so i've reached a point in my life where I simply do not have time to work on my car. I used to do everything - even spent many hours figuring out how to replace the AC clutch bearing for $20 so as not to replace the whole compressor.

but alas, a new job, new baby, and new (old) house with more home projects than I care to admit. car maintenance is no longer a priority.

so - to make you all feel better (and have a few laughs at my expense) here's what I just forked over for some delayed maintenance on my 99 SE with 180k miles...

install warpspeed y pipe: $131 labor only
new front axles (both): $195 parts, $174 labor
new stabilizer links (both): $55 parts, $55 labor

yes I realize I "got screwed" and that in my younger days I could've done all this myself for less than $200, but those days are long gone and I'm now at the mercy of my local mechanic. so this is how it feels to be a normal car owner...

 

I wouldn't say you got screwed...labor rates are high because that is what it takes to stay in business. The mechanic probably made $25 take home after the shop and uncle sam got their cuts.

 

its funny i have always done my own work...but latley when that bolt breaks i have been thinking... what would it have cost me to just have someone else under here swearing. i feel ya man im just not quite there yet.

 

you got lubed up big time. Recently paid $50 to swap warpspeed y pipe for OEM.
my mechanic charges $50 labor per side to replace axles.

next time shop around

 

Maybe you could have gotten a better deal by shopping around, but where I live that's a he'll of a deal. It's toughto find any place in southern Cali that charges less than about $130 an hour labor.

 

Yeah that's totally true unless you know someone you can't find someone good unless you really look for one. But thankfully i have my dad. But still it's hard to find a really good mechanic and price especially in Cali, probably the same in some other states too about high prices.

 

over $100 is about right for installing a ypipe. $50 is for VIP.

 

I'm in with this thread! Just forked over $550 to have my exhaust system replaced.

Dropped the car off, handed over the key, picked it up later in the day.

Money well spent! No way I was crawling under there to work on that rusty old crap.
The days of DIY for me are getting slim as well. To many house projects and other "fun" things to do in life. The car is no longer one of them.

 

Blah blah blah, all it mean is that you're getting old, lazy, and inefficient

Your peepee is next on the list , one day you'll wake up and realized it doesn't go up anymore

 

Ouch. Labor rape is no fun.

 

QFT.

 

at the shop i work at we have a 70 year old Argentinean man STILL doing body work, and hes currently RETIRED.

 

Truth, everyone is so good at it these days.

 

so true .

 

"Labor rape" is getting to be the cost of staying in business.

One of my family friends owns his own shop. He charges $29.99 for a basic dino oil change with a filter. You know how much he makes? $5.00. The tech gets half of that.

 

ive gotten worse also...with two kids (one still an infant), career, 4 cars and a house, the free time to work on them has slowly faded.
i still do MOST of the work myself but sometimes i cant be troubled. Like last week i couldnt break the castle nuts off my front end-messed with it for over a half hr and said 'screw it'. $93 later i have new tierods/ends and hardware and i didnt have to break a sweat.

 

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