, holding a contract copy, or shifting the whole risk to the customer all leave the shop and the customer exposed to a denied claim.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Tasks A10 and A11 — obtain service authorization; identify source of paymentReport a problem with this question
7. A customer says, "it makes a grinding noise when I back out of the driveway in the morning." The consultant is fairly sure a brake component is worn. How should the concern line read?
- A.As the customer stated it, with the conditions: grinding, backing up, cold, first drive✓ Answer
- B.As a general note asking the technician to check the brakes and report what is found
- C.As a request to inspect and replace the worn brake component the customer has described
- D.As the suspected cause, so the technician starts at the component most likely to be worn
The concern belongs on the order in the customer's own terms plus the measurable conditions, because that is what lets a technician duplicate what the customer experienced and what protects the record if the cause turns out to be something else. Writing a suspected cause, or an instruction to replace a part, is a counter diagnosis and can send the technician past the real fault.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A3 — discuss and document the customer's concern; three Cs (Concern, Cause, Correction)Report a problem with this question
8. A consultant asks the customer to imitate the noise and to ride along on a road test to point out when it occurs. What is the consultant doing?
- A.Confirming the cause so the estimate can be written before the inspection
- B.Diagnosing the concern at the counter before the vehicle reaches a stall
- C.Gathering the conditions a technician needs in order to duplicate the concern✓ Answer
- D.Shifting responsibility for the diagnosis onto the customer's description
Asking the customer to demonstrate a symptom collects information; it does not name a cause, which is the technician's job after testing. The consultant still owns the concern half of the record, and a symptom nobody can reproduce is the most common reason a vague noise complaint comes back unresolved.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A3 — customer interview and reproduction conditionsReport a problem with this question
9. A customer reports that the engine sometimes will not start. Which question does the most for the technician who has to duplicate it?
- A.Whether the customer wants a price for a starter before the vehicle is looked at today
- B.Whether the customer would rather have the battery or the starting system tested first
- C.Whether a battery or starter was replaced at another shop during the past year or two
- D.Whether it fails after sitting overnight, after a short stop, or only in certain weather✓ Answer
An intermittent fault can only be tested if the technician knows the conditions that bring it on, so hot or cold soak, duration of the stop, and weather are the facts that make the concern reproducible. Prior parts history is background, and letting the customer choose the test or quoting a part before inspection puts the diagnosis in the wrong hands.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A3 — obtain the conditions under which the concern occursReport a problem with this question
10. A customer describes a squeal from the front brakes and asks what the repair will cost. What should the consultant say?
- A.That the squeal is common with this kind of brake pad and often needs no repair
- B.That a technician has to inspect and measure the brakes before a price can be given✓ Answer
- C.That the price can be given once the parts department confirms what is in stock
- D.That a front brake service on this vehicle normally falls in the shop's usual range
A price can only follow a measurement, because what the brakes need is decided by lining thickness and rotor condition that nobody has looked at yet. Quoting a typical range commits the shop to a number it has not earned, calling the noise normal dismisses the concern, and parts availability is not what sets the scope of the repair.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Tasks A3 and A17 — a technician evaluates the vehicle; the estimate follows inspectionReport a problem with this question
11. When should the walkaround vehicle condition check be completed?
- A.After the technician has road tested the vehicle and verified the stated concern in the bay
- B.At drop-off, with the customer present when possible, before the keys go to the shop✓ Answer
- C.Only when the customer mentions that the vehicle already has body or glass damage
- D.At delivery, so the condition can be compared with how the vehicle was received
The record only proves what the vehicle looked like before the shop took custody, so it has to be made at drop-off and ideally witnessed by the customer. A check made after the vehicle is inside, or at delivery, cannot separate pre-existing damage from damage that occurred in the shop's care.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A16 — perform and document a vehicle condition check at drop-offReport a problem with this question
12. A documented condition check at drop-off, acknowledged by the customer, protects both parties in what way?
- A.It records the damage that already existed, so neither party has to argue about it later✓ Answer
- B.It moves responsibility for any damage found later onto the customer who delivered it
- C.It lets the shop refuse any damage claim made after the vehicle has left the property
- D.It takes the place of noting pre-existing damage on the order the customer signs
Because both signatures rest on the same list, the shop is protected from a claim for damage it did not cause and the customer is protected against damage that really does happen in the shop's care. It does not transfer blame to the customer, it does not bar a later claim, and it is the source of the pre-existing damage note rather than a substitute for it.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A16 — documenting vehicle condition protects the customer and the shopReport a problem with this question
13. The history shows the customer declined a recommended cooling system service at the previous visit. At this visit the consultant should:
- A.raise the declined item again with what today's inspection finds✓ Answer
- B.add the declined item to today's estimate as work already approved once
- C.note on the order that this customer refuses the service at every visit
- D.treat the earlier refusal as a standing answer and leave the item alone
