What the hell is going on with shops?

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I have seen about ten shops close in the last few years and a few others open then close within months, the ones that are still open had a good reputation with customers when I ran My towing business, therefore when someone needs work on a newer vehicle thats who I recomend
 
Like I tell my sons all the time "Everyone can do what we do just ask them". Claiming you can rebuild a turbo 350 or a 727 with a book puts you on the same level as a guy who has 5-10 or more years experience and is rebuilding 5-6-or 8 speed transmissions is just crazy. You do it wrong and so what he does it wrong and he lives with it. Yes that repair seems high but there is a update that includes pulling the valve body and modifing the plate and valve body to make sure this code never comes back. Were they doing that also? or just replacing the part. If they were and the service writer did a poor job explaining what they were going to do then that is on them. Good shops have the tools and the ability to fix the cars brought to them and that cost money. I have spent over 6 grand updating our 4 diagnostic systems in the shops this year already.You have to take all of this in and realize it is all factored into the bill. But all of that said I think they still maybe high on the est.
 
Yes every thing is over priced now-a-days.10 years ago a VR706 voltage regulator was about $12. Two weeks ago I priced one for a guy, Autozone price was $26.89 Last week I priced the same part for someone else at the same Autozone,,$47.93 a $20 increase in a week.Same goes for fuel pumps,tires,batteries.Hell I bought a battery for my Yamaha Zuma 50 pit bike, The darn thing was $70 !!
Sorry for the rant.Getting back on the subject.My daughters stick shift PT Cruiser was not disengauging. We were out of town so she had it towed to the dealership.They told her $1200.Needing a new clutch.She called me,I gave her the number of a shop 50 miles away.Had it towed there,all it needed was the cable adjustment.Cost with towing. $215.That was 3 years ago and the car is just fine.Happens all the time. Let the buyer beware.....
 
I'm curious what the OP would price the job out at if he was writing the estimate. As a professional, not what it could be done in the driveway for. Just curious. I think $1100 sounds like an awful lot too, but is it just for replacing the solenoid?
 
High repair quote means a new truck sale in their eyes. And then they have the trade to sell. Its what they do to stay alive in today's economy. Bread is more and slices are less. If it were possible the government would be having the chickens lay smaller eggs .
 
Lonewolf3165 said:
I'm curious what the OP would price the job out at if he was writing the estimate. As a professional, not what it could be done in the driveway for. Just curious.
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I'd say about 550/650 total. (since that's what it cost to get mine fixed with the valve body pulled) the valve body fix I didn't know about and called to ask him about it. I paid 650 because I wanted a different cooler(I bought the cooler, He ran all new lines) on the front of the truck but total coast without that was around 598.43 @#$#@@damn taxes cost as much as the cooler did!
 
This should have easily been a job under $500 to a decent shop that's there to make a living without raping the customer base. Or maybe this was a dealership that think everything that has to do with repairs on a vehicle takes at minimum or 3 hours...
 
I get so tired of people bitching about how expensive a shop is. It costs what it costs. If you can do it yourself, do it and stop complaining about the shop. Or get a second estimate. I would be interested to know what year, motor and tranny. I looked up a 2005 R1500 with a 5.7 and the solenoid in that calls for 2 hours. In my shop that is $212 labor. Your solenoid, without having a VIN number to verify looks like it has dealer list of $127. We are not dealers and we are a for profit shop, I would sell that solenoid for $177.80. Add a filter and gasket kit for $35 and 5 quarts of ATF+4. I would be around $460. In addition to the quality work you get, you get a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty on parts and labor. So is he high? Probably. Get a second estimate. Also, they may be adding diagnostics. If you diagnose your own problem we can't guarantee it will fix your car. If I diagnose it I stand behind my diagnostics.
 
