YACT: I'm having a mechanic fix my car up on the side..what's a fair price to pay for labor?

[wasssup]

My friend's friend is a nissan mechanic, here's what he's going to be doing:

-Change timing belt, drive belts, water pump
-Hammer out dents (one big one, one small one)
-Alignment/balancing/rotation (he's a mechanic at a nissan dealership, he's gonna take it there and get it done for free)
-Adjust E-brake (its practically useless right now)
-Install OEM foglights (i purchased them and gave them to him)
-Install fuel filter
-Replace condenser(?? The a/c stopped working, he took a look at it and said this part was bad and has to be replaced)
-Flush all fluids

He's doing it on the side, I told him to take his time, so I won't have my car for a week..we haven't talked price yet (he's going to take a look at everything and let me know what's up), but for the above mentioned work I was thinking of paying him $500 for everything (labor and parts). Think it's too high? low? I just dunno...

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Get an idea of how much time he's putting into all this and then give a price, by having someone you know it do the work you know they aren't cheating you out of anything so try and pay a little extra.

Also, try calling up local shops to get an idea of how much each of those would cost from them and use those numbers to figure out how much you should pay him

 

[Quixfire]

He should set the price for the parts and labor. He will know how much time it will take and and he can determine what his time is worth to him. If you think the price is too low then you can tip him.

I get tips all the time.

 

[DurocShark]

You're looking a minimum of $400 not counting parts. Depends on how hungry he really is.

 

[squirrel dog]

$500 for all that would be a tad light I feel . Ask him for a ballpark figure then be happy if its less than $500 . Call a dealer and get a quote for that much work , then you know .

 

[CRXican]

$600 is what most peoople would pay just for the FIRST item on your list.

$500 is way too low

 

[ironcrotch]

Thats a lot of shat to be doin to a car, espcially the timing belt. I changed mine in my Civic and it took me nearly a day to do it. IIRC most places will charge you an arm and a leg for that alone.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: wasssup
My friend's friend is a nissan mechanic, here's what he's going to be doing:

-Change timing belt, drive belts, water pump
-Hammer out dents (one big one, one small one)
-Alignment/balancing/rotation (he's a mechanic at a nissan dealership, he's gonna take it there and get it done for free)
-Adjust E-brake (its practically useless right now)
-Install OEM foglights (i purchased them and gave them to him)
-Install fuel filter
-Replace condenser(?? The a/c stopped working, he took a look at it and said this part was bad and has to be replaced)
-Flush all fluids

He's doing it on the side, I told him to take his time, so I won't have my car for a week..we haven't talked price yet (he's going to take a look at everything and let me know what's up), but for the above mentioned work I was thinking of paying him $500 for everything (labor and parts). Think it's too high? low? I just dunno...

We had something like that done on our Honda CR-V
Minus the AC Condenser and hammering out dents and installation of fogs
I think we paid something like 550-600

 

[mrchan]

$500? changing the timing belt ALONE could cost that.

fair would be cost of parts + $25/hr.

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: Quixfire
He should set the price for the parts and labor. He will know how much time it will take and and he can determine what his time is worth to him. If you think the price is too low then you can tip him.

I get tips all the time.

 

[Vegito]

Originally posted by: CRXican
$600 is what most peoople would pay just for the FIRST item on your list.

$500 is way too low

I agreed.. most honda dealer quote over 700 for my car.. but it was a v6 not a i4..

condenser.. those thing are expensive and are bitch too...

Depending on where you are, you're looking at retail price of around 1500 (NYC Price)
I wouldn't skim cuz he'll help you next time..

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: CRXican
$600 is what most peoople would pay just for the FIRST item on your list.

So much for being an "economy" car! :roll:

Everybody around here seems to think they're worth about $40.00 per hour to fix computers, so I don't see why a mechanic should charge less. That would complete your list at about 12 hours. Um, unless he's Superman, he's going to probably double that time!