Hi All,
Had a small power steering leak the other week. Noticed it in puddles and fluid was almost empty. Check all fluids frequently too. Took it to my usual mechanic who does great work and they said it was leaking hoses. They were rusted and cracked. Which I believe with the salt around NJ. They did not replace the pump itself. All steering hoses and hardware.
In the invoice it said they removed the fender and battery tray. And re assembled with all now hardware. I was just shocked when I received the bill at 1600 dollars. Does that sound fair???? Please Help.

 

Nope.

 

Parts totalled 500 dollars maybe. So 1100 labor seemed steep. 10 hours labor.

 

I just replaced one of the high pressure hoses. It was $95 and I didn't remove anything but the hose, took 20 mins. My guess is the other one can be done with similar effort.

What parts added up to $500?

 

uhh, no that sounds rediculous.

 

welcome to the 7.3 side of FTE.
not wanting to second guess your tech, but it seems a little much. but then again how badly were things rusted? pulling the battery will give you some extra room, but its not necessary to pull the fender to swap out hoses. UNLESS, mind you, things are corroded so bad the tech is fighting just to get the wrench to hold. alot of us have done it in our driveways, shoot i did mine in the dark at an RV park at 2 below!
stick around, if you want to, we can help you through any repair you want to tackle.
might even be somebody close by that will swing by and help!

Barney

 

Yep, that sounds a bit much.. Labor costs are high these days, but it should not have taken over a hour or so normally... (dealer here in the seattle area charge $132 per hour)

 

I don't even think the stealer dealer would charge you the much to replace the pump and hoses and the're high. He has to quote you a repair that reaches that high. Did you pay? I would of had a word. If he could convince me of the cost step by step I would pay but other wise its in your court.

 

And the fact that the only thing replaced was the lines, is bothering me.

 

Way too much $$$. I have replaced my power steering pump and high pressure line, 3 hours max in my driveway. I would say another 15 minutes once I was in there to replace the last two lines. Look up the Mitchell labor times on that job to figure out the flat rate repair time...that's what you should be charged for.