07-16-2013, 03:03 AM
There's not nearly enough information to make an intelligent response to your question.
There are many variables which *might* make that price reasonable, to the shop at least, if not to you.
30 minutes if you are familiar with what to do and have all the tools at hand ready to go, and nothing goes wrong.
That's kind of a big if. Not to mention, many shops use flat rates for just about any job. So if your car's year, make, and model call for 1.5hrs, and the job gets done in half that time, you'll likely still be charged at the shop rate for the flat rate.
And hourly shop rates can vary significantly for different reasons. If a shop is proud of their work (and may certainly have every right to be) they may charge a premium. Around here, $100/hr for an indie shop rate is not uncommon. After seeing a few $40/hr shops, I stay away. Far away.
As mentioned, drum brakes are more time consuming, generally, than disc brakes. So it may not be a 30min job, especially discussing this over the phone., sight unseen.
There is substantial profit in parts, whether generic or OEM, and nobody likes to lose profit. Ask any tire shop the cost of mounting and balancing tires, and then ask them "How much if I bring my own tires?"
There may also be a question of the liability of the shop when installing user supplied parts. While it's common to bring your own tires, your own brake parts, also safety items, would give many shops pause. IF they consented you use your parts, they would certainly charge you more. A buddy doing the work for you would be a different story.
It is just that they charge 2 [h]ours of labor for this job which should take under 1 hour.
As I said, there is a loss of profit when you bring your own parts. If somebody else came along with the same car and same situation, but didn't bring their own parts, the cost might be pretty close. Who knows. But they can charge what they want and take as long as they want., whether or not there are unforeseen complications.
You're free to accept their price and conditions, or not.
There are many variables which *might* make that price reasonable, to the shop at least, if not to you.
30 minutes if you are familiar with what to do and have all the tools at hand ready to go, and nothing goes wrong.
That's kind of a big if. Not to mention, many shops use flat rates for just about any job. So if your car's year, make, and model call for 1.5hrs, and the job gets done in half that time, you'll likely still be charged at the shop rate for the flat rate.
And hourly shop rates can vary significantly for different reasons. If a shop is proud of their work (and may certainly have every right to be) they may charge a premium. Around here, $100/hr for an indie shop rate is not uncommon. After seeing a few $40/hr shops, I stay away. Far away.
As mentioned, drum brakes are more time consuming, generally, than disc brakes. So it may not be a 30min job, especially discussing this over the phone., sight unseen.
There is substantial profit in parts, whether generic or OEM, and nobody likes to lose profit. Ask any tire shop the cost of mounting and balancing tires, and then ask them "How much if I bring my own tires?"
There may also be a question of the liability of the shop when installing user supplied parts. While it's common to bring your own tires, your own brake parts, also safety items, would give many shops pause. IF they consented you use your parts, they would certainly charge you more. A buddy doing the work for you would be a different story.
It is just that they charge 2 [h]ours of labor for this job which should take under 1 hour.
As I said, there is a loss of profit when you bring your own parts. If somebody else came along with the same car and same situation, but didn't bring their own parts, the cost might be pretty close. Who knows. But they can charge what they want and take as long as they want., whether or not there are unforeseen complications.
You're free to accept their price and conditions, or not.