220$ to change my spark plug wires?!?!?

[MountainMan]

So I had a local shop checkout my rig and they told me I needed new spark plug wires. THEN they told me it would be 100$ for the wires and 120$ for labor (1.5hrs)


so OF COURSE i did it myself (for the first time , yes i am a mechanical novice 30$ parts + 40mins labor), but before i call them asking them to explain. Is that normal??? Would any shop charge me that??? Or am i right in thinking that they are trying to screw me???

thanks K5ers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sled_dog]

$80 an hour for labor seems excessive to me but maybe thats the going rate around you. They were definetally quoting on someones scale of time though. It wouldn't have taken me more than 20 minutes to change plug wires, any mechanic worth his weight wouldn't take 1.5 hours. Not to mention they must be using solid gold plug wires, cause I've never seen a $100 set of wires. I wouldn't worry about them but I just wouldn't go back there for anything but inspection.

 

[Drey]

Just wondering while we are on the subject what does a set of top of the line MSD wires cost? would it matter V8 compared to V6 other then 2 less wires

 

[sled_dog]

$65 to like $80



http://store.summitracing.com/

 

[daleearnhardt01]

Thats crazy, I did plug wires today on a Chevy truck and it took me around 25 mintues.

 

[sweetk30]

price info

i am in the auto biss and the 80 dooler / hour is reasenable around here. if you go to the city its around 120-150 / hour. and yes there is a table to go buy , its a labor rate book , put out buy all the major book companys. most of us mechanics fell for the cust about prices but we cant do much when the boss says to do this. and when you figure the overhead and INSURENCE thes days watch out pricing. hope this helps.

 

[Wingnutt]

'they must be using solid gold plug wires, cause I've never seen a $100 set of wires'

Ever bought a set for a 4.6 T-Bird? I had one seprepate from the bood while 250 miles form home. Had to buy a set at Autozone, price $85. Call the local stealership, they wanted, get this $145!!!!! Just for giggles I asked them how much to install them They quoted 3.8 hours at $125 per hour. I told him that they must not be wanting any work at those rates and hung up. Now granted this was in DC so I expected the rates to be a bit higher than in the little one horse town that I live in, but holy freaking crap that's robbery without a gun!

Well being the fiesty type, I asked my bro-in-law to move his beamer out of his garage so I could work where it was dry. Now this garage is typical for up there, the rear bumper was about 1 inch from the door and the front was about a foot from the wall, tight to say the least. Things are indead tight under the hood of a '95 T-Bird, but the main problem is that four of the wires run from the coil pack BEHIND the alternator and up under the intake before emerging from the other side of the alternator. It took a while and thanks to a length of hobby wire from my sis-in-law I managed the job in about 2 1/2 hours....in a dimly lit garage with very little room to work. Seems like a LOT of shops are just out to rip folks off anymore. Rant mode off.

 

[gone huntin]

I'm a tech at a shop that uses AC Delco parts. Our labor rate is $60/hr. I just did a tune up on a 2000 GMC Sahara 2500 van with a 350 in it. The platinum spark plugs were $10.46 each and the wires were $148 list price. All Data showed the labor to be 1.5 hours on the plugs and 1.5 hours on the wires. Now, these two jobs do overlap, so the times were adjusted accordingly, but AllData gets their labor times directly from the manufacturers labