My car went in the shop for my new clutch to be put in last Friday... today (Thursday) I got a call waking me up at 9am that ruined the whole day.

A few days ago they told me that the gas lines were horribly rotted and were leaking (I figured out the leak part from the 6" wide hole where my car was in the driveway). I told them that the car was useless to me without them, so go ahead and fix it. What a mistake that was!

I got the call this morning and they said the lines were so rotted, that the one on the sending unit was damaged. And the fuel pump was weak. And it needed a new fuel filter. SO they dropped the gas tank, replaced everything, and here is my bill:

Sending unit $422 ?
Gas lines: $100
Fuel filter $15
Fuel pump: $140
LABOR: $600 (had to drop tank)

Is this for real? I have always trusted this shop and they have never given me any trouble or seemed to rip me off, so is it really this much? Or are they just mad that I supplied all my own clutch parts and they couldn't mark them up?

 

You didn't get ripped off.

You payed pemium labor charges as well as list price for parts.

If you'd have done it yourself, you would have saved the labor cost, as well as 30% or so on the parts (shop has to make money there as well).

BTW, what's this "woke me up at 9:00am", crap?

 

$505.51 is the current list price. $422 is a fair discount from list.

 

$600 is about the going price for labor to remove & install the tank. You wern't ripped off, you just learned how expensive these cars can be to own.

 

Wow that sucks. Oh well, they had already put my new clutch in and all my new suspention stuff, fixed my oil leaks, exhaust leaks, etc.

I guess I needed a new gas tank too, that was $312. Bill is now $2100, $400 more than I paid for the car........... now that's devotion!!!:lala:


'Bout the woke me up at 9 thing, I work 2nd shift 3pm-11pm, so I get to sleep in till about 1 every day

 

That's outrageous. If you only gave them the OK to replace your fuel line, they can't legally replace all of those other parts without your consent and ask you to pay for them (if that's how it went down). BTW, you could have gone to a salvage yard and purchased most of those parts for pennies on the dollar. I picked up a sending unit for my car for $20.

 

I wouldn't pay for anything but the fuel lines, which is what you ok'd.

 

yea..


besides, i understand the lines under the car rotting if you live where the salt the roads, but the lines inside the tank?!

id want to see these "rusted" parts...

 

It may have been the hard lines on the outside of the tank, but still, for all that money, they should have called and verified that you wanted the work done, and not take it upon themselves to do it and then let you know that it's done and come give us $2 grand to pick up your car.

 

Don't pay them. Go down there and have a talk with the owner. Have him show you all of the parts they removed and show you where they are bad.
Explain to them that you never authorized them do do more than the lines and don't want the other things done. They will have to put everything back where it was (except for what you OKed) and can't charge you the labor for doing it. And if they can't produce the "bad" parts, you get the ones they installed for free.
There are hundreds of places that thrive on doing unauthorized work on people's cars and expect you to pay, and many do so without even putting up even a little fight.

Oh, and always take all of your "bad" parts with you.

This is another example of why you should learn to do your own mechanical work. Even if you'd had to have bought the tools to do the job yourself, it would have been a lot less than 2k, and you'd have the tools to use on the next job.

 

Lot of assumptions here...I don't see where the original poster said anything was unauthorized...only complaining/concerned with the costs involved.

Hey, everyone else has is expression opinions.

 

No assumptions, this is what he said he authorized
And this seems to have been "added" in at the end

 

that sounds about right to me.

I dont think the labor came from having to drop the tank, thats actually not a very hard job at all on a lift and with tons of air tools. Most mechanics never take more than an hour dropping a tank. Personally i've been able to drop them, replace a sending unit, and put them back in in 45 minutes.

The labor came from having to fab up new fuel lines. The just dont have the right line you need in the shop, the mechanic has to get a line and bend and flare it to meet the exact specifications. Maybe you've tried doing this before....it isnt easy, it takes a whole lot of time to do it right.

So...you're saying they didnt call you and say that it needed a new pump and filter and all that, before they did it? The filter goes without saying...they're removing the lines, makes no sense not to put a new one in. That sounds kind of odd...but hey it happens. Dosnt necessarliy mean you're getting ripped off, could just be a miscommunication. The mechanic could of thought he had the go to do everything. I've never seen a garage where the mechanics and service advisors had a great relationship...so miscommunications happen.

 

How about it aaron7...did you authorize the work, or did they just do it and bill ya?

 

i paid 150 labor to replace intank fuel pump 600.......thats insane

 

Well, they had already torn the car apart when I got there, and I saw the stuff, it was pretty bad. The tank had been repaired with some hardening tape stuff and duct tape... so I said go for it, since I love the car and I can do it in payments.


The high labor for the tank dropping is due to the fact that (I guess) nearly every bolt that had to come out broke due to never being touched before. They said they had a lot of grinding to do/had been done.


So in the end, it isn't worth it at all car-wise (I could get another 3rd gen for $2100... a nice one! ) but it's worth it to me... I guess

 

thats what they quote around here $400-$600. Charging $75-$90 /hr labor for automotive work is what is insane. IF you can afford a new car you can't afford to have it fixed if it breaks down.

 

i have a local guy here i use he charges 50 an hr........so far he's been very good...and i'm very picky.Unfortuneatly i've used some other local shops and have found even though they charge top buck....their work is sub standard ...causing more problems than than they fix!!!!!! EXAMPLE:took wifes camaro in for a pinion seal......talk to garage owner to be sure he has a inch lb wrench to set pinion bearing preload after replacing seal....assures me he does and understands how..........pick up car and wifes says"why is car so sluggish now" jack it up.....can't even turn the drive shaft by hand......pinion nut is so tight it had to be put on with a air gun!!!! bearing overheated!!!!...call guy ask WTF is wrong with you....he doesn't give a ****........BE SURE YOU ARE GETTING WHAT YOU PAY FOR...if a garage won't listen to you....find a better one...THEY ALL CHARGE ALOT OF MONEY...spend yers wisely

 

not just these cars, if you can think of any car u drive in the winter OR ANYWHERE that is bulletproof n don't need working on evidentaully, why then i'll just call you ***.


=]

i hope they replaced the lines with nylon ones, they stand a much longer life.