Quotes for work seem high ...

[LIRS6]

Have been quoted as fllws by NYC area indy - (labor only)

Front sway bar: $140

Rear sway bar (drop exhaust): $270

Replace front brake pads: $90

Replace rear brake pads: $90

Replace front brake rotors/pads(includes the $90 above): $230

Repalce rear brake rotors/pads(includes the $90 above):$180


The sways in particular seem very high - $410 for installation of both!

Any comments/guidance from your own experiences would be appreciated

[snoopra]

Yeah, seems a bit high. I did it myself.

[GEN XER]

What you do is go to the young parts guy. Get him one on one and ask him if he knows anyone who does work on the side. 9 out of 10 times his buddy in the back will do all that work for half those prices and you now have a Audi Tech to work on your car instead of paying the stealership. Thats how I do it.

[DHall1]

I can actually add support for this method. It may be the reason why so many master techs go out and open their own shops. It gets old working for the man and all of that pressure to turn 80hrs per week just to make a living while the dealer is banking 80% of the profits.




What you do is go to the young parts guy. Get him one on one and ask him if he knows anyone who does work on the side. 9 out of 10 times his buddy in the back will do all that work for half those prices and you now have a Audi Tech to work on your car instead of paying the stealership. Thats how I do it.

[GEN XER]

The guy who works on my VW is in that situation. He is the best Tech in the place, he works his butt off and the owner of the shop makes all the money. I tell him all the time to just walk away and do his own thing but some people just cant do it, and I understand the fear. He owns his own company http://www.sms-performance.com/ and he does pretty good, but the shop provides healthcare and dental and such. I hate peolple being held hostage to a job because of benefits dont you? In the end I would rather pay him than pay the shop owner.

[DHall1]

Its no different than say a NFL player. Sure we see some of the big money players doing good.

BUT Have you noticed the new trend of more and more rookies.

Salary cap rookies making say 240k per year with a 2 or 3yr lifespan in the sport. Thats if they dont get injured the first year.

Same thing. The man up in the suite is collecting all the money and we are paying for the new stadiums while the bulk of the players make 240k for a year or two and end up on the outside looking in because thier bodies are shot.

Sorry to rant. Mechanics have a short life span as well and its a young mans arena. Young ones can crank out 80hr/week production and the dealers can cash that check.

In my opinion, mechanics need 80% and dealers need 20%. Then the overall cost comes down and the inflated work quotes come down to reality as well. I am sorry, but when that punk of a service writer told me what I "had" to do at 26,000 miles and the fact that they would charge me 13hrs of labor 140/hr just to do the timing belt. I just about snapped. For one thing, none of that needs done at 26k as proven by my official Audi service schedule and 13hrs of labor is hwy robbery. FU to the man. I will do it myself when the time comes.

Service writers add no value to the project. Please tell me why these guys need to make 100k/yr
Dealer overhead adds no value to the project.
Mechanic is the only one that adds value.

BCBS adds no value to the project.
Hospital overhead does add some value to the project.
Surgeon adds all the value to the project. Period.


The guy who works on my VW is in that situation. He is the best Tech in the place, he works his butt off and the owner of the shop makes all the money. I tell him all the time to just walk away and do his own thing but some people just cant do it, and I understand the fear. He owns his own company http://www.sms-performance.com/ and he does pretty good, but the shop provides healthcare and dental and such. I hate peolple being held hostage to a job because of benefits dont you? In the end I would rather pay him than pay the shop owner.

[GEN XER]

Its no different than say a NFL player. Sure we see some of the big money players doing good.

BUT Have you noticed the new trend of more and more rookies.

Salary cap rookies making say 240k per year with a 2 or 3yr lifespan in the sport. Thats if they dont get injured the first year.

Same thing. The man up in the suite is collecting all the money and we are paying for the new stadiums while the bulk of the players make 240k for a year or two and end up on the outside looking in because thier bodies are shot.

