When it is initially cheaper for father-in-law to fly me out to AZ from NY to work on his Jeep and it turns out not to be what the mechanics quoted him on? Pep Boys and another shop out here quoted him about $750-800 parts and labor because they said his coolant leak was coming from his radiator ($250 by itself for a '00 Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6). Yeah, not so much. It was the water pump, radiator was fine, all the coolant was coming from the weep hole under the bearing. Granted, that had to be the absolute worst water pump replacement I've ever done, but $70 in parts beats the alternative and it allowed me to go over his vehicle and see if there was anything else that needed to be done (like the brakes!).
So is it sad...
- Thread starter 04Liberty
- Start date
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L
lil black liberty
Guest
Wow at least you got it fixed though..See now your Father in Law loves you even more! 
Pep Boys......the 3 stooges......I wouldn't bring someone elce's lawn mower there....
That is sad.
Anyway, you got a little mini-vacation from the weather I hope.
That is good.
Dave
That is sad.
Anyway, you got a little mini-vacation from the weather I hope.
That is good.
Dave
Atrus
Full Access Member
My thought exactly....save FIL $$$$, got to inspect the vehicle, and got some warmer weather. FIL also has peace of mind that it's been inspected and repaired by someone who is competent and actually cares about his and the vehicle's well-being.
twack
Full Access Member
haha but now if anything breaks its all your fault
True, but this definitely ain't my first rodeo. Something else will break first (plenty of other stuff), he's like 72 and other than oil changes he tends to neglect it because he's the epitome of the absent minded professor (he teaches at ASU).
loves_off_roading
Full Access Member
That's crazy dude. That's why I do it myself along with my friends help. The mechanics steal so much money from you
ptsb5a
Full Access Member
But a good, trustworthy wrench turner can be worth his/her weight in gold. Just have to find the right one.
And most of the coin you pay to a shop goes to the shop. Mechanics can earn a good living but they're not getting the $100/hour the shop charges. It's called overhead. Those hoists don't just show up one morning with a note from the garage fairey. I just spent $5500 on a tire mounting and balancing machine for the club that I manage. Equipment isn't cheap.
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ThunderbirdJunkie
Bronze Supporter
This is incorrect.
The mechanic has an asston of tools to pay for, bills of his own (other than the tools), overhead, and everything else.
Also, he needs to find a better mechanic.
ptsb5a
Full Access Member
True that TBJ, I spent $28 on a tool I used once to service a Saginaw tilt column in an old Olds. Stupid pivot pin puller. And that's just one of the many specialty tools I have.
ThunderbirdJunkie
Bronze Supporter
pts...even better is the damn $80 Northstar water pump tool.
Probably never gonna use that one again
Probably never gonna use that one again
kb0nly
Full Access Member
But now that you have those tools you could use them again... Or toss them on eBay and get some money back. I have done that before, buy a speciality tool to use once or twice, then toss it back to the vultures on eBay. Stuff like that sells easy enough.
If your paying that much for an hourly rate you need to find another shop, just saying... Cause real old school wrench turners dont charge prices like that, they would rather have the word of mouth advertising and stay busy than have a couple large payouts a week.
If your paying that much for an hourly rate you need to find another shop, just saying... Cause real old school wrench turners dont charge prices like that, they would rather have the word of mouth advertising and stay busy than have a couple large payouts a week.
ptsb5a
Full Access Member
$100 an hour around here is pretty cheap. Ask those who live in Vancouver, Toronto or other large cities and they'll tell you that shop rates aren't cheap. Hell, even Canadian Tire here , our version of PepBoys, is at $85/hour and I wouldn't let them fix my anvil.
ThunderbirdJunkie
Bronze Supporter
With ThunderbirdJunkie's luck, he'd sell his Northstar water pump socket, and the next day score a super clean '99 STS with a locked up water pump for $100 (rotflmao)
Ry' N Jen
Banned
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That one shop shouldn't be called Pep boy's...
Should be called Pap boy's!
Should be called Pap boy's!
tjkj2002
Full Access Member
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Yeah not so much,like stated shop overhead is most of that labor rate to pay the electric bill,up keep of equipment,and new equipment which can cost well over $60,000 for a item like a alignment rack.
The shop I work at the labor rate is $95 per hour,about middle ground for the area.I get $22 out of that $95 which has to pay my bills(same bills you have to pay) and I must provide my own tools also.I have $40,000 in tools(including the tool box) which $16,000 was in the last 2 years for tools to keep up with new tech in newer vehicles.Most of those tools are also for one single purpose which may get used once or twice a year but makes a 5 hour job into a 30min job so I make money instead of loosing/breaking even since I am on flat rate.If the job has a book time of 2 hours and it takes me 1 hour I still get paid 2 hours,but if it takes me 3 hours I still only get paid for 2 hence where all the special tools come into play but at a high cost($$$$).Between the MAC,Snapon,and Cornwell trucks I dish out $120 per week for tool/tool box payments.
matthewp
Full Access Member
My wife filled me in on the same thing! Luckily, the local shop in the small town she's at, on the Nagara Penninsula south of Toronto (her parent's home while the US Gov't. has me on an extended SW Asian holiday) is really good and inexpensive ($60 per hour), my Father-in-Law swears by them. They're even going to put the JBA A-arms and Skyjacker lift on my (Her) Libby next month. Their neighbor (who works for Canadian Tire!) even says to go somewhere other than CT if you can!
kb0nly
Full Access Member
Well yeah thats one way to look at it to, sell the tool and then damn you need it again...
The shop i usually take my stuff to, when i cant or dont want to do it myself, gets $35 an hour labor. No kidding... He has a nice shop, plenty of tools, two lifts, tire machines for mounting and balancing, diagnostics computer, its not like a shed or nothing, heated and air conditioned, etc.. Nice shop, and they run a used car lot out front too.
So why so cheap?? The only overhead he really has is utilities for the building, his father in law owns the property and has his house nearby on the same parcel of land, his father in law runs the car sales and he runs the repair shop. Not to mention as he puts it he doesnt have a non-paid hour of labor all day, so even at $35 an hour for 8 hours he makes more in a week than i do in two.
