How much would you pay this mechanic?

[SR5Runner97]

I've got a guy who works off the clock for my family. I'm getting a lot of work done from him in the upcoming weeks. He quoted me $750 for labor and i supply the parts. The work i'm having him do is...
LBJ, UBJ, Outer tie rod ends, inner tie rod ends, steering rack bushings, sway bar bushings.
I'm just curious how many hours one would assume this will take for a certified mechanic?
Thanks in advance.

 

[MN4runnerman]

I've got a guy who works off the clock for my family. I'm getting a lot of work done from him in the upcoming weeks. He quoted me $750 for labor and i supply the parts. The work i'm having him do is...
LBJ, UBJ, Outer tie rod ends, inner tie rod ends, steering rack bushings, sway bar bushings.
I'm just curious how many hours one would assume this will take for a certified mechanic?
Thanks in advance.

I was in the same situation this past summer. Had all the parts replaced that you listed. Give me a bit and I'll look up the receipt for the work and see what number I have.

Edit: ok so I had everything you listed replaced plus the timing belt and water pump and some brake shoes. the parts were a mix of oem and after market and cost around $700 total and his labor rate is $100/hr and the labor came out to about $930 so about $1650 total but I also gave him a 2000 Toyota Camry with a blown engine that I was gonna fix which he gave me $400 on credit for so I paid about $1250. If I hadn't torn my Achilles' tendon earlier in the summer I would've done all this work but I spent more than half in a hard cast then the rest in the boot and I'm still going through physical therapy. Moral of the story don't get injured hope this helps.

 

[amalik]

Hi. The ubj need to pressed out from my understanding.... so that's a tough job, he'll probably take it to a shop he uses if he doesn't have a press himself. Honestly, for the parts you listed if you go OEM you are already spending a few hundred dollars. Especially if you get OEM ITRE, they are very expensive for some odd reason. I went aftermarket (duralast) on that part when I did my LBJ and tie rod ends. Be sure you get OEM LBJ set and bolts no matter what! Even if the rest of what you mentioned is aftermarket... do not skimp on oem lbj or you'll be sorry.

Anyway, his labor is too high imo, in fact... I think you'll get a similar quote from a shop, and if you do.. then know that this guy is not giving you any kind of family friend deal or whatever the hell.

My most practical advice.. Call a local Toyota shop in your area and price it out for comparison. If what I say is true, you should talk him down. You are well over 1k in parts and labor with his price. What's the use of paying shop prices to an individual with a warranty that depends on him alone (if he even gives you a warranty) as opposed to a brick and mortar shop.

My history with relying on people vs a company (in any industry) is pretty terrible, so excuse my biased opinion.

 

[calimobber]

Idk about the cost but honestly you can do most that work pretty easy. LBJ took me maybe 3hrs with mess ups. only tool I needed was a puller $16 shipped.

http://www.amazon.com/OEMTools-2702...4815901&sr=1-19&keywords=ball+joint+separator

By a mechanics cost at $100hr thats $270 right there

 

[SR5Runner97]

Thanks for the help, i did think that might of been a little high. I do know what to get OEM and what can be aftermarket thanks for that though. I think the best way is just call some toyota shops and get labor quotes and talk him down. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[calimobber]

Thanks for the help, i did think that might of been a little high. I do know what to get OEM and what can be aftermarket thanks for that though. I think the best way is just call some toyota shops and get labor quotes and talk him down. Thanks for the help everyone.

I highly doubt any toyota shops will beat that price but you never know. Good luck.

 

[Ryderblackbird]

What does book say hour wise for all these jobs added up? If you dont want to or cannot do it yourself then go to someone who does it for a living. I am a mechanic, not on street cars but race cars. People will always tell you that you can get something done cheaper elsewhere. Is this your only means of transport? Get it done right. People have no problem paying doctors to fix them up but always want to haggle and "get a deal" for other services be it a plumber, electrician, painter etc. Sure I help my friends out now and then for no charge but always tell them find a great mechanic and go there. Most of these guys/gals work hard for their business and do a good job. Shops are expensive to own and run trust me I have looked into it and have done this long enough to know what it takes. I have friends thats are dentists and lawyers and doctors and accountants, I dont ask for a deal I want the best work. They get in touch with me and say hey my 2xxx mercedes whatever has a problem what should I do? Take it to the best shop you can find, pay for the service you can afford and be done with it. Yes its a rant and there are plenty of half rate shops and mechanics out there but the same applies to every other trade/skill/job. Do it once and do it right.

 

[KidVermicious]

^ X2 In my experience, if you try and haggle a professional mechanic you get shitty mechanicin'. He's charging you what he thinks his time is worth, and even if you're successful in beating him down in price, he's likely to cut corners to make up for lost income.

First off, do that work yourself, it's easy stuff. If not, find a mechanic you like and pay his asking rate. If you like the work your family friend does, nut up and pay him.

 

[Yoter]

A skilled mechanic should be able to do the proposed work in around 3-4 hours and an average, grew up wrenching on cars, type guy should be able to get it done in a single day.
I would be surprised if there isn't anyone on the forum who needs some money for a lift or mod of some sort who would be happy to do it for less! I think 750 is high for that work (that is closer to what I would expect to pay at a shop) , Its all plug and play stuff that is rather easy to do and takes little skill.

