Flex Disk replacement--> Centre Bearing

[>$3<]

My car had an issue with the flex disk and i took it to this mechanic who i could tell was gonna rip me off from the second i saw him. Anyways so we agreed to 370 dollars for the replacement of the flex disk+ labor. today he gives me a call telling me that the centre bearing is stuffed as well. n now he wants me to pay 600 all up. Does this sound right to you? How much time does replacing the center bearing consume?
This is absolutely ridiculous, i should have done the job myself! :cry:

[Jim Spence]

It is ridiculous. I just had my flex disc replaced, and they also installed a new drive shaft that I bought on line. They charged me two hours labor @ $55 an hour and $80 for the flex disc.

I'm not sure what center bearing you're talking about, but if it's part of the drive shaft then that's a one piece item.

[Haelo]

$55/hr is REALLY cheap in both of the places I've owned shops. I've always charged a median price, which was about $70 in Michigan and $80 in Florida. We were always required to give itemized estimates and invoices. Why don't you tell us what the breakdown of his price is?

[Jim Spence]

Yeah, I know that $55 an hour is cheap; that probably explains why it takes a week to get an appointment (except for standard stuff like oil changes or tune ups) and why his parking lot has three dozen cars that range in price from my car to a Ferrari.

The local dealer's rate is $80 an hour.

Steve always does me a good job, and I always pay less than I thought I would.

I hope he doesn't retire until the day after I die ... and I hope THAT isn't for another 35 years.

[Haelo]

He might just be lazy too :D

[Jim Spence]

For only $55 an hour and my car fixed perfectly every time, he can be as lazy as he wants to be.

[jasonf860]

Center bearing and Guibo replacement is an easy task, just time consuming to do right. The only "special" tools you need are a bearing puller and a torque wrench.

Total time involved is about 3 hours for the DIYer as long as you have the proper parts and tools.

Oh, and it's about $60 in parts.