Sorry to rant. Mechanics have a short life span as well and its a young mans arena. Young ones can crank out 80hr/week production and the dealers can cash that check.

In my opinion, mechanics need 80% and dealers need 20%. Then the overall cost comes down and the inflated work quotes come down to reality as well. I am sorry, but when that punk of a service writer told me what I "had" to do at 26,000 miles and the fact that they would charge me 13hrs of labor 140/hr just to do the timing belt. I just about snapped. For one thing, none of that needs done at 26k as proven by my official Audi service schedule and 13hrs of labor is hwy robbery. FU to the man. I will do it myself when the time comes.

Service writers add no value to the project. Please tell me why these guys need to make 100k/yr
Dealer overhead adds no value to the project.
Mechanic is the only one that adds value.

BCBS adds no value to the project.
Hospital overhead does add some value to the project.
Surgeon adds all the value to the project. Period.

In the end you save a lot of money by going directly to the source is what we are saying.

[DHall1]

Yes, that is what we are saying.

I have to tell a funny story here....this really paints the above picture.

Story:
I have a friend without very good health insurance coverge.
He gets a hand injury
I know a very well known hand surgeon
We go into his office for a "look see"
Surgeon takes a look. "Hell lets fix it right here" and calls his RN for x,y,z
Surgeon fixed the problem on the spot....writes some scripts and my friend leaves a check made out to the doc.

No appt, no copay, no insurance, fixed problem and money exchanged hands.

:bow:



In the end you save a lot of money by going directly to the source is what we are saying.

[SAFE4NOW]

Intererseting perspective from the outside. From the inside though:

1. Will the under the table tech provide you a loan car while the work is being performed?:incar:
2. Will he have factory support during diagnosis? :rolleyes:
3. Will he replace / repair the car when he damages or breaks something, at no cost to you?:cry:
4. Will he repair the car at no cost to you if his repair fails within the next year?:mech:
5. Will he be able to work with your extended warranty company to get coverage and payment on your behalf? :idea:

I could go on, but I think you get my point. Sure, you have an option, you may not care about any of the above points, but then again, that is why there are independant shops, and even " shade tree mechanic's " out there. It all depends on what is most important to you.:king:

If a Dealership can provide you a service that you either cannot perform yourself or do not want to , then they ( the Dealer Principle ) has the right to charge what he wants and you have the choice to pay it or not. :thumb:

Please, do not get me wrong, I get it, dealerships are the most expensive avenue for repairs / service / purchase of vehicles, cannot argue that. But, you chose to drive an Rs6... you could have chosen a SMART car... but you didn't, why?:R8kiss:

Because you wanted something that met your needs / expectations. To me its the same thing.

I at times, chose to pay a tech directly for certain work ( Mount and Balance Tires, simple service, etc ) but when it comes to larger jobs, I will pay so that IF something were to go wrong, I have a leg to stand on.

If these things are not important to you, then by all means , back door the shop. But you do realize that you are stealing from the dealership.... the one who paid for the training of the tech you are having do the work. The dealership paid for the lifts, the special tools, the electricity, etc that the " buddy in back " is using to repair your car at the reduced rate..... simply so you can save the bucks. :doh:

I am simply playing the Devil's Advocate... it is a two way street.

S

( Maybe I should have introduced myself before jumping in to this discussion both feet first? ) :vhmmm:

[Boosted-Bora]

Honestly he wont but this is a few hour job so wait around and its hard to break something while installing those parts you mentioned well maybe when doing the rotors........but none the less I say there is a considerable discount if you are worrying about the prices

[GEN XER]

Intererseting perspective from the outside. From the inside though:

1. Will the under the table tech provide you a loan car while the work is being performed?:incar:
2. Will he have factory support during diagnosis? :rolleyes:
3. Will he replace / repair the car when he damages or breaks something, at no cost to you?:cry:
4. Will he repair the car at no cost to you if his repair fails within the next year?:mech:
5. Will he be able to work with your extended warranty company to get coverage and payment on your behalf? :idea:

