Hello folks: I was just hoping to get some idea if I paid a reasonable price or got totally hosed on my recent vacuum pump R & R.
It's a 2003 E-350 Superduty (7.3). My total bill was $307.
That was about $118 for the pump & the rest for labor & tax's.
I ask Because....The shop gave me the quoted price and I asked how much the pump was. Then I said so I guess it's about 2 hours labor? Not really having my (math hat on). Sitting here tonight with my caculator I see that is about $90 an hour labor. Does this sound like typical diesel mechanic rate?
Further I ask because I was a bit pissed when it only took the mechanic 45 minutes to do the entire job but they still charger me the full 2 hour price. I didn't have much choice as I am no longer able to do this work myself because of health problems but I felt a bit ripped off. I even mentioned to the girl billing me out that "you realize it took him 45 minuts & not 2 hours to do this job right" She responded with "Well there was yesterday too".
I had drove the vehicle in there and basically INFORMED the mechanic "I'm pretty sure my vacuum pump is shot". "It's making a knocking sound that I never heard from it before & I am only getting one vacuum assisted brake pedal push before the pedal goes hard".
What I am saying here is they really didn't have to do any big diagnosis here to figure out the issue. I drove in an told them. I'm not a complete idiot. So I ammore than willing to allow them 15 minutes for "yesterday" Even though it was determined in 3 minutes that I needed a new pump. So I am cool with them charging an hour labor.
Even at $100 an hour! That's still only $218.
Does it sound to any of you like this shop really screwed me or does this just seem like normal business in the diesel mechanic world.?
P.S. Were talking 3 bolts R&R for the pump and just loosening the serpentine belt. I even removed the intake (airfilter box) for him as I didn't want it thrown around and broken or dislodging a bunch of crap that would find it's way into the turbo. I also looked up pumps on-line and see they can be had for $75 to $90 So I'm not all that concerned about the pump price because by time you add shipping to the deal ,
$118 is not all that unreasonable , right? Of course it's a Re manufactured pump. Not sure if you can get them new OEM or why you would pay the money for a new one. ANY THOUGHTS APPRECIATED.
Forgive me for the long post. Just trying to include all details. DDT

 

Well, do you want empathy or reality?

I feel for anyone that has no choice but to pay. But I charge $90 an hour for what I do too. If he spent money on parts you bet he marked it up. He's got to cover his overhead.

Reality is I bet you did ok. And, problem solved right?

And you have a choice to return or not in the future.

 

If you got a good job out of it with a quality part, maybe, just maybe you paid a little too much.

There are threads where someone has gone cheap and has a dead dog for a transmission, or a howler rear axle, or a ruined motor.

Better to pay too much for a good job than too little and end up in worse shape than when you drove in.....

 

I've done my V pump on my own 2003 E350 7.3 its a knuckle buster .

when there is a customer looking over your shoulder it always takes longer .

when you have a customer that seems like they should be doing the job themselves because they know everything , it becomes time and material . quote means nothing.

if you are willing to wait for delivery from an online part source and supply the part to your mechanic then you would have a cheaper job. but if your part is junk , you pay again,again, again........................

I think you did well and you have a very patient mechanic. I'm an afternoon foreman in a truck garage and I dread customers who pick everything apart we do. mechanics remember

if this garage doesn't turn your next job down or quote high enough to lose the job , buy them a round of coffee. you will be amazed how far something like that will go from a customer who they really don't want to deal with.

good luck with your van, mine just rolled 533,000 km and still strong.

 

Is this vehicle a recent purchase? $317 is just foreplay for a diesel vehicle. Wait until you need something more comprehensive done and then you'll feel "screwed". We've got quite a few diesel vehicles at work and rarely is a repair bill under $1000. My boss just spent close to $5,000 to get some stuff repaired on a 97 F350 with over 300k miles. The darn truck isn't even worth $5,000.

 

Did the final bill come in at or under the quote you approved before the work was done?
If so, no, you weren't screwed.

I hate it when I have to pay somebody to work on one of my cars because I know they need to make $$ and it's hard for me to let go. I expect to pay 2x for parts vs what I could pay online and at least $75/hour labor. That doesn't make me happy about it.

 

You mentioned the shop charged you 2 hours for labor even though it took the tech 45 minutes to do the job. That's pretty common practice. It's called "flag time." A good technician can get done things a lot more quickly than the flag time rate.

 

no.
it's called book time

 

Ahhh... ok. Maybe I was wrong.

 

I kind of agree too, as long as it was within the bounds of the accepted quote, it's fair play. Sure maybe they could have cut you a break, but their business model is structured for them to make a profit of course. That's business. And as said, if it irks you enough you do at least have the option of another facility in the future.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I don't feel so bad now about the amount I paid. Guess I just needed a reality check. For the record.....I did not stand over the mechanics shoulder when he was working. Neither did I say or act like I know everything OR more than they did. But it would be a bit foolish not to point out the issue and the noise and the part it was coming from don't you think? Furthermore, it has been my experience that there are many so called professionals in MANY varying fields with certificates hanging on the wall and in business that I would not let change a baby's diaper after seeing their work quality/ethics and all around competence (or incompetence). Frankly that's why I am here asking what the opinion of a large majority of people think (about the price). In this case the work preformed by the mechanic was (in my limited opinion) done in a workman & professional capacity. I have NO issue with the guy that did the work. And after hearing the thoughts of most of you I also (as mentioned above) feel O.K. about the price as well.
Guess I am going to have to get use to spending the big bucks for any work I cannot do on this rig. Again, I asked about the price only because I have seen & heard of so many people being "ripped off" on so many projects they hired out for. Also, this was not a Ford dealership. So at least I started off right! Now I can feel I didn't do to bad on price either. Thanks again for all the replies and opinions. I will be able to let this dog sleep now. DDT

 

I got a quote for nearly $900 for replacing front wheel bearings. That's when you know you're getting ripped off. The guy told me they have to remove the spindles to do it...

 

must have been gold plated unobtanium

 

My dad taught me long ago, that just because someone does something for a living, it doesn't mean they do it right. I do most of all my mechanical work, but my boss has been burnt bad by some bad mechanics. Unfortunately, when a truck breaks down 1,000 miles from the office, you hope the shop you bring it to knows what they are doing, but that hasn't always been the case.

 

takes us 5 yrs of work/trade school to get a mechanics licence in Ontario, i was doing everything as a first year apprentice because I could! but I grew up on a farm where if it was broken you fixed it no matter what, I quit autoshop in highschool because it was a joke!

I didn't plan on being a mechanic, i went to Ag college and found out how little I was going to make for how much I had to put in............ so off to trade school I went.

There are a lot of shady mechanics, my workplace has at least one>not on my watch or they wouldn't be employed.

** but good work ethics and skills don't come around much in this trade anymore , so boost up the honest shops and mechanics, don't **** on them **

its not an easy trade to work in until 65 , almost impossible ! 2 mechanics retire pre 65 for 1 starting trade school = extinction?

shame on the shady garages and or mechanics

carry on and godspeed to the good ones you are keeping the world rolling SAFELY