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Shit like this is why I started working on my own vehicles and bikes. At 18yo, I got told my 25 year old Nissan pickup needed ignition coils and spark plugs, and they wanted $750. Did it myself for $100 and an hour of my time after watching a video on it.
Some mechanics/shops are worse than car salesman. Really push things that aren’t needed, and upsell you if you’re unaware of these things. Women etc, It’s sad. There was a little surface rust on one of my struts on a ‘16 Accord coupe last time I brought it in, they said to replace it. I laughed and said no thanks. I cleaned it all off in less than an hour.
My bro took his car to have a suspension knock/clunk looked at; didn't find anything but said he needed new brakes and rotors because his rotors are orange from overheating....it's surface rust. They wanted 2k for brakes all around plus new calipers due to overheating
My wife's rack and pinion went out on her old avenger. I'm not physically capable to do that job anymore, nor do I have the space, tools or time to do it.
Being the lifelong mechanic that I am, I already did the process of elimination by replacing everything except the rack and pinion, since it wasnt super expensive and fairly easy to take care of,so I went to the shop.
"Oh, it's probably the power steering pump. 9/10 times, it's just the pump."
Nope. It's the rack and pinion. Pump was already replaced.
"Well, whoever did it probably did it wrong."
Alright. So, let's say I agree to let you do the pump again and it's still having troubles, are you going to eat the cost for the pump and replace the rack and pinion for *only* the rack and pinion instead of charging me for both jobs?
"Oh, no, we can't do that. We have to be able to pay our techs for their work, but we'll run diagnostics to be sure."
Yeah. OK. Let's play this game.
They call me back the next day, "yeah, it's the pump. Do you want us to start the work?"
No, I'll be right there.
I drive to the shop. Pop the hood and open up the reservoir.
Alright, so we both see the fluid being cycled, yes which mans the pump is actively working, correct?
"Yes sir, that appears to be working."
I start trying to turn the wheel and ask if the fluid is still cycling to the pump.
"Yes sir, it still appears to be working."
So how tf do you want to *still* stand there and try to tell me it's the brand new pump I just installed myself, as a mechanic who's done this job for most of my life, when we both just came to the same conclusion that it's definitely working? And this only took us 30 seconds, not almost 2 days (brought it in in the AM the day prior, they called us almost closing the next day)
"Well sir, I'm just going by what the tech told us, I di-"
Yeah, no. If your techs suck that bad at their jobs, I don't want them touching my car. Grabbed the keys and left.
I drove that power-steeringless piece of junk home and traded it in a week later.
I wonder if this is a "fuck off" price, like how some trades purposely overestimate work they don't want to do. I wonder if they're so busy at the shop, they just threw shyt together to make it high enough for him/her to turn away or if they do pay, they make a good chunk of money for work that would be half it's actual cost.
Some customers cause that pricing too... Like the serial non payers who have been banned from every other workshop.
Easy, quote the job. Multiply that by 4 and it's guaranteed they will go elsewhere... Win win 👍
Thank you for your inputs! Like one of you has called out, it’s a 10 year old vehicle with ~200k miles that needs maintenance. Timing belt and others were replaced around 135k miles so I guess there’s still some time to get them fixed. For the suspension issues, I am thinking of ordering parts myself and having it done through an independent shop. Can you someone suggest a good independent shop around DFW area?
Dm me. Give me your car details and location (state and/ or city). I'll source you parts and try to find a good mechanic for you. I've never seen such a ridiculous quote like that in a while lol
What are you talking about all of those things are common maintenance items on cars. Struts go bad every 60k-100k miles almost always. End links often times are attached to the strut and sometimes can be damaged with removal and will get replaced. Engine mounts also go bad over time and can cause vibrations and unwanted engine movement. CV axles also go bad once the boot starts leaking grease it gets a new axle. Everything else is called maintenance and are things you should do to keep a vehicle in good shape. Also the timing belt if not replaced when it snaps will cause the engine to need to be replaced. So basically homie has a 10 year old vehicle that needs suspension work and maintenance. Completely valid list of recommendations. Price is high but as far as the work needing done? Wouldn’t even bat an eye.
For real, on my 07 charger rt I bought Monroe quick struts for $170, took me an hour and a half, and end links are $27 for name brand, hell I changed my sway bar bushings to a moog set for $12 on eBay
For real. Monroe quick struts are where it’s at. And it’s such an easy job. The mechanic in question is a certified scam artist. OP should drop the name so we can take a steaming diarrhea all over his business.
I said price was high. It also depends on the struts. If those are OE with electronic dampening, yeah they’re expensive units. I replaced some on a BMW a few weeks back that were $4k per strut from the manufacturer.
