My neighbor replaced these suspension parts on my S13 and I wanted to know if his price for labor was fair?

He replaced the front and rear bushings in the Energy suspension Kit and also replaced the struts in the front and rear. The subframe was not removed and just used the inserts in the kit.

He also replaced the tie rods (inner & out) New front control arms with installed ball joint. And also the rear ball joint with a Moog replacement.

The labor was 12 hours to do the work and 6 hours to get the old bushings out and install the new Energy bushings in the rear components.

He charged $50 per hour and that came to be $900.

I thought the price was a little high and he asked me to find out what a shop would charge to do this job to see if his price was inline.

seems reasonable assuming he does it for a living. $50 per hr seems high if he is just a kid working out of the house.

Well he does AC work for a living. He is 28 and has been working on cars, bikes, 4-wheelers for 15 years.

He did the work in my driveway though (LOL)

THANKS

Dont make multiple threads on similar items.

That's exactly what I do for. Side jobs. I take labor dollars and cut in half from all data at work. You got a pretty good deal for not doing it yourself. Especially concidering with that kit every.part of your suspension is removed and installed. Although I've done quite a few of those kits and struts and all I would have charged you 600.00

What do you think a shop would charge for the job? My friend said at least $1500 labor and he usually charges 2/3 the shop fee for his work and said $900 was a fair price. He is very knowledgeable, takes his time and does things right. He said if a certified shop would do the work I would be looking at over $1500.

What do you think it would cost for a quality mechanic to do the work? When I told him Compactfean would have charged $600 he thought that was really a low ball figure.

THANKS

THANKS SO MUCH

You didnt get ripped off. Stop being cheap and stop haggling with the guy and making him feel like he ripped you off. If there is no problems with the install and everything is good theres no reason not to pay the guy what the job is worth. My suggestion is to learn how to do it yourself and never worrying about paying people again. I dont mean to seem like a d!ck, but I spin wrenches for a living and hear people bitching about the bill and how it costs too much, but they have no clue on how to do the crap themselves.

he has a bad back

I turn wrenches for a living but am the mgr of my shop so I get all the bs from people that don't like the bill. I just figure 600 isn't bad for a days worth of work.( that's probably why I never get a real day off). Either way you got a deal.

$20.hr seems like a more reasonable rate for an amateur. he might average $50/hr as a a/c mechanic but that does not mean he is worth $50 doing something he is not trained at. longterm, it is best just to keep a neighbour happy and find someone cheaper next time. a lot of people would have done it for free.

vancouverbc wrote: a lot of people would have done it for free.

Maybe some good friends might have helped for free as long as you got beer/pizza and help them on their cars, but ain't no stranger doing that for free.

At $50/per hour, 12 hours of work is $600. I guess the other $300 was parts, right? Most shops that I've talked to have quoted me $500 for bushing replacement and $300 for struts. Thats labor alone. I think you should feel comfortable with your deal at that price as long as the work was done right.