V8 Man

+1 !

perrys4

You guys quoting 800-1500 for TB/WP job need to put the pipe down. MOre like 2300-2500 dollars.

JKelly

Gangbanged IMO.
I would be asking some very detailed questions about the work they did, the parts they replaced, and why they replaced them.
- Tightening the oil pan bolts doesn't take more than 5 minutes (if that is all they did).
- One windshield washer nozzle shouldn't require replacement of the whole system.
- Don't know about the AC, but definitely check to see what all they did to it.
- I would think that the passenger mirror could be totally replaced, repainted, rewired, and a new switch put in for less than $1000 at a dealership. Which I doubt they had to do in order to fix it.
- Timing Belt/ Water pump......$2,000 max, judging from the experience of others.


Here's an ingenious idea. Maybe 928 owners would benefit more when selling their cars if the sales ads read more like this:

FREE 1986 Porsche 928!!! with $30,000 purchase of previous service receipts.
Immaculate condition. 70k miles. .......

Bill Ball

It's been quite a while since anyone actually reported an $800 TB job. There may be some small towns somewhere where the labor rate is $50 an hour. If the mechanic only charges for 8-10 hours and only changes $300-400 of parts, it might be possible, but I think it's far fetched.

macfly4

i found a few things ...the mirror motor was busted and i think they charged about $400 to replace it. the drivers side sprayer was not working but the lights and passenger side sprayer did work but i think the system was clogged. for some reason, the first time i used the light sprayers this weird orange/ mud colored water was coming out which eventually cleared when i put in new washer fluid but i have no idea what it was...cant think anything would have rusted in the system..isnt it all plastic? so to replace the windshield system was i think about $200. the control head/ flap...he said that the a/c was working and that cold air was blowing but because the flap wasnt working it was mixing cold and hot air..so the head and flap needed to be replaced...i think this was about $1600. the tb/pump came to about $1800-2000 i think and the retorquing was about $150. total was first given around $6000...this was all from the first diagnotic so i dont know what else they found when they started working...havent been able to talk to the mechanic or my dad since it was done. he is going to pick it up monday so i can find out more.they might have decided to do the whole gasket replacement , my dad said something about it sounded like they needed to do something else which brought the price up another $1000 so it might have been this. its expensive but i sure as hell wouldnt have known how to fix anything in there and mucking around for a few hours just doesnt seem like a good use of time. since im not in the US right now i coudnt try anyway so i figured put it in once, let them get the major systems repaired and hopefully that should carry me for awhile. at 50k miles it would have needed its first major servicing anyway right? so its basically like getting a new a/c and TB/pump at around the time it would have needed to be done regardless. i knew it would cost a bit going into this project and the car is in great shape otherwise so hopefully that will be it for a good couple of years! fingers crossed.

macfly4

my plan is to put a set of these babies on...then it should be my ideal supercar!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ayphotohosting

Bill Ball

Reasonable

My headlight washer does exactly the same thing if I don't use it often. It still works fine when I use after clearing the orange rust in the first few seconds. I would not have replaced it unless it failed. I'm not sure what rusts and why the windshield washer doesn't spew the same rust. I've just not felt motivated to figure it out yet.

Reasonable.

OK, this is in the ballpark of reasonable.

I don't get $6-7K from all of the above items, but if they did the pan gasket, $1000 more is very reasonable.

The breakdown you have just provided seems reasonable for most of the items you mention (except maybe the washer system stuff), although a lot of $$ are not accounted for.

Bill Ball

Your car is beautiful and if this is all the work you have done, consider yourself lucky. It appears as more details come out, the numbers get more resonable and your title description of being violated may have been overblown. Your first post made it seem pretty bad, but the additional details have largely changed that in my mind (except maybe for the washer system stuff).

Those wheels are among the most popular style here.

macfly4

the original title was more of a question about how reasonable the prices were. i feel, even though its pricey, that it is probably pretty fair. the prices i quoted dont add up but i dont have the full list just yet. i will have to wait until probably monday to get the full listing so i can report back then.
interesting you get the same rust colored water....anyone have any idea on what that is or why it happens? we cant be the only two here with that problem...its pretty odd and scared me when i saw it coming out. i figured something internal was pretty bad and would cost a ton to fix.

Bill Ball

Very few people ever use the headlight washer. I only use it because I like the cool looking halo it makes in the headlights at night.

Leon Speed

I only use it when it rains

perrys4

Bill, this is what I was referring to.....the parts alone are 500.00 or so. Expecting the labor to only be 300.00 - 700.00 is extremely naive.

There are always the extemes, like mine where most of the WP bolts broke and poor Keith spent siz hours just trying to get them out. Total time on the job with Two very experienced guys was 15-17 hours I believe. I know I was quoted 2300.00 before the guys helped me do mine. I now know the knowledge it takes and the difficulty involved.

Daniel Dudley

It is by far cheaper to spend a little more to do it once right.

Especially when you consider how much bent valves cost, or how little you would use your car this summer without AC.

When I bought my 89, I had it gone over by Arlington Porsche down near DC. It cost me a few bucks, but they caught a faulty TB tensioner that the previous owner had not dealt with during a recent TB change. It is a ten hour drive to my house, so I was glad I had it done. As a result, I was able to drive the car all summer, take it to Frenzy, SITM, all over the east coast.

No problems. And yes, 400.00 to fix the windshield washers stung a little. But the guy who worked on the car has been doing 928s since they were new.

Now what is that worth ?

BTW, I recently bought an 85 that I adore. Same owner for 18 years. This car has been worked on at Holbert Porsche Audi since it was new, by the same mechanic who did a lot of mods to it for the first owner, who was a friend of Als. This car has never seen a hack under the hood.

Now what is THAT worth ?

IMO, you did OK, if you actually get out there and use your car. Don't let a big bill like that turn you off the car. I did sell my 89, and I saw it last summer at Lime Rock Park, as nice a the day I sold it. It was like seeing an old friend who hasn't changed a bit, and I wondered why I sold it. Soon after, I bought my 85 GT spec car. It would have been cheaper in the long run if I had kept my black beauty and spent a few more dollars on all the mods I ever wanted. Don't let this get to you. You spent some money on your car, and did something nice for yourself. Go take some drives with your Dad, and have some fun, because life is short.

Remember, every hour you could have been out driving your Porsche but you didn't is an hour you will never get back. Enjoy.

kjurkic

Daniel:
I agree. If you are lucky enough have access to such a pro mechanic, it is all money well spent. I am jealous of your good fortune in this matter

In my own situation, I have been burned too often to automatically trust any mechanic without a LOT of references. Dealer or independent, there seems to be far too many who are in repair strictly for the money, rather than as a proud craftsman. I am handy with tools and do a lot of my own work. When a shop is charging $100/hr, and I only earn $30/hr (despite requiring equivalent level of education & experience), it can actually be more financially prudent to take unpaid time off work, than to pay someone else to perform the work, even if it takes me twice as long.....

I don't know if certain states have laws regarding charge rates, but it has also been my experience that if there is a book rate for a job (ie 7hrs to change TB), then the dealers will charge full book, even if the mechanic is skillful enough to finish in significantly less time. They are also more than happy enough to add any hours over, not fraudulently, but delay caused by things like snapped bolts are gladly charged at full hourly rates.

Macfly:
Again, a good honest repair shop/mechanic is well worth the cost!! That is one schweeeet shark you have there!! I know the charges can be a real ouch, but I think you bought some peace-of-mind to go with...

Ken

jthwan22

Just because it only takes 5 min to tighten oil pan bolts does not mean that is what the dealer will charge you. They go by the "book" time on how long a job will take. I had a bad experience with a Honda dealer once. The car was only in the shop for 6 hours and they charged me 9 hours of labor. when I question them how this was possible, they show me the "book rate"