1000 doller tune up

[Mars]

Ask them how they tuned the ignition module ? LOL makes no sense, it's like saying your headlight fluid was low... Either they work or they don't, you can't tune an ingnition module. hahahahah. Awsome.

[geldartb]

Whats the $231 on Tune Electronic Ignition?

Geldartb I've even taken on my own alignments... Only issue I have where I need to take it somewhere is any engine machine work, and tire balance and mounting

that tune thing is probably a rip off or they erased a code or something like that.

i've done my own alignments on the GA and everything is fine. the last time i went for an alignment was when i first got the car and this was at sears, the guy was trying to tell me he was going to have to drill out the strut mount hole to align the rear at that point i was like take it off the rack so i can leave. i've had good results eyeballing it and taking a few measurements.

needless to say the last alignment i freely got was when i bought the snow tires at town fair tire 3yrs ago for the subaru. only got that one because it was free with the tires and it was front wheels only.

[95SleeperAcheiva]

I own a shop. I'm cheap! Here's my write up based on your '87 celebrity:
engine mount 40.26
trans mount front 10.73
trans mount rear 12.06
plat spark plugs 8.21ea x6 49.26
coils 34.25ea x3 102.75
PCV 3.33

Labor
3.1 hours for all 3 mounts
2.6 hours on the tune, ie replace plugs, wires, and coils.

Total 5.7 hours at $85/hr= $484.50

Grand total with 4% shop supply fee and 7.75% tax
$787.66

Few things that I question.
Why replace all the coils? Did she go in with a miss fire? If they aint bad, dont change them.
Plugs...why platinum? Does this 2.8 have p&p work? turbo? SC? Cam? Compression change? does she have to run perfect ET's? coppers are just fine and 25% of the cost.
why taylor wires? Again, is she modded? If no, it's a waste. A decent set of Delco wires will work fine. Geez I'm running 14's and consistent on Delco wires!
I also would like to know what kind of Tuner/ing he's doing.

Now on defense of the mechanic....
Let's say...3-bay shop
that's 3-4 mechanics to hire. mechanics helper starts around 8-10 an hour. Master tech 18-30/hr.
Rent 2500-5k a month
electric 400-600
phone, commercial line gets charged by the minute each way, 500+
gas 400-750
drum roll
Insurance 150-450 a month depending on hours, employees, grade of most cars that will be worked on, driving records of mechanics, credit, and hours of operation, also some services.
annual business licenses, mechanics license, epa charge, etc, 500-1500 a year

shop equipment adds up, staying current on software alone I spend $8500 a year!
Current special tools, etc, 5k+
additional tools I go through 10-30k a year with tool trucks.
special payouts to keep my guys educated and current 3k a year plus their certifications and re-cert every 4 years over $400 a year.
oh almost forgot employee benefits at 760 a month.
And I haven't even touched taxes yet.

Yesterdays mechanic...the high school drop out that could barely read, ya he was worth a $20 tune-up, and he prob used a vice-grip to change the plugs.
Todays mechanic I would put up against a NASA rocket scientist and watch the scientist get blown away.
Todays mechanic does it all from computer software to fabrication and machining. They are engineers of virtually every field and their field changes every few months! They have to stay current. There is more to a tune-up then just a plug slap, they need to know what they are looking for, how to read that plug, run the tests they should be running during that tune, know how and what fluids should look and smell/taste like.
You should be paying for that experience and know-how. NTM the poor slob has to buy his own tools and they sure as hell ain't cheap either.
Don't like the price, learn to do it yourself and buy your own tools. Actually, try writing that up yourself, add the cost of the tools and don't forget to add in what YOUR time is worth. Make sure to include your rent/house payment into the equation and utilities.

Mechanic prices are some of the last prices to complain about, the market is VERY hard to make a living at, too much competition. Instead, complain about gas prices going up to $4 a gallon. Complain about how they jack up the price because a fly farted in Iran and we don't even buy that oil!

[MidnightriderZ24]

I own a shop. I'm cheap! Here's my write up based on your '87 celebrity:
engine mount 40.26
trans mount front 10.73
trans mount rear 12.06
plat spark plugs 8.21ea x6 49.26
coils 34.25ea x3 102.75
PCV 3.33

Labor
3.1 hours for all 3 mounts
2.6 hours on the tune, ie replace plugs, wires, and coils.

Total 5.7 hours at $85/hr= $484.50

Grand total with 4% shop supply fee and 7.75% tax
$787.66

Few things that I question.
Why replace all the coils? Did she go in with a miss fire? If they aint bad, dont change them.
Plugs...why platinum? Does this 2.8 have p&p work? turbo? SC? Cam? Compression change? does she have to run perfect ET's? coppers are just fine and 25% of the cost.
why taylor wires? Again, is she modded? If no, it's a waste. A decent set of Delco wires will work fine. Geez I'm running 14's and consistent on Delco wires!
I also would like to know what kind of Tuner/ing he's doing.

Now on defense of the mechanic....
Let's say...3-bay shop
that's 3-4 mechanics to hire. mechanics helper starts around 8-10 an hour. Master tech 18-30/hr.
Rent 2500-5k a month
electric 400-600
phone, commercial line gets charged by the minute each way, 500+
gas 400-750
drum roll
Insurance 150-450 a month depending on hours, employees, grade of most cars that will be worked on, driving records of mechanics, credit, and hours of operation, also some services.
annual business licenses, mechanics license, epa charge, etc, 500-1500 a year

shop equipment adds up, staying current on software alone I spend $8500 a year!
Current special tools, etc, 5k+
additional tools I go through 10-30k a year with tool trucks.
special payouts to keep my guys educated and current 3k a year plus their certifications and re-cert every 4 years over $400 a year.
oh almost forgot employee benefits at 760 a month.
And I haven't even touched taxes yet.