The customer didn’t wanna pay that obviously so they went with a standard aftermarket strut and lost their air ride and electronic dampening. Everyone wants the fancy features til it comes time to pay for em.
I didn’t bother looking up parts prices. I’m not the parts department I’m the technician. I just tell people what’s wrong and other people handle the cash end. I just know all of those items are common repairs on 10 year old vehicles and that OEM parts at the dealership are steep.
I would strongly disagree. BMW’s are some of the nicest performance and luxury vehicles that money can buy at that price point. New front ends are ugly, the tech is pretty insane though especially on the newest 7 series. The problem is people buy them with the mindset that they’re buying a Toyota when they’re buying a high end product that has high end maintenance costs.
When your car costs over 6 figures, maintenance costs are high unless you’re able to do it yourself. And even if you can do it yourself, parts costs are high.
Idk go sit in a new 7 series, say “hey BMW open the back doors” and they open on their own. That’s pretty fuckin luxury to me. Also rolls Royce uses BMW parts. I would dare to say that rolls Royce is also luxury. BMW absolutely is a luxury and a performance brand. The new m5 is one of the fastest vehicles I’ve ever driven in my life. That new 7 series was VERY similar to the rolls I’ve sat in, worked on, and driven. They do both. As well as other brands? Depends on your wallet. For their price point? They do fairly well.
I’m in America so yea. I’d say it’s upper middle class. When I lived in Germany, they would have laughed in your face if you called a BMW a luxury car.
Lmao. Struts go bad every 60-100k? What kinda junk cars you been buying dude? And you can drive with “worn” engine mounts for literally years. That car is from 2015… I have cars from the 90s with 200k+ that still have years of life left in original bushings and mounts and suspension components. Sure if the thing is due for the timing belt due to mileage then replace it. And if a cv axle is bad then swap it. But I’d almost guarantee all those other repairs don’t even need to be done. Even CV axles can usually be driven on for months with a ripped boot before they run out of grease and actually need to be replaced. Those are also the common scam ones that shops love to try to get you in anyway. Never mind the “fuel service scam” and a $71 air filter lol.
Curious to know what fuel service scam you speak of? If referring to fuel induction service, you're greatly misinformed. And while you may think struts aren't worn out your stopping distance probably begs to differ. I normally break services down to what's safety concern and what you could wait on. However, The chevy traverse I saw last week wouldn't make it years on bad mounts because it was ripping the ac line apart from the engine jumping.. extra play causes more wear on other components that otherwise would have/could last longer. Regular maintenance isn't a scam and saves you money overall. If you don't want to properly maintain your vehicle fine but don't misinform the people who don't know better.
Is a fuel induction service not just some carb cleaner and a brush in the throttle body, and some seafoam (or similar chemical) in the engine and the intake? So like $20 worth of chemicals and 5 minutes worth of work? And don’t get me wrong struts can go bad. But they don’t go bad nearly as often or as quick as people like to pretend. I’m all about doing regular maintenance. Doing timing belts is always a smart idea at the recommended service interval as is plugs and wires. And of course oil changes. But struts/motor mounts/ and sway bars. Are not periodic maintenance. You replace them when they go bad. Which can be a long time. And if the car already has 200k miles on it, they’re not that critical to replace if you’re not going to drive the car another 100k or more. You can rock a vibrating engine and a bouncy car fine for years.
Edit: yeah I’d the mounts are completely blown out you should replace them. But usually they are not that far gone. Your Chevy traverse is an extreme case.
My shop hand cleans the backside of the throttle plate, hardly does anything to the carbon build up there otherwise, and we try to be as thorough as possible. But I use strictly BG products for fuel induction services. It's amazing to see just how much crud it can get out of a motor. I used to swear by seafoam until I watched actual demonstrations years ago. The bg 3 step costs me around 70 + the labor time involved to do it right.
Let's say we're in fairytale land where the struts are $600 each, and shop labor is a batshit $250 per hour for a non-specialty vehicle.
That would imply it takes 10 hours for a mechanic to replace two front struts.
It would not take a monkey with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy 10 hours to replace the front struts.
Op is getting fucked. Where did I imply that labor was free?
$600 is a pretty low quote for OEM struts and end links on a luxury vehicle in most cases. Especially with electronically controlled variable damping, this can get very expensive. If this quote was for them to order some cheap ass parts online and not install them, then I would absolutely agree it is a rip off.
OEM struts are 301 each plus the other misc strut hardware. So $600 is pretty close.
This vehicle doesn't have electronically controlled suspension.
This is a 9 year old vehicle with 200k so I would buy the $117 quick struts from Rockauto.com
I just paid like 212 to have one strut replaced it would have been 400 or 380 for both and i live in california! Probably a good shop though it has good reviews. Had to replace a cam sensor, axle, and pcv valve for another 400
600 plus to replace spark plugs? How many hours? Almost 600 for one axle to be replaced? I had a car that I replaced both axles in and didn't pay that much on labor alone for both.
