quote:

Originally posted by Luckyducker:
My 95 Lincoln Town Car is not yet a classic but it certainly isn't a 4x4, so I will put this topic in this section. I have the aforementioned Lincoln and it only has 75,000 miles on the clock and shines like a new dime. Anyway, the check engine light came on several years ago and I took it to a local garage and they scanned the OBD and told me the 2nd gear shift solenoid was causing too much resistance and needed to be replaced. They did the job and shut the check light off but warned me that if it came back on that it was probably a poor connection in the wiring harness to the transmission. The light did come back on a couple months later, so I went to a local auto parts store and borrowed their OBD scanner and sure enough it threw the same code as before the work was done. I have driven the car a couple years with the check engine light on but haven't liked it, so this spring I drove it to a different garage to have them sort out the wiring harness. They charged me $90 and said one connection had moisture in it that they repaired it but also said the light will come back on because the PCM (computer) was faulty. They gave me a quote of $469 to install a remanufactured PCM. I let it go until a couple weeks ago and found an outfit on-line that remanufactures them. I ordered the unit for $71 shipped with a lifetime warranty and the unit arrived yesterday. I spent two hours changing the part out this morning, and I am getting old and not so limber any more, and figure a garage could probably do it quicker than me. Should an auto shop make $199 per hour for their work? Maybe I am getting old and out of sinc with modern times but this just doesn't seem kosher to me.

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
Most shops are in the neighborhood of $100+ per hour. Parts markups vary. A lot of the discount auto parts store's parts ain't very good. If I install a part for you I'm also offering a labor warranty. If I buy a junk rebuild, I have to do the labor again for free even though I didn't make the part. So, I try not to put sub par parts on my customer's cars.

From your post:
Even if they would have marked the part up to $110 and charged me $80/ hr labor the estimate should have been around $260.

I believe you need to check your math.

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
It's not uncommon these days for someone to charge by the job. Unless he gave you a receipt with the detailed charges listed then it was probably a set price. About the costs that you quoted, I think you may have forgot to add in the diagnosis fee of $90.
Had you gone directly to a Ford dealership that lives and breathes Fords to begin with, you may have paid less or equal overall and gotten a part & labor warranty to boot, saving time in the process. Sometimes, not always, it pays to go to the top.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
It's not uncommon these days for someone to charge by the job. Unless he gave you a receipt with the detailed charges listed then it was probably a set price. About the costs that you quoted, I think you may have forgot to add in the diagnosis fee of $90.
Had you gone directly to a Ford dealership that lives and breathes Fords to begin with, you may have paid less or equal overall and gotten a part & labor warranty to boot, saving time in the process. Sometimes, not always, it pays to go to the top.

Not sure about that "pays to go to the top" comment.

EVERY TIME I've ever taken my vehicle to a stealership, ooops, I mean, dealership, for repairs, it has come out with more things wrong with it than when it went it. I swore off of stealership service long ago, unless it's a warranty issue.