Girlfriend nailed by local shop (1993 Camry Timing Belt Service, 2.2L). $976?!

[Chrisynd]

Hey guys,

Can anyone give me an opinion here? I feel like they are overcharging her but don't have much supporting evidence.

Here's what was done:

Full timing belt service
-timing belt, cam seal, crank seal, water pump, idler/tensioner, oil pump seal, accessory belts
-Charged $125 labor to replace oil pump seal upon my request, claimed to have to "remove the front of the car" to get to the oil pump seal. This is complete BS as far as I know. I thought it was an additional ~7 bolts to pop the oil pump.

Oil leak from Oil Pan gasket
-charged $125 labor to fix

VA State Inspection ($16)

They charged a total of $976, 7.5 hours of it labor at ~$75/hr and the rest in parts.

1993 Toyota Camry 2.2L, ~200k mi

Is this normal or what? Thanks guys.

[Zviator]

Here's my reciept a few monthd ago, right before the engine blew.

Change timing belt package.
Replace timing belt, waterpump, replace thermostat.
Replace engine crank seal, camseal, oilpump seal.
Replace outside belts.
New Coolant.

Parts: $250.00
Labor: $100.00

[hill8570]

That seems to be about twice what my local garage would charge (not a dealership -- just a bunch of mechanics I give business to when I'm in a hurry or when a job is beyond my skills).

Even taking into account the profit upcharge on the parts, the parts bill seems awful high, unless they were Toyota OEM.

Funny thing, the oil pan bill doesn't seem out of line, assuming they actually dropped the pan and resealed. The rest, 'tho...it's almost like they just added together the "by the book" labor charges for all of the individual jobs, and didn't cut any slack for doing it all at once.

[JCamry94]

At first glance reading the title I was like, what did they do to your gf??


This is complete crap man, and it's time to get out your tools and start workin on her car

I've been doing all this crap to my gf's civic for a long time now, and saved her an assload of money.

[Strum]

Originally Posted by JCamry94

At first glance reading the title I was like, what did they do to your gf??

I read it that way too. Dirty minds think alike.

This is complete crap man, and it's time to get out your tools and start workin on her car

I've been doing all this crap to my gf's civic for a long time now, and saved her an assload of money.

I can't believe the cost of the work. Even a dealership runs specials that are near what Camricer noted.

[dz63]

If they used OEM parts, then the price is not that far off. For comparison purposes, in 2001, I had an independent garage replace timing belt, drive belts, water pump, idler and tensioner for $698 CAD using 100% Toyota OEM parts (ie. $200 for 3.4 hours of labour and $498 for the parts).

In your case, you have three more lip seals and one oring seal. My guess is $60 in seals and about 1.5 hours labor max. In addition, you need to add the oil pan gasket and labor to change it. I have not done this, so cannot speak intelligently about that cost.

The part that puzzles me is the $125 labor to change the oil pump lip seal and oring seal. It's only 7 bolts to remove the oil pump. In my opinion, that should only add about 20-30 minutes max. And the part about removing the "front of the car" is ridiculous. The oil pump is easily accessible when changing the timing belt. You would have ligitimate grounds to question this.

It is my experience that the $200 dealership timing belt specials are meant to lure people in the door. They only include the timing belt and nothing else. Once they got you in the door, they heavily upcharge for the water pump, oil seals, etc.

If you really want to pursue this, I would recommend calling an independent garage and a local dealer for an estimate to do the work that you have just had done and use this for comparison purposes.

[500KCamry]

The oil pan does have a premade gasket, its a silicone bead. The exhaust pipe under the pan has to be removed. A couple of pan bolts are difficult to reinstall without cross threading. Oil drain and refill. 1 to 1.5 hours to drain, clean the pan, clean the mating surfaces, layound the bead, reinstall and refill.

[eyeball96]

Tell me what shop in Richmond did this to your GF and I'll be sure to never go there!!

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by 500KCamry

The oil pan does have a premade gasket, its a silicone bead. The exhaust pipe under the pan has to be removed. A couple of pan bolts are difficult to reinstall without cross threading. Oil drain and refill. 1 to 1.5 hours to drain, clean the pan, clean the mating surfaces, layound the bead, reinstall and refill.

OTOH, "book time" on an oil pan R&R is like 3.5 hours. Lord only knows why -- the timing belt change only books at 3...

[jmborchers]

Didn't do the oil pan gasket. The oil pan gasket was good on mine. Leak was at the head cover gasket.

If you got new dealer parts that's a fair price IMHO.

[Chrisynd]

After some mild questioning of the price, they knocked off $100 from the total when I went with her to pick it up; due to "price confusion" from earlier price discussions that differed from totals - bringing it to $876 out the door. Popped the hood and a timing belt cover bolt was missing near the top... Ugh.

There were 3 different oil pump related seals on the receipt, an "oil pump gasket", an "oil pump seal" and an "oil pump housing gasket". There's 3? Parts were not OE, they were from the Pep Boy's literally a stone's toss down the street I assume.

The receipt didn't break the labor down by job/part, it was simply chunked to 7.5 hours so I couldn't tell where things seemed high. Shop was Standard Auto Center on Nine Mile Rd. in Richmond, VA.

Thanks for the replies guys, it hasn't blown up yet. Sadly the alternator was covered in oil due to the oil leak, betting that will go soon...

[deezeejoey]

later this year i'm getting my water pump changed, timing belt changed, and the whole front end of the engine fixed up for $400.00

[DarkMastyr]

The title of this thread made me think it was related to a porno...

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by Chrisynd

There were 3 different oil pump related seals on the receipt, an "oil pump gasket", an "oil pump seal" and an "oil pump housing gasket". There's 3?

Yup, there's a gasket where the oil pump mounts to the block, an o-ring between the two halves of the oil pump, and a seal where the shaft for the oil pump pulley comes out of the pump.

[JCamry94]

Originally Posted by DarkMastyr

The title of this thread made me think it was related to a porno...

Bow chicka bow wow