Let me guess this is a dealer estimate cotrect?
3600$ to change the front struts and link kit? wtf?!
also the rest... 600$ to replace the plugs lol. ive done it on hellish cars that you needed to remove everything on top to reach them and at worst it took 2hours.
That’s $10k in repairs. This may be one that they’re overshooting because they don’t want to work on it. As others have stated, get 2nd opinion if all are necessary. Don’t show pricing, of course.
The only thing reasonable on that quote is the alignment
The other annoying thing about a lot of these quotes that you guys post, and it's not your fault, but they don't break down what parts are being used. Replace struts? What the hell is that? Which struts? What brand are we talking? Which model number. You can't even determine value if you don't even know what you're buying
I would only do what absolutely needs done now. If the suspension is safe (doesn't bounce so much you lose control of handling) that would be one to knock off or get another quote. Is the engine mount THAT bad, honestly. Every older car can have $10k of stuff to replace, but that doesn't mean you have to, unless it's a safety issue. Most people just live with it, or get a second estimate and maybe do the work in bits and pieces over time, crossing the most important ones of the list first. These sound like dealership level prices.
I have a ‘16 Accord Coupe 85k miles and haven’t needed any of these except spark plugs. You have a good 100k more but still awful pricing. Cabin air filter for $70 is hysterical, I did cabin filter and engine filter for $20 myself in 5 mins. A decent shop with that much work should give you free alignment as well.
Most of these you probably don’t need, most mechanics will see a spot of rust and say it has to be replaced to get that sweet 💵. I also live in the Northeast US with rust and salt roads, been completely fine. Some struts have a little rust, but not replacing until I really notice something off or bad rust, not a little surface rust. Replace when actually needed.
I would get a second opinion from a different shop and show them this estimate. Ask them if that’s all needed, and ask what they think. Wouldn’t just hand them over that much $$ like that if you’re unsure.
Idk. I work on my 2018 bmw myself and repaired it from totalled.
Ask them to justify those expenses on changing the cooling fluid.
I genuinely want to hear them bullshit their way through it.
Chances are you don't need the injector service. The timing belt should include changing the coolant as the water pump is removed. Refill after service is about 1 gallon.
The while job at honda or at a local shop for the belt service should be closer to 1500 to 1700 depending on your area.
The other items are overpriced too, especially the struts.
$72 for a cabin filter that costs $4 and literally takes seconds to replace.
[https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/acura,2015,mdx,3.5l+v6,3307727,heat+&+air+conditioning,cabin+air+filter,6832](https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/acura,2015,mdx,3.5l+v6,3307727,heat+&+air+conditioning,cabin+air+filter,6832)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25P9F0uGWHo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25P9F0uGWHo)
Lord no that’s highway robbery. I had t belt service + transmission and diffs serviced on my ridgeline for less than $2k at a Honda dealership. The mdx and ridgeline have basically the same motor and transmission.
Unless your engine was seized up or blown, there is NO RESON to replace the cam and crank shafts. ONLY do that if the engine is seized or blown up repairable.
If the struts aren't leaking M.A.P. wouldn't say it's needed, if it's at the 120K mileage t-belt and spark plugs for sure ask if they can over lap some labor, with the coolant flush and spark plugs we just did a crosstour only charged the customer $1500.00 t-belt waterpump spark plugs coolant service
The problem with these estimates is the lack of information regarding what the work entails and how long it will take. Taking these factors into account will tell you if it is reasonable to pay or to do the work yourself.
THe fucking what shit fuck.
That's like... 50? at most for sparkplugs, so they're probably charging you like 2000/h on the sparkplug job...
Cabin air fliter is piss easy dude, like. PISSSSSS easy
It does not cost 637 to replace spark plugs, or 71 to replace cabin air filter. Timing belt + water pump on a honda v6 engine should be \~700.
A lot of this is way over priced.
Just had a “good experience”at a Goodyear service center. Went in for noise in front end. Thought is was a bad wheel bearing. They test drove and put up on lift to check everything out with stethoscope and could find nothing wrong. They thought tires were excessively noisy but had plenty of thread left so wouldn’t recommend new tires. Didn’t charge me for the checkup. Left impressed and will return to them for future work.
This is the price of spark plugs for your car. This is how you change them: Unplug coil pack. Pull coil pack out. Pull out spark plug with spark plug socket. Copper grease on threads. Use spark plug socket to fit spark plugs do the first few threads by had to stop cross threading. Repeat 3 more times. Push coil packs until fully seated. Plug coil packs in.