I could go on, but I think you get my point. Sure, you have an option, you may not care about any of the above points, but then again, that is why there are independant shops, and even " shade tree mechanic's " out there. It all depends on what is most important to you.:king:

If a Dealership can provide you a service that you either cannot perform yourself or do not want to , then they ( the Dealer Principle ) has the right to charge what he wants and you have the choice to pay it or not. :thumb:

Please, do not get me wrong, I get it, dealerships are the most expensive avenue for repairs / service / purchase of vehicles, cannot argue that. But, you chose to drive an Rs6... you could have chosen a SMART car... but you didn't, why?:R8kiss:

Because you wanted something that met your needs / expectations. To me its the same thing.

I at times, chose to pay a tech directly for certain work ( Mount and Balance Tires, simple service, etc ) but when it comes to larger jobs, I will pay so that IF something were to go wrong, I have a leg to stand on.

If these things are not important to you, then by all means , back door the shop. But you do realize that you are stealing from the dealership.... the one who paid for the training of the tech you are having do the work. The dealership paid for the lifts, the special tools, the electricity, etc that the " buddy in back " is using to repair your car at the reduced rate..... simply so you can save the bucks. :doh:

I am simply playing the Devil's Advocate... it is a two way street.

S

( Maybe I should have introduced myself before jumping in to this discussion both feet first? ) :vhmmm:

Point taken. A timing belt might give me pause, but the parts the the original poster mentioned should not make one lose any sleep having them done out the back door. None of it is covered under warranty unless you use dealer parts anyway and the sways wont be covered at all.

[DHall1]

I dont do fear tactics. I just fix it myself.




Intererseting perspective from the outside. From the inside though:

1. Will the under the table tech provide you a loan car while the work is being performed?:incar:
2. Will he have factory support during diagnosis? :rolleyes:
3. Will he replace / repair the car when he damages or breaks something, at no cost to you?:cry:
4. Will he repair the car at no cost to you if his repair fails within the next year?:mech:
5. Will he be able to work with your extended warranty company to get coverage and payment on your behalf? :idea:

I could go on, but I think you get my point. Sure, you have an option, you may not care about any of the above points, but then again, that is why there are independant shops, and even " shade tree mechanic's " out there. It all depends on what is most important to you.:king:

If a Dealership can provide you a service that you either cannot perform yourself or do not want to , then they ( the Dealer Principle ) has the right to charge what he wants and you have the choice to pay it or not. :thumb:

Please, do not get me wrong, I get it, dealerships are the most expensive avenue for repairs / service / purchase of vehicles, cannot argue that. But, you chose to drive an Rs6... you could have chosen a SMART car... but you didn't, why?:R8kiss:

Because you wanted something that met your needs / expectations. To me its the same thing.

I at times, chose to pay a tech directly for certain work ( Mount and Balance Tires, simple service, etc ) but when it comes to larger jobs, I will pay so that IF something were to go wrong, I have a leg to stand on.

If these things are not important to you, then by all means , back door the shop. But you do realize that you are stealing from the dealership.... the one who paid for the training of the tech you are having do the work. The dealership paid for the lifts, the special tools, the electricity, etc that the " buddy in back " is using to repair your car at the reduced rate..... simply so you can save the bucks. :doh:

I am simply playing the Devil's Advocate... it is a two way street.

S

( Maybe I should have introduced myself before jumping in to this discussion both feet first? ) :vhmmm:

[SAFE4NOW]

I dont do fear tactics. I just fix it myself.

#1, #2, #5 have nothing to do with fear. Just valid questions to those that chose to back door the dealership and take advantage of the services provided while paying the tech directly. :eye:

The OP was asking if the charges are fair. I was listing the reasons and hoping to add to the value of the charges by the dealership. If you are a DIY, then none of the points matter, nor will going to a tech on the side, if you are doing the work yourself. Two seperate points, I think.

S

[kingofnyc22]

pm send.