Dora

Hi I am Dora, im new... I am getting my heater core replace today in my Husband's Iroc. I got quotes from $350.00 to over 800.00 from a chevy dealer. Not fun, but at least and lasted 18 years!

Bill Speed

I was able to get repair manuals for my Caddy but not a GM one for my Bird yet.. In theory, you can do it yourself with alot of effort and the right tools... save SOME bucks
Bill

86camedcamaro

i did my dads heater cor 60 bux :-)

Bill Speed

I'd just thought to ask about my mild heat problem for my car....maybe the same culprit? Somehow I'll get to the bottom of it...Hopefully
-B

Dora

The guys or should i say clowns who are doing the job right now are throwing a hissy fit.

Nate86

Dora, it looks like I am too late but $350 is a lot of money to waste on replacing a heater core. The part itself is only $19.99 at AutoZone (lifetime warranty) and the installation isn't nearly as hard as people make it out to be.

I'm really starting to see why the automotive industry has such lucrative career opportunities. $800 for heater core replacement? Sheesh... that's 40 times the price you'd pay if you did it yourself.

Not trying to insult you here, just making an observation.

AJT86

hey guys- im a gm tech in south jersey- alot of people think we get paid to much and just mess around in the shop and **** but i know myself, and my co-workers work our asses off. we get peice work- yeah it sounds nice that you can get paid 3 hours of work for an hour- but theres 2 edges to that sword. theres days where ive had problems and lost money. im in school for it and working- GM dealers want a college degree now. thats why you do pay a little more to get a dealer to do the work. if you sat through a day of my shop classes you would understand why you pay so much. some people think its rediculouse but you have to remember- theres not a highschool drop out that is working on your car because thats all he can do- you have a college graduate with a degree, ASE certs, GM certs, GMASEP certs, 2 years of college with academic and shop class , plus GM video courses, and hes working on your car because he wants to. ASEP is a selective coarse- i went through 2 interveiws and had to take 2 tests to get in- so yeah that 300$ may be much, but we have to pay bills too ya know? heaters cores can be a pain in the ***. certain GMs you have to talk half the car apart to get to it- if you wanna save the 280$ in labor than go for it- but if your gonna get it worked on just understand why a dealer costs what it does.

sorry if it sounds like im rambling i just hate when people think we are overpaid douche bags

Nate86

I wasn't incinuating that dealer mechanics or even just a "regular shop" mechanic is overpaid or lazy.

Just seems silly to me to be quoted $800 to replace a part that will cost you $19.99 and a few hours of work.

AJT86

i know man its cool- we just dont like to be reffered to as "clowns" alot of people think we are- but we are educated we take the same english comp algebra sciences and stuff that everyone else on campus takes- we just have more fun doing it and get in more trouble atleast i know where im from we go to the wall for a customer if they need a ride to work ill drive them 15 miles in my personal car to get them there- 800$ is a lil pricey i would say 350$ would be around right- the part from AC Delco is a lil more expensive than the autozone part and around 3 hours of labor sounds about right. Ive acually done my heater core from punching the clock to pulling it out the bay door it was about 3 and a half hours i ran into a few minor problems but you expect that with a 12 year old part somtimes

Nate86

Oh yeah... I had to replace mine a while back. At the time, it seemed like a pain in the ***. But looking back, I don't really think it was that hard to do. It would have been a direct old-to-new swap, but the pipes wouldn't fit in the holes in the firewall. After lots of frustration, I figured out all I had to do was bend the pipes slightly so that they would both fit.

AJT86

yeah man now the one on my 92 is going but shes getting a motor swap anyway so itll get ripped apart reguardless and i wont be going "damn i need to get this done so i can drive home tonight" usualy a couple guys come over- we get some lunch and we can have it done in no time

Dora

Hi

Thanks for your comments. I didnt mean to say all techs are clowns just the guys workin on the roc.I cant do it myself because we livei n a condo and Im a female who is not very mechanical. the job ended up costing 325 for everything. it worked out okay.

AJT86

325$ is a good deal- and atleast you know its done right and if anythings wrong dealers will usualy bend over backwards to keep you as a customer- or atleast the ones around here do

xlwhellraiser

iTrader: (1)

This is kinda insidious!!!
Mechanics are great people and from the looks of it they should be charging for their bussines. However, you have to admit that they really overcharge for some seriously easy jobs. I was quoted 300 bucks to replace a heater core. Man, I was mad. I took the whole dash out replaced the heater core for 30bucks total. If I were a mechanic I would charge a 100bucks to do it!!
Now, there are a lot of good mechanics there, but belive me I know a lot about cars and always, they are preaching to me what is wrong with it. They will tell me one thing, than put in 30 more things which I know are not wrong or faulty, and ask me to fork over my money. Its like taking advantage of mechanically inclined. I am sorry, AJT86 I am sure you are a good mechanic, but they have tried to screw me over in every single shop I went to.
This is why I do a lot of things myself!!!

P.S. Why dont they let you choose which oil you want in your car at any oil changing places??? (except pepboys)!!

Cadillac

With the hassles I've heard of on this board to replace this PITA component, I would gladly pay 350 for this job. Hell, I'd even supply the heater core.