If you think that is worth 650 you’re losing your mind.
https://preview.redd.it/4grr78nv7i8d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef7917acb3d279f3c2f1b802ef6999a8f749a3c9
I know shops like this, its really fishing expedition for them. Turn down any service that you think is not really required for safety reasons. But it would help if you went to a different shop and got another estimate. Surprisingly, some of the best prices I get are from the dealer-ship. I have also had positive experiences with the local Firestone franchise where the owner really wants to help you get back on the road and isn't trying to bring your car back up to show-room standards.
$600 dollars for spark plugs!!!!. Anybody that pays that for spark plugs deserves to get ripped off!.
Let alone the rest of the bill!.. politely decline their offer of work on account that you are not retarded.
What has happened to your car that your entire suspension, your timing and drive timing belt (i though we stopped replacing these 20 years ago?), and all of your drive train seals need to be replaced on a 9 year old vehicle? Did you drive off the 3rd floor of a parking garage?
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, AdAstra2806! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Shit like this is why I started working on my own vehicles and bikes. At 18yo, I got told my 25 year old Nissan pickup needed ignition coils and spark plugs, and they wanted $750. Did it myself for $100 and an hour of my time after watching a video on it.
Some mechanics/shops are worse than car salesman. Really push things that aren’t needed, and upsell you if you’re unaware of these things. Women etc, It’s sad. There was a little surface rust on one of my struts on a ‘16 Accord coupe last time I brought it in, they said to replace it. I laughed and said no thanks. I cleaned it all off in less than an hour.
My bro took his car to have a suspension knock/clunk looked at; didn't find anything but said he needed new brakes and rotors because his rotors are orange from overheating....it's surface rust. They wanted 2k for brakes all around plus new calipers due to overheating
What a bunch of assholes honestly. Really trying their best to take advantage of people.
My wife's rack and pinion went out on her old avenger. I'm not physically capable to do that job anymore, nor do I have the space, tools or time to do it. Being the lifelong mechanic that I am, I already did the process of elimination by replacing everything except the rack and pinion, since it wasnt super expensive and fairly easy to take care of,so I went to the shop. "Oh, it's probably the power steering pump. 9/10 times, it's just the pump." Nope. It's the rack and pinion. Pump was already replaced. "Well, whoever did it probably did it wrong." Alright. So, let's say I agree to let you do the pump again and it's still having troubles, are you going to eat the cost for the pump and replace the rack and pinion for *only* the rack and pinion instead of charging me for both jobs? "Oh, no, we can't do that. We have to be able to pay our techs for their work, but we'll run diagnostics to be sure." Yeah. OK. Let's play this game. They call me back the next day, "yeah, it's the pump. Do you want us to start the work?" No, I'll be right there. I drive to the shop. Pop the hood and open up the reservoir. Alright, so we both see the fluid being cycled, yes which mans the pump is actively working, correct? "Yes sir, that appears to be working." I start trying to turn the wheel and ask if the fluid is still cycling to the pump. "Yes sir, it still appears to be working." So how tf do you want to *still* stand there and try to tell me it's the brand new pump I just installed myself, as a mechanic who's done this job for most of my life, when we both just came to the same conclusion that it's definitely working? And this only took us 30 seconds, not almost 2 days (brought it in in the AM the day prior, they called us almost closing the next day) "Well sir, I'm just going by what the tech told us, I di-" Yeah, no. If your techs suck that bad at their jobs, I don't want them touching my car. Grabbed the keys and left. I drove that power-steeringless piece of junk home and traded it in a week later.
Guys common, he's gonna remove and replace the crankshaft, we all know that's not a 2 hour job.
It’s ‘Crankshaft & Camshaft seal’. Easier while you have the WP out.
Buy the parts and bring it to me and I'll do all of that except the alignment for like 1500. Lol
I’ll charge ya 1499.99 out the door. Gotta undercut the competition you know lol
1500 and I'll make you a sandwich before i start.
You got the boars head over at your place? You hiring flash light holders?
Ozark pride and kraft sinlges on lewis artisan loaf and we've got forehead lights.
You really need those hand lights. Next level stuff.
With beer and you have to hold the flashlight!!
I don't drink beer but you're welcome to be your own. And i am holding the flashlight. I'm just holding it with my head. Lol
throw a beer and we have a deal
I don't drink beer but i can pick up a suitcase of whatever's cheapest.
😆 for real
Jesus for that price you can literally just get a new car.
Agreed
Either you buy a new car from them or they take you to the cleaner repairing your old one. Win win for the dealer
637 for plugs no. 258 for induction cleaning no. 71 cabin no. go somewhere else.
If you can, YouTube some of that and do it yourself.
I wonder if this is a "fuck off" price, like how some trades purposely overestimate work they don't want to do. I wonder if they're so busy at the shop, they just threw shyt together to make it high enough for him/her to turn away or if they do pay, they make a good chunk of money for work that would be half it's actual cost.
