[dallas121469]

Asked the local mechanic to torque the left rear head bolt after i replaced the head cuz i couldnt get my torque wrench in there due to clearance. They charged me $44 to do so. I checked to see if maybe they had to move fuel rail or anything and they didnt. Its a clear shot to the bolt. RIP OFF ARTISTS!!! I'm sorry if you are a mechanice but i am so sick of them ripping people off.

[YJteen]

I would change the shop you go to.

[dallas121469]

I dont go to any shop unless i absolutely have to. I only went to this one cuz it was right around the corner and i needed tires put on. They said $10 a tire and that seemed reasonable so i went with it. It would have been cheaper just to buy the socket that i needed to do the job.

[WhiteOut]

If its such an easy job, why didnt you do it yourself?

You asked a shop to perform a service, which they provided. They charged you what sounds like 0.5 hrs labor which is usually the least a shop will charge. Unless they said it would be free when you asked about price beforehand, grow up.

[specialedbob379]

good thing my brother and uncle are mechanic's so i can trust them and they hardly charge me anything. If i were you i would look for a new shop.

[leftlanetruckin]

I think you need to change the title of your thread, or just delete it. The shop has expenses that you would never comprehend, and on top of that, just put their name to a job an amateur did. How do they know you wont be back next week whining about them screwing your cylinder head up? Don't laugh, it happens.
Whenever I do any wrenching for people, from a lift kit on a jeep to a cylinder head gasket on a Honda, I do the job from start to finish or tell them to not bring it to me.
I would say they did you right myself, but then again I have been self employed since I left school and have a little more insite to the costs and liabilities of running a business.
Maybe next time ask a price before telling them to do the work?

Martin

[The_Blacksmith]

Any job a half hour or less gets billed half hour shop time. So I would have charged you atleast 35$ (Not me personally but from a shops point of view)

Me personally, I would have hooked you up, considering you drive a jeep and all.

I wouldnt post a thread like this, atleast titled like this on a forum full of wrenchers.

[dallas121469]

Blah, blah, blah. I dont care what shop you work for or where or how you view it, $44 to tighten a bolt is highway robbery. I've worked the automotive parts business and dealt with many mechanics in my life time. I have even wrenched part time and am a certified mechanic. "we can only charge for half hour labor" is basically saying "we can screw you over even if all we do is change a bulb". 100% markup on parts plus $90/hour labor is crazy. And to make things even better there is no state certification for Mechanics here in Colorado so any Jo Shmo can slap up a sign, call himself a mechanic and charge $90/hour. The only mistake i made was not asking how much it would cost ahead of time.

[oldmanriver]

Originally Posted by dallas121469

Blah, blah, blah. I dont care what shop you work for or where or how you view it, $44 to tighten a bolt is highway robbery. I've worked the automotive parts business and dealt with many mechanics in my life time. I have even wrenched part time and am a certified mechanic. "we can only charge for half hour labor" is basically saying "we can screw you over even if all we do is change a bulb". 100% markup on parts plus $90/hour labor is crazy. And to make things even better there is no state certification for Mechanics here in Colorado so any Jo Shmo can slap up a sign, call himself a mechanic and charge $90/hour. The only mistake i made was not asking how much it would cost ahead of time.

Not to be rude but if you werent sure you could afford to get them to do it you should've done it yourself. They have alot of overhead costs besides just the time it takes to tighten the bolt.

Also, always ask around before going to a new shop. There's plenty of "theives" out there but also plenty of honest mechanics just trying to make a living.

[leftlanetruckin]

Originally Posted by dallas121469

Blah, blah, blah. I dont care what shop you work for or where or how you view it, $44 to tighten a bolt is highway robbery. I've worked the automotive parts business and dealt with many mechanics in my life time. I have even wrenched part time and am a certified mechanic. "we can only charge for half hour labor" is basically saying "we can screw you over even if all we do is change a bulb". 100% markup on parts plus $90/hour labor is crazy. And to make things even better there is no state certification for Mechanics here in Colorado so any Jo Shmo can slap up a sign, call himself a mechanic and charge $90/hour. The only mistake i made was not asking how much it would cost ahead of time.

Sounds like the main mistake YOU made was going to "Jo Schmo".
Did anyone force you to go to that shop?
Did anyone make you not have the correct tools to do the job yourself, seeing as you worked in the "automotive parts business and dealt with many mechanics"?
And seeing as you are indeed a "certified mechanic" (whatever that is, seeing as ASE is a joke), why is it not your fault exactly?
No sympathy here, and you are just making it worse on yourself every time you reply with ignorant and know it all sounding comments.

[600dollarXJ]

should have walked into the bay and asked the mechanic to do it and slip him a $10 or something.

[LeftOfCenterXJ]

If you know so many mechnics from your years in the parts world, why didn't you have one of them do it?

If you're a certified mechanic (which you most likely aren't because if you were you would call yourself a tech) then why didn't you just buy the socket and do it yourself?

Personally, at the shop I work at, we would've turned down the job. I wouldn't want to be involved with a DIY headgasket repair that the owner drove down to my shop without having all of the headbolts torqued. Even if we wouldn've taken the job on I would've charged about the same, if not more.

Like Leftlane said, there is a ton of overhead at almost any shop. Any shop that is somewhat decent, located in a decent sized town is going to have a labor rate of $80+. Any yes, we do mark up the parts to have atleast a 50% profit margin. And guess what? Times are hard and we're barely squeaking by. The shop I work at has a ton of loyal customers that are more than willing to pay a little extra to know they can trust us and that the work will be done correctly.

Think about how much all of the insurance coverage a shop has to have costs. That doesn't even include health/dental/optical and life insurance for employees that most shops pay part of. Then you still have to pay the employees, pay for shop supplies, pay for upkeep and maintanence on equiptment, pay the utilities, pay for clinics, classes and certifications for techs. And all of that is just the tip of the iceburg.

IMHO, you got a pretty damn good deal. So please quit your *****ing.

[J33P'r]

Originally Posted by dallas121469

Blah, blah, blah... I have even wrenched part time and am a certified mechanic. ...

So let me get this right, your a 40 year old man complaining about something you asked the shop to do, and also you stated that your a certified mechanic, so you probably / should know the price of tools, but you were NOT willing to go and "invest in yourself" by buying the right tool for the job that you said would have costed you $10.00 for you to go and buy the socket???

I think the $44.00 helps pay for your education... even at forty years old (technically 39 on your profile) it's never too late to get an education.


By the way I'm not a certified mechanic, Im a Jeep enthusiast and I'm not afraid to invest in my tools, heck I might even use a tool more than once!

[dallas121469]

Listen all you holier than thou *******s. I am currently out of state and dont have ALL of my tools. Mechanics prey on people who dont know any better and i just happened to fall into the trap this time. Have fun on this thread cuz I'm done with it. toodles.

[leftlanetruckin]

Book time on the head gasket r&r is 6.4 hrs.
I would have thought at least .5 hrs of that would be torquing the head bolts (correctly, not half baked like you did) and replacing the valve cover and associated plumbing.
Hopefully they went around and checked all your bolts, and not just the one you asked them to. Mind, if they did, and then came here and read the drivel you wrote about them, they are kicking themselves in the backside now I'm sure.
May want to back down there bud, not going to be doing yourself any favors when you need help from the crowd in here when you have the attitude you currently have. I know you are a new member, so flaming won't come from me, but you may want to see the other side of the coin?
Martin