Porsche's are not cheap. 944's are inexpensive compared to other models - but they ain't cheap. The labor charged by most shops is pretty much the same at the local Chevy dealer as it is at the local Porsche dealer. Heck, I charge $85 an hour to look at your computer - and if it's a server it's $125 an hour! As such, I would not have expected much for $150. Most all of that is going to be labor.
Having said that, the expectation of value is the point here. Pologuy did not get what he thought he should have and that is his reality. Doesn't matter if it was a good price or not, he still didn't get what he thought he should have.
But - that does not mean that the service facility ripped him off either. Their MLB (material, labor, and burden) are set - there is no way to lower that number. So their reality is that they gave full value for the amount paid. To give any more would have resulted in a loss on their part. Enough "losses" and they're out of business.
Based on part cost and required labor, the price for what Pologuy received is within reason. The value is not. However the only way to reduce the cost and increase the value is to eliminate the only variable, which in this instance is the labor. And the only way to reduce this cost is to do the work yourself.
However, one's time is worth something. An owner may not have a garage to work in or the tools to complete the job. Perhaps he/she works 60 hours a week or has other obligations during their free time. Any one of these items may increase the value of having someone else do the work. That is something the owner has to determine for themselves.
Last point - technicians and many (not all) of the shop owners are not always the most customer orientated people on the planet. These guys and gals enjoy working with their hands and are rightfully proud of what they can do with a wrench. Customer service and handling expectations are not their specialty. Thats what most of the high end shops have service writers to do the estimates and explain the services you will receive. But somebody has to pay for that value added service - guess who.

 

but yep i agree with everyone...doing the "tune-up" is actually really easy and not very time-consuming at all...you can save a lot of money when you do the work yourself because i guarantee it you'll need the moolah for somethine else that comes along that'll be really big (clutch, timing belt, transmission problem, etc.)...but good luck!

 

I think pologuy understood the point and is taking it well. Time to get off his behind guys. General auto repair shop labor cost is high. It costs $100/hour to take your honda to your honda dealer and $120/ hour at your local Porsche dealer around here.

Lots of people don't know why they charge so much. Well, let me share my experience with my recent inquiry into buying a piece of property zoned M3 and currently with an auto repair conditional use permit from the city. When I called the city planning committee, I was treated like a criminal when I mentioned "auto repair" and was informed that most likely, the city will not allow the continued automotive repair usage for that piece of property if I do buy it. There is a constant stream of regulators trying to save their jobs and justifying their existence by hassling shop owner's here in S. Ca. Everybody from the city, county, state, and federal government want a piece of you and one day you will have the fire marshall telling you how many feet you need to have your fire extinguisher to the EPA checking everything in the shop including waste disposal of oil, coolant, etc. with everything short of an **** probe. If you are lucky, the city won't come measure how many inches your handicap toilet is away from the wall to make you tear down a wall if its 2 inches too close (actual case with someone I know). I am not sure about other states but I feel that California is an anti-business state and we wander why jobs are hard to find. Then you calculate your astronomical liability insurance and workers compensation insurance. I wish there is a breakdown of where that $100 / hour goes just like how they break down the federal budget. Something a private individual does like hosing down your engine with water can cost you thousands of dollars in fines when you run a shop and god forbid if your hydraulic lift leaks (like they all do) into the ground and costs you tens of thousands of dollars to dig up.

I am sure I left out some more details but I think you get the idea. As for people who work on their cars, its prohibited for someone to have an inoperable car in your own fenced in yard and it is illegal to do anything more than rotating tires or changing brakes according to a "helpful" representative working for the Building and Safety Department even in your own garage. Ask me how I know and I am just a simple guy who want some space to work on my hobby and finding out I have to get some industrial space just to do that.

 

It's probably been said before, but if you didn't specify or cover what was to be done in the tune-up, then you blew it. Normally a tune-up is Plugs, Rotor, Distributor Cap, Fuel & Air Filters. An oil change, fluid(s) flush and fill, new wiper blades aren't part of a tune-up. Regular maintenence items, yes, tune-up no.

Trust me, you got off cheap. I just spent $500 on a tune-up kit for my new to me C2. But that's two of everything...should bought a 1987 to 1989 Carrera or kept the S2. We won't talk about oil changes...but man, what a difference in the driving experience.

 

This sort of stuff is why I refuse to move to California. In Oregon you can't have an inoperable car in public view (from the road). But if you have a tall fence or it is in your garage, you are good to go.

 

If there my parents did not live 4 miles away, I would consider selling my townhouse and move to Oregon and buy a large 4 bedroom house for the same price

 

Ok, this is getting pretty offtopic, but where the ¤½#"! do such laws come from..? For all I know, I could take out the engine right there in the yard, and leave the car like that for all the people to see, if I wanted to. Weird. Then again we've got "slightly" more strict gun laws etc over here ...

 

How many months out of a year can you take the engine out in the yard though?