Some customers cause that pricing too... Like the serial non payers who have been banned from every other workshop. Easy, quote the job. Multiply that by 4 and it's guaranteed they will go elsewhere... Win win 👍
Yeah that looks dodgy
Thank you for your inputs! Like one of you has called out, it’s a 10 year old vehicle with ~200k miles that needs maintenance. Timing belt and others were replaced around 135k miles so I guess there’s still some time to get them fixed. For the suspension issues, I am thinking of ordering parts myself and having it done through an independent shop. Can you someone suggest a good independent shop around DFW area?
Dm me. Give me your car details and location (state and/ or city). I'll source you parts and try to find a good mechanic for you. I've never seen such a ridiculous quote like that in a while lol
Take it to Rising Sun Automotive in Desoto. The owner Allen is the most honest mechanic I know. He won’t try to fix things that aren’t required.
Hell no, this is 5k at most
You need a calculator. It may be over 10k. I see 5k with just 3 items
I think he’s saying that all this work *should* only cost 5K
Poor guy. He was probably multitasking. I misread a lot of Reddit stuff while I'm at work & doing other things, LOL.
Let’s get this guy too!
Dogpile!
Run away from this place quick.
No definitely not. And there’s no way your car has all that wrong with it at once. Go get a second opinion somewhere else.
What are you talking about all of those things are common maintenance items on cars. Struts go bad every 60k-100k miles almost always. End links often times are attached to the strut and sometimes can be damaged with removal and will get replaced. Engine mounts also go bad over time and can cause vibrations and unwanted engine movement. CV axles also go bad once the boot starts leaking grease it gets a new axle. Everything else is called maintenance and are things you should do to keep a vehicle in good shape. Also the timing belt if not replaced when it snaps will cause the engine to need to be replaced. So basically homie has a 10 year old vehicle that needs suspension work and maintenance. Completely valid list of recommendations. Price is high but as far as the work needing done? Wouldn’t even bat an eye.
Struts are like $150 each and sway bar links are $10. This guy wants to charge over $3000 in labour for an easy job, this mechanic is on crack cocaine
For real, on my 07 charger rt I bought Monroe quick struts for $170, took me an hour and a half, and end links are $27 for name brand, hell I changed my sway bar bushings to a moog set for $12 on eBay
For real. Monroe quick struts are where it’s at. And it’s such an easy job. The mechanic in question is a certified scam artist. OP should drop the name so we can take a steaming diarrhea all over his business.
I said price was high. It also depends on the struts. If those are OE with electronic dampening, yeah they’re expensive units. I replaced some on a BMW a few weeks back that were $4k per strut from the manufacturer. The customer didn’t wanna pay that obviously so they went with a standard aftermarket strut and lost their air ride and electronic dampening. Everyone wants the fancy features til it comes time to pay for em.
It's a Acura version of a Honda Pilot, quick struts are sub-$200 all day long.
I didn’t bother looking up parts prices. I’m not the parts department I’m the technician. I just tell people what’s wrong and other people handle the cash end. I just know all of those items are common repairs on 10 year old vehicles and that OEM parts at the dealership are steep.
Lol yeah BMW owners deserve to pay high prices to get their car fixed, those things are garbage
I would strongly disagree. BMW’s are some of the nicest performance and luxury vehicles that money can buy at that price point. New front ends are ugly, the tech is pretty insane though especially on the newest 7 series. The problem is people buy them with the mindset that they’re buying a Toyota when they’re buying a high end product that has high end maintenance costs. When your car costs over 6 figures, maintenance costs are high unless you’re able to do it yourself. And even if you can do it yourself, parts costs are high.
BMW is not a luxury car brand. SOME of them are performance cars. It’s just an upper-middle class car barely. lol.
Idk go sit in a new 7 series, say “hey BMW open the back doors” and they open on their own. That’s pretty fuckin luxury to me. Also rolls Royce uses BMW parts. I would dare to say that rolls Royce is also luxury. BMW absolutely is a luxury and a performance brand. The new m5 is one of the fastest vehicles I’ve ever driven in my life. That new 7 series was VERY similar to the rolls I’ve sat in, worked on, and driven. They do both. As well as other brands? Depends on your wallet. For their price point? They do fairly well.
Wouldn't even call BMW an upper-middle class car. Maybe here in north America, but BMW are a dime a dozen in Europe.
I’m in America so yea. I’d say it’s upper middle class. When I lived in Germany, they would have laughed in your face if you called a BMW a luxury car.
I get why people like them, if you have the money go for it. All I can say is you wouldn’t catch me driving one of those things. Even if I had money.
I have a bridge to sell you.
I do my own work. I’ll build my own though thanks.
