Do These Prices Sound Right??

[SHO_ROLLER]

My mechanic gave me these prices yesterday. He is VERY good but I was just wondering what you thought.......

Timing Belt: $245
Valve Cover Gaskets: $270
Valve Adjustment: $216
Water Pump: $189
Fuel Injection Cleaning: $81
A/C Service: $81

The prices I listed are just for labor, I will be buying the parts.

Anthony shrug

 

[fricker66]

Seems pretty high considering the 4 repairs can be broken down to 2. Changing out the water pump requires the removal of the timing belt. Doing a valve adjustment requires the removal and replacement of the valve cover seals. It seems high but if you're comfortable with your mechanic doing the work, guess that's the price to pay.

 

[JaySHOguy]

So, he's going to charge you $245 to change the Timing belt, plus an additional $189 to change the water pump? Buddy, you're getting shafted without the um, *cough* KY *cough*.

He shouldn't be charging you much more Labor if he is already in there...

 

[yamahaSHO]

OUCH!!!

 

[SHO_ROLLER]

Sorry, I forgot to say he told me that the price of the water pump could go down, depending how easy it is to get to.

Anthony

 

[Markus]

fricker66:
Seems pretty high considering the 4 repairs can be broken down to 2. Changing out the water pump requires the removal of the timing belt.

Replacing the water pump does not necessitate removal of the timing belt. I know this because I have done this. I used the Helm manual as my guide. If you replace it without removing the belt, you should wrap the belt in plastic to avoid getting coolant on it.

I paid $80 Cdn ($55 US) for my timing belt and $211 Cdn ($145 US) for my water pump (completely new pump, not a rebuilt one) from my local Ford dealer. I would think one should be able to get the parts in the US for no more than they cost in Canada.

 

[Markus]

SHO_ROLLER:
Sorry, I forgot to say he told me that the price of the water pump could go down, depending how easy it is to get to.

Anthony

What is he going to charge for the waterpump itself?

 

[stevetatro]

Sounds like $1001 + parts for *most* of a 60k service.

I advise you to go see Doug at FPS in Atlanta. Sure, it's a road trip, but it's well worth it. You'll have one of the premier SHO mechanics servicing your car!

Another (cheaper) option is to buy the parts and find someone on the Forum to help teach you to do it yourself. You may save a lot of $$$, learn how to wrench on your SHO, and have fun in the process!

Good luck.

 

[rangerj]

SHO ROLLER,

At $81 per hour, that is 13.34 hours. I am guessing he is using the flat rate guide, that is the time it is estimated to take for each job.

The problem is that some of the proceedures, and the time it takes to do them, overlap. For example you have to remove the intake and the valve covers to do the valve lash adjustment, and the valve cover gaskets. Is he going to remove and replace everything twice?

It should not take more than a half an hour to put new valve cover gaskets on before he replaces the valve covers as part of the valve adjustment.

He has it figured for over three hours to replace the valve cover gaskets, assuming his rate is $81 per hour. WTF?

Draining the coolant is part of the intake removal. Is he going to refill the system, then drain it again, to replace the water pump?

The accessory drive belts are already removed for the timing belt replacement. The coolant is already drained for the valve adjustment.

The timing belt covers are already removed, and their replacement is already paid for in the timing belt job, as is the coolant refill in the valve adjustment job.

If you decide to have this mechanic do the work find out what his hourly rate is. Determine how many hours he figures the work will take and discuss the items that overlap, such as the valve cover removal.

The valve covers are already removed to do the valves, so there should be no additional charge to remove them in order to replace the gaskets.

One other possibility would be to adjust his labor bill down to his actual hours. For example if he estimated 13.3 hours and it takes 10 hours, he should not charge you for the additional 3.3 hours.

If he will not concede some of his estimated time, go somewhere else. rangerj

 

[projectSHO89]

For example if he estimated 13.3 hours and it takes 10 hours, he should not charge you for the additional 3.3 hours.

How do you think some flat rate techs average 60 hours a week?

Steve

 

[rangerj]

Steve,

Don't get me started on the flat rate system!

Not only do they get paid twice for the overlapping proceedures, but they cut corners to get the job done quicker.

This is not to say that all shops and all mechanics are dishonest. But the flat rate systems provides an incentive for the mechanics and the dealers to over-bill for the work.

I have found a few shops that give credit for the over-lapping time when two jobs involve some of the same proceedures.

Other shops will give you some credit if you call it to their attention. And then there are the shops that simply stick it to you!

This is one of the reasons I do my own work.

I recently had some work done by a Ford dealer on my wifes 02 Taurus. The work was fully covered by warranty. I took the 02 Helm manual in to the shop with me and informed the Service manager that the work would be done exactly as it is specified in the Helm.

That is every thing would be torqued to specification, and everything that is specified to be removed and replaced would be.

I further informed him that if everything was not done according to "Ford", as specified in the Helm, that I would be having a conversation with the Ford customer service people in Dearborn.

It is a shame that you have to resort to this type of tactic to get something done right, and this is one of the better dealer service departments in the area! rangerj