Does this seem right for a repair?

[SiNFuL]

I found these guys who sound like they know their stuff but way overcharge; except my car was already down there and I have a huge oil leak so I'm sort of in a bind to pay the price anyways. Here it is: $400 for a $78 look-over inspection, fixing a crank seal leak, and fixing a broken bolt on the oil pan...does that sound even close to right? I thought the crank seal might cost, $100, and he's charging $100+ to fix the broken bolt?? Does this sound rediculous or I'm just way out of touch with the reality of prices? any comments would be great. Also, does anyone know of any affordable shops around Westminster, CO? Thanks!
-Galen

[the head]

my girl just spent 680 for a rear main seal and cam sensor the seal was 20 and the cam sensor was 35 this was for a neon

[SiNFuL]

wait so $680. $55 for the parts? When the hell did labor become so expensive? I thought that time was more precious than money, but this expense is definately making me turn the other cheek on that idea!
-Galen

[ridebmx]

removing broken bolts from blocked can be very time consuming. If you have ever snapped a bolt off, and couldnt get to it with an easy out or any other easy way you know what im talking about. You really hate to drill it out alittle bigger and retap the hole. and crank seals can be a bitch to get to the crank pulley, and get that off to get to the seal. but i wouldnt have payed anymore then 300. but what can you do. Should have just done it yourself.

[the head]

there were a few other gaskets that were needed for reassembly but it came out to be around 550 in just labor
remember going rate at almost any shop is between 55 and 85 per hour depending on mechanic expierence and type of service

the other thing is how much stuff did the mechanic have to remove from the engine bay to get to what he needed to replace and then have to put back into the car when the job is done.

I worked as a mechanic for a while and found that it usually takes more time on newer cars to get at the part to repair than actually repairing the part

[SiNFuL]

at least I don't feel ripped off now. Thanks a lot guys!
-Galen

[Dream240]

Originally posted by the head
there were a few other gaskets that were needed for reassembly but it came out to be around 550 in just labor
remember going rate at almost any shop is between 55 and 85 per hour depending on mechanic expierence and type of service

the other thing is how much stuff did the mechanic have to remove from the engine bay to get to what he needed to replace and then have to put back into the car when the job is done.

I worked as a mechanic for a while and found that it usually takes more time on newer cars to get at the part to repair than actually repairing the part

I understand that each job is unique, but the price rating for jobs is set to a standard. At least at most reputable mechanic shops.
Basically, they give you an estimate, the estimate has a listed price for labor this includes how many billable hours of labor are allowed.

For example, a clutch job on a 240 would probably rate like this:

Parts: Clutch kit - $200.00, $50.00 for various misc. replacements
Labor: $55.00 to 65.00 per hour X 3.5(est.) = $165 - $195
Taxes: $32 - 34
Total: $447.00 - 479.00

This is of course an estimate but a good rule of thumb is to ask how many hours the job is listed to take the mechanic to finish. That way you don't get some shady mechanic trying to change the billable hours to 7 or 8 cause thats how long it took him to do it. The point is that the rating system is designed so the mechanic can't rape a customer by charging him for 10 hours to do a oil change and lube job. So even if it took him 1 hour or 10 hours you get charged the same for labor regardless.

Have you checked with your local Nissan dealer on how much this job would cost? I bet they would charge you about the same, most dealer labor costs are about 65 per hour.

Good Luck! Hope this helps.

[Var]

65 bucks an hour? Damn that's cheap . It's 100-120 bucks an hour at any dealership around here. My shop charges 75 an hour and we're thinking about raising it to 85. Plus the dealerships charge you hella money for bulshit. i would never take my car to nissan.

[Chernobyl]

Front or rear crank seal? Replacing the rear one requires removing the tranny, so yea, that price would be totally logical. The front seal is no joy to replace either, as you have to remove the pulley. Either way, I don't think you got TOTALLY ripped... Back in the day when I didnt know how to work on cars and lived with just my mom, the Nissan dealer (Empire Lakewood Nissan on Colfax, BTW) charged her $75 to tighten/adjust an alternator belt....

[Dream240]

Originally posted by westboroughpimp
65 bucks an hour? Damn that's cheap . It's 100-120 bucks an hour at any dealership around here. My shop charges 75 an hour and we're thinking about raising it to 85. Plus the dealerships charge you hella money for bulshit. i would never take my car to nissan.

I should rephrase, the labor I mentioned is based on Southern Cali rates in the greater valley area. I work up in Alameda so I'm sure the prices for labor are as high as they are for a Big Gulp compared to LA.

[phrozen]

dont feel bad... i just got quoted $2000 for timing chain replacement. 1600 for labor, i was like F#*&$ that... i would do it myself but i dotn have access to all the tools i need and dont wanna bother my friends so guess ill just ride around with clicking sounds for now

[kandyflip445]

Whoever told you 2000 for a new timing chain is full of sh1t. They should be shot. I think a lot of the rate hiking is because of ppl that try to "fix up" their cars that don't know what they are doing and don't research enough. When they go to do something they mess it up then the tech has to figure out what they did wrong and fix it. Even though it's what they are getting paid for they just wanna get even more out of it because they know that most younger kids aren't paying for it themselves.

[Var]

Originally posted by phrozen
dont feel bad... i just got quoted $2000 for timing chain replacement. 1600 for labor, i was like F#*&$ that... i would do it myself but i dotn have access to all the tools i need and dont wanna bother my friends so guess ill just ride around with clicking sounds for now

was this quote from a nissan dealer? That's a crazy price and im assuming its for a 240, not a Lambo. Going by the book, the labor should cost you 720 [email protected] 75 bucks an hour if your car has AC. In reality most shops would charge you less.

[cvc9216]

The standard labor hours for oil pan removal is 3.6, 4.6 for rear main seal, times $75/hr equals $615, not including replacing the broken bolt.

and by the way, it's 16.5 hours for timing chain replacement, at $75/hr, thats $1240

[SiNFuL]

Thanks for all the info guys! I found a great shop in boulder who still charges fairly reasonable yet does a SUPERB job, compared to that POS Japanese Automotive place; they are horrible.
-Galen