Dartnut said:
Wow!
That's a mouthfull!
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daredevil said:
I read your first few lines and gave up. This is impossible to read without punctuation. Its like one long sentence.
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plum crazy dart said:
X's 2
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stumper said:
X3, wow...
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I always have to skip most of his posts for this very reason. He might have some good points but who can find them in a 549 word sentence? No I didn't count them I used http://www.wordcounter.net/
 
winstoninwisc said:
no differrent building houses 10 years ago no 1 in history made 75k to put up a houe but the whole game changed when the crash came , now every 1 here any ways has to be lisensed that meeens schoolour a bodies dont have this funky computer every thing , ave person cant fix nothing a guy lost his job he picked up a hammer and he was a carpenter ;last week he was sittting trying to sell cars tho he didnt know **** about them i look up to the older guys and wish i woulda listend more takes 1/2 a day to change a headlight now days i still cant figgure out my ckock and radio let alone turn on the seat vibrate no ashtray theres a tv there now to back up my wifes explorer it takes 2 hours to change the plugs it all looked good on paper but i can fix most my pre 72 cars the rest you better have a gr8 friend car you want to turn a keey thro on a seat bealt cause it wont start if you dont put it in gear and drive you should be able too for 30k just like a house they want to com e home hit the garage door opener hit the light switsh flush a toilet turn on a sink and see no dripps and there all good try to teach some kid from the 90s this chit there there for a paycheck but it takes 2000 hours training just to pass first part of working on a car and pay for your own tools most places pay the un employment payroll wich you have to kick in on noe for med,ssi ,ins ,and work comp i sure *** hell dont wanna be president but we got to cut half those basterds out get in turn on the key it doesnt start things start beepin lights are on doesnt run right but you got to get you *** to work or your out buiss changed but the theifs keep on theifn you need a mechanic ,a home improve it or tear it out and do it right guy an and a computer buddie do stay up in this world of payment and confussion we got put in no 1 wanted that farm life where you worked hard but could do it all if not you traded work JEBB BUSH Ssays he can str8ten it out just what we need another bush in the white house streets are raising the kids and the rest of us hanging buy a tread we down to 1 shop in our town and theres 15000 people he can pick what he wants to work on or jack the price up and see if you want it done i dont have the answers but i try to keep the old cars running so i can do my own work when noy to major and make a trade when it is i feel a revalution started on get your do nothing government *** outa my way and go get a real job y vote for the job first it pays 20 k a year and has no bennies how bad you wanna help just venting now i dunno
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I got a headache while reading this and then my computer went into overload. I actually have no idea what this guy was trying to say.......maybe that the transmission shop charged too much...LOL.
 
Lonewolf3165 said:
I'm curious what the OP would price the job out at if he was writing the estimate. As a professional, not what it could be done in the driveway for. Just curious.
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So many posts I can't really answer them all, but I will do it this way in this post.

If I estimated that job as a "professional" it would be 2 -2.5 shop hours, fluid, filter, gasket, and the solinoid (which was diagnosed with a Snap on code scanner after a thrown code like is done in shops)
All the usual shop costs and taxes like disposal fees, and such.
The cost on the solinoid is 60 bucks, so lets say $120 to the customer.
I would estimate the job at about $300 - 350 total out the door.
And this estimate would be contingent on what the trans pan contents looked like after it was pulled.

I would be curious to ask all the people defending the shop if they have a shop, and if they would charge $1,100 for the job and feel justified in thier charges.
If that answer was all the excuses I have read here as to why it should cost as much as my Nephew was quoted I would hope any readers would steer clear of those shops.
Defending thievory does not make it acceptable, nor should it allow it to be the norm.

Charging more because you don't know what you are doing, or because you didn't get the amount of jobs you wanted that month and trying to make it up on other customers is a bunch of crap and tells me that the shop should not be in business anyway.

The main reason places do this is to try and get away with it, and I for one will not tolerate it if I have any say so in the matter.
As far as I am concerned, a shop that treats the customer right and does a decent job for the money will be supported in the local area, and the others will be pointed out as the thieves they are.
Simple as that.

I see posters here getting ripped off ALL the time on stuff, but I can't really do anything about that.
They need to do it for themselves, and all we can do is let it be known that we think they are getting screwed.
Otherwise getting screwed becomes the norm.

So on that note.
WARNING!
If a ANY shop gives you an estimate for $1,100 to change an overdrive solinoid on a Dodge 46RE trans RUN!, and hope they go out of business soon.
 
The real problem is that it’s gotten too expensive for businesses to do the work at a reasonable cost and the fact that customers’ (working people) wages have not gone up.

I can sympathize with businesses...and I can relate to the wage situation.