A decline answers one visit only, and the condition behind the recommendation is older and usually worse now, so the item is presented again with today's findings and the customer decides again. Treating it as settled withholds information the customer needs, and carrying it forward as approved work performs a repair nobody authorized.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Tasks A7 and A8 — review service history, including previously declined recommendationsReport a problem with this question
14. Why is the vehicle's service history pulled before the customer interview rather than after the estimate is written?
- A.The estimate total can then be matched against what the customer spent on the last visit
- B.The prior repairs and warranty coverage change what is recommended and who pays✓ Answer
- C.The dispatch order for the technician is set by the history rather than by the concern
- D.The history supplies the VIN and odometer so the customer does not have to be asked
What the shop already repaired, what the customer already declined, and what is still under a parts or labor warranty all decide which recommendations are honest and who is billed, and that has to be known before the conversation, not after. Vehicle identification is still confirmed with the customer and the vehicle, and dispatch follows the concern and shop capacity.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A7 — review vehicle service history before recommending serviceReport a problem with this question
15. This question contains the word EXCEPT. Read the question carefully before choosing your answer. All of the following are confirmed with the customer before the repair order is signed EXCEPT:
- A.the cause, so the customer knows which part will be replaced✓ Answer
- B.the concern, read back in the words the customer used at the counter
- C.the odometer reading and the vehicle information entered on the order
- D.the estimated total for the work the customer is authorizing today
At signature time the cause is not known, because no technician has tested the vehicle yet; what is confirmed is the concern, the vehicle data and the amount being authorized. Naming a cause and a part at the counter is a diagnosis the consultant is not in a position to make.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A10 — confirm accuracy of the repair order and obtain authorizationReport a problem with this question
16. What does the customer's signature on the repair order establish?
- A.Agreement to the completion time the consultant entered on the order
- B.Permission for the shop to road test the vehicle on public roads
- C.Authorization for the specific work listed at the price estimated✓ Answer
- D.Acceptance of whatever repairs the technician finds necessary today
The signed order is the contract for the work listed at the price shown, which is why anything beyond it needs a fresh approval. It is not a blanket consent to repairs found later, and the promise time and road test are parts of the conversation rather than what the signature authorizes.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A10 — the signed repair order authorizes specific work at a stated estimateReport a problem with this question
17. A customer authorizes a diagnostic charge for an intermittent electrical concern. What does that authorization cover?
- A.The testing and the parts required, with the labor authorized later at pickup
- B.The testing and the repair, because the concern was described at the write-up
- C.The testing plus any minor repair the technician can finish during the same visit
- D.The testing time needed to identify the cause, but none of the repair✓ Answer
Diagnostic authorization buys testing time and an answer, nothing more, so the repair that the testing reveals is a separate decision the customer still has to make at a stated price. Treating small repairs, parts, or the whole job as included performs work the customer never priced or approved.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A10 — diagnostic authorization is separate from repair authorizationReport a problem with this question
18. A vehicle is apart for an authorized repair when the technician finds a second failed part that comes out through the same opening. What does the consultant do?
- A.Contact the customer with the added parts, labor and cost and get approval before continuing✓ Answer
- B.Have the technician do the added work now, since the labor is already open and would be saved
- C.Complete the authorized repair only and present the second item at delivery instead
- D.Note the added part on the order, reassemble, and leave the decision for the next visit
Work beyond the signed estimate needs a new authorization before it is performed, however obviously needed and however much labor is saved by doing it now. Waiting until delivery or the next visit is the other failure, because it withholds a decision the customer could make while the vehicle is still open.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Tasks A10 and A18 — additional work requires new authorization; communicate while the vehicle is in the shopReport a problem with this question
19. A customer approves added work by telephone. Best practice is to document:
- A.the added cost and the employee's initials, with the customer signing at delivery
- B.the added parts and labor lines, with the original estimate total left as written
- C.the date and time, who approved it, the number reached, and the added cost✓ Answer
- D.the approval on a note in the file, with the order updated after the vehicle leaves
A verbal approval only holds up if the record shows who gave it, when, at what number, and for what added amount, because the order itself no longer matches the signature on file. Initials, a loose note, or an unchanged estimate total leave the shop unable to show that the customer agreed to the increase.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A10 — document authorization to exceed the estimate (industry best practice)Report a problem with this question
20. A customer dropping off a vehicle says, "just do whatever it needs." How should the consultant proceed?
- A.Enter the schedule items due at this mileage and perform them without calling
- B.Write "customer approves all needed repairs" on the order and have it signed
- C.Write up the concern and an inspection, then call with the specific work and cost✓ Answer
- D.Have the technician perform everything found and review the total at pickup
A blanket statement is not an authorization, because the customer has not been told what work or what amount is involved, and authorization has to attach to specific work at a stated price. Writing the blanket line down, or performing whatever is found and totaling it at pickup, converts an offhand remark into an open-ended bill.
Source: Official ASE Study Guide C1, Content Area A, Task A10 — obtain authorization for specific work at a stated estimateReport a problem with this question

