Huge concern about mechanic bill, urgent help PLEASE!!!

[Matrixhunter]

He probably just said the belt was on wrong to make some extra money from you no matter what mechanic you take the car to most are theives looking to make extra money off you. Become your own mechanic or sell the dsm i learned the hard way to

 

[RGdsmNewb]

alright i just got my dsm from a dealer with a warranty... anyways i went to a shop that specializes in dsms , and they are fairly costy, but at first i was under the impression that warranty would pay for it all. Sadly, they will only pay 400 dollars So now i'm left with about 670 or something. But i'm wondering if i'm getting ripped off here at all..... Firstly the reason i took the car in was because the belts or something (im new to the whole dsm car scene) were making a squeel and my battery wasnt keeping a charge. So i assumed it was my timing belt / alternator belt. Anyways here's what the bill looks like

Description//////////////Qty////////////////price/time////////////extended
Oil cap///////////////////1//////////////////14.00///////////////// 14.00
drive belt
sepentine belt/////////1//////////////////38.60//////////////////38.60
valve cover gasket
parts information//////1///////////////// 54.34//////////////////54.34
Replace valve CG/////// 1//////////////////0.70///////////////////59.50
Timing cover
front cover
center///////////////1//////////////////27.42 ///////////////// 27.42
Ignition cable
cable set///////////////1///////////////// 116.0/////////////////// 116.0
Replace wire set/////////1////////////////// 0.70/////////////////// 59.50
Timing belt gasket set///1///////////////// 28.50////////////////// 28.50

*(note at the bottom)
labour for timing belt job:includes b/s belt,tensioners, idler puklley, cam seals, t/c seals, alt belt, alt bolt, time cover. Qty 1 price/time 6.00, extended ---> $510

labour is 85.00/hr


So------> labour total $679.32
Parts total 328.86
grandtotal of $1008.18


So im just wondering if this looks about right , it's canadian prices so everything will look a little inflated to you americans. sorry for the crappy formating, and hope to hear some good replies. Thank you!

 

[robs90tsi]

That sounds right to me, unfortunatley thats why most of the DSM owners were forced to become mechanics, because if every time our cars broke we took em to a mechanic and paid labor fees, we'd all be broke as hell. Thats just the way it is, $679 in labor fees is definately motivation to learn how to do it yourself.

 

[silver bullit]

true but not all of us have access to tools

 

[RGdsmNewb]

yeah , i would have attempted doing it myself but ive just read on here so many times about the sketchniess of dsm timing belts. How can i get into learning how to work on my car, im really noob but i'm fairly mechanically minded

 

[sadsm]

The $679 in labor would have bought you a very good tool set!!!!!!!!

 

[beating4g63s]

true but not all of us have access to tools

okay dude 679.32 labor

dsm manuel 20-30 bucks

tools to do the job free if you borrow them from a friend-200 or so.

learning to do your own work priceless.

I've yet to do my own timing belt as of yet because I'm so lazy and my dsm is sitting at the moment waiting for new parts that I ordered but looking at that makes me wanna just do everything my self or pay my friend 100 to do it for me. man i had to take out 700 bucks out my wallet and look at it for a min and say man couldn't turn that much over unless they were rebuilding something. I do know that shops in my area only charge 400-600 for a full timing job,ps and alt belt change oil change and trans flush.

 

[AWDtsi1995]

So... you had all that done just for a squeeling belt and the battery wasnt keeping charge? Why did they do a timing belt change? Was your car do for it? To me it sounds like you should of got the alt belt changed and alt. check and battery checked.

Edit: They charged you for a oil cap???? did you need a new one?

 

[RGdsmNewb]

So... you had all that done just for a squeeling belt and the battery wasnt keeping charge? Why did they do a timing belt change? Was your car do for it? To me it sounds like you should of got the alt belt changed and alt. check and battery checked.

Edit: They charged you for a oil cap???? did you need a new one?

the mechanic said that the belt was on completely wrong. He owns 4DSMS just i just decided to trust the guy, didnt seem like he was trying to rip me off. And yeah i needed a new cap.

 

[N1balla16]

DSM's, Turning Drivers Into Mechanics Since 1990.

 

[DROOPY209]

Thats a lot of money to just hand over for something you could have done in $250.00 in parts.

with $600.00 you could have purchased a nicer tool set than most people on dsmtuners, name brand with warranty as well.

Nobody has EVER touched my (2) 1g AWD's......besides for alignment...

....and I don't have that many tools, just the basic necessary metric tools and a few others.

....I'm still adding to my set continously though.

Hope you learn your lesson and become a member of the endless dsm mechanic list