I don't know about the original estimate...maybe that's the cost of doing business in that part of the country? I usually try to get 2 or 3 estimates for anything these days...just to feel safe.

Seems like every time I need something done on my daily driver car it costs me $1,000.

It sucks because now if something breaks on my car, if it's not essential, it doesn't get fixed...I just can't afford it.

Paul
 
I would say that $1100 estimate was for one thing -rebuild the transmission
Most Trans shops won't bother fixing small parts-main reason is what if they charge you $200 to fix it and then your back next week bitching that you still have problems?
It is less hassle for them to sell you a rebuilt trans. Cost too much to go to small claims court any more.
 
Oklacarcollecto said:
I always have to skip most of his posts for this very reason. He might have some good points but who can find them in a 549 word sentence? No I didn't count them I used http://www.wordcounter.net/
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70-duster said:
I got a headache while reading this and then my computer went into overload. I actually have no idea what this guy was trying to say.......maybe that the transmission shop charged too much...LOL.
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whaddyameanyoucant readatdangolepostmayn
 

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Darter6 said:
Yes every thing is over priced now-a-days.10 years ago a VR706 voltage regulator was about $12. Two weeks ago I priced one for a guy, Autozone price was $26.89 Last week I priced the same part for someone else at the same Autozone,,$47.93 a $20 increase in a week.Same goes for fuel pumps,tires,batteries.Hell I bought a battery for my Yamaha Zuma 50 pit bike, The darn thing was $70 !!
Sorry for the rant.Getting back on the subject.My daughters stick shift PT Cruiser was not disengauging. We were out of town so she had it towed to the dealership.They told her $1200.Needing a new clutch.She called me,I gave her the number of a shop 50 miles away.Had it towed there,all it needed was the cable adjustment.Cost with towing. $215.That was 3 years ago and the car is just fine.Happens all the time. Let the buyer beware.....
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Compare the price of 1966 mustang 6 cyl to a new one. About 10 times.

Compare the 1966 price for tires for that mustang to the price of tires for that new mustang. NOT 10 times. Much less. Tires are relatively cheaper. From just a functional standpoint they last much longer and resist puctures/failure much better too. Same for TVs.

New cars last much longer and need much less maintance. That's one of the big reasons there are less repair shops now.
 
Mopar to ya said:
I get so tired of people bitching about how expensive a shop is. It costs what it costs. If you can do it yourself, do it and stop complaining about the shop. Or get a second estimate. I would be interested to know what year, motor and tranny. I looked up a 2005 R1500 with a 5.7 and the solenoid in that calls for 2 hours. In my shop that is $212 labor. Your solenoid, without having a VIN number to verify looks like it has dealer list of $127. We are not dealers and we are a for profit shop, I would sell that solenoid for $177.80. Add a filter and gasket kit for $35 and 5 quarts of ATF+4. I would be around $460. In addition to the quality work you get, you get a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty on parts and labor. So is he high? Probably. Get a second estimate. Also, they may be adding diagnostics. If you diagnose your own problem we can't guarantee it will fix your car. If I diagnose it I stand behind my diagnostics.
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So there is a real estimate. But without diagnostic.

What would you charge/estimate that diagnostic at?

Also there may be a valve body update. What would that add to it?
 
Well I know it's not the same work but my shop ran full dual exhaust with magnaflows in one day and changed my carb and tuned it just to be nice. The replacement carb I already had. They only charged me 260 total
 
autoxcuda said:
So there is a real estimate. But without diagnostic.

What would you charge/estimate that diagnostic at?

Also there may be a valve body update. What would that add to it?
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Well, it's not an actual estimate because I don't know the vehicle information. I based this off a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 4WD with 5.7 Hemi. Diagnostics is $106. Our hourly rate is $106 an hour. Valve body update I would need a vin to see if it is needed and what it would cost.
 
TrailBeast said:
So many posts I can't really answer them all, but I will do it this way in this post.

