$1800 for replacing a $20 part?

When getting my oil changed, i was notified by the attendant that the Crank Seal on my 03 Volvo S80 T6 was leaking and needed to be replaced. recommended i talk to dealership.



called and requested a quote - told 1850.00 plus tax.



Is this a legit quote?

Welcome to the wonderful world of Volvo repair bills. Volvo seems to go for new records on expensive repairs.

You need another opinion. Is the symptom an oil leak? If so, how much is it leaking? You might try one of the oils recommended for older high mileage cars. Sometimes they can “swell” some seals and reduce oil leaks.

If it is a drop or two of oil on the garage floor I’d learn to live with it.

it doesn’t look as if a ton of oil is leaking out of there.

the guy who spotted it referred to the cover he had to remove to get to the oil filter. just pointed up there to the crank seal and said it was leaking an needed to be replaced.

honestly do not know when or where this occurred, nor how long its been occurring. i just bought this car from a private party about a month ago.

i called a local mechanic who specializes in saabs and volvos, and he said that he’d have to put a UV dye in the oil and drive it around, then find the leak. said if it was a front crank seal he could do it. couldn’t do it if it was a rear crank seal.

i’m going to monitor the amount of leakage…prolly try that high mileage oil as well.

car has 93000 miles on it, btw.

It will still be pricey with the local mechanic. If it is the front seal, the perfect time to replace it is when you do the timing belt. Since the timing belt must be removed to get to the front seal, the added labor should be much more reasonable. On this car, it should be done at 105,000 miles or 8 years. That’s coming up soon.

If it’s seeping out and you are not using much oil, just pay attention and keep the oil topped up. “BustedKnuckles” is right to do this, or consider doing this, when the timing belt is done. In my view, no hurry.

What kind of place gave you that opinion/quote?

Has the timing belt been replaced. Often, a timing belt replacement includes all front seals, idlers and the water pump. Could the dealer be pricing that entire job?

Don’t put too much into an over the phone no look price, in reality it probably will be more, they always find more stuff. this person you talked to must be new, he should have low balled you to get you down to the Dealer (but still a price he could possibly do the job at) and then hit you with extras.

Legit quotes are in writing, now you can ask “is this a fair price”?

NEVER confuse , compare, or relate PARTS to LABOR.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Volvo repair bills.

I second that. Volvos are expensive to own and expensive to repair.

Every car is capable of requiring massive labor to replace a relatively inexpensive part. This is nothing new to automotive repair.

Exactly.
For instance, on many cars, replacing the $40 heater core involves such an incredible amount of labor that the total cost of the job can easily run into the $800 range.

While this is not as exhorbitant as the price quote that the OP received, it is likely that the OP could find a lower quote for replacement of that seal.