You be the judge. One of our vehicles needed the hood lift supports replaced. My mechanic wanted to quote the replacement. I thought for $100 maybe it's worth letting him. His quote was $259.80. Doing it myself cost $35.00 in parts and five minutes of my time.

Why did my parts cost $35.00 and his parts cost $154.22? My suspicion was that he would probably buy the $35 parts and charge me $154 for them.

Yeah, I would say they are ripping us off. (And that is my gripe abut "inflation". Is it really "inflation" or are service providers just ripping us off?)

From services to suppliers its GREED.

That sucks.

Lady friend has a rough iron fence on her porch. She wanted a 3ft opening at the steps closed in with a gate.

Local monger quoted $1200.

HD sells the gate for $100-250

Agree - pure greed. They know they have most people over a barrel and they take full advantage of it. My GM dealer wanted $75 plus the cost of the cap to replace a gas cap. I bought one frome the auto parts store for $10 and did it myself in 2 minutes. You have to find an independant mechanic outside the city limits.

What do you expect?

They are learning from our government and our ELECTED officials!!!

Mechanic has to pay rent on his shop, the rest of us just do it in the driveway.

Having said that, I do think we get taken for a ride sometimes.
"Upselling" is the vernacular of the trade...

Some of that up-selling is very skillful, I'll give them that. I got in for a $45 oil change and they offer a free inspection, then provide a scary multi-page report with beautiful closeup photographs showing how without immediate attention, the vehicle will self-destruct like a Mission Impossible instruction tape. It only costs about $4,500. Then I tell them, "Nah, I'm good." (Their puppy-dog enthusiasm disappears as their commission on the up-sell flies out the window.)

there are damned sure a lot of crook opportunists out there in the mechanic (+ every other) trades. I am fortunate in having a good local mechanic that I know + treats me fair, as these new vehicles that require a computer, I can't work on myself anymore. The other day, my mother who is 90 went to visit my step-dad in the hospital after his stroke + in leaving ran over a curb. She was worried that she might have damaged something so set up an appointment with a mechanic there in town who told her that he could fix it for about 4K, she baulked of course, because that's too much money but there are medical bills to be considered right now. However, since she had it there, she said go ahead + do an oil change. My son went over +checked out the car + test drove it + nothing was wrong. Also, they charged her $180.00 for the oil change + believe you me, my son got up in their faces + told them how the cow ate the cabbage. Not that she's my mother, but ANYONE who will cheat a little old lady is lower than pond scum.

Also what were once mechanics are now technicians. No slight at anyone who turns wrenches but back in the day that's what we did. Now we hook a computer to the OBD2 port and change the sensor the computer recommends. Sometimes it works......sometimes it doesn't.

Love my '96 12V Cummins Dodge.

quote:

Why did my parts cost $35.00 and his parts cost $154.22? My suspicion was that he would probably buy the $35 parts and charge me $154 for them.

Some will if you let them.

A little knowledge goes a long ways.

It runs hot and cold. I took my 1993 Dodge diesel to a dealership because our local Cummins shop will not work on engines older than 2000.
There was an oil leak from a valve cover under the intake manifold, just deeper into the works than I am willing to go.
They took the engine out to do the work and discovered a cracked flex plate that might have left me stranded who knows where.
The whole thing including some other work was just over $5K, seemed like a lot at the time but...

Last week our '98 Explorer's driver window mechanism gave out. I called my mechanic, who has a shop in the country, and he told me to get a regulator assy and bring it out. I ordered an assy on-line, free shipping and 1 yr warranty for $35. It arrived 3 days later. Dropped the truck off at 8:30 AM next day. Finished at 1PM. $75 cash. He said the assy even included the screws nuts and washers to replace the factory rivets. That would have been a $400 job at the in-town shops.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobster:
Last week our '98 Explorer's driver window mechanism gave out. I called my mechanic, who has a shop in the country, and he told me to get a regulator assy and bring it out. I ordered an assy on-line, free shipping and 1 yr warranty for $35. It arrived 3 days later. Dropped the truck off at 8:30 AM next day. Finished at 1PM. $75 cash. He said the assy even included the screws nuts and washers to replace the factory rivets. That would have been a $400 job at the in-town shops.

