Is $725 a fair price for Replacing both rear struts and springs on a 96 Intrepid? It seems high to me as I check out the new parts cost on the net.
I know labor can vary by region. What would people in the bisiness estimate as the High - Medium and Low price for this work?
Thanks
My first reaction is to ask why you are replacing the springs. Struts wear out eventually but springs hardly ever go bad. Are you really sure you need new springs?
But assuming you actually need both struts and springs, all you need do is ask for a second opinion/estimate from one or more other shops in your area.
For that job the best/easiest would be Monroe quik-struts. Fully assembled with all new parts, springs, strut, bearing plates/mounts etc. For my vehicles the web pricing was about 300 each. Seems fair to me. Only if they are that extensive though.
It sounds very fishy to me too. I did not tell the whole story since it is long an I just wanted to get some independant confirmation on the pricing.
The short of it is this. A senior citizen friend of mine, who does not have much money but needs a car to get to work had this done recently. I could not get a good description of the problem from her other than the back of her car was making a clunking noise. She took it to a local shop who told her it was dangerous to drive and sold her this work for about $725.
It may be water over the damn because I did not see the car before hand to evaluate anything myself. I can only now get an idea if the price charged for the work done on the reciept was reasonable.
If she was overcharged I will try to talk to the mechanic myslef on her behalf and see if I can get anything money back.
I hate it when someone is an easy mark to a mechanic and they take advantage of them. I may be wrong, but it sounds like this is the case here.
The price is way too high.
OK, I should of asked the question this way and I appologies for all of these post.
What would the shop book labor time be for the worked performed (replacing both rear struts and springs)?
I’m not a Chrysler guy and have no idea what the book time on a rear strut replacement is on these particular cars, but the average time on most strut replacements is around an hour and a half per strut; so, 3 hours to possibly 4 X the shop flat rate labor charge.
Keep in mind there is no law or anything else that says a shop must abide by the labor guide. The book is exactly that - a guide, and is exactly like a car value guide such as KBB or Edmunds. It’s guidelines only.
It will state in the front of these labor guides the same thing and that extra time should be alloted and charged for any unforseen things that crop up such as frozen bolts or other things that are no fault of the shops.
Even then, a shop is under no obligation to go by the book anyway although a reputable shop should stay in the same neighborhood time wise or risk pricing themselves out of business.
JMHO anyway and hope it helps.