AJT86

eh i know some privatly owned shops tend to overcharge- and say oh that needs to be replaced too- i think thats a big difference between the dealer world and the independants- dont get me wrong i know some great guys at private shops its the bad ones that give them the bad name- 100$ is a lil cheap- 30$ for the part, say 3 hours of labor minimum thats average of 60$ labor- the dealer needs a cut, the service manager needs to get paid, the electric and the bills need to be paid- other little things along the way clamps and misc stuff you need- it adds up fast my friend- heater cores are very simple- they are just a pain in the ***, if they were right out in the open it would be an hour of labor but the dash needs to be taken apart

xlwhellraiser

iTrader: (1)

Ya I know, but in some firebirds you can skip that step and get it replaced in 20-30min. I never replaced a heater core before, so I went ahead and took the dash out, and with the manual it was pretty easy. It took me 2hrs. but its just amazing to me that you have to pay 300dollars for installation of a cheap part. I know how dealerships work, and its kinda redundant to take the car there if its warranty expired, cuz you end up paying for everybody!! Now, Dont get me wrong I am not trying to flame anybody, but its just kinda insidious.

Dora

300.00 was the local guys, the dealer wanted over 800.00 !!

86irocznj

haha overpriced *****!

my shop (barones in cinnaminson new jersey only charges and do what you request them to do) ...my friend sean almost got ripped off by his mechanic the guy goes you need a new oil pan and my friend called me up and was throwing a fit and i was like dude take it to barones and see what they say and so he did and he calls me up and goes yo its gonna cost me like 100 instead of i think they wanted like 550 (the other place) to replace the oil pan and the labor and everything to boot with it ... barones said oh it needs a new gasket ...the end of a very good story that shows you get quotes before you just say do it



i took my 86 iroc z over there this past week and they got her running for me it cost me like 250 and then they gave me a list of everything it needs to be running perfectly fine and said i could easily do it and save myself the money if i take my time ...they encouraged me to give it a try....im halfway done everything that needs to be done ...my parts were about 150 so far and the labor was free since im doing it

barones told me it could cost me in upwards of 1000+ to do all the work ...that was a rough estimate ...but she runs very well now ...

1990transamtpi

see you gm techs. you dont have to take half the car apart for a heater core. it actually isnt hard if you go into it with the right state of mind. you gotta think of it as fun and not work. im 19 years old and i am learning that you gotta have fun with what you do and enjoy it. so go to autozone get a chiltons do some reading understanding and get er done! dont pay some fast talking tech whos gonna feed you a line of bs that you wont understand to get his paws on that 800

blk91gta

the heater core isnt the greatest job to do can be very time consuming. i think that $300 isnt bad for it being done right and in a timely fashion.

PhAnToMs

iTrader: (2)

ouch dora thats a high price least you didnt pay 800bucks you could have maybe asked in your local regional boards for a thirdgenner to help you or do it for you ( i dont know if its against rules). just dont let one break again


i did mine took a good 2 hours to do because for 30 minutes i couldnt find the top screw i ended up pulling it open and basically almost putting my head inside of the box to look for the screw. now that ive done it and left the top screw out i bet i could do the heater core in under 30 minutes taking my time

Forshock 85TA

Did mine last weekend, first time. 45 minutes. On the TA, mine anyways, remove all the lower dash panels, like 6 screws i think. Move the AC control bracket out and that top screw is straight on.

Hardest part.. damn thing fell out off the retentions brackets

was $35 from kragens

AJT86

i didnt mean literaly take half the dash apart- im just saying its not a fun job- i dont know what dealer she was going to charging 800$- my place would say 350 prolly- we know what we are doing- ive been on both sides of the coin- when i was in highschool i worked in a private shop and dont get me wrong some techs were amazing and i learned alot- but then again some were douches and would rig whatever they could to get paid for the job fast- if i leave a grease thumbprint on a fender- i get in trouble and my boss will make me pay for a carwash.


1990transamtpi- theres somthing called a labor guide- whether it takes me 5 hours or 20 minutes i get paid what the labor guide says :flat rate: we dont make the labor guide up- take the labor guide- multiply shop rate by the hours- add your materials- you have your price

yeah you can do it cheap your using your house- your electricity- your tools- the shop needs to pay the bills, the techs, the service writers, the service manager or else your car doesnt get service

Rage13

or cut out the middle man.. just go talk to some of the shop guys on lunch break
you pay less then the shop wants and the tech gets more then he would have made too.

Bill Speed

I need a trans replaced, suspension work, various odds and ends, and I have no more luxury of borrowing on next week's paychecks because of continuing to do that and then overtime hours going away before winter even approached.
I've gotten two est on trans work, one on body work, one on radiator replacement,A/C overhaul...it all is several hundred dollars on up. Most repairs on the labor end charge $50 to $100/ hour. After taxes, I only make $8.50 an hour, roughly... my Net after all benefits and the like.
I know taking many components down and building back up is not really equal to a 'walk in the park'.

Bill

Bill Speed

For DIY guys/gals; my experience stems from messing with stereos of all sorts, in those cases, I leave off extranious [sp?] screws that hinder fast, on-the-fly repairs. This can work for the Auto as well, though, for safety integrity, certainly not officially adviced. In my best car repair case, a busted headlight on my 1988 Deville needed replacement... One lower screw is up against metal in the bumper fascia... same with bumper mount bolts as well. In the headlight case, I used only the screws I could really get at in a short amount of time. It was such a pain, I recommend taking short cuts... It will pay off when that light goes again.