Property taxes in New Jersey are INSANE. And we left 15 years ago so I'll wager our old property costs $25K (or more) now.

Worst part was we had septic, so no county services were provided there. And we paid our own trash disposal with one Junk Day when we could bring a pickup truck load of severely restricted waste types to the county yard and toss it into 30 yard dumpsters while a crew of "employees" wearing yellow safety jackets stood around drinking Coke watched.

Yeah, screw NJ.

Also, Prodemand says 1.5 hours to change the starter.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...a7a451a3dc.png

Was this for your 97 D1?

That price isnt crazy... a starter at 275 is a good price. Checking worldpac and SSF(2 major european parts suppliers) they list a bosch or denso option with MSRP of 485(not joking) so 275 is more than fair, and most rebuilders will charge a shop about 150 now days for a rebuild, the then shop needs to mark it up. Labor according to AllData is 1.2 hours, not sure where 0.7 came from. Most shops round up a bit as a cushion, especially on old stuff that is likely to fight them and be crusty and rusty. those labor times were written 20+ years ago when things were brand new and easily came apart. Calling it 2 hours is fair. Plus checkout/diag which is also standard and not rolled into the labor of replacement. 3 billed hours of labor is about right. 100-150/hr depending on your neck of the woods(we charge 130/hr out here) and you get up there real quick.

It costs a lot to run a shop now days, you mentioned crazy property taxes, imagine what is rent is and then think about his utilities, EPA fees, etc etc. He has to pay his mechanic, his service writer, parts guy, book keeper, the list goes on and money doesn't go far.


I imagine if you called the dealer the price would be closer to 1,000. They will probably charge 600 for the starter alone and then 150-180 for labor on the same labor matrix
We get a skewed perception with viewing cost at an independent shop as being cost for an at home repair. It ain't in the same.

I would have shipped you my starter free, from central NJ.
My shop, Pullens Garage in Hamilton, did for $95 labor, one hour. I brought my own starter, but they wanted $150 for a starter. I think I got mine from Amazon. I think we all know it can be done in an hour. Book rate is nonsense in my opinion.

Its a good shop for basic repairs. Plus, you can leave your car at the train station.

I think Vinnie knew he had you with the sunk cost of towing it there and towing it away.

I would not be happy at that number either.

I'm not that far from that shop. Out of sheer laziness to to do it myself, I had them do an alignment after installing Terrafirma bars. . My steering wheel is still off when I left. Did I call and complain, no. Am i going to go back or recommend anyone else go there..........no.
Sorry you got hosed Walt

I appreciate all your thoughts on both sides of the argument...and everywhere in between. A couple of added bits...

Llamasayswhat: If I told you a $125 Uro brand starter ) was installed would that change anything for you? I too thought that $275 was appropriate for a Denso or other high quality starter, not for Uro. Shops need to make money on inventory or they will go out of business but this is going too far. For instance, $275 on a Denso (cost $180 from AB with mechanic discount) is appropriate. Now I guess I need to "stock" another starter myself!

Paul: "Once bitten, twice shy" is absolutely right. My intent here is to warn others. He may do good work and may even do it for fair prices, but don't let him hold the cards.

dgi 07: Sorry to hear about your experience. I would have given the shop an opportunity to get it right.

Almost exactly three years ago my original starter bit the dust while I was on the street in Manhattan. I had it towed to the dealer where they allowed me to provide my own starter motor and charged me 1.5 hours of labor @ $160. That is actually great service. Unfortunately they could not accommodate me this time. Their shop is backlogged for a month.

When independents can't compete with dealers on a like/like basis, they are in trouble. Just basic economics. Folks will go where it is more convenient and has the brand backing all else being equal.

I love the independent shop I go to (when I need to) in the Bronx and as it turns out should have paid the extra $50 towing to bring my truck there in this case. I tried to start a new relationship with a shop, Vinnie decided he did not want to.

Im not too far from Garwood and used his shop quite often long time ago since I never tried fixing the discos myself until now. Yes they are quite expensive but checking around NJ, they know Land Rovers very well. Also the owner owns a few. I spent more money taking my truck to different shops thinking I might save a lot, got towed twice from shop to shop for weeks and ended up at their shop and got fixed overnight. I was happy with the work done but they changed a lot of parts in the process. I even posted the receipt here in the forums and thought that I was over charged but majority said it was just about there. He wont allow you to bring your own parts unlike any other shops but thats how they do it. I dont know him personally and he is quite serious guy, never saw him smile at all but I remember him going out his way to scan my SES and told me what the problem was without charging me. His place is a town away from Westfield, NJ and its one of the top ten riches small town in the USA. Most of the Land Rovers there are driven by women as well and I'm not sure if most of them really ask for price. But sorry to hear what happened. I brought my truck to the dealer once and they told me the rear brakes need replacement, I ended up paying $900.00 after the repair.
At the end, would I recommend his shop? YES for doing outstanding work and peace of mind but very pricey.

Anyone spending $400+ on a starter needs to donate more money to a better cause.

Wrong shop..... Garfield, not Garwood.
Garfield is up by Teterboro...