Yesterdays mechanic...the high school drop out that could barely read, ya he was worth a $20 tune-up, and he prob used a vice-grip to change the plugs.
Todays mechanic I would put up against a NASA rocket scientist and watch the scientist get blown away.
Todays mechanic does it all from computer software to fabrication and machining. They are engineers of virtually every field and their field changes every few months! They have to stay current. There is more to a tune-up then just a plug slap, they need to know what they are looking for, how to read that plug, run the tests they should be running during that tune, know how and what fluids should look and smell/taste like.
You should be paying for that experience and know-how. NTM the poor slob has to buy his own tools and they sure as hell ain't cheap either.
Don't like the price, learn to do it yourself and buy your own tools. Actually, try writing that up yourself, add the cost of the tools and don't forget to add in what YOUR time is worth. Make sure to include your rent/house payment into the equation and utilities.

Mechanic prices are some of the last prices to complain about, the market is VERY hard to make a living at, too much competition. Instead, complain about gas prices going up to $4 a gallon. Complain about how they jack up the price because a fly farted in Iran and we don't even buy that oil!

being a full time flat-rate technician at a full line GM dealer, thats a damn good price ($84) on labor. the dealership i work at charges 105.00 an HOUR. i agree with everything 95achieva said, you need ALOT of knowledge, hell ive been sent out for 2-3 day training at a gm facility(its not simple stuff the new chevy VOLT). plus lots of tools to buy!!$$, not to mention i have to pay my 28k uti student loan.

[Joseph Upson]

I believe there's another concern to address here, and that is how much of a businesses burden is fair to pass on to a customer. Think about it, whenever a company encounters a price increase of any resource or fee, their immediate response is to pass the cost on to the customer, as if they should never be subjected to hard or changing times. When does a company consider the cost of doing business beyond the initial startup cost and the possibility they may have or need to accept a slower rate of profit? and do they ever?

I'm not anti-business, I'm just tired of price hikes being passed off to the customer rather than the company considering that maybe they need to restructure/tailor their business to the changing times. I've worked for a repair shop and can say first hand that labor rates have more to do with what the next guy is charging rather than the actual labor itself and a lot of service providers want to get paid for doing practically nothing. I don't believe customers should pay for all of a companies cost of doing business.

I had a machinist resize a hole in my oil by-pass adaptor. I could have done it myself but didn't bother. Before I realized what was going on, he charged me for the tap he had to purchase and the labor. Is that fair? Depends on how you look at it. If I had been thinking I would have laughed at him simply because it was not my fault he didn't have the tool to do his job, but because I wasn't paying attention that day, I not only paid labor for what I originally showed up for, I also bought him a tap that he'll be able to use from now until it breaks making more money.

There is a false impression in the business world being passed off to the consumer suggesting that it costs X amount of dollars continuously to maintain every piece of equipment to provide you with a service when for example the tools and equipment often times serve long and hard and have been paid for many times over. I can't think of a single situation where prices are reduced after an entity has recovered all of it's investment. Drug companies are a prime example. The problem I see here is "everyone" having their hands in the pot via taxes and lobbyist's influence to name a few, that in many cases makes it near impossible for some businesses to charge realistic prices.

I can do mechanic work and therefore have a lot of respect for the few good mechanics, because it's hard work and there's no way I'd want to do it for a living, but at the same time a lot of them are shady "creatures", the worst to date for me is a master tech suggesting an oil pump change on a 3100 he suspected had failed, as opposed to an engine swap considering if he was correct he'd have no idea of how long the car was driven with low to no oil pressure, not to mention the mileage on the motor. I mentioned that it was unusual for that to happen and that the camshaft usually breaks in that engine causing that, (before I found out he had recently put heads on it when it probably only needed intake manifold gaskets, another clue). Long story short, it was a broken camshaft and he still thinks he should be paid for his missed diagnosis as well as the cost of the correct repair.

ASE certification is over rated and another racket in my oppinion.

I don't question his knowledge, just his reasoning. An oil pump in this situation would set the customer up for a considerable investment expense and shortly there after an almost certain engine failure due to bearing damage. What woman (or clueless man) stops a car immediately upon seeing the oil light come on? In this case the car stopped immediately which should have told him it wasn't the pump.

Good luck on your auto service and just because the market says it doesn't make it right. It's like the speed limit. The same cop that stops you for doing 75 in a 65 and lectures you about your reckless and careless driving will sit back and not think twice about it if that same speed limit were increased to 75 mph the next day. "Don't take life to serious" and don't let it take you either.

[king4u253]

yes it is a 2.8 i prefer platnium plugs and i understand they need 2 make a living to but come on dont just over inflate and give me a crazy ass price like the coils for instance even the guy on here said 25 to 30 bucks so when u jump all the way to 70 its like spitting in my face

in in the shops defence they have worked on the car before and they do very good work i jus feel like it could priced better

[king4u253]

so i found some honest mechanics who have diffrent careers and do car work on the side

parts....95 dollers
labor....250
total 345
car runs like a champ now

[SappySE107]

I don't believe customers should pay for all of a companies cost of doing business.

Do you believe in magic?

What woman (or clueless man)...

Keep this bullshit off my site, thanks.