Dealer Quoted $445 for Low Beam Bulb Replacement

General Discussion
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I have a 2016 Toyota Camry SE (2.5L 4-cylinder), and last night, one of my low beams went out.

Called the dealer this morning to see how much it would cost to replace both just to be safe, and after a couple of minutes on hold, the guy comes back with $445 to change both bulbs. He tells me they have to remove the bumper to access the bulbs??

I asked how much the bulbs cost—$35 each. So they’re charging almost $375 just for labor?! That’s absolutely insane. No way it actually costs that much to change a damn Low Beam Bulb, right? People really paying $445? I’m obviously changing them myself but is this real?

Edit: Looks simple from this video.

Edit 2: The price was for two Halogen Low Beam Bulb Replacements

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Watch a video, see what’s involved, then decide.

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Why don’t you ask an indy mechanic for a price quote? Most likely they would be cheaper than the dealer, but maybe not very much cheaper.

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Looking online, I see that O’Reillys will install headlight bulbs for free. I did not check the price of the bulbs.
I always enjoy it when I catch a dealer suggesting outrageous prices, especially when the job is not needed. It tells me exactly who I will never go to again.

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Yes, that is easy. On my 2017 Accord I could replace the high beam under the hood but I had to go in through the wheel well to access the low beam bulb. The low beam was a PITA. You can find the bulb type in your owner’s manual near the back or watch the video again and write down the numbers. Any auto parts store should have the bulbs in stock. If they aren’t on the bulb display, ask at the desk. They probably have some in the back.

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Somewhere there’s a labor guide that shows an hour labor to replace the headlamp bulb on a 2019 Silverado. Labor rates at dealers and quality indy shops is now hovering around $200/hr.

Should I do the job for less because I can do it in 15 minutes?

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You shouldn’t, but how about some young person scrambling to build a business?

I heard a fellow who opened a hi-fi repair shop in the '60s tell about tuning Mackintosh amplifiers. Back then they came with tubes, the heating and cooling caused the properties of the circuit to change over time. They had variable inductors and capacitors to adjust to put them back in spec. He read the Mackintosh manual, saw that he could undercut the official price ($75), but nobody who owned a Mackintosh wanted discount labor, so he charged $75.

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Is it possible he went with LED head light labor?? just to CYA…
If that is the case then $445 is cheap… lol

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My 2004 Infinity I35 HID low beams were $150.00 each and labor rate is 1.5 hours each side, have to remove one bolt behind the inner fender cover, PIA…
So at $150.00 an hour, = $225.00 plus the $150.00 bulb = what $375.00 each side, I think that is $750.00 for both low beams… and it is a 2004 model… lol

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That is probably what happened.

Service writers generally don’t know how the vehicles are equipped and go with the higher labor time quote. They will catch hell from the technicians if they under bid the job. The vehicle should be brought to the shop for a proper estimate.

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Here is my answer. If you charge no more than the labor guide on repairs that go poorly, then you should not have to charge less when they go easily.
Further question: if the shop is charging $200/hr, what is the mechanic getting?

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Yes. If your labor rate is $200/hr and you complete the job in 15 minutes, how do you feel justified charging your customer the equivalent of $800/hr? If the customer is waiting, do you make them wait 45 extra minutes to justify the $200 charge or do you tell them the repair takes 15 minutes, but you’re still charging $200?

My attorney is good and he can draft a contract in 2 hours whereas the average attorney may take 4 hours. He doesn’t charge me what the average attorney would charge, he charges me his time - 2 hours.

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It took me a while (out of a lifetime in this industry) to realize that building a business based on low pricing is stupid. If I’m going to offer a service, I need to ask if I have the ability and equipment to do the job, I need to calculate what it will cost me to do it, and I need to figure out how much net profit I need it to generate to maintain my income where I want. What Bob’s Garage is charging for the same service is irrelevant to what I need to charge for it. If my price is higher, I need to justify it by demonstrating how my service is better.

Certainly. This brings up another point about phone quotes. Any price I give over the phone is a shot in the dark and I won’t give a firm number until I see the car. How do we know it’s just a burned out H11 bulb? Maybe it’s a poor connection or melted pigtail?

Wages are all over the place, but around here at a dealership (which is where the OP called), I’d expect a well-experienced mechanic to be flagging at $50-$55/hour.

An average mechanic can do a repair in an hour. I have tools, experience, and abilities that make me better than the average mechanic. I may give a “simple” headlamp bulb to a lube tech or a “C” level tech, and it may take him an hour. He’s going to follow the service manual and take down the fender liner, loosen the bumper cover, pull out the grille, and remove the lamp assembly to replace the bulb. I can go out and replace the bulb in 15 minutes without removing most of those things. Are you proposing you should pay less for a repair that’s done better and faster?

I have no answer as to why your attorney is short-changing himself (which is his business) and devaluing an industry (which is every other attorney’s business).

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Video shows you can remove bulb from behind lense assy. You don’t have to remove assy housing.

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Not to mention, if you have 8 mechanics and 1 is a master tech and can do the job in 15 minutes where it pays 60 minutes, and takes 7 of those guys close to the 60 minutes to do it and you bring in a waiting customer with an appt and the master tech is waiting on a part or something, so he grabs the head light for a quick $ and easy pay, well you decide to only charge the customer that 15 minutes and not the full amount, next week the guys mother comes in for the same job with the same basic vehicle, but this time the master tech is busy, now a C tech gets the ticket and it takes him an hour, do you charge the guys mom the same 15 minutes or the correct 60 minutes it normal takes and took to do the job… Now who are you ripping off and the guy is pissed cause you just ripped his mom off and he blows yelp up about it.. That is just bad business, you need to be consistent with your pricing, not all over the board, plus now you just stole from the master tech, he is paid flat rate and not hourly…

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When my son in law got his first job out of law school he received his projects from a senior lawyer in the firm. The senior lawyer charged the client what it would cost for him to do the job even though a new lawyer was doing the work. The newbie took as long as necessary to complete the job, but only worked for the fixed price quoted to the customer.

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Or, the work might actually be done by a lowly Paralegal, like me. :wink: I worked under two different Deputy AGs, and in addition to doing occasional investigative work for them, I was the one who drafted all of their Court Complaints.

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Go out and spend 15 minutes putting a headlight in your customer’s Silverado while they wait. Then, write up the ticket for $200 in labor + parts + tax + shop supplies. When your customer asks why you’re charging them $200 in labor for a 15 minute job, tell them you’re an above-average mechanic. Let us know how it goes. Your customer doesn’t care that it would have taken a lube tech or C-tech an hour.

I’ll be sure to let my attorney (and firm of 60 attorneys) know that a guy that runs a repair shop in the Pac NW understands the economics and best practices of a well-regarded regional law firm better than they do. Heck, they may even have some tips on how you can run your shop better.

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Just my opinion but I’m not sure I like the whole flat rate system. I imagine many use it but if a longer job takes longer due to rust or whatever, I expect to pay more. If it is a simple job I expect to pay less. I don’t know how accurate the book rates are. In my youth I worked two jobs with a piece rate. One there was no way the rate could be made. The other we normally collected at 120% if we worked hard. Just depends I suppose.

I do my own lights so doesn’t matter how long it takes. On the Pontiac though, the whole headlight assembly has to come out. That means the upper bumper cover needs to be unfastened. So I do both sides as long as it’s disassembled. Never had a light go out on the Acura so have no idea on that one. I just prefer to pay someone for what they had to go through unless they screwed up.

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I agree with you bing.

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Part B:

So what happens if that C tech has some issues cause he has limited tools (beginner) and has never done said job before and it takes him 2 hours for the same job the master tech can do in 15 minutes but the other techs can do in about 1 hour, so given y’all think that if a job takes less time, then you should charge less, does that now mean that the customer gets charged for 2 hours labor because the tech is inexperienced??? The shop charges whatever the book time calls for, the shop then can pay the tech a flat rate, which means if the shop is slow and no cars to work on, he is not making any money at all, or the shop can pay the techs an hourly pay, or the shop can pay a hourly plus a % of the job, like 10/10, meaning the tech only makes $10.00 an hour no matter what, but he also gets 10% of the total job (tires not included), so if he does a brake job for $800 and it takes him an hour to do the job, he makes his $10 an hour plus 10% of the $800, so he just made $90.00 in that one hour, but say nothing comes in for 2 hours, he only makes his $10 an hour…

But the customer pays the same amount no matter how long a job takes under normal circumstances…

I have priced out, sold and done complete engine jobs without having to go back to the customer and ask for more money cause this or that happened, but then I have also pulled a valve cover and found a cracked head, sold the head, then found a loose timing chain, sold it, went to remove the fan and it was cracked, and the fan clutch was loose, and kept having to go back to the customer with the findings… Point is, you write up an estimate and sell the job, the customer agrees and you start, the customer pays $X amount agreed to with maybe a 10% buffer but nothing more unless new price is agreed to, no matter how long it takes, good or bad…

You can not run a shop and charge $29.99 for an oil change, then $69.99 for the same oil change for the same year, make, model, engine and drivetrain, then $104.99, then $49.99 for the same oil change just because of who did the job and how long it takes them… Would y’all be willing to take that chance on if you were going to pay $29.99 or $104.99 for your basic oil change depending on who got the ticket??

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