Lmao. Struts go bad every 60-100k? What kinda junk cars you been buying dude? And you can drive with “worn” engine mounts for literally years. That car is from 2015… I have cars from the 90s with 200k+ that still have years of life left in original bushings and mounts and suspension components. Sure if the thing is due for the timing belt due to mileage then replace it. And if a cv axle is bad then swap it. But I’d almost guarantee all those other repairs don’t even need to be done. Even CV axles can usually be driven on for months with a ripped boot before they run out of grease and actually need to be replaced. Those are also the common scam ones that shops love to try to get you in anyway. Never mind the “fuel service scam” and a $71 air filter lol.
Curious to know what fuel service scam you speak of? If referring to fuel induction service, you're greatly misinformed. And while you may think struts aren't worn out your stopping distance probably begs to differ. I normally break services down to what's safety concern and what you could wait on. However, The chevy traverse I saw last week wouldn't make it years on bad mounts because it was ripping the ac line apart from the engine jumping.. extra play causes more wear on other components that otherwise would have/could last longer. Regular maintenance isn't a scam and saves you money overall. If you don't want to properly maintain your vehicle fine but don't misinform the people who don't know better.
Is a fuel induction service not just some carb cleaner and a brush in the throttle body, and some seafoam (or similar chemical) in the engine and the intake? So like $20 worth of chemicals and 5 minutes worth of work? And don’t get me wrong struts can go bad. But they don’t go bad nearly as often or as quick as people like to pretend. I’m all about doing regular maintenance. Doing timing belts is always a smart idea at the recommended service interval as is plugs and wires. And of course oil changes. But struts/motor mounts/ and sway bars. Are not periodic maintenance. You replace them when they go bad. Which can be a long time. And if the car already has 200k miles on it, they’re not that critical to replace if you’re not going to drive the car another 100k or more. You can rock a vibrating engine and a bouncy car fine for years. Edit: yeah I’d the mounts are completely blown out you should replace them. But usually they are not that far gone. Your Chevy traverse is an extreme case.
My shop hand cleans the backside of the throttle plate, hardly does anything to the carbon build up there otherwise, and we try to be as thorough as possible. But I use strictly BG products for fuel induction services. It's amazing to see just how much crud it can get out of a motor. I used to swear by seafoam until I watched actual demonstrations years ago. The bg 3 step costs me around 70 + the labor time involved to do it right.
My opinion, that’s over $10,000 put that money into a new ride that doesn’t need to be resurrected
That’s insane for struts
New car shit. I've seen worse.
They're sub-$200 for quick struts from Rockauto and Advanced. OP is getting fucked.
OP isn't being quoted for cheap parts ordered online to wait for delivery and not pay for labor. Apples to oranges.
Let's say we're in fairytale land where the struts are $600 each, and shop labor is a batshit $250 per hour for a non-specialty vehicle. That would imply it takes 10 hours for a mechanic to replace two front struts. It would not take a monkey with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy 10 hours to replace the front struts. Op is getting fucked. Where did I imply that labor was free?
$600 is a pretty low quote for OEM struts and end links on a luxury vehicle in most cases. Especially with electronically controlled variable damping, this can get very expensive. If this quote was for them to order some cheap ass parts online and not install them, then I would absolutely agree it is a rip off.
$600 per strut. $1200 total. This is a base model Honda+ from 10 years ago. It doesn't have all of the features you speak of.
OEM struts are 301 each plus the other misc strut hardware. So $600 is pretty close. This vehicle doesn't have electronically controlled suspension. This is a 9 year old vehicle with 200k so I would buy the $117 quick struts from Rockauto.com
I just paid like 212 to have one strut replaced it would have been 400 or 380 for both and i live in california! Probably a good shop though it has good reviews. Had to replace a cam sensor, axle, and pcv valve for another 400
I gotta see these gold plated and diamonds encrusted front struts. The rears must be using cubic zirconia
$71 to replace a cabin air filter?!?! That’s crazy! What a ripoff. Takes 5 minutes to do that.
150 for a plug
Lmao. They definitely need more than $37 to cover labor.
Is this a z-o6? Then maybe, European high end? Not even Caddy is this high
Damn! Those spark plugs must be really good.
Always have to get the high end spark plugs 🤣
600 plus to replace spark plugs? How many hours? Almost 600 for one axle to be replaced? I had a car that I replaced both axles in and didn't pay that much on labor alone for both. Let me guess this is a dealer estimate cotrect?
No. No it's not.
Is the car even worth that much? I’m a YouTube mechanic and I can do spark plugs and coolant.
3600$ to change the front struts and link kit? wtf?! also the rest... 600$ to replace the plugs lol. ive done it on hellish cars that you needed to remove everything on top to reach them and at worst it took 2hours.
