mechanics price sus

[mars]

Hi, i have a 2016 4door jk wrangler 2.8 tdi ..its been doing an chirping ticking sound, from under the bonnet on and off for months, so i took it to my mechanic.. He said it was the automatic belt tensioner, so he finally got the part in and i got it done today.. i have seen the tensioner on ebay and other places, some for $80 and some for $ 130 . can someone give me there opinion of this invoice please

[RLT]

Well you've made a saving compared to England, the GST is 1/2 price to what we pay

[Banshee]

English VAT is at 20%?

As per Farwest. Looks like a stealership price on the part.

For the record, I needed a clockspring on my '08 before the recall was announced, I got one from JeepsAreUs in the USA for $240 delivered, (the dollar was high at the time, just over parity).

Stealership wanted $1179 for one... part only, for pickup, when they got it in.

[Fishframe]

That invoice looks fair to me for a retail mechanic.

It would be hard for a mechanical business to stay profitable these days charging labour any less than that and parts would be in line with what I would expect.

On the other hand, if purchasing the parts myself before getting the mechanic to do the job, I know I could get the parts quite cheaper.

[humdingerslammer]

Mmmm....I assume that you are taking a bout the serpentine belt etc tensioner...

Anyway, I aint a mechanic by any means but I changed my own JKU 3.8L petrol auto tensioner in about 10 mins tops. Putting the belt back on took about 3 mins tops. I used youtube to find out how to do it. I think I bought the parts from Repco. Go figure. And it was all less than $100 from memory.

Checking Quadratec prices an autotensioner ranges from US$80 - 110, an idler pulley about US$50. So say A$225 plus say A$80 shipment Say $300 all up. Say 30 mins labour ($110) so $410 thereabouts at todays prices. The price for the serpentine belt is about right. I buy them from Repco and always have one as a spare.

I have a stack of spares that I have bought over the years from OS (Quadratec or Morris 4x4) and at much cheaper prices than here... especially from a dealership.Lately I have been buying from Rockauto... good range of the same items and good delivery turnaround time. Don't know what I will do with the spares when I sell on the JKU...it has turned out more reliable than I expected! Love it.

I don't know what stealerships charge as an hourly labour rate but last time I checked it was closed to $300 an hour. Makes sense not to deal with them.

[alexbrown64]

Looks fair to me.
If you broke it down into purely time to fit the parts, and actual cost of parts, then it seems high.
But, your not just paying for that.
He had to diagnose the problem.
He had to order the parts.
He used his expensive workshop and his knowledge to fit it all up, and guarantee his work.

This is why I, and a lot of guys on here do our own work. All the small and large maintenance jobs on any car add up. Get the FSM, get some tools, and have a crack at doing some of the work yourself.
If you read my WH thread, I’m about to do a rear diff rebuild. This would cost over a grand to do and a major hassle for me to drop/pick up car.
I just spent $100 on rebuild kit and $150 on tools. Have the FSM and watched a heap of tutorials.
I also have the JScan app. Man, for $30, that app has saved me millions haha..

Cheers,

[Fishframe]

Originally Posted by alexbrown64

Looks fair to me.
If you broke it down into purely time to fit the parts, and actual cost of parts, then it seems high.
But, your not just paying for that.
He had to diagnose the problem.
He had to order the parts.
He used his expensive workshop and his knowledge to fit it all up, and guarantee his work.

This is why I, and a lot of guys on here do our own work. All the small and large maintenance jobs on any car add up. Get the FSM, get some tools, and have a crack at doing some of the work yourself.
If you read my WH thread, I’m about to do a rear diff rebuild. This would cost over a grand to do and a major hassle for me to drop/pick up car.
I just spent $100 on rebuild kit and $150 on tools. Have the FSM and watched a heap of tutorials.
I also have the JScan app. Man, for $30, that app has saved me millions haha..

Cheers,

If I lived in Perth, you would be scoring heaps of beer (or whatever you drink / eat) to come around to my place to supervise my ‘repair projects’ !