How difficult is it to replace the oil pressure sending unit on a 2002 Buick Lesabre? Does an hour labor sound reasonable? No complications or broken stuff that I know of.
Ask here if you are asking about mechanics time.
If it is your own work time, who knows?
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No, I had a certified shop do it because I have no safe place to do it myself. I thought it would be a simple remove and replace. But $106 dollars for labor? GEEEZ! The part was expensive enough. at $70.
$100 gets you an hour of quality labor with a guarantee.
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I agree. I just wondered if the time was a bit much. Apparently not so.
Thanks.
The estimate is in line with what I paid.
Thanks.
I’d guess about $80 for he part and 1/2 hour labor. So $130 or thereabouts. You paid $176? hmmm … well maybe your shop has a higher per hour labor fee, or they did something besides just replacing the sender. Did this job have some diagnostic time too? Another possibility, one hour labor is the minimum for any job the do. In any event, $130 vs $176, not much to complain about if the sender works correctly now.
Many shops charge for the first hour, weather it took 25 minutes or 55 minutes.
But an hour is within the expected time for this repair.
You have to consider that you paid the mechanic from the time he walked to your car, until he parked back on the lot. So he hops in, adjusts the seat and drives it into the work bay. Then pops the hood, locates the old OPS, and removes it… Remember he may have to remove engine covers or other parts to have access to the OPS.
Once he removes it and installs the new part, he still has to replace any other parts that had to be removed, button everything up, start the engine, check that the pressure is correct, put away his tools, close the hood, finish his work order and park your car.
I remember seeing an old sign at a feed mill once.
It went something like;
Oats are not cheap…if you want the cheaper oats, follow the horse with a shovel.
Yosemite
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Thanks, It’s within reason. I just thought $106 was a bit on the high side for an independent shop. They did a good job.
No recycled oats either.
Frank Martinoli
George:
It was $106 but still within guidelines. I thought it was a bit high for a tire store. But it’s fixed and I didn’t have to crawl under the car myself.
Thanks for the input.
Frank Martinoli
If a shop were to charge only 0.5hrs labor for that kind of job, they wouldn’t be in business long
They charged an hour. Also did other work not related. Usually a labor breakdown on the bill shows labor operations. I Guess this was an all in one for that.
My curiosity was why an hour for a 10 minute job. The car was in for other reasons as well.
I’m satisfied with the overall work.
Question answered. Thanks to all who replied.
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There is no one that can gather the tools, unplug the old sensor, remove it, install the new one…in just
10 minutes. Unless that’s all that he does.
Just because the car was in for other work, doesn’t mean that the OP switch was any more accessible to the mechanic.
I could see that there should be no extra charge to put on new lug nuts if you are getting a brake job. Then it’s no more work except opening the package of new lug nuts.
Yosemite
Yosemite:
Right you are. There wasn’t any diagnosis time involved as I had requested the part change knowing it was defective. Also, the switch is in plain view on the oil pump housing. Labor would be : raise the vehicle already on hoist for other job, unplug wiring, find right size socket and ratchet & extension, take new part out of box to be sure it’s the right one, remove old part, maybe remove oil filter to get space, install new part, replace oil filter, lower vehicle and check operation by starting motor and looking for leaks and operation of the sensor.
Off hand, to be fair, I’d say at the most, .5 labor.
I didn’t quibble with the shop. I just paid them. I wanted opinions out of curiosity as the labor for the part was 106. The shop rate is around 70. Only reason I didn’t DIY was the safety aspect as I don’t have a reliable way of raising the car enough to get access.
Thanks for your reply.
Frank Martinoli
When you consider the time spent getting the key & work order, moving the car into a bay, getting the part, then after the repair cleaning the fender and moving the car to the ready line and signing off the work order the mechanic would be working unpaid for more than half his time on such small repairs. How long would any of us work when we were only paid for 1/2 the time spent to get the job done. The flat rate manuals don’t allow for all those incidentals but the customer must be charged for it somewhere.
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