 

[Yoter]

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[Yoter]

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[Kevlar]

^ X2 In my experience, if you try and haggle a professional mechanic you get shitty mechanicin'. He's charging you what he thinks his time is worth, and even if you're successful in beating him down in price, he's likely to cut corners to make up for lost income.

First off, do that work yourself, it's easy stuff. If not, find a mechanic you like and pay his asking rate. If you like the work your family friend does, nut up and pay him.

Took the words right out of my mouth. If you don't agree with a labor quote, just get another somewhere else. You will get a half ass job. If he thinks a good job is worth 750 and you say 600, he will give you below his best

 

[suppra87]

I've got a guy who works off the clock for my family. I'm getting a lot of work done from him in the upcoming weeks. He quoted me $750 for labor and i supply the parts. The work i'm having him do is...
LBJ, UBJ, Outer tie rod ends, inner tie rod ends, steering rack bushings, sway bar bushings.
I'm just curious how many hours one would assume this will take for a certified mechanic?
Thanks in advance.

Sounds to me like a good deal you are getting. Where I work, we charge $108.50/hr for labor. If I were writing up the job, here is how I would bill.

LBJ: 1.5/both
UBJ: 2.5/both
Inner/Outter Tie Rods: 1.5/both
Rack Bushings: 1
Sway Bay Bushing: .5
Total: 7hr @ $108.50= $759.50

Now, If I was selling that job and the customer bought all of it, I may knock an hour off becasue there is some overlapping labor between jobs.

If this was a side job then I charge $50/hour for my labor outside of work so labor would be $350.

Great labor at a great price is very hard to come by these days. Sounds like you are getting a decent deal.

EDIT: I misread "off the clock", that sounds like on the clock pricing.

 

[amalik]

If this was a side job then I charge $50/hour for my labor outside of work so labor would be $350.

You just made my post above crystal clear.

He is charging shop prices for side work. It should be half.

[MENTION=82289]Yoter[/MENTION] [MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION]

I respect your guys' posts, but I'm sure if OP wanted to do the work, this thread wouldn't exist

There is a segment of the population who frequent here who *dont* wrench

 

[suppra87]

You just made my post above crystal clear.

He is charging shop prices for side work. It should be half.

Agreed. To be fair, there could be extenuating circumstances that would call for higher labor pricing. Rust for instance or maybe the mechanic looked at the truck and said, "this is a mess, someone did this before, the wrong way, and now I have to clean up and do it correctly."

If that is not the case then I would say your are being charged shop rates for side work. Remember, when you pay shop rates, at a shop, you are also paying for the shop to assume responsibility for all work completed. That another reason shops charge more for their parts. A "Good" shop should warranty all Parts and Labor for a certain period. My shop is 12moths/12k miles Parts and Labor.

Side work generally doesn't come with a warranty but it all depends on the situation at hand of course.

 

[Freyer]

I am lucky enough to have found a mechanic that I trust to help me out with job's I don't have the knowledge (or more commonly the tools) to do on my own. He sometimes charges me a little higher than I expect and sometimes doesn't charge me at all. We are on very friendly terms because I direct all of my friends and co-workers to him, as he honestly is the most skilled and straightforward mechanic I have come into contact with after 17 years of driving vehicles. My point is...a good/honest mechanic is hard to come by. Some jobs may cost an independent a little more because they don't have the economies of scale of a large shop, so it may "cost" them a little more than larger shops...I happily pay to keep an honest person that I can trust in business (most of the time I hang out and help so I get to see all the work too). In the past I have tried to save by going to a cheaper mechanic and it cost me with lost time getting the work done again, and frustration.

 

[giguchan]

The OP's prices don't seem too bad.

I used to find that going to a private shop and going to the dealer was a big difference in price. I am not sure of when all of this changed but I find out when I spec out a job the private shop is normally within $100-150 of the dealer price- plus they will shuttle me back home or even take me to work.

I made the mistake of asking my private shop that.. not his fault he's small. I normally don't like to Haggle the small guy either... I do give him business when I can.

 

[etc.]

The OP's prices don't seem too bad.

I used to find that going to a private shop and going to the dealer was a big difference in price. I am not sure of when all of this changed but I find out when I spec out a job the private shop is normally within $100-150 of the dealer price- plus they will shuttle me back home or even take me to work.

I made the mistake of asking my private shop that.. not his fault he's small. I normally don't like to Haggle the small guy either... I do give him business when I can.

It took me 2 days to do the upper and lower ball joints and inner and outer tie rods. I encountered some issues with the proposed removal and installation in the how to thread. Once over these obstacles, I finished the other side and tie rods in about 6 hours. A lot of time was burned with pressing ball joints, breaking bolts loose, tightening said bolts and getting a feel for the job to do it right...I checked, rechecked, rerechecked, then rechecked my rerecheck.

The guy I used to go to quoted me ~$600 just for balljoints and tie rods install. And I paid $120 for my steering rack bushings.

 

[giguchan]

Sounds like you were pretty through in your job... glad you got it done safely and efficiently.