I did something similar when the computer went out in my old van. Bought the parts and took it all to him. I have a good local mechanic and am glad for that.

Ken:

That does seem like a lot and I don’t blame you for questioning it.

I use a local mechanic (small town) who is honest and a friend of mine. Still, I believe, that their shop rate is about $105 hr. If I remember right, parts are marked up 20% (I may be wrong on that).

I decided to buy new and forget about dealing with mechanics. Even dealing with a good one is a pain. I’d rather pay the extra cost I guess, than deal with the headache.

Many "franchise" mechanics won't allow you to buy your own parts and have them install them. My son does the same as Ann. If you have someone you trust, stay with them. They may not have the flashiest facility, or offer you a Coke while you wait, but just think how much that Coke actually cost you at the other place.

I worked at a car workshop while student in the UK years ago.

The biggest trick is the makers recommended hours per job.

If the manual says 8 hours, that is what the workshop charges, but the job takes the mechanic just over an hour!

An old friend was a mechanic at a large Caddy dealer in NYC.

He told me often that he could easily WRITE 2 1/2 weeks work in one week. That is using the SHOP hours.

Hip

quote:

My mechanic wanted to quote the replacement.

After that, he wouldn't be my mechanic anymore. How could you continue to trust him? Not me.

Indeed! When you find a good mechanic you can trust, do business with him. I know everyone has to make money at what they do or else they would be gone + you are back to square one. A fair price is different than feeling raped. We know what a fair price is, + so I don't try to knock him down on price when it's reasonable. I always hated it when folks did that to me. My mechanic is a shooter as well, so I bring him boxes of loaded ammo periodically free + he gives me all his old wheel weights; works out good + he treats me fair on his vehicle repairs.

Just for kicks n shits ask your local shop what They'd charge to change out all 12 Spring and hanger bushings in a 96 F250.

A friendly retired neighbor mechanic just replaced all mine. Got the truck back yesterday. I bought the parts. He did the work between snows and cold spells. Labor alone was $300 I tried to give him $100 tip, wouldn't take it. Ended up taking $40 more as he was that much short of paying property taxes. Oh, that included changing all four shocks too.

I would like to hear some feedback on this one.

George

Just for kicks n shits ask your local shop what They'd charge to change out all 12 Spring and hanger bushings in a 96 F250.

A friendly retired neighbor mechanic just replaced all mine. Got the truck back yesterday. I bought the parts. He did the work between snows and cold spells. Labor alone was $300 I tried to give him $100 tip, he wouldn't take it. Ended up taking $40 more as he was that much short of paying property taxes. Oh, that included changing all four shocks too.

I would like to hear some feedback on this one.

George

Just like any profession, there are good guys + thieves. When you find a good one, stick with him/her.

Lot of tradesmen just throwin spaghetti on the wall.
All seem to have plenty of work.

And that's a problem in the big city areas. You can screw a lot of people + never get found out, but in a smaller community, word goes out fast, + you won't be there long.

This was a few years ago. I had an issue with a vehicle that had 30-40,000 miles on it. Took it in to Goodyear shop. They said upper and lower ball joints are shot, fixing was $800. I said I’ll pass, and took it to an independent garage and dropped it off. He called a couple hours later and said “it’s fixed, there was a broken motor mount,” cost was less than $100.
Previous to that incident, I shopped at that Goodyear store several times a year. Since that incident, zip.

Yep, once the trust is gone, you are gone.

In the past, I have dealt with 2 different mind set of mechanics. One who would only use factory parts + was more expensive, but he was covering his ass over any comebacks. The other was a good guy who wanted to save you money + used junkyard parts + usually they worked out. Sometimes the initial lower price can be more costly if you ever have to take it back.