1. A service consultant is on the telephone reviewing an estimate with one customer when a second customer walks in and waits at the counter. What is the correct action?

2. This question contains the word EXCEPT. Read the question carefully before choosing your answer. All of the following are correct practice when a customer arrives at the service drive EXCEPT:

3. A repair order written this morning shows: 1. Customer name and mailing address. 2. Vehicle year, make, model and VIN. 3. The concern in the customer's own words. 4. The estimated total. The customer has already left. Which omission is most likely to stop the job later today?

4. A vehicle is written up without confirming the odometer, and the mileage is copied from the last visit. What problem does that most directly create?

5. A driver delivers a van that belongs to a company fleet account and asks for a repair. Before the work begins, the consultant must:

6. A customer says the repair should be covered by an extended service contract. What does the consultant need before the repair is performed?

7. A customer says, "it makes a grinding noise when I back out of the driveway in the morning." The consultant is fairly sure a brake component is worn. How should the concern line read?

8. A consultant asks the customer to imitate the noise and to ride along on a road test to point out when it occurs. What is the consultant doing?

9. A customer reports that the engine sometimes will not start. Which question does the most for the technician who has to duplicate it?

10. A customer describes a squeal from the front brakes and asks what the repair will cost. What should the consultant say?

11. When should the walkaround vehicle condition check be completed?

12. A documented condition check at drop-off, acknowledged by the customer, protects both parties in what way?

13. The history shows the customer declined a recommended cooling system service at the previous visit. At this visit the consultant should:

14. Why is the vehicle's service history pulled before the customer interview rather than after the estimate is written?

15. This question contains the word EXCEPT. Read the question carefully before choosing your answer. All of the following are confirmed with the customer before the repair order is signed EXCEPT:

16. What does the customer's signature on the repair order establish?

17. A customer authorizes a diagnostic charge for an intermittent electrical concern. What does that authorization cover?

18. A vehicle is apart for an authorized repair when the technician finds a second failed part that comes out through the same opening. What does the consultant do?

19. A customer approves added work by telephone. Best practice is to document:

20. A customer dropping off a vehicle says, "just do whatever it needs." How should the consultant proceed?

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