Mustang Repair Costs

[Musse]

I just had my newly bought 2006 GT serviced at third party repair shop in Texas and feel I wasn't fairly charged for the job they performed. But maybe I just don't understand cost of repairing these yet properly... Anyhow the bill for the service / repair was 3500$ including following tasks:
- New serpentine belt (Part 68$ + 60$ labor)
- Spark plugs & coil boots change (Parts 290$ + labor 308$)
- Transmission oil change (Parts 260$ + labor 200$)
- Coolant change (Parts 50$ + labor 100$)
- Brake fluid change (labor 100$)
- Steering fluid change (parts 87$ + labor 100$)
- Intake runner actuator change (Parts 450$ + labor 431$)
- Rear axle oil change (Parts 106$ + labor 100$)
- Rear axle seal change (Parts 29$ + labor 185$)
- Fuel/air system service (Parts 86$ + labor 105$)
- Comprehensive vehicle inspection, labor 120$
+ 65$ supplies

Requested also engine oil and filters change but those were not done. Parts though were oem parts but I still think I got highest possible price possible for those? I Honestly found that I was taken advantage of here and said to repair place runner that I'll go to another shop to ask if I was charged fairly here. Then they gave 10% discount on all but it still does not sound right.

I Agreed to do the job on phone but the price I heard there was not near to this cost.

Opinions on whether these charges sound reasonable?

 

[stkjock]

what was the hourly rate? and hours per service charged.

bigger question is why were some of those services provided?

 

[MrAwesome987]

I'm not a mechanic by trade, so I'm not sure what the going acceptable rate for labor is these days, but in my opinion, you got screwed.

• Belt - $25 - RockAuto
• Spark Plugs - 8x$8 - RockAuto | Coil boots - $50 for all 8 - Amazon
• Transmission fluid - $50 for 5 qts - American Muscle | Transmission filter - $27 - LMR
• Coolant - $25 - any auto parts store
• Brake fluid - $15 - any auto parts store
• Power Steering fluid - $10 - any auto parts store
• Intake Actuator - $125 - RockAuto
• Differential Oil - $30 - any auto parts store
• Differential Seal Kit - $27 - RockAuto
• Fuel filter - $8 - RockAuto | Air filter - $10 - RockAuto | Cabin Air Filter - $12 - LMR
• WHAT IS THIS??
• What supplies were needed?

That list ^ just includes the parts, not the labor. Many of these parts likely did not need to be changed or serviced.

Edit: total cost of parts: $478 + shipping/tax. Total cost that you paid: $1711

 

[stkjock]

I get your point /\ however, you can't compare costs from an online retailer to shop pricing, shop has to make a mark up on parts as well.

 

[MrAwesome987]

Yeah I get that, but that's a big mark up lol

 

[Musse]

The content of work was pretty much what I requested and agreed as per recommendation of technician who seemed trustworthy. The hourly rate was 100-125$ per hour.

In labor I wonder did all of those operations really need to be performed job by job and was there really no chance to do some steps at same time? The guy at repair shop claimed that is not possible. Also 300$ (2-3h) for spark plugs? The service guy told it is very difficult task - when I brought the car to service they said it is easy and they know how to do it. I Have done similar all oils, fluids, filters, sparks changes to other cars and price has been completely different so I could not imagine to be charged for like 2 days of time at shop?

All in all the cherry of the cake for me was that I was charged for 3500$ and it didn't include engine oil change that I requested.

 

[nfrizell]

I have made my living for many years as an auto mechanic and later in my career an aircraft mechanic. Aside from the missing oil change, the prices seem fair. Shops have overhead. Somebody has to pay for it and the mechanic needs a living wage.

I now work as an electronics tech in a manufacturing facility. I changed careers because I was tired of accepting all the liability and reaping a small fraction of the reward.

As a side note, spark plug changes on modular fords have resulted in ruined engines. If your tech performed the feat without drama, the money was well worth it.

If you feel you are being taken advantage of, you always have the option of doing it yourself.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[eighty6gt]

Nothing at all unusual there, enjoy your reliable car.

 

[01yellerCobra]

The 06 uses the HT plugs. The cheapest one on Rock Auto is still $6/plug. That labor price is what I've seen for changing plugs in these cars. They cover it in case one of the plugs breaks. I think labor costs around here is $110/hr. It's never too late to learn to work on your car.

 

[Musse]

Thanks for your answers. I just wanted to know that I was not clearly ripped off. Sounds that labor in this case was reasonable and the questions were in parts prices. Eg. why intake manifold actuator was priced 25% over Ford Retail price and 3 times the internet price.

