So I've been branded an opti-hater????If used as a moniker, should the O and H be captlized or just the O?

 

Don't pay for anything if you didn't approve the work, then find someone better suited to work on your car.

 

Maybe not branded but if it was the case we would be changing out opti's everytime the LT1 was driven in the rain or snow.

 

I should be a little clearer on this. When I brought the car in, I knew it needed plugs. I had already changed 5 of them, but could not get to the last 3. The plugs where mismatched and in rough shape. I did not think that was the entire problem, but it sure wasnt helping.

I told him, change the last 3 plugs and diagnose the rough idle,stall, backfire issue. I was thinking this would be done with a computer, or testing some of the electrical parts.

He called me and told me the PCM was bad, so I had assumed he tested the parts and that was the end of the diagnoses.

He then calls me back and all at once tells me the PCM wasnt the problem, the waterpump was leaking on the opti, he had pulled the water pump, put on a new opti, and because he "thought" the injectors might be bad he put some spares he had around the shop in just to check...

He then tells me the car need/needed the following
plugs
wires
opti
waterpump
injectors

luckily I was able to get the original injectors from the previous owner. Dont know if they are good or not. I dropped them off to him last night.

The ONLY reason the car is still there is because I have so much going on right now so close to christmas, that I dont want to deal with taking a half apart car to another shop to start over.

When I dropped those injectors off last night I again voiced my concern over cost. He still couldnt give me a figure. Not even an idea. He just said not to worry about it that he will keep it affordable. The guy seems nice, and he has confessed that the car was much harder to diagnose then he expected it to be. At this point I dont even know what a FAIR price would be.

I feel like I did not have a opportunity to NOT have them do the work. They did 90% of the labor of doing an opti while in the process of diagnosing the problem.

I fully expect to pay for parts which include
opti
plugs
wires
waterpump

But what is a fair labor cost given this situation?

 

"Keep it affordable" means different things to different people LOL.....Most shops would charge $400-700+ to change an opti....estimates can vary wildly because most mechanics don't like changing optis since it can be such a pain in the *** (can you blame them )

 

If you didn't give him the "go-ahead" before he did the work, then I wouldn't be paying for labor or parts.

 

This... Unless you told the mechanic something vague like "just fix it," then you're in a world of ****.

 

I'd say your in it for a grand give or take..........

 

It usually runs more then you think. But there are honest mechanics out there, just few and far between. If he couldn't give you an estimate, I would have just asked why not...

 

Here in florida a customer needs to sign a work order and most of them at the bottom say that once you sighn it they can do up to 500 bucks of work before they call you to let you know. Now not every shop out there will not call and let you know what it will cost, but if it takes 2 weeks or more to fix or diag a car chances are there either not working on it or dont know how to diag it. if he comes at you with this crazy number then you might want to ask why they were parts swapping vs doing proper diag?

 

Well, I guess I shouldnt complain. Stopped by the mechanic today. The car is 99% finished. He just has to tuck some wires and finish things up. The car is running awesome. Smooth, no miss, sounds really strong. As it turned out it was a combination of bad opti and bad fuel injectors. So here is a rundown of what he did.

New Opti
New Water pump
New Plugs
New Wires
New Fuel Filter
Remove fuel injectors
Clean and reinstall the factory injectors that I had given him
New Fuel Filter
Oil Change

Grand total
Parts $400
Labor $450

Total $850

He said his guy had like 12-14 hrs into it, but he couldnt justify charging me all that labor.

Im thinking I got a screamin deal, and found a new mechanic.

 

If he really did all of that you got a screaming deal on **** parts. Sounds fishy.

 

Dude....you jumped to conclusions too early. Glad everything worked out.

 

 

A new ACD opti is $300+, a new ACD pump is $150, new plugs/wires are at least $75+, among all the other supposed new parts/cleaning injectors There's no way he used QUALITY parts if he is only charging you $400.

 

I have all of the old parts in a box. Talked to the guy that worked on it for about 45 minutes while I was there. Very friendly shop. I jumped the gun because if any other shop I had ever been to did all this, I would have been handed a bill for at least 1500 bucks. Im thinking they had a hard time diagnosing it to begin with, and by the time they had it figured out, they had the engine half apart. So at that point, what could they really do? Im sure the mechanic didnt want to put it all back together, just to have to take it back apart again to fix it.

Worked out for me. I will take it back to them for future work.

All new parts have a warranty AND he gave me a 12 month install warranty.

 

Perhaps the guy really made a good deal to keep and win a client??

 

This is the parts price break down...
opti 165
wp 94
wires 50
plugs 56
fuel filter 10
oil filter 10
fluids 15

I dont know what name brand he used for any of it, and quite frankly, i dont care. If the car runs, and runs well. And he gave me a warranty on parts and labor. What difference does it make?

 

Glad everything worked out for you. Those prices are so sketchy though. I agree with RamAir95TA, I'd be worried about the parts quality but I definitely understand your reasoning behind the 12 month warranty and being ok with it. $56 for plugs though...jesus. I don't remember a time when I paid more than $25. haha. Either way congrats. Glad your car now runs good. haha.

 

Glad your happy with the results, as for quality of them well that's just a gamble some take to save money. A autozone water pump will not last like a ACD one as with the rest of parts. That's why some are saying good price on crap parts. I see all the time water pumps come with the fittings about to fall out before its even removed from the box. Plug wires that get hot and melt off the boot, or opti's that last for 100 miles or less or worse don't work at all. The quality control is much better with a proven company then a company that only sells cheap knock offs.