Hello,
I wanted to get your opinions on this price from the dealership. They said my water pump is starting to leak ( car has 93500 miles ) so it needs to be replaced.
They want about $760 to replace the water pump and both belts. I checked with parts and the pump is $340.
Is the whole job overpriced?
Yes…in my opinion. It’s not a very complicated job at all and the parts are much cheaper than the dealership charges. Stay away from dealerships and let a good independent mechanic do the job. You will save money.
I guess they must be charging 200 dollars an hour for labor. Book time is 2.1 hours. I live in Kansas and the Zone has pump in stock for about 180.00 in this area.
Would this be the same pump ?
I would have to bet it is
Oh, I don’t know that it’s that overpriced. You’ll also need to replace the thermostat, as is doesn’t make sense to take your old thermostat out of the old water pump and put it in your new one. List price for a GM water pump is in fact over $300, but a quality aftermarket one can be had for less. Here’s how I’d price it:
Water Pump $216.00
Thermostat $45.00
2 Serp belts $80.00
1.5 gallons Dexcool $35.00
2.5 hours labor $225.00
Subtotal $601.00
Tax $57.10
Final Total $658.10
So using an aftermarket pump saves $100. My local Chevy dealer has a labor rate of $109/hour.
Your dealer is in the ballpark, but as always a competent local independent shop should be able to save you a few dollars.
I’m with asemaster on this. Except that I’d recommend strongly against trying to buy your own pump and then have a shop install it. It would be unreasonable to then expect the shop to stand behind the job. Whereas, if the shop uses their own supplier everything should be warranteed. And that $100 that you think you’ll save will be eaten into by shipping & handling charges.
Frankly, a lot of shops won’t install customer supplied parts on jobs of any significant size.
Is it worth an extra $100 to you to get the work warranteed?
The price of $216.00 is what I would sell an aftermarket pump to a customer for, still making my normal parts markup. AC Delco water pump has a selling price of $320. I’d warranty either part the same way.
If a consumer wants me to install a water pump he supplies, I’ll gladly do it. I’ll guarantee the pump won’t fall off but that’s about it. Also the job goes to the end of the line and waits until all the regular paying work is done.