Spark Plug Cost - 60,000 Mile Maintenance

Some of those examples on the Denso site are very concerning... Especially the gasket and thread issues.

I have seen them (Denso) online on dealer parts websites for $5 each with the discounts. Oil filters can be had for under 5 dollars.

 

Found a mechanic to do the job at 1.4 hours. Denso spark plugs from RockAuto. Needed to replace manifold gasket when intake was removed for job. Total cost $178 labor. $80 parts.

 

That's a damn good deal. You're not in OR are you?

 

I'm not too mechanically gifted and was able to do it without removing anything, so if I could do it, I think anyone could.

 

LOL just got quoted $800 for 2011 V6. Unreal.

 

I don't have use of my left hand and I did the spark plug change without pulling the intake in 3 hours. Most people on this site should be able to change their V6 plugs.

 

1.5 hours for me and that’s with me never have worked on a 3.5 in my life. Hardest one is the forward most plug on the drivers side. After you loosen the support struts for the intake manifold it’s relatively straightforward. 2nd Hardest part is trying not to break any of the clips on the sensors or coil packs.

 

I just added up parts and labor for plugs, AT trans service (pan drop, filter change, refill), diffs and transfer case. $1100.

My rate is $129/hr

That’s charging 2 hours labor for plugs, 2 hours labor for transmission service. I have a hard time charging much labor for the diffs and t-case, they’re just drain and refill. So I put $30 labor for each. I use Amsoil for everything except the t-case, for that I use Redline MT-LV. This is also $20/ea for the factory plugs.

Hope that helps. And I still think $1100 is a lot of money for that. But I’ve been told by a lot of friends I don’t charge enough…

Dealers up here are up to $200/hr

If you’re getting quoted over $1500 for plugs and all the gearboxes, that’s WAY too much. There’s making enough money to comfortably keep a shop up and running, and then there’s being greedy.

I will also say that I don’t have any employees. That does make a difference.

 

Back in the mid 90's I charged $100 an hour for my computer programming services.
I had a guy pay me $100 with a smile on his face to do 15 minutes worth of work for him... ( $400 an hour ).

When I was going on about that someone said to me hey they're not paying you for what YOU know.
They're paying you for what they DON'T KNOW.

I slept well that night.