Siper2 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Agreed, I'd definitely take issue with the dealership management on this one. Politely of course. Unfortunately you can't say, "The guys on the forums do this in their driveways in two hours." True though that is (every day, all day), it's not comparable. But, you can call different dealers for quotes, as well as professional suspension/alignment shops. You could also ask them exactly why it takes so long to do this work, at their particular dealership. What steps are taken? They may paint themselves into a corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbastard Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Sad to say I had a similar experience recently...took my car to a buddy's indy shop that I knew from high school....I usually take what ever work I can there to help him out but no longer after my last trip. I had been meaning to change my plugs but it was always too cold when I had time and figured I would just have him do it..wellwhen I picked up my car he charged me $300 in labor for plugs! I was going to argue but figured it wasn't really worth it and just sucked it up knowing times are tough now and he won't get anymore of my business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjmsdrum00 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 what kind of "friend" does something like charge you $300 for changing plugs or $600 for springs? you guys need some new friends, seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Did the bill have a break down? Perhaps $200 for spring install and $400 for pads? Still way high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkxgo0k Posted March 2, 2009 Author Share Posted March 2, 2009 the bill breakdown was thus: 1.0 hr front rotor tune and pad change 1.0 hr rear rotor tune and pads 3.8 hr front strut and spring 3.2 hr rear strut and spring is it necessary to remove the strut to get to the springs? funny thing is, i dropped my car off at 9:30am and got a call from him at 4:30pm that it was done. hmm, according to my math, that's only 7 hours, and thats if he worked on my car for 7 hours straight. unfortunately, i took my car to four different places this morning, and only one of them was able to give me an estimate, which came out to $680 (NAPA). One of the places didn't even have a spring compressor machine, and didn't seem to know wtf they were doing. The other two places i went to said they were too busy to give me an estimate (what would take all of 5 minutes, and what, you're rejecting potential business in this recession??). All in all, I think this is just another FML moment. I suppose I can't complain bc of the other estimate that I got, but judging from everyone's experiences/comments, I still feel like I got ripped another hole in my ass. I guess the moral of the story is, DO YOUR OWN WORK ON YOUR OWN CAR! changing out the brake pads is very simple, and from what I can tell, all you need is a spring compressor and some spare time to change out the springs. I was just too lazy to bother doing it myself, and assumed it wouldn't cost much. Well we all know what happens when you assume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 3.8 hr front strut and spring 3.2 hr rear strut and spring BS! Was it their first time doing a spring install? Hope you get some $$$ back, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Huge BS. You should escalate this. I don't know what the laws are but this is a blatant rip off. There are industry standards that show "book labor" for particular repairs. I can't believe it would as high. Post the name of that rip-off shop here - google is good about indexing our forum. Dishonest business need to learn that they can get trashed online these days and lose customers - which they deserve. Did I mention Village Subaru in Acton, MA and Wakefiled Subaru in Wakefiled, MA are bunch of incompement assholes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 ^ I've got another dealership to add to that list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniStiGuy Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Atleast go back and say his math doesn't add up for the time he had the vehicle and get your $150 back for the extra 2 hour charge or so. OEM HID's Rx330 Retro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 7 effing hours for a spring install!!!!?!?!?!? that is highway robbery it takes me literally 1hr to change all 4 spings on a legacy on jack stands!!!! Ask any of the peole ive done spring installs for on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkxgo0k Posted March 2, 2009 Author Share Posted March 2, 2009 i got estimates from 2 more shops. one wanted $600, the other wanted $430. both said it would take roughly 6-8 hours of labor. am i missing something here? everyone here seems to say it takes 1-2 hours, while all of the actual estimates from shops that i've received are 3x that. what gives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 You're talking to wrong shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 this is how shops make money. get a friend and do it yourself. most shops charge 2hrs a corner to R+R a strut srping assembly. thats why you see prices over $500 just to install a simple set of springs. On some cars, it does take longer. but on the LGT its so easy and fast to get the struts out and swap the springs, that the regular rates dont apply in the real world. the rear struts are literally 3 bolts a piece to take out, and if you jack the car up high enough, you dont even have to take the rear wheel off. Its worht trying to do yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniStiGuy Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I had my springs installed, wheels demounted, balanced new tires, and remounted and an allignment all done for $250 and I was there for about 4 hours total for all of that to get done. OEM HID's Rx330 Retro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawl Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 i paid 50 bucks for a spring install in 2003... the rates of inflation are staggering! car for sale. PM me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kha Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I've found that many shops charge A LOT for labor when you bring in your own parts. I was looking for a shop to change shocks for my passat about 10 yrs ago, and when I mentioned that I'm bringing in my own parts, the lady rolled her eyes and said "oh no, we got another one of these." They wanted $600 just for labor. Then I found another mechanic just down the road who wanted $200 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisan Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 That's not outrageous to be honest. At our shop we charge $200 to install springs which is much less than ANYONE else does. The book time for springs on Subarus is very high for some reason, and I'm not sure why. But if it's a legit "by the book shop" then they usually charge $400+ based on the book. Also when bringing your own parts, expect to pay a premium for the labor, because they aren't making any money they would normally make on the parts if you bring the parts. -mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeleodee Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Also when bringing your own parts, expect to pay a premium for the labor, because they aren't making any money they would normally make on the parts if you bring the parts. -mike Is it also customary to fudge the amount of labor hours and just pass that off as the premium? I'm not attacking you, but you're example does not apply. The OP listed the breakdown on labor. Unless 2 people were working on the car, there is no way 9 hours of labor were involved. That's a fact when considering when the car was dropped of and when he got the call that the job was complete. I have a friend who used to work the front in a speed shop and their book labor hours were outrageous. Jobs that took 15-30 minutes would be listed as 2 hour jobs and so forth. However, they would give the quote on labor and it was up to the customer whether he/she wanted to go with it. I know there are alot of expenses involved in running these shops, but this particular situation seems dishonest to say the least. I can sympathize with the OP. I took my one of my cars to my father-in-law's friend and I too got stiffed. Needless to say, neither I nor my father-in-law has taken our cars there again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisan Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 When you go to a "book" shop you pay whatever the book says, no matter how long they actually take to complete the job. This is because sometimes the job will be less than that amount of time, and sometimes more than that. I personally HATE that method and we don't do that at our shop, I was just pointing out how other shops usually work. -mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTlegacy06 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Did he gold plate the springs at least? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waxiboy Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I really do not want to rub it in but $600 is outrageous! I did mine with just hand tools (no pneumatics). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkxgo0k Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 FINALLY got a quote for $250 for the springs. $410 total with the brake job. gonna shove this in his face and see if i can squeeze a $200 refund out of him. seems like he charged the standard book price for this job, even if it didn't take him as long as it said on the receipt. i wonder if that's... legal. but i wouldn't bother going to small claims for $200. either he's nice and cooperates or i'll just drop it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 djkxgo0k - Most shops will do it by "book hours". Mind you book hours also factor in extra time for potential issues like seized bolts etc. When it comes to billing, most shops will bill based on individual jobs rather then the entire job. i.e.: Book time for R&R of the brakes is "x" hours and R&R for the suspension is "y" hours. They just add "x" + "y"; however there's lots of overlap. Removal/install of the wheels is only once for both jobs, not twice as per book time. Word of advice: the next time you need to get your brakes done, you're better off getting a pair of used rotors and taking it to your local parts store which can machine them for you; for the LGT rotors to be properly machined evenly it takes a good 20-30mins per rotor on a brake lathe. Here in Canada, a place like Canadian tire will only charge $10-$15/rotor to machine. It will save you money vs. doing it at the mechanic's on their brake lathe. Then its a simple remove and re-install job which will be 30mins per end w/ changing out pads. If your mechanic is regreasing the slider pin as well as re-bleeding your system that will also add time; however that is proper procedure to ensure top braking performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisan Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 We never suggest turning rotors at all. If your rotors are worn enough to warrant a machining, man-up and get a new set of blanks and have them put on. Machining them will only lead to premature wear due to lack of material left on the rotors at least on performance cars like a LGT if driven to their potential. -mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 There is a very good rape hotline that can help you cope with the volcano of feelings you must be feeling... But seriously I did the install without ever turning a wrench on a car besides exause and dp, and without a spring compresor " highyly recomended long range top hat launching is fun" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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