If I estimated that job as a "professional" it would be 2 -2.5 shop hours, fluid, filter, gasket, and the solinoid (which was diagnosed with a Snap on code scanner after a thrown code like is done in shops)
All the usual shop costs and taxes like disposal fees, and such.
The cost on the solinoid is 60 bucks, so lets say $120 to the customer.
I would estimate the job at about $300 - 350 total out the door...
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Well there ya go! Like I said in my post I think $1100 sounds high. I can't see it costing that much by itself unless there was other recommendations made along with it. However, if you think there is any profit left in your estimate of $350 you are mistaken. I do the math & come up with $92/ hr labor rate(which may be fair in some areas as it varies). That's not counting diagnosis-1.0hrs minimum which is more involved than a simple scan of the codes. Direct testing of the solenoid itself would only be prudent. Also what about gasket, fluid, & filter? Fluid alone is $9.00/ qt. X 4 or 5 qts. plus disposal fees(oh yes the EPA is on your *** to make sure everything get disposed of correctly or face fines). So really the estimate falls more in line with the one Mopar to ya posted @ $500-$550. My point is a PROFESSIONAL JOB that comes with a guarantee costs more that what you might spend if you trusted the kid at autozone to scan your car & give you his worthess advice based on 0 experience, then wasted a weekend afternoon lying on your back with **** dripping all over yourself to change that 1 bolt little solenoid. And if it dosen't fix it? Where do you go then? Autozone aint gonna take it back! They sure as hell aint gonna stand behind their eh hmm diagnosis!:pukerigh: So a shop that provides a service in a professional manner needs to make a profit & yes the customer will benefit more because of it. Not all shops are honest, but the vast majority aren't the crooked thieves that people- escpecially the do it yourselfers paint them out to be. Some are much more acurate & thorough in their diagnosis & expertise than others & although it may cost a little more for a given service or repair performed, a good technician & shop will save the customer more money in the long term. And for as many posts here & on other sites bashing shops & crying "rip-off" there are thousands other posters who trusted the wrong advice of a buddy or the guy behind the parts counter or thought they knew what they were doing & screwed the car up or have thrown countless parts at it guessing & are no better off than when they started! All because it was too much to pay a professional.
A lot of guys here want to paint all of us shop owners & technicians with the same broad brush as crooked evil doers & that's simply not true.
 
Mopar to ya said:
Well, it's not an actual estimate because I don't know the vehicle information. I based this off a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 4WD with 5.7 Hemi. Diagnostics is $106. Our hourly rate is $106 an hour. Valve body update I would need a vin to see if it is needed and what it would cost.
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But a fairly accurate estimate given the hypothetical vehicle you based it on.

Seems like $350 to $556 .

$20 difference in labor rate. And one is only charging 1/2 hour diag. Which is probably actual, but no fudge room. If there's more to the problem would add more diag. time. With one hour diag. time, you have the option to come under the estimate and make the custormer feel good. And one is using a dealer part, don't know if the other is?

Sometimes you are able to by aftermarket part that are the same as OE, just in different box. Sometimes not. Depends on the part. And whether the shop is familar with the part to know. And sometimes the aftermarket even if not OE is just as good, even sometimes better.
 
Mopar to ya said:
I get so tired of people bitching about how expensive a shop is. It costs what it costs. If you can do it yourself, do it and stop complaining about the shop. Or get a second estimate. I would be interested to know what year, motor and tranny. I looked up a 2005 R1500 with a 5.7 and the solenoid in that calls for 2 hours. In my shop that is $212 labor. Your solenoid, without having a VIN number to verify looks like it has dealer list of $127. We are not dealers and we are a for profit shop, I would sell that solenoid for $177.80. Add a filter and gasket kit for $35 and 5 quarts of ATF+4. I would be around $460. In addition to the quality work you get, you get a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty on parts and labor. So is he high? Probably. Get a second estimate. Also, they may be adding diagnostics. If you diagnose your own problem we can't guarantee it will fix your car. If I diagnose it I stand behind my diagnostics.
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It sounds as if the guy went in and asked what a specific repair would cost. If he were to ask you for the same, would you automatically include diagnostics, or would you offer the diagnostics as an option? And if declined, do what the customer asked of you. Minus your warrantee of course, I wouldn't offer a warrantee on the job if it was based off of someone elses diagnostics.I've taken a vehicle in for a blown exhaust donut before. told them it was leaking, and when I went to pick it up they said they couldnt hear anything and here's our bill for checking. Didnt even replace the damned donut and STILL wanted 85 bucks.
 
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