Is labor charged by the hour or by the item to be replaced?

 

purpleqn, most shops use a generic table that says a water pump replacement should take XX hours (where XX is a number). If the mechanic can do it in say half the time, he still makes the same amount of money as it it took him twice as long. The same goes true in that if the mechanic wastes time and takes all day, he only makes money for the XX hours the job should have taken.

What part of Maryland are you in? I'm in SOMD and may be able to help you out.

 

Get a new water pump from rockauto.com, the best.

Its easy to replace.

Walter

 

What is the garage charge you? Water pump is easy replacement, it will take you two hours the most to do the job at home, remember you have to make appointment take it to the garage, leave the car there (for how long?) then go to pick it up: Much more time consuming than spend couple of hours on Saturday morning.

 

The cost @ Jag dealer here in Utah is $125.00/hour + $25.00 "shop fee" + parts cost
Which was just over $300.00 to replace a fraking stud that they told me to torque to 103-113 ft. lbs. (Correct from Jag I later found is 95) done in their lot replacing a missing lug nut (where/how it came off, idk).

 

Rock Auto has six choices of water pumps, priced from $22 to $44. You can view replacement procedure here:

I'm guessing that dealership P&L for this job would be $400+. An Indy shop might be slightly less. I rate my DIY skill level at 3-4 (scale of 5) and wouldn't hesitate to do this job myself. I'd budget a bit more for coolant and new drive belt.