Lesson learned for me was to do all I can myself going forward and for remaining jobs to ask written quote until the job.

 

[LikeabossTM]

Thanks for your answers. I just wanted to know that I was not clearly ripped off. Sounds that labor in this case was reasonable and the questions were in parts prices. Eg. why intake manifold actuator was priced 25% over Ford Retail price and 3 times the internet price.

Lesson learned for me was to do all I can myself going forward and for remaining jobs to ask written quote until the job.

I would almost want to stop separating parts and labor costs on the estimate/invoice if I were a garage. Like going to a restaurant - here's the cost of the dish, yes we're marking up the cost of the chicken and paying cook and wait staff to deliver it to your plate cooked. You want to buy cheaper chicken at Costco, grill it yourself, clean up your own dishes, all using your own equipment, go nuts.

I don't want to pay above what's considered average, of course...

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Where in Texas? Someone took advantage of you. Shops normally mark up parts x 1.5

 

[07 Boss]

And you have to remember that all shops use a standard set of books to compute labor hours. And yes many jobs overlap but they must charge the book value for each job. Industry standard. ie. Changing axle seals requires you to empty and refill the rear end but they charge the labor anyways, twice. Just the way it's done.

You should learn how to do this basic maintenance stuff yourself. I mean this is all pretty simple stuff except for maybe the spark plug change and the tranny flush. I'm assuming they flushed and not just swapped the fluid. I've never had an issue with my plugs but many have and it can be a nightmare. But everything else is stuff that can be easily handles with a few basic hand tools, it's not a rocket.

 

[Musse]

It was in The Woodlands. Apparently when doing now oil change in another place I found that neither engine air filter and fuel filter were changed at the service. Looking the receipt more accurately there indeed hasn't been charge for those filters neither but the BG fuel/air service at cost of 86+105$. Hopefully that is money well spent.

That industry standard here of charging each job separately like they would be done one-by-one was a surprise for me. I'm from Finland and there standard is to charge for amount of hours the car is worked on total and bundling is encouraged. Now I ended up also paying about same cost for materials like they do in Europe from shelf - maybe I got special pricing for my background

Anyhow, I'm at the point now that I just want to forget this whole service job and focus on driving. The car at least runs just as well as until the service (Actuator happened to give fault code just when at the service).

 

[MrAwesome987]

That industry standard here of charging each job separately like they would be done one-by-one was a surprise for me.

That's not the case in all parts of the country, or at least not where I'm at. Some of those jobs would have absolutely been grouped together/not charged for twice.

 

[07 Boss]

That may be so but wherever I have gone most use either Mitchell, Chiltons or AllData to calculate labor. They are used to protect the business and insure a profit and also to protect the consumer from being over charged. The reasoning is that if you take your car to any shop they should quote you the same time for a particular repair as any other.

 

[Sky Render]

I don't know the labor cost in your area, but for the DC/Baltimore area, that looks reasonable.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Most shops i have worked with bundle things. If they dont they are just ripping off the customer.

 

[Unexplodedcow]

I've worked in shops before, as well as done side jobs on my own, and I've only seen one that treated every job separately. Everywhere else, including me, bundled the hours into total hours worked, and could provide a breakdown of sub-jobs if requested.

The part markup makes me cringe, as a shop receives "jobber" prices, which are 60-70% of retail from what I've personally seen, so going above retail pricing is sketchy, if not outright dishonest. I understand cost overhead and running a shop, but that is why the cost of labor is so high? Mechanics I know are still making in the 20-30 an hour range, which is what I was making the last time I worked in a shop 15+ years ago, so wages haven't increased, and shops were charging around 60-80 when I worked. $100+ an hour? Yeah, it's a ripoff. Find a good, honest guy with the experience and tools, and you'll save a whole lot.

 

[travelers]

I've worked in shops before, as well as done side jobs on my own, and I've only seen one that treated every job separately. Everywhere else, including me, bundled the hours into total hours worked, and could provide a breakdown of sub-jobs if requested.

The part markup makes me cringe, as a shop receives "jobber" prices, which are 60-70% of retail from what I've personally seen, so going above retail pricing is sketchy, if not outright dishonest. I understand cost overhead and running a shop, but that is why the cost of labor is so high? Mechanics I know are still making in the 20-30 an hour range, which is what I was making the last time I worked in a shop 15+ years ago, so wages haven't increased, and shops were charging around 60-80 when I worked. $100+ an hour? Yeah, it's a ripoff. Find a good, honest guy with the experience and tools, and you'll save a whole lot.

That's true, most everyone bundles there work not to loose good customers.