is toyota ripping me off?

they want me to pay $875 for the timing belt, water pump and all that good shit done. i dont know if thats a good buy or what? but regardless it has to get done.

 

are you good with a wrench, and do you have a weekend to do the job yourself? I just finished up. $250 kit with all OEM parts.

the absolute hardest part of the job was the stuck bolts i encountered. everything else was easy if you can follow simple directions.

 

sounds about right, dealers do charge that miuch. I alot of work is involved.

You can always try another dealer just call them and tell them your shopping around for a good price. My dealer where I live sometimes has a special 199.99 for timing belt only, then it comes around less than 500 dollars with everything else.

 

A friend of mine has an Acura V6 and the dealer charges $1200.00 to do his car.

 

Yeah, that sounds about right, I'd guess. Their mark up on parts, you can get em for 250 or so as stated above, and their shop price labor. Sounds about normal, I wouldn't know for sure because I've never taken a vehicle to a shop but I'm sure others here will let you know.

 

Yep, that's about what I paid two years ago at the Dealership.

 

Toyota doesn't work on your car.

A privately owned dealer does.. and they charge whatever they want.

Go elsewhere that isn't a dealer and the labor rate comes down a bit if you want to shave some cash off of that repair, but it isn't $400 worth of work.

 

Does that price include installing the thermostat with the jiggle valve oriented correctly, or do they charge extra for that?

 

I would trust the dealership more then some small mom & pop shop.

Tho' Dealership labor costs may be slightly higher...
they are more qualified and will use factory original parts.

They warrant their work for one year to the date of the repair.
And back up what they do without the same troubles you may have at some smaller shops.

The repair cost by the dealership seems a reasonable cost that I'm aware of.

 

I was just trying to suggest there's more options than a dealer and are going to be cheaper priced.

As to your theory about dealer technicians being more qualified and using warrantied OEM parts - that's your opinion and you're entitled to it, but thinking they're highly qualified and Joe's Garage is staffed with monkeys is pretty laughable.

Anybody can order OEM parts. OEM parts themselves are warrantied through the manufacturer, it doesn't matter if Toyota of SoCal orders and installs them or if Bumfuck Bob does it in his gravel driveway in the rain.

Dealerships have higher labor rates because they can get it, they have larger bills to pay than small(er) shops do, and so they rely on labor rates to pay the bills (just like my business does). They have "techs" because "mechanic" is practically a dead industry in the computer driven vehicle age and now everybody is a "technician."

Go where you want, but thinking the dealer monkeys are superior to the non-dealer monkeys is extremely flawed thinking.

 

yeah ok... been there done that.

Dealership mechanics are more qualified as they go thru a more specialized training
then do other freelance mechanics.

I did not say that Joe's Garage and their grease monkeys couldn't get it done.

But first one should inquire as to how many times they've done the timing belt
on the specific vehicle that they will be working on.

Someone whoms does similar repair weekly in their duties...
is better qualified then someone whom has done it maybe once or twice.

Tho' OEM parts may be near to the original specification, they are not factory original,
nor necessarily meet the same high quality standards.
Generally independant mechanics do not use factory original parts unless that is specified.

The dealership's labor rate is predetermined by the FSM - estimate guide
These estimates precisely determine what alloted time is required to complete each specific repair.

we'll just agree to disagree.

But realize this... ya get what ya pay for.

 

That sounds right. Had mine changed a few years ago. Was planning on doing it myself, but saw all the parts you had to take apart. Plus with an important part of the engine I'd rather a have a pro that is familiar with the engine and use oem parts.

 

I had the local dealership do my timing belt when the truck hit 90K miles. I also asked them to look at a leaking water pump. It turns out there is an old style and a new style pump. So, I wound up with belt and pump, and as I recall the total was around $1K.

I briefly considered doing it myself - I have the factory shop manual and tools - but, I envisioned a weekend filled with knucklebusting, unpleasant surprises and multiple trips for unexpected parts purchases, with the job possible spilling into the following weekend, so I wrote a check to the dealer.

 

.. most dealership technicians were barely 10 years old when that truck was new.

 

I think that is a Super Price I was quoted $1400.00 then living in the Great Brine belt Costs more .

Granted there are some Good Dealer Techs I have yet to meet any in person

 

Make sure the shop will accept owner supplied parts - a lot won't, and some that do might increase the labor quote if you bring your own parts since they're not making any money on parts mark up (which isn't much in the internet age).

 

and now they're 30 something with a certification
for working specifically on Toyotas.

So what's your point ?

Old people make for better mechanics ! ?