I usually do all my own work! I didn't want to mess around with coolant, so I took it to a reputable local garage. I explained all the nuances and traps of my '89 XJS, gave the mechanic the thermostats, air cleaner gaskets, thermostat gaskets, and lower radiator hose, AND coolant. He was to change the thermostats and coolant. It turned into a rescue mission. I finally extracted my car, navy seal style, after 3 weeks, to the tune of $286.50. I feel this was a $120 job, but what's done is done. Does anyone think I paid too much?

 

My opinion only.

For a novice, that is possibly a 4 hour task, at the quickest.

The lower hose being the most time consuming, followed by the RH stat cover, due to 3 bolts (easy) and 1 nut (fiddly) which usually gets dropped into the bowels of no return. The LH stat cover bottom bolt can be a mystery until you know just the right length socket extension to grab.

I just did stats only on a V12 a while back, and 30 minutes including fill and bleed, but that would be #50 I have done so the spanners etc needed are imbedded in the memory banks.

That bottom rad hose can consume 1 hour EASY.

 

$120 isn't all that much these days. Maybe 1½ hours labor in most shops, or perhaps even less. And there are SO many easier cars to work on for the same money that don't require any nuance and trap warnings. For the same $120 he could be putting front brakes on an ordinary car, smiling and whistling while he worked

The lower hose job alone might well worth $120 in my opinion, due to pain, frustration, coolant dripping into armpits, cut fingers, and mental anguish.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks, you guys. I'm cooling off a bit myself, but I live in a small town, and, labor at an independent garage is believe it or not, $40 per hour, so that's 6 3/4 hours, plus tax.

 

My youngest daughter is away at college with my 2005 Honda. I'm naturally accustomed to doing all the service and repairs but it usually just isn't practical due to the logistics and distances involved. I have to gulp really hard when agreeing to ....gah.....*pay* for repair labor at today's prices. I don't begrudge the shops, as I've spent my whole life in the car repair business myself. It's just awfully hard being a 'retail customer', that's all.

Just recently, though, circumstances allowed for a car swap so I could preform a major service, a few small repairs, and replace the brakes, saving about $400-$500 in labor charges.

Cheers
DD

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grant Francis

My opinion only.

Grant, I have yet to work on fixing that leak coming from the bottom of my water pump area. 4 Hours? and one hour to remove the bottom radiator hose? I am thinking twice about doing it myself. Looks like a 2 to 3 day job for me...