I'm actually changing y-pipe (Budget) & catback (EVO2). yesterday, The guy told me it would be 1.8 hrs labor @ $65/hour. Ok I told him. once he put the car on the lift, took the cat back off and then calls me and tells me he can't take the y-pipe off because the bolts are rusted and he doesn't want them to fall into the manifold. I told him let the bolts soak in wd-40 over night and give it a go in the morning. now he's telling me the the o2 sensors are rusted in but he'll get them out.

Anyway, my problem is that he's telling me he worked on it for 3 hrs today and a bunch of hours yesterday so he has to figure out how much to charge me.

My Question: can he charge me more than the book allows for time? I don't want to pay $500 (or what ever it comes out to for his alleged time) for the install

thanks for any future advice

 

there is a specific amount of time for every type of work... if he takes longer then its his problem...

on my old car i had to replace the radiator.. the book had said 2 hours at 60/hr they guy took 3 hours but charged me for 2.

 

add 10% of what he originally quoted you. After all, he could just rip the rusted **** off your car in an hour with a torch and let you figure out what is rattling on your own.

 

y-pipr and catback is a real easy installation

the bolts even if they are rusted shoudl coem off very easy with an impact gun...

-J

 

i know its too late now but next time get a written estimate. you would be surprised on how quickly labor hours and prices change.

 

Unfortunately in my case the one of the bolts came off with the nut I think I got lucky though because I dont hear any exhaust leaks yet. There is a little but of the stud left, so I bought a little nut to put on at some point.

BTW, my y-pipe sounds sweet! I didnt really expect that much of a difference, but I can say that I am pleasantly suprised. I havent really noticed a performance difference, but that may be because I havent really hit the gas yet.

Now it is time for the GAB to see if they are a good combination

 

Oh, and just wondering how these bolts are going to fall into the manifold??? WTF is he talking about?

 

...sorry, I think he said he'd have to take the thing apart to get the bolt out to do the job right. Anyway, he did get the thing off safely, but he still won't give me a price. he origonally said $130, I hope he doesn't charge me more than $200 because I just don't have the $$

what do I tell him when he gives me a price of more than what I'm willing to pay?

 

This can't be the first time he has run into rusted, sticky bolts. I would say that it's his problem, but I might be willing to negotiate a little to maintain goodwill and cut him a little slack, but I personally wouldn't go more than $50 more than original. That's just me ...

 

the mother f-er charged me 250.
I'm happy with the work though and the performance is great. with the injen intake the power would kick in about 2800-3200 rpms but now with the new y-pipe and evo2 the power's there throughout.

should I now splurge and get the high flow cat? will that make a big difference?

 

damn bro thast a ****load of money to install things liek that .... that can all be done on jackstand in a day
how does the greddy evo2 sound with the y-pipe???
-J

 

nah, the first thing you should do is find another mechanic.

THat price is absurd.

 

the first thing you should do is hit yourself in the head for paying that much for the install. borrow a jack and jack stands, grab some wrenches and do it yourself!!

 

I know it's a lot of $$ I went there through a recommendation through a friend, don't get me wrong, he did excellent work but too much $$.

Anyway, the set up (y-pipe & evo2 - stock cat) sounds sweet, it's not ricey, just a nice growl, at higher speeds (65-80) it's not loud at all, I turned the radio up a little more than half way and I couldn't hear the exhaust. the only thing I need to get used to is shifting because the power feels so diffrent. should take a day or 2, other than the installation price, I'm very happy with the install and the whole set up.

just to repeat though, should I get a hi-flow cat? does it make a diffrence in performance?

Thanks

 

I dont think a new cat would do too much for you. I would just buy something else with that money.

 

you pay way too much especially for just a y-pipe install...i had my cattman put in by a muffler shops on monday and they charge me $65...it took them about an hour to do it...i can already feel the car pulls better and no cel light either!

 

I assume your car is a 5th gen... I have 90K miles on mine almost and all my bolts come apart EZ. I drive through snow, sleet, etc.... All my Exhaust pieces come apart like new. As for the 02 sensors not coming out... Bull Shiaat I would gladly do a Ypipe and a catback on ANY Maxima for 100 bux. I live in IL. Catback takes like 10 min to oo. Friggn 250 is what I almost charge for a Maxima clutch.

 

You got ripped! I had the same work done and it cost $55. They had the same problem with the bolts, they broke, but he just torched it out.

You know he was feeding you BS when these majic bolts are going to fall UP and into the manifold.

I would have said I'm not paying and to put it back they way you brought it there. A 10% increase is OK but that was way to much!

Sounds like you need to get a mechanic with some more experience! THis should have taken less than 1 hour.