Sportznuts

I just got a power steering pump installed. I already gave him $540 for parts/labor - $340 for pump/hoses and $200 for labor on just the pump itself. He usually cuts me a great deal on labor, usually $40 an hour as opposed to $100/hr.

It took him extra time because he said the serpentine belt was worn, he told me the belt was $100. The labor he charged me for installing the hoses/belt/solenoid clean was $150 which is reasonable. $250 extra.

It's the $100 belt price that shocked me a little. So I called Kragens, their price was $39.99.

Then I called Lexus. Only $52.

I realize there is a markup for parts from mechanics so I wouldn't make a deal out of it if he charged me $60 or $70, but a 100% markup is a ripoff.

So as of now, I owe him $250 more. It's pretty frustrating as I'm sure EVERYBODY has been ripped off at some point from a mechanic.

I guess it's time to find a new mechanic.

NJ240sxMan

And that...is exactly why I do the labor or I get some friends who are technicians to help out.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Doesn't sound like a friend. Is this someone you usually hang with after-hours?

You can tell him how you felt about the price and see what he says. Otherwise, I'd probably take it as a lesson learned and not have him work on my car.

Whenever I've done stuff for friends, I get what is necessary for supplies and they being courteous may take me out for a dinner or a little extra $$ for my time. I haven't asked for an hourly rate or my usual going rate. If I can't help my buddies, I'm not a good friend to begin with. So long as they do not take advantage of me.

omarg

Overcharging a friend isn't very friendly. Sorry about that man. I don't trust anyone to do anything on my car. 80-100 dollars an hour is just too expensive. I remember paying 900+ dollars to get all the motor mounts changed on my mom's 97 Mazda Millenia S. Then i get the car back and somehow theres a pretty bad vaccum leak. I tell them the car wasn't running this bad before they shrug it off because I'm young. Then i tell them to fix it for me 200 more! just to change a little T connector. If i had the know how back then i would have taken a weekend and done all the work myself. I would've saved my mom 800 and been proud of myself.

I hate to sound like my dad, but nobody who you do business with is trustworthy. Everybody's out to get as much money as they can. I trust mechanics the least. They have a well deserved bad reputation.

I'm not knockin our member mechanics but I've just had too many bad experiences with every kind of mechanic. Dealer, Indie, franchise (pep boys, precision tune).

Maybe one day when i have alot more money and alot less free time i'll go to a mechanic. But right now I can only afford to trust myself.

JPI Racing

Seem like he charged you for the labor on top of the part. We both know that the drive need to remove when replacing the p/s pump.
JPI

Sportznuts

That's what I don't understand. He said it took 1 hour to replace the belt.

How long does it really take?

I mean, doesn't he have to take the belt off anyway if he's replacing the p/s pump?

Sportznuts

Not somebody I hang out with, just somebody I come across and I have talked to the last few years. I guess at this point, "friend" is a strong word. I know it's all about the money, I'm not naive, it's just when you think you found somebody who you think is more trustworthy than the next guy and then they disappoint you, it's frustrating.

Maybe I should take a shop class at the J.C. to learn how to fix some of the easier things in my car atleast ie. brakes, oil changes, fluid flushes to atleast take some of the financial burden off from when I have to get hardcore repairs done.

Thanks for all your input.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

A life lesson learned through the school of hard knocks. Been there and it's ongoing. With CL, you have a wealth of info for the asking and archives to reference. Many of us here have saved lots of $$ through the tutorials generously assembled by members.

Where in CA are you? While trust in shops varies...for certain things, we can suggested places to take the car to. See also the So Cal or Nor Cal sections:

So Cal:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/for...s=&forumid=149

Nor cal:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/northern-california-lexus-club-138/

jasonm

iTrader: (5)

I bought a serpentine belt at pep boys for $39.99 and put it in myself. It is not a major job. It took me about thirty minutes and it was my first time. I went to www.lexls.com for the tutorial. I probably can do it in about 15 minutes now that I know how to do it. My mechanic would have charged $40 for the labor. Your "friend" made $60 for about 15 minutes of work. That's like $240 per hour. Just try to do the simple things when you can.

LS400_Fan

Whenever i did "side work" as a mechanic i always told my customers there was a minimum of 1 hour labor on ALL repairs.

Sounds like he is doing the same, however if he didn't disclose this to you then you shouldn't have to pay for it.

avalon42

iTrader: (1)

I'd call him out on it. I'd ask him the name, brand and price he paid for that item. Sounds like this guy ain't being straight with you, which would **** me off. I used to go to a mechanic that was acting "suspicious". He would always inform me that whatever was broken along the way needed to be repaired, I always demanded to see the original part (which is your right under California State Law).

Eventually, over time I figured out how to do most things myself (and will read a book if I had to). That's why I really appreciated sites like this forum, lexls.com, and even lextreme.com.

I just put in a Goodyear Gatorback serpentine belt (36.99 Autozone) in like less than 10 minutes.

Check your invoice, by CA law he has to provide one to you, itemizing all the items he replaced and the labor charge/time for each operation. Of course, he could throw the book at you because labor ain't cheap. And he can markup as much as he wants in parts. I'd be checking his Bureau of Automotive Repair records for complaints, as well as the BBB.

Sportznuts

The latest. I asked my mechanic why he charged me so much for the belt and he fed me a bunch of b.s. - He said he only buys the best parts. I asked him why not get the Lexus belt for $52 and he said dealer parts aren't very good. He said the ac delco belt was $100 his cost because it was ribbed. Since I'm not a car guy, I had to go home, research on the internet that most serpentine belts are ribbed. I also found that same belt on ebay for $23 + $7 shipping. I told him that I got ripped off, and he said with a smile..........no joke....."c'mon, you know I always take care of you"

I have to say, this is the most motivation I've ever had to go out and learn how to fix my car on my own.

To that end, I'm glad it happened.

avalon42

iTrader: (1)

Good for you, that seems to be the jist of life, to teach us lessons in the MOST expensive ways.

BTW, isn't AC Delco a GM company (or makes a lotta parts for GMs)? How is that better than stock? That bastard.

Sportznuts

Yep, that bastard will never get my business ever again.

lorenzo816

I've got to look that up in NC.

My experiences with my LS have been pretty good except one. (usually stuff I can't do because of the time or special tools)

If you pay with a credit card you can pull back the charge for unsatisfactory service. And try and settle it that way.

Also - the labor alone should make you want to fix your own ride from now on.