Dealer price gouging?

B

bassadict69

Active Member
HD52 with 23hp Kawasaki

Took it in for oil change, new blades and new air filter...Grand total = $195 ! What the heck?? This sound right? I bet it was all done in less than an hour, probably half hour tops!

Guess I need to do this myself every spring from now on, regardless of warranty or not!
 
They probably also did a visual inspection of things like belts and pulleys. just gave it the over so the price they gave is about right.
 
bassadict69 said:
HD52 with 23hp Kawasaki

Took it in for oil change, new blades and new air filter...Grand total = $195 ! What the heck?? This sound right? I bet it was all done in less than an hour, probably half hour tops!

Guess I need to do this myself every spring from now on, regardless of warranty or not!
Click to expand...

Heck that sounds like a good price. New blades, oil and oil filter change plus air filter with labor $195 is a deal. I just did the same but added the 5400 drive units changed and it was $481 with labor.
 
bassadict69 said:
HD52 with 23hp Kawasaki

Took it in for oil change, new blades and new air filter...Grand total = $195 ! What the heck?? This sound right? I bet it was all done in less than an hour, probably half hour tops!

Guess I need to do this myself every spring from now on, regardless of warranty or not!
Click to expand...

What can be done in an hour in a properly equiped workshop by a duly qualified & experienced technican is what takes the unexperienced many hours.
I presume you took it in for a service and they changed the blades, oil & air filter.
If done properly there is 2 to 3 hours work in a simple service and that does not include things like cleaning.

Down here I charge $ 125 for the service + parts and if I was acually charging according to the time spent @ $ 60.00 / hr then it would be closer to $ 300 + parts.
The glass fronts down here charge around $ 250 + parts for a service.

Now if they really wanted to gouge then they would have added spark plugs, oil filter, fuel filter & valve cover gaskets for starters.

While there is nothing wrong with you servicing your own mower, there is a lot more to servicing than just draining the oil & changing a few filters
I do 3 or 4 major breakdown repairs each season for bewildered customers who have "done their own servicing" from new.
Dearest was $ 1800 on a 3 year old mower because the owner had never bothered to adjust the valve lash and killed both heads.
Every Intek head gasket I replace ( about 10 a season ) happens again because self servicers do not bother to check the valve lash.
 
You don't give us the exact model numbers for the unit or engine, so I am making some assumptions as to parts. You must have a copy of the bill, breaking down parts and labor. Here is how I see it, realize that my labor rate is just a guess for your area. Three blades would cost $20-30. Air filter would be $25-40. Oil filter would be $10-15. Two quarts of oil would be $3.50-5.00 qt. Forty five minutes of labor at $100/hr. Parts would be $102-155. Differences in prices depends on exact part and whether OEM or aftermarket parts are used. Labor would be $75. Using this figures gives us a total bill of $177-230+ tax. Doesn't really look that far out of line. I used forty five minutes because you would have to be a great mechanic and everything would have to go perfectly to get done in thirty minutes. I'll bet it took them close to an hour to do the job. As IL said, I'll bet if they are a good shop they did a quick once over, plus scraped the deck before installing new blades. If you do it yourself, time it. This might be the way it goes. Start timer. 1. Starter unit and bring to the garage. 2. While warming up the engine, gather all your needed tools and parts in a neutral area. 2. Engine warm, bring in unit and drain oil. While oil is draining, remove and replace oil and air filters. 3. Fill with fresh oil and run, then double check and top off. 4. Get out the jack and raise the unit. 5. Remove the blades (hope you have air tools or a good electric impact as those nuts are on tight) and clean the underside of the deck. 6. Install new blades and grease spindles. Stop the timer. Do you still feel that you could do it in less than 30 minutes. Now let's include things I did not include in the timed sequence. Taking the time to look up parts and getting them from stock. Taking extra time to double check my work, so I'm sure it is done right. Moving your piece of equipment out of and back to holding area. Time needed to right up the work order. Always giving the unit a quick safety and defective part checkover. I have to protect myself from the guy who had his unit in for an engine tune-up and two weeks later has a drive belt break, then claiming I should have seen it was bad. Again, I say these are just guesses as I am not in your area, but at least now you can see the work order from the dealers side of view. Did he overcharge you? Only you can decide that after reviewing your bill and what I just posted.
 
Thanks guys! As long as it looks close, I am good with it!

I can definitely buy the parts cheaper online and do myself and save most of that money, but that extra time is hard to find!

I have not picked up the mower yet, as I am stuck working all weekend. I will post the itemized list, probably Monday.
 
bertsmobile1 said:
Dearest was $ 1800 on a 3 year old mower because the owner had never bothered to adjust the valve lash and killed both heads.
Click to expand...
How often does an Intek need the valves adjusted ?
How many hours did a homeowner put on in 3 years ?
My Kawasaki engine calls for valve adjustment every 300 hours, the previous Kawasaki on my FasTrak called for every 250 hours.
Takes me 4 or 5 years as a homeowner to put on that many hours
 
bassadict69 said:
HD52 with 23hp Kawasaki

Took it in for oil change, new blades and new air filter...Grand total = $195 ! What the heck?? This sound right? I bet it was all done in less than an hour, probably half hour tops!

Guess I need to do this myself every spring from now on, regardless of warranty or not!
Click to expand...

To me that sounds right. Even my small shop the time I pick up and deliver and do a spring service plus make a little profit I find I can't do it for much less then that. Yes sure you can do it cheaper yourself, but don't forget you still need to buy your parts at retail prices plus chase down these parts. Now do you own all your own tools, equipment and shop to do the job. So the only thing you are saving doing it yourself is the labor cost of doing the work. Oh by the way don't forget shop supplies like rags, sprays, etc. A small tube of locktite to install the blades bolts you are looking at 10 dollars.
 
To me it sounds too cheap.

4-5 hours to service a tractor if done properly depending on model.
£32.50 an hour plus service parts plus vat is approx £250 which would be going by exchange $362???

And im very busy at the moment so im doing something right.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top