** ALL SHOPS ** WHAT IN THE HELL????

[BABY J]

HOLY TYLENOL GELCAPS AND LAXATIVES BATMAN!!!!! I just got a quote of $900 to do a FULL ES (Energy Suspension) kit on my EG. (I have purchased the kit already). I know (I think) you need a press for a few of the bushings but DAYUM!!! Is this norm or what? I am tired of wrenching for most things, so I do not mind supporting some shops but WOW!!!

BG , MS, ISP is this the norm or is it just that Indianapolis sucks?

[aaronfelipe]

DIY ,my friend.

[Vteckidd]

it is VERY labor intensive, i wont do one for less than $500 cause i dont want to do them LOL

you have to take EVERY LCA, UCA, spindle out, take it to honda to have them press them in an out as we dont have a press capable of doing them.

plus the ball joints are a BITCH

[Tracy]

I can only speak for ourselves. When someone calls about any springs I qoute 1 hr per corner ($320). On some cars it takes less. We always give a worst case scenerio quote. If it takes us 3 hours instead of the 4 we quoted, then we charge 3. That being said, some people charge by "the book" like Mitchell's. Tha's what they use a regular maintenance shops. That may be the quote you got. The mitchell's guide usually quotes about double the time it really takes. WE don't have a mitchell's guide, so we quote what it takes on the hardest car...and come down from there. Some places do a flat fee. No matter how long it takes...their cost is their cost. I think that's how Mainstream does it for regular installs (no cutome work).

Hope that made sense.

[Vteckidd]

yeah but changing coilovers or springs is CHEAP compared to the amount of work it is to replace 200 bushings

[BABY J]

I do enough stuff myself... w/ plenty or broken parts in the garage as proof. LOL. But I am getting old, and quite honestly I've always enjoyed driving more then wrenching. If I can reach it and it's fairly simple, hell why not? But I am NOT interested in a lot of the more labor-intensive stuff. The shop I went to (downtown Indianapolis... a shop called Rated X) is pretty decent. I would not let them touch the motor, but suspension they are good. When he said $900 I was like "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!" LOL. It's really not optional... I had the Sprint Extreme RX (3.25 drop) springs on the EG for 2 years so you can imagine the condition of the OEM rubber (or shall I say PAPER).

** tightens belt **
** sticks out chest **

Oh well... I gotta get it done.

** mumbles under breath **

... holy fuckin' shit

[BABY J]

I guess I better be sure if I want the coilovers that I have to go back on. With this cost I better make sure that this is the LAST suspension bit (minus a few bars or something) to be installed for the next, ohhhh.... 124 years.

[BABY J]

yeah but changing coilovers or springs is CHEAP compared to the amount of work it is to replace 200 bushings

Looking at the kit, I can tell where most of them go, But hell there are bushings that I have NO CLUE where they are. LOL. I am looking at the kit like "is this for my car??" Props to the people that are wrenchers and are good at it... I learned today that I am not. I am a wallet racer...

"Can you help me? I am stupid. How much? Okay... call me when it's done. Here is my bank card... and here is a 50 grit sandpaper condom for you to fuck me in the ass with. Thank you ma'am, may I have another."

LOL

[Vteckidd]

yeah that shits a bitch

[Vteckidd]

an the car will drive like ASS on the street every day. itll handle great, but comfort goes to shit

[Tracy]

I didn't read the bushings thing.

Yea, bushings are a bitch

[Z U L8R]

luckily we have a press at my shop i did the energy susp kit for my 78 280z.........besides the press it's a really good thing we have a torch and a sawzaw, i'm currently undertaking this 240z the guy mentioned bushings, i was like sssskkkkrrrrrrrr if there's not a comma in the labor $$ i'd love to not be the guy to do your bushings =]

[§treet_§peed]

haha i was thinking about getting this little kit that replaces a few bushings but not all whenever i dropped my car lol

[BABY J]

I got them all, and they need replacing. The Sprint Extreme RX has destroyed the OEM rubber. 3.25 inches of drop doesn't take long to take it's toll. It's not that low now, but the damage has been done.

[luthi]

just so you know: this is how a technician gets paid, if the book calls for the job to take 4 hours and you do it in 3 you get paid for 4. however if it says 4 and it takes you 6, you still get paid 4. technicians do not get paid overtime. most shops do not charge, or charge a cheap rate, for diagnostics. have you ever had to spend3 or 4 hours chasing a short, or a electrical problem, just to be told that the shop only charges 1/2 hour diag. since we do not get overtime or decent rates (most shops are over 80 an hour and the techs do not see half of that) get used to it.

[Vteckidd]

we dont charge by the mitchell system, but my estimates are given by experience an what i know or REASONABLY estimate takes to get the job done.

I know what it takes to do swaps, turbo kit installs, suspension, etc. I try to stick to my estimate as much as i can within reason.

Custom stuff, is up fro grabs. Our Custom fab rate is $75/hour an its done when its done. Like this 2JZ RX7 we are doing, i budgeted 30 hours , but if we go over that, ill be calling the guy an telling him its gonna take more. since ihave never done a job of that caliber, i cant give an accurate estimate.

[BABY J]

^^ I wish all shops worked like that. If major shops can do it, so can other shops. I got a quote on a engine build. I told my builder he has permission to go XXX.XX over that estimate and do NOT call me unless we go XXX.XX over. LOL. They went over, but it was within my range that I told him. That's good business Mike.

[imbosile]

2JZ RX7, that should be nice

[Vteckidd]

well the last thing i want is confrontation. I mean, i used to be on the other side, a customer when i didnt know how to work on cars.

the last thing you want to do is tell someone XXXX.XX dollars, an when they come back its YYYY.YY dollars. I have a rule, if its $50 an under the estimate, i wont call, anything over that i call BEFORE i order the part or do the labor. some people are on STRICT budgets. and i feel its best we are all on the same page before work is done. If that extra $50-100 is going to break someone, then alterior options should be thought up or pursued.

But i almost NEVER go over an estimate, if i do, its usually 1) the car was not in the condition i was told 2) they want ALOT more done than what i quoted 3) its custom fabrication work.

but i think in the 2 years we have been open ive gone over an estimate MAYBE 3 times, that i remember

[Z U L8R]

moral of the story, when you go to work you go to work to get paid, technicians have families, wives, and kids, and they work on cars to pay their bills, just like the rest of us. if you can't extract a wisdom tooth you call an orthodontist and pay them for their services. we all gotta eat.

[BABY J]

^^ LOL. That was very "poetic" but that is not the moral of the story. The moral of the story is:

"Baby J, that kit installation is a little more work than advertised. Swapping out some springs can't compare. Parts have to be sent offsite to be pressed/prepped. That takes time. There is more to the install than you realize, which is why it costs a little more."

[sebastianHoff]

hey dude, you can buy a mechanical press that will do all the work for like $120 new.

[BABY J]

PM me some prices (shops) for the COMPLETE ES Master set (minus rear trailing arm, I have a new OEM rubber for this one). I will get my brother to drop the EG off. Need it done.