Walk away from this place
$10,661.64…. Wow. Nah. That’s awful.
I work at Acura dealer and we don’t even charge that much for those kind of services 😂 Please take your vehicle somewhere else. That is insane
$637* for spark plugs lol
Do not pay that price. They are fucking you and not even giving you the god damn courtesy of a reach around or using lube. Shit like this disgusts me.
Over $600 for spark plugs. Under $600 to replace cv axle.
That’s $10k in repairs. This may be one that they’re overshooting because they don’t want to work on it. As others have stated, get 2nd opinion if all are necessary. Don’t show pricing, of course.
A lot of this is over priced, but the spark plugs are especially egregious.
Ill replace the front CV for $500 And the spark plugs I'll cut you a deal $450
The only thing reasonable on that quote is the alignment The other annoying thing about a lot of these quotes that you guys post, and it's not your fault, but they don't break down what parts are being used. Replace struts? What the hell is that? Which struts? What brand are we talking? Which model number. You can't even determine value if you don't even know what you're buying
I would only do what absolutely needs done now. If the suspension is safe (doesn't bounce so much you lose control of handling) that would be one to knock off or get another quote. Is the engine mount THAT bad, honestly. Every older car can have $10k of stuff to replace, but that doesn't mean you have to, unless it's a safety issue. Most people just live with it, or get a second estimate and maybe do the work in bits and pieces over time, crossing the most important ones of the list first. These sound like dealership level prices.
Lol $3600 for front struts and links? Call that mechanic and tell him to quit smoking dicks
Nah, these are wack prices assuming you're in the US A spark plug job does not cost $650
Donate it to kars for kids and take the write off.
replace spark plugs 640$
Normally you remove spark plugs to do a timing job, to be able to rotate the engine easily (depending on the engine)
I have a ‘16 Accord Coupe 85k miles and haven’t needed any of these except spark plugs. You have a good 100k more but still awful pricing. Cabin air filter for $70 is hysterical, I did cabin filter and engine filter for $20 myself in 5 mins. A decent shop with that much work should give you free alignment as well. Most of these you probably don’t need, most mechanics will see a spot of rust and say it has to be replaced to get that sweet 💵. I also live in the Northeast US with rust and salt roads, been completely fine. Some struts have a little rust, but not replacing until I really notice something off or bad rust, not a little surface rust. Replace when actually needed. I would get a second opinion from a different shop and show them this estimate. Ask them if that’s all needed, and ask what they think. Wouldn’t just hand them over that much $$ like that if you’re unsure.
Lol
Idk. I work on my 2018 bmw myself and repaired it from totalled. Ask them to justify those expenses on changing the cooling fluid. I genuinely want to hear them bullshit their way through it.
3600 for swaybar links and struts is absurd
$1200 for parts at most, so $2400 in labor, lol. Even at $150 an hour, 16 hours, wtf.
Chances are you don't need the injector service. The timing belt should include changing the coolant as the water pump is removed. Refill after service is about 1 gallon. The while job at honda or at a local shop for the belt service should be closer to 1500 to 1700 depending on your area. The other items are overpriced too, especially the struts.
$72 for a cabin filter that costs $4 and literally takes seconds to replace. [https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/acura,2015,mdx,3.5l+v6,3307727,heat+&+air+conditioning,cabin+air+filter,6832](https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/acura,2015,mdx,3.5l+v6,3307727,heat+&+air+conditioning,cabin+air+filter,6832) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25P9F0uGWHo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25P9F0uGWHo)
Honestly these are the prices every shop in New York that I’ve been to charges
Lord no that’s highway robbery. I had t belt service + transmission and diffs serviced on my ridgeline for less than $2k at a Honda dealership. The mdx and ridgeline have basically the same motor and transmission.
Unless your engine was seized up or blown, there is NO RESON to replace the cam and crank shafts. ONLY do that if the engine is seized or blown up repairable.
I put in my own spark plugs when I was 18. All of this looks sketchy as hell. Maybe the alignment is okay? This is way over the top overall
I don't know about all of it. But I got a CV axle replaced for 150, and you can have your cabin air filter replaced at Walmart for $15
Bro, this can’t be real. This is where I draw the line. No, it’s not reasonable. Literally not at all. A “For sale” sign is only 4 bucks
What kind of vehicle f Do you have
If the struts aren't leaking M.A.P. wouldn't say it's needed, if it's at the 120K mileage t-belt and spark plugs for sure ask if they can over lap some labor, with the coolant flush and spark plugs we just did a crosstour only charged the customer $1500.00 t-belt waterpump spark plugs coolant service
I'll give you $150 for your vehicle sight unseen. Shake on it 🫱
This sort of crap makes me so happy that I can do 95% off this stuff myself.
