Am I getting screwed?
I hate reading these posts with unwarranted animosity towards repair shops... Be it a stealership or an indy, we have to make money to continue to provide you with a service. First off you have a line by line estimate of all repairs getting done, you can judge for yourself weather its fair or not. If you don't have a line by line estimate, drive away.
Second: Don't cry when they charge you 100 bucks to spend 3 man hours diagnosing, calling for prices, writing an estimate, calling you, then closing out paperwork.
Third: Don't buy your own parts. I buy my parts at a 20% discount of what you can get them for, then I mark them up 20% and charge you. So instead of the part supplier getting the 20% I do. If you bring your own parts, I wont warrantee my labor if the part you bring should fail. And if you think you are getting a bargain, you are wrong, if someone gives you a price of 1000 bucks for head gaskets, you are getting 1000 bucks worth, no cleaning, no checking for true, no machine work, no valve job, they just pop the heads off and put a new gasket in and put the heads back on. You can end up like the guy I had in my shop the other day, screaming about how he just had the head gaskets replaced 5000 miles ago at "we be fixin your car, auto repair" and now his car needs head gaskets again. But hey he got a great deal! 1000 bucks out the door!
Second: Don't cry when they charge you 100 bucks to spend 3 man hours diagnosing, calling for prices, writing an estimate, calling you, then closing out paperwork.
Third: Don't buy your own parts. I buy my parts at a 20% discount of what you can get them for, then I mark them up 20% and charge you. So instead of the part supplier getting the 20% I do. If you bring your own parts, I wont warrantee my labor if the part you bring should fail. And if you think you are getting a bargain, you are wrong, if someone gives you a price of 1000 bucks for head gaskets, you are getting 1000 bucks worth, no cleaning, no checking for true, no machine work, no valve job, they just pop the heads off and put a new gasket in and put the heads back on. You can end up like the guy I had in my shop the other day, screaming about how he just had the head gaskets replaced 5000 miles ago at "we be fixin your car, auto repair" and now his car needs head gaskets again. But hey he got a great deal! 1000 bucks out the door!
Like I stated in the original post, I want to keep the truck, so I'd rather have the job done right then just a quick fix.
Administrator
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 25,707
Likes: 107
From: Denver, Colorado
SO, you decided to not talk with me regarding your options, too bad for you, could save you Hundreds.
As for what is a fair price, most shops follow one of the shop rate manuals which sets an hourly rate for each job. In the case of a D2, with SAI, it is under 12 hours plus possible sublet head inspection/repair. This being the case and since parts will be less then $300 where do these high charging shops get away with a $2500 labor bill??
Just a thought from someone who was in the business for nearly 30 years.
As for what is a fair price, most shops follow one of the shop rate manuals which sets an hourly rate for each job. In the case of a D2, with SAI, it is under 12 hours plus possible sublet head inspection/repair. This being the case and since parts will be less then $300 where do these high charging shops get away with a $2500 labor bill??
Just a thought from someone who was in the business for nearly 30 years.
Super Moderator
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 5,847
Likes: 106
From: Arkansas
Still, charging what seems to be DOUBLE is hard to justify. I wonder if they are charging full dealer list price on the parts. Some dealers mark their parts up WAY over MSRP. When I had a D1, I remember calling that two-hour-away rover dealer for an oil pressure switch. You know the one that is part of a TSB so the price is only like $7. They wanted $24 or something stupid.
Recovery Vehicle
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 811
Likes: 78
From: Howell, NJ
My price would go like this, 12 hours to R+I heads and check for true, block and heads. 4 Hours to remove all the valves, clean all the valves, combustion chambers, check guide clearance re-lap valves in. $200 to reface valves/plane heads. You would get new lifters. 4 Hours to R+I front cover, you would get new oil pan gasket, crank seal, crusifix seals (on rear main cap) Oil pump gears, and o-rings for cam sensor and oil cooler hoses (if applicable) Then your looking at 800 bucks in parts. $2580 is what I came up with, 2750 is what I would quote you with tax. So you are right in the range.
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