Also a shop that can't spell warranty is a joke.

 

Actually...

I looked over that invoice again. That mechanic did double dip almost 13 hours worth of labor.

The labor charged for the valve cover gasket replacement (5.3 hrs), the exhaust manifold gasket replacement (2.6 hrs.), the spark plug (0.9 hr) and wireset (3.0 hr) replacement is redundant to the head gasket labor, as all of those parts must be removed in order to service the heads. The injector labor is way high as well, as the injector rail has to be removed in order to pull the heads, and it doesn't take 60 minutes to install 3 injectors into an already removed injector rail. So, another hour there.

12.9 hours, at $75 an hour is a difference of $967.50.

That's ****ed up.

I also didn't see a labor or machine shop costs for head reconditioning, which is also worrying.

It's probably too late to do anything about this, however NYC does have protections in place for consumer fraud via the DCA (department of consumer affairs). I'd talk to the shop owner about this, and if he's completely unamenable to going over this with you, file with the DCA to see what your options are.

DCA - Consumers - File Complaint

Good luck man.

 

He told you before the job he was going to bill you 25 hours. And you were told by several people that was 12 hours to much, why did you go to him ?

 

Wow, I did not catch that on the first read over (is it just me, or is the bill layed out somewhat confusingly?). Yea, I'd go back and talk to him AND ask if they had the heads decked. If not, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise in the not so distant future. Just go talk to the owner and see what's up.

 

What do you mean by "if they had the heads decked"?

What does that mean and what should have been done. Other than his word, how do I confirm that it was done... and please do not tell me by taking the engine apart :-(

What would be a reasonable warranty coverage in a job like this?


Thanks to all!

 

decking the heads is when you send your heads out to a machine shop and they shave them so that they lay perfectly flat.

I'm sorry, but I really don't think you would be able to tell without taking the engine apart, and I am not sure I could even then.

Maybe see if you can get the contact info for the machine shop he had them done at. Just tell him you want to ask them some questions.

 

12 months/12k miles is a pretty typical warranty in the automotive repair business.


Not much to be done at this point if the heads weren't resurfaced, just hope for the best. It's preferable to machine the heads, but even if they weren't you might be ok.