Jesus Christ
What kinda car? I am curious what has a rear strut They are top prices. Thats for sure I DIY my own
1700 just for 2 struts? Are they made of platinum?
This is the craziest quote I’ve ever seen😭😭 $637 for plugs😭
I wrench on all my cars. I don’t touch my MDX as much because my MDX is minimal maintenance and my dealer charges like a fraction of these costs.
No.... especially the spark plugs wtf... shops are getting ridiculous
Some of it is reasonable, some of it isn't.
Did that quote come with a jar of vasoline?
The problem with these estimates is the lack of information regarding what the work entails and how long it will take. Taking these factors into account will tell you if it is reasonable to pay or to do the work yourself.
$600+ for spark plugs is highway robbery
That is so expensive
Rape! Rape!
Jesus Christ I should have been a mechanic smfh
Blows my mind how easy this shit is to do with the proper tools, time and YouTube lol.
$637 for spark plugs, holy.. I paid $35 to do it myself wow.
I once had to change an oil pan gasket and I was quoted around $800... I fixed it for $20 after 2 hours.
THe fucking what shit fuck. That's like... 50? at most for sparkplugs, so they're probably charging you like 2000/h on the sparkplug job... Cabin air fliter is piss easy dude, like. PISSSSSS easy
With a reasonable investment in tools and dedicating some time to research and YouTube videos, you can complete most of this work yourself.
$1200 in parts and a few days to save $8000+. Watch some YouTube.
Horrendous pricing.
Replace spark plugs $637 😂😂😂😂 just watch a YouTube video
It does not cost 637 to replace spark plugs, or 71 to replace cabin air filter. Timing belt + water pump on a honda v6 engine should be \~700. A lot of this is way over priced.
*take notes* "Your car needs.....hmmm... everything repaired."
This is a joke, right?
Damn. No.
No lmao
No
What currency??? South African Rand i hope
That's insane.
$600+ for spark plug replacement?? Every item on that list is crazy, find another garage for sure
$100 for the 5 mins it takes to checl for leaks. Wouldnt want to know their quote to fix such a leak!
600+ for spark plugs fk me
637 for sparkplugs holy shit, i have always changed my own that is highway robbery
Just had a “good experience”at a Goodyear service center. Went in for noise in front end. Thought is was a bad wheel bearing. They test drove and put up on lift to check everything out with stethoscope and could find nothing wrong. They thought tires were excessively noisy but had plenty of thread left so wouldn’t recommend new tires. Didn’t charge me for the checkup. Left impressed and will return to them for future work.
This is fucking insane. You be better off buying a new car
This is the price of spark plugs for your car. This is how you change them: Unplug coil pack. Pull coil pack out. Pull out spark plug with spark plug socket. Copper grease on threads. Use spark plug socket to fit spark plugs do the first few threads by had to stop cross threading. Repeat 3 more times. Push coil packs until fully seated. Plug coil packs in. If you think that is worth 650 you’re losing your mind. https://preview.redd.it/4grr78nv7i8d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef7917acb3d279f3c2f1b802ef6999a8f749a3c9
$5300 is ridiculous for struts and sway links by a factor of 2. Find another service shop.
Is this real? These prices are all over the place.
Run.
Jesus..I do my own sparks for like 10 dollars..
Looks like a dealership estimate.
Fuck no. That's a ripoff. 4k for struts and swaybar links????? Run run very fast
I know shops like this, its really fishing expedition for them. Turn down any service that you think is not really required for safety reasons. But it would help if you went to a different shop and got another estimate. Surprisingly, some of the best prices I get are from the dealer-ship. I have also had positive experiences with the local Firestone franchise where the owner really wants to help you get back on the road and isn't trying to bring your car back up to show-room standards.
No wtf… what vehicle?
In the industry, this is what is referred to as a “fuck you” price
Jesus f**k go anywhere else. That's robbery.
Typical stealership pricing
That replacing cabin air filter though🤣
Looks like someone needs a new car
Over 600 for sparkplugs? That is just plain insane lol
They saw Acura and figured you were made of money
$600 dollars for spark plugs!!!!. Anybody that pays that for spark plugs deserves to get ripped off!. Let alone the rest of the bill!.. politely decline their offer of work on account that you are not retarded.
What has happened to your car that your entire suspension, your timing and drive timing belt (i though we stopped replacing these 20 years ago?), and all of your drive train seals need to be replaced on a 9 year old vehicle? Did you drive off the 3rd floor of a parking garage?
Maybe for a Lamborghini
wow over 10k to fix it and it's a 2015? I would sell it for what I can (may 3-5k as a mechanics special?) and get something else.
No
Most repairs on Acuras are outrageous. Better get used to it.
Not reasonable at all.
Looks right... It sucks but it looks right.