Cost to rebuild Front end & brakes

[oneway71]

Hello
I have been so busy that I havent had time to do my front suspension and brakes on the Valiant. So I got an estimate today. $1500 for labor to due whole front with alignment and all 4 brakes & m/c & new lines. Mount new tires.

I have all the parts this quote is just for labor. I am considering it because the motor and trans in the car are new and I miss driving it. I wont be able to repair it myself until maybe next spring.

Any thoughts? Is this too high? Would you pay to have it done or wait until you have time?

 

[damraider]

Seems pretty fair to me , I just got done doing the suspension and brakes on my 63 Valiant and it was probably 20 hours of work .....

 

[oneway71]

Wow 20 hours I definetly dont have that much time available; and both my bays are full with other people's projects. So I guess I will just have it done; It just feels funny paying someone else to do it....lol

 

[zhandfull]

You could always get a couple other estimates for the work. Price seems high but I'm currently doing my own and it is a lot of work. If I was doing it for a living I would be looking to get 50 to 100 dollars an hour depending on my overhead.

 

[C130 Chief]

$1500 just for labor? Sounds absolutely outrageous to me, but even the Rabbi says I'm cheap.

 

[oneway71]

$1500 was the worst case scenerio; he said should be much lower when it is completed. Some of the labor flagged may actually include parts that were going to be removed already; therefore he may be able to lower it because of that. Actual rate is $60hr; which is close to what I charge for body and paint.

Another point is that I am without a car or truck right now. All I have running is a bike. And I have been trying to get this car into the shop for at least a year now. Only downside I see is that nothing will be painted when it is apart.

 

[mopardude318]

I say if ya can, do it yourself. I wouldn't pay anyone that kind of money for a front end rebuild. It aint hard, you can do it. Should only take a couple weekends...

 

[toolmanmike]

Seems a bit high depending on where you're at. Although, I spent about $700 for labor only, to rebuild the front end on my Dart. (no brakes) It took 2 of us about 10 hours but after the alignment was done it drives down the road with one finger and I have the confidence that the front end is good for another 40 years or so. I used a PST rubber kit. After rebuilding my engine/clutch/trans.
I have new respect for resto shops and the money they charge. Mike