If you had walked into one of the shops I managed with that box of parts you would have been thrown out. We had a strict rule that we would not install customer supplied parts.
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First of all, if you think this job is so easy, since you already bought the parts, why not DIY? Even though I have done major engine/mechanical work myself at home, suspension work is something that I’d rather pay someone else to do. The reason is because doing this type of work on a dirt surface with a floor jack and jack stands is too dangerous. (And yes, I have thick metal plates which I put under the jack stands to prevent them from sinking into the earth.) A professional mechanic with a proper lift can do the job faster and safer.
Second, since the shop which is willing to use your parts isn’t going to make any money on the parts, they still have to charge enough money to make a reasonable profit. Remember that it costs a lot of money to run a licensed business, and every job has to pay toward the business’s overhead. I am not a professional mechanic, I only work on my vehicles at home as a hobby, however I am a professional HVAC technician. The company I work for will happily install new parts or new equipment provided by a customer, however we are going to charge additional labor to cover our overhead costs.
Third, I am as cheap as the day is long, and I think the quoted price is reasonable. To put this into perspective, earlier this year, I had a professional mechanic replace all of the suspension components on my 2002 Daewoo Lanos. Due to the fact that their supplier could not obtain the necessary parts for this vehicle, I ordered all the parts online, several of which had to come from overseas. I paid about $1500, and I thought that was a reasonable cost. He did an excellent job, and the car drives and handles very well now. I also used this mechanic to rebuild the suspension on my 2000 Chevrolet Silverado, which was completely worn out, and that cost over $3000 with them supplying the parts, and I thought that was reasonable. The truck drives and handles very well now.
Fourth, I hope the parts you are supplying are decent quality (at least as good as OEM). I hope you’re not putting cheap no-name parts into your car, and planning to pawn this off on someone else, before the parts quickly fall apart.
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That is your right, but it’s not so cut-and-dry. For a common vehicle, using commodity-type parts, maybe that attitude is reasonable if the customer is simply a cheapskate. For a rare or enthusiast-type vehicle, it may be difficult to obtain suitable parts, or the customer may want specific parts to be used…and they may be perfectly willing to pay for the privilege. Turning away that business is obviously your right, but also your loss.
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It’s not my loss, I don’t want to deal with the fact that there is a very good chance you have the wrong or defective parts, and now my bay is tied up with a car I can’t move out of the way.
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a good shop knows which customers to turn away
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Think about what you’re saying. If I have 30 years of experience and all the tools I’ll ever need, I can probably do a job in 2 hours that might take an average guy 4 or 5. So I should charge less? I might as well just remain a youtube hack and make some real money.
If by scamming you mean making a profit, perhaps. But then again I go to work to make money, not make friends. I have plenty of friends, I wouldn’t say I have plenty of money…
Shops will quote high prices for work they don’t want to do. Hopefully the person walks away.
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I really wish that the people out there that think mechanics always are overcharging etc etc had to invest the amount of money that we pros do in tools and even training, but mainly tools… Other than a pro level scanner, I have about anything I need to do whatever at my now home shop other than a lift… (no tire equipment or alignment equipment lol)
Heck, I even had to let my buddy use my cherry picker for an install at one of the shops I used to work at…
Point is, we could pay cash for most vehicles now a days for what we have in tools… and have money left over…
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Yes, that’s why I only use two particular shops. Over the past 20 years or so, they’ve realized that whiIe I’m particular about some parts, don’t use cheap white box crap on my vehicles, and I’ve never once brought in a bad part. I’m also cool with them not being able to warranty the part should the part I bring in fail. I’m told by one of the shops that they don’t normally extend that courtesy to most customers, but I’m a bit more knowledgeable than most people, the parts I bring are at least as good, or better than what they typically use (OEM most of the time), and I always leave a box of doughnuts in the car when I drop it off. With that said I totally understand why most shops won’t allow the customer to supply their own parts.
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I used to go to a particular shop for engine work. A buddy turned me on to them. My first interaction with the guy doing the work set the tone for everything that followed. We were discussing expectations and I told him, I come here because friends I trust recommended you. I trust you to do the job and I’m not here to micromanage your decisions. Do what you think is right, I’m not here to pinch pennies. Big smile. You would not believe the care and attention to detail he put into that motor and anything I subsequently brought to him. I literally balanced a dime on that initial motor when it was running, it was so smooth (just OEM stock parts, the lumpy hi-po motors came afterwards :)). And the costs were always reasonable. Respect goes both ways…
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I’m a big believer in letting professionals do the job that they know how to do.
If I knew how or wanted to do the job myself, I wouldn’t be standing in the shop. Some people have a need to “control” the situation, and it ends up making the process harder for everyone. That’s not to say there aren’t some unsavory types out there that will take advantage of a customer. But I’m not buying PVC pipes or plumber’s tape for the plumber when I have him come to my house. I trust him to do what’s best and more efficient, and I just pay the bill.
But your mileage may vary.
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Exactly. It’s your car and your money, and you get to decide IF I repair your car. The other side of that is I get to decide HOW to repair your car.
You might have a leaky water pump. I give you a price to fix it. You decide yes or no. You don’t get to decide what brand water pump I use and tell me to use universal coolant. That’s my decision.
Back to the OP, the question isn’t really how long a job takes, it’s what the shop will charge the customer. And that number has to be a good deal for both sides.
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Switch to DuckDuckGo as your search engine. You can choose an AI search if you want, but the normal search feature is still there.
That said, there are a ton of websites that “answer” automotive questions that are clearly AI generated but show up in a normal search on Google or other search engine.
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When we set up our shops from scratch, I needed to set up the pricing. I check the competition and set a labor rate at $204 per hour. I then looked at what we were going to be paying for parts and it was about 50% of list price. I set the shop management software to charge the customer list price for all parts. Without that we would have had to charge an astronomical labor rate. Each of our shops cost us approximately $2,600,000 to build and equip. We had to get a return on that investment. Multiply that by 35 units and you’re talking serious cash.
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@bcohen2010 why are you arguing with and questioning long-time professionals who’ve been in the automotive field for decades and clearly know what they’re doing?
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It seems to take less and less to wind everybody up. If you don’t like the labor estimate find someone else or do it yourself
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