A/C broke last week. Center vents blowing 87˚F with outside temp >105˚F.

Had been 4 years since I had system repaired by local Jag dealer. After that fix, In summer with 100+ temps, center vents blew ~38-43F when cruising (superb!) & if idling, ~ 10 ˚ warmer. Because It got so very cold cruising & I was not driving much in rush hour stop & go traffic, it kept me cool in the AZ oven temperatures.

Since dealer charged me >$700 in 2015 & I had to go back 3x b4 it was finally fixed, I decided to try a well regarded Indy shop.

They charge $118.31/hr. labor. Jag dealer (as of 1 year ago) was charging $165/hr. (Probably more now)

Tech said found system too low on refrigerant due to low side A/C section hose leaking. Need to replace the low side A/C suction hose (which now comes as two separate parts)

MNC7310BF AC suction hose
MJA7312CB AC suction tube
Tech said much labor, & have to partially move engine to get at these hoses.
Next day called & told me driver side engine mount broken & recommend replacing it. (I agreed)
(Note: I had Jaguar replace both engine mounts + transmission mounts in 2007)

Total bill $1,601.66

Parts subT= $739.13
Labor SubT= $684.68
plus tax & shop fees.
Based on their stated labor rate they charged me for 5.8 hours labor.

Does this seem reasonable?
Would it take almost 6 hours to replace that old hose with the 2 new ones? Plus replace the engine mount which he said would be easy since they had to move it to access the hoses anyway.
Looks like they charged me more than list price for the 3 main parts.

MNC7310BF AC suction hose $222.99
MJA7312CB AC suction tube $173.99
MNC 7500 AB engine mount $318.99

I checked https://www.jaguarmerriamparts.com

AC Line - Jaguar (MNC7310BF) (List $163.50) $ 132.04
AC Line - Jaguar (MJA7312CB) (List $112.75) $ 98.06
Motor Mount - Jaguar (MNC7500AB) (List $183.00) $ 170.53

So, if they significantly overcharge for parts & overstate labor hours, I may end up paying more than at the high priced, Jaguar dealer!

RE quality of work?
Not sure yet. A couple minutes after driving away, I had red dash light “Coolant too low” I kept an eye on the temperature gage & it never moved from center/normal. I’m waiting till it cools down to check & add coolant. Usually I only need to add ~ 8 oz 1x/yr. In the past, I never got the light, I just check every Q.
108˚F TU PM as I drove off from repair shop. Cruising center vents got to 48˚F, no cooler & up to 55˚F when stopped idling. So, A/C Not working as well as b4 but, I’ll wait till I add coolant & see how it does tomorrow b4 I complain. Maybe they didn't put in enough R134A refrigerant?

 

Replace the line, probably around 2.5-3 hrs, maybe longer (too include purge the system, replace hose, recharge), probably 1.5-2 on the mount, since they were there and depending on how hard it may have fought them....sounds about right.

I just had my A/C pressure switch done, it cracked and leaked all the fluid (so recharged). Had the rear galley plug and rear seal done (slight leak), replaced the Cat studs, ran me $1090 including parts 6.5 hrs labor (which was about your cost).

 

Agree with HH, labor is probably about right, but they raped you on the parts.

(And I wonder if the motor mount was a genuine Jag part, or a $75.00 aftermarket URO part?)

 

another issue to watch at indies. have had several people come to me and non jaguar parts replaced and told they were OEM and charged accordingly. earlier this year had a Jaguar with newer catalytic converters he was told and wanted OEM. They were cheap aftermarkets

 

They had quoted me the same labor charge (~ $685) BEFORE they discovered the damaged engine mount! They told me they would only charge me for the part & N/C labor, since they had to move the engine mount in order to do the AC hose replacements. I suppose they make it up by the large markup on parts.

IDK, they told me they were using Jaguar parts but I have been lied to b4 many times re this for something as simple & easy to obtain as a Jaguar brand oil filter. I have changed my own oil now for > 10 years.
I do not know how to tell if the engine mount or the 2 AC hoses are genuine or not.
I did ask to see my old parts.

 

I just looked up these 3 parts on SNG Barratt:

Motor Mount - Jaguar (MNC7500AB) $175.54 ($69.20 aftermarket)
AC Line - Jaguar (MNC7310BF) $168.02
AC Line - Jaguar (MJA7312CB) $123.22 ($80.90 aftermarket)

I think the extra profit is too tempting so I assume they used aftermarket & will not tell me.

I suppose it would be insulting if I asked them to show me their receipts to prove they used Genuine Jaguar parts.

If I use another Indie shop in the future, I could ask them to use only genuine name brand Jaguar parts and not to use any aftermarket parts.

It seems redundant but, I've had problems in the past, as I mentioned, with oil filters. I can easily eyeball the oil filter myself afterwards to see if it's genuine or not.

I had one shop that told me they always use genuine parts and they railed against cheap aftermarket knockoffs. After an oil change, 15+ years ago, I saw they had used an aftermarket filter and I brought it back! The owner/mechanic apologized and said it was an error & blamed the mechanic that did the work (but the invoice charged me for the genuine brand!) Why did they even have it in stock, LOL. I made them change it to a genuine Jaguar filter.

Other shops would reply yes, when I would ask ‘are you going to use a Jaguar brand filter?’
Then, if I persisted, like a district attorney, and would say: “So, you are not going to use an aftermarket filter but, use a genuine, Jaguar branded filter?” Then they would say things like ‘well, it'll fit the jaguar.’ I always walked away.

 

You can't use online parts prices -- they are always under local cost. An independent has to buy the parts local -- be paid for the time it takes to order the parts. Cover warranty.

What's the full list price of the parts ? The labor seems fair for the work done



Nothing wrong with asking about parts source...

 

I listed the list price of those 3 parts from
https://www.jaguarmerriamparts.com

On Friday I went back to the shop to have the service advisor measure the A/C vent temperature, idling (Another story) & I said:
"You DID use genuine Jaguar brand parts as opposed to cheaper, aftermarket parts, right?"

He said: "Yes."

So, it is 100% out in the open now.

 

Try buying the parts at the dealers physical location for the same price -- the online dealers sell outside the network.

My local dealer has no "online" .. for years I was friends with everybody -- including the parts manager who sadly passed away. Got the best wholesale price .. he would even do it when I took the car for service. Now, I'm at the mercy and just like my local MB dealer -- they now sell parts .. above list!

Just had this happen with my older MB wagon .... suspension hydraulic line rusted and leaked. Had to purchase from dealer .... 40% different. Had no choice as my local independent had the car ... the closest dealer who does sell "online" .. will not give you the price as a walk in ,,, you can't order and pick up.

 

I have seen different, online, Jaguar Dealer parts departments list DIFFERENT “list” prices for the same part.
My local dealer typically has a price higher than any list price I find online. Much higher than the sale prices from online Jaguar dealers.

I used to have a Jaguar Service advisor (Who no longer works there) who used to give me discounts on parts & labor.

 

My point: you can't use the prices in the link ...... the local shop can't get those prices. They also have to be paid to get them and warranty them ... all makes higher vs the link.

Yes ... list is really. Whatever I say list is .... at one time it was easy to figure out as everybody charged the same "list" .

My local MB dealer bought the Jaguar dealer .... they advertise the cheapest labor rates .. and mark up the parts prices 20% over list.