I think I was charged too much. What do you think?

[Guest Anonymous]

[hpsenicka]

Not sure what your specific concern is.... if you authorized all of the work, I don't think the bill is necessarily out of line.

[jgerry2002]

You think they might have called you after doing the compression test before doing the rest of the work. Those cylinders are very low.

[Lars]

I'd find a new place to take your car, or do like I did after getting screwed to many times, learn to do it your self. Those are easy jobs to do.

[Guest Anonymous]

$416.28 to replace the clutch master & slave cylinder...

$75.00 to pull the spark plugs out, wire brush them, gap them, and reinstall them.

I dunno, that seems a bit steep to me.

[HarryPR]

Prices for the clutch parts seem steep to me.

I think you can get a master cyl for about $70 and a slave for $45 or so.

[Guest Anonymous]

One concern I have is that the master cylinder push rod broke after a few months because it was bend and being stressed. That's a part they just replaced.

Because of that failure, I ended up replacing the both clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder again, only this time I did it myself. I got the parts at Bavarian Auto - clutch master for $69.95 and the slave for $44.95.

It didn't take me but an 1 to 1.5 hour to do... ON MY BACK.

$416.28? I don't think so.

[JohnW]

Everything in/around Boston costs a fortune. I'd be interested to see what that shop's rent/mortgage is. Charging this much is probably the only way they can survive. .

[Arizona02]

test since the plugs have to be removed to do the comp test. Not worth the time to clean the plugs, install new ones instead. Some shops charge the customer the factory dealer list on parts even though they buy aftermarket, which may explain the high prices for the slave & master.

[Paul7002]

(nt)

[Biscuit3]

The only thing that worries me is that the compression test was $75 (I've never paid for one!) and to fiush the guts was $187! When Karl got flushed radiator and then the fuel tank on a separate occasion, it costs $30 for radiator, $65 for tank.

I have since learned of some of the mechanic's games. Like charging your for their smoke break!

[eastsidebimmer]

Perhaps you know more now than you did then and are now feeling bad about the cost?

[Guest Anonymous]

Some of those prices are high - for here in Arkansas. the shop where you took your car, iirc, has an excellent reputation for doing quality work. They do charge for each item by the standard rate as stated in the auto repair manuals (such as the Mitchell Manual). Like the others, I am surprized that they did not call you after running the compression check to tell you of the readings - and recommend a total engine rebuild.

You might have been able to negotiate a better price with them if you had pointed out that several of these labor charges were overlapping.

[ingraham]

with the lowest price you can find on the Internet. Different parts, different quality, different purchasing process, different warranty, different delivery time, etc.

[robspeed]

with the lowest price you can find on the Internet. Different parts, different quality, different purchasing process, different warranty, different delivery time, etc.

Its helpful to think of independent service shops similarly to dealerships. where half the dealerships profits happen in the service lane, half the profits for the shop come from profit from the parts they sell along with their services. The shop itself keeps the profits from the parts, too, unlike the labor fees, which they split with the tech doing the work. Its part of their business, and if you dont like it, dont take your EASY to work on car to a shop! most shops FROWN on customers bringing in their own parts, because if there is a problem, then they dont necessarily know its your shoddy brought-in parts (even if they are OEM) or their labor that installed em. The shop-price for parts typically includes a warrantee (inc. labor!) on replacing them if they go bad. you can forget that bringing your own parts... im sure other shops do it differently, but thats just my experience limited as it is....