Got the belt and water pump done. Shopped it and went back to my mechanic at a chain store, price $784. Bad news- brakes all around with rotors and cylinders replaced, $500. Brakes checked regularly just time. But first big brake job on it. Car is paid for though. So how did I do cost-wise? I know I have spent it already but would like to hear some objective comparision on price. I am in Central Texas.
By asking the question you indicate you feel you might have been taken advantage of? You shopped the motor work, but didn’t have a chance to shop the brake work. I think the shop made back any money on the motor work with a high priced brake job.
You didn’t have to have the brakes done at that moment. You could have said just do the motor and I’ll deal with the brakes later. You might not have needed new rotors? You might not have needed new cylinders (or do you mean calipers)?
Whatever, now you have good working brakes and motor - so drive on and be happy.
That’s about what I paid ($800) for the serpentine belt, timing belt, water pump, and coolant on a 2005 Accord. Not a bad price for brakes, either. Just rotors and pads would be about $150 in parts.
I think the brake job was NOT overpriced.
I just checked my labor times, and all that brake work adds up to 3.1hrs of labor.
So, if you add parts and tax, $500 seems very reasonable to me.
It is true that I did not shop the brake job around but I did negotiate the price. I think I needed the rotors. The car was severely shuttering when braking and it was getting worse. Rotors were thin beyond spec and cylinders were leaking. This was the first major brake job (others were just pads and shoes). While checked regularly I think I missed a year or two when my daughter was born. Considering the amount of work, $500 seemed reasonable compared to brake jobs done on prior cars.
Thanks all for the price comparisons.