Help with leaking radiator.
Drove 6 hours from Philadelphia Pa to Boston Ma.
While in Boston radiator suffered a major leak.
I was forced to leave it at a Ford dealership even though I didn't want to.
It It was a Sunday and nothing else would answer the phone. Had to get to work early the next morning.
Three days 3 days later and quoted $1700 to completely re place the radiator and new coolant.
I I won't be able to get up there for another 2 weeks.
My My question is is this reasonable because it will cost me another $500 to lose A-day's Pay and I can't afford that right now.
I Any suggestions would be much appreciated it is located in Stoneham Ma at Stoneham Ford.
It's to It's too damp cold for me to go up there and spend the day on the street trying to fix her radiator.
I need I need suggestions or help would be much appreciated as I have to let them know not to do the job. Right now I told them to go ahead but they probly won't get to it till Friday.

 

Price out the radiator, then compare Fords price and ask for a price match, then haggle on Labor etc. I ALWAYS haggle… $1700 is ridiculous IMO. Since you THINK you have a week call other shops.

 

You can replace the radiator your self in about 30 minutes with basic tools. 1700 is pretty high.

 

NAPA has a good quality one at a great price. I have had it for a long time.

 

That's a bad price. I would start looking for a good independent diesel shop and I would put a Mishimoto in there if I am spending money to replace it anyway. It is not that big of deal to replace. Biggest pain in the butt is getting the fan and fan shroud off and back on. I would also replace the upper and lower rad hoses while at it

 

For about $300 and a few hand tools you can do it yourself. Find a parts store near the dealer and do it in the parking lot. $1700 for a radiator and coolant is asinine. Sorry

 

Screw it, I'm going up after Thanksgiving and putting it in myself. I won't loose a days work that way and should cost me only $ 450 and my time. Another $ 150 for a friend to drive me up and whatever dinner costs for their trouble.

 

As hard as it is to believe it is cheaper for us to take off work, buy the tools to do the job and do the job than it is to pay to have it done by 'professionals', who may screw it up worse than us.

 

Your right on that. Seems it's harder and harder to find a good mechanic anymore.

 

It's not hard to believe at all. I'm sorry that whoever worked on your vehicle screwed it up, but thats not the goal.
If you are capable of doing the repair yourself, you would have to have a very high wage to choose having someone else doing it for financial reasons instead of doing it yourself.

I pay my technicians $25-35/hr. Thats $33-50/hr loaded cost after benifits.
Building is $4000/mo, about $10/hr /tech
I pay about $1000/mo for shop management/diagnostic subscribtions/scantool software updates.
at least $1000/mo for utilities
$600/mo for uniforms & Cleaning, Rags, carpets, Soap, Gloves, Paper Towels
$500/mo for random shop supplies
$10,000-$20,000/yr for building & Equipment maintenance and repair (closer to $30k this year)
$2000/yr for yard maintenance
$3500/yr Snow Clearing
$50k/yr service Advisor
This list is lacking.... I pay alot more than this.

My Shop rate is $100/hr
Calculators that tell you how much you should charge based upon expenses say we should be charging $180-200/hr
My Shop grosses $700-800k/yr. (avg 10 cars/day, 2000 cars/year)
The shop nets about $50k/yr. If my math is correct that is 14% profit.

Commercial retail goal is 50% profit. Higher for lower cost items.

 

Just Curious... how much was the last annual on your cessna? I've been flying since I could tie my shoes. Got my private and float rating about 1990, got my A&P in 1998. Worked on Multi Engine Turbine Helicopters until 2015 when I bought my very own auto repair shop. Haven't touched an aircraft since but I kinda miss it.

 

Oooh, do you have fantasies of wedging a T800 into the truck?

 

And I didn't see anything about taxes, licenses, permits, and all the other ways the govment helps you out. No doubt running a legit business is not easy.

How much does the book say a radiator replacement on one of our trucks should be? Can't believe for a second that it should be any where near $1700.

 

I understand the unseen costs of running a shop though I won't claim to know what they all are, you have a good list there. I haven't had a garage take me for years now personally but I do see what others go through and wince when I read about it. The OP's radiator job is one good example of it. Others have been told that expensive parts that rarely wear out have passed away and have them replaced at high costs to no avail.
Last year was just over $1400 but that included installing my Sky Beacon ADS-B out. The average is around $1100 and one year was under $1000 a few years ago. I don't fly much so I'm not wearing too many parts out. I do need to get up more.

 

Back on topic. Do you know where the radiator was leaking from? The radiators in these trucks have plastic end tanks with a large rubber o-ring gasket that are sealed to the aluminum core. The typical leak is the tank on the drivers side given that's where we tend to put our knee when we work on these power plants. The stock radiator can be rebuilt and/or patched. Given you stated a major leak, I am thinking the seal between the tank and core is probably compromised...but just fwi, if a crack in the plastic you can weld it back up with a soldering iron to get it back home.

Our Excursion developed a leak years ago and I replaced it...along with the one in the F350...with an all aluminum unit. So no more worries about those seals as this is a one piece unit. Not sure what the local parts store charges for the oem replacement, but these all aluminum units can be had off the interweb for about $200 from what I remember. Since you are replacing the radiator you might go ahead and also replace the upper and lower hoses while you're at it. For the upper hose, get the one for the dual alternators as it goes around the serpentine belt instead of through it such that you don't have to remove the hose to change the belt.