[energiesource]

so the spark plug is missing, so they gotta replace those, the left front wheel bearing is shot, and he said he'd replace the fuel filter, so all that plus labour and whatever needs to be done with the computer for $600 cdn
is that about right or am i right and its too fuckin much?

[03 R Code]

I'd say it's way too much. You can replace spark plugs and fuel filters with relative ease, and minimal mechanical skills.

And what did you mean by the spark plug is missing, and you gotta replace those? How many were missing, and how did you drive around everyday with missing plugs??!!?!!

[barksdaleammo]

the bearings are easy to replace also. I can replace bearings in about 10 minutes.

[Slicey]

Originally Posted by 03 R Code I'd say it's way too much. You can replace spark plugs and fuel filters with relative ease, and minimal mechanical skills. And what did you mean by the spark plug is missing, and you gotta replace those? How many were missing, and how did you drive around everyday with missing plugs??!!?!!

its FORD magic at its best

[acmillr]

Originally Posted by energiesource so the spark plug is missing, so they gotta replace those, the left front wheel bearing is shot, and he said he'd replace the fuel filter, so all that plus labour and whatever needs to be done with the computer for $600 cdn is that about right or am i right and its too fuckin much?

That's about 102.59 American dollars- right?

[CantDrv55]

As a professional tech let me add some insight, when you bring you car into my shop and tell me its not running right i'm going to charge you $95 diagnosis, (american dollars), that includes scanning for misfire codes with a $5000 scan tool to find out what cylinder or bank it is coming from then narrow it down to either a fuel, ignition or mechanical problem. Once i know it is a ignition issue i can pull the spark plugs and check them. If your fixing your car yourself you might throw plugs at it right away and it might fix it, or it might not, you might have a bad injector, you as the customer wouldnt appreciate it if we threw plugs at it then called you back to say oops it didnt fix it, so we have to spend the time to do an accurate diag. For a 4.6L i would probably charge at least an hour to replace the plugs, clear codes, then test drive to verify the repair, so right now your at $180 american just in labor.

Fuel filter would be about $45 labor, plus parts, same with the wheel bearing, book time on that is about 5 or 6 tenths so thats another $45 labor. That brings us to $270 american for labor. Figure about $70 for a set of plugs depending on if you are using platinums or regulars, even more for iridiums. Probably $20 for a fuel filter and $100 for the wheel bearing. My total comes to $460 US dollars which is pretty close to $600 canadian.

Sure those particular things are not hard to replace for someone mechnically inclined, but if you dont know how to do it yourself and you take it to a shop with a half million dollars in equipment and the tech has $30,000 of his own money invested in his tool box then you have to pay for their knowledge and experiance.

For that price make sure they take good care of your car and that it is fixed right, but it doesnt sound like their ripping you off.

R Code jumped right in to tell you that your being overcharged but he doesnt understand what it means when someone says that a spark plug is causing a miss?

[01silversnake]

well... Although the labor might be true, i really dont think that the cost of the equipment means anything at all. Look at it this way, I am a cook, I cook your pasta on a 35,000 dollar stove and you are still getting charged about 18 dollars for it. Price of equipment means nothing, that is what you get yourself into when you open something of your own. It does seem a little pricey to me also. And I think that 465 american is roughly about 510 canadian.

[Timber]

It's called overhead. A shop must cover it. A do-it-yourself type can get parts at one of the Zone's and avoid it. If you can't do it yourself you've got to pay parts + labor + overhead. It's that simple.

[ujslost]

cantdrv55 is 100% correct. I am also a tech and he hit the nail on the head. I cant stand when penny penchers that dont know jack about a car comes in the shop wanting it fixed then bitch about the price. You dont go to walmart and bitch to them everytime your in there do ya!

Plus think about this. Im a do-it-yourselfer because Im a tech. But you gotta think if you do it yourself, if you get a bad part your the one with the headache of pulling it back of and finding a good part. If you let a reputable shop do your work is warranted. They have to replace the part and deal with the supplier if they have a bad part. So no labor and parts isnt all your paying for. You pay for that plus knowledge, time, and the headaches to be delt with. At the shop I work in very seldom will we install a customers parts because, if its a bad part you blame us and want it fixed for free. We cant warrant your parts so therefore we dont warrant labor cause if you bring it back and say its broke again due to you buying a bad part Im not redoing labor for free cause you bought a bad part. Dont get me wrong certain customer parts we will install, but 99% of the time no warrant on labor.

[03 R Code]

Originally Posted by CantDrv55 R Code jumped right in to tell you that your being overcharged but he doesnt understand what it means when someone says that a spark plug is causing a miss?

I do actually know what it means when someone tells me that a spark plug is causing a miss. But he didn't say that and neither did I. I was just wondering what he meant by there were spark plugs missing. I took it as they weren't even in the head at all, as in someone took them out and didn't put a new one in.... I missunderstood what he was saying. My bads

Aside from that, those are VERY simple fixes, and I don't think anyone should be afraid to try doing all of that on their own. If it were something major like say a cam chain or cracked head then yeah, take it into a reputable shop and have a trained pro do it for you. And then expect to pay out the nose to have it done right.

[01silversnake]

Although CntDrv might be right about the labor and the work, like i said, he is not right about how you charge more because you have so much equipment. o yea, and why would anybody bitch at walmart about price, thats why people go there, they have everything for cheap. LABOR YES, EQUIPMENT NO.

[CantDrv55]

They are fairly simple fixes, and i have no problem talking to a customer and explaining to them how to replace parts if they want to try it themselves, but if you ask me to do it dont complain about the price. Also they are simple if you have the basic tools to do it. If you dont own a floor jack or jack stands or a socket set, then thats a $100 investment you would have to make before you even attempted the job.

01silversnake - Price of equipment is everything, that pasta would only be $10 bucks if you cooked it on a $500 stove.

[ATLmustang]

+1 plus turning a wrench isnt fun any more to a tech.

[energiesource]

if i did it, it would be fucked up. nowadays unless i have the tools to fix that shit right, im not gunna bother. yeah i could take my fuel rails off and replace and gap my spark plugs, but it might fuck up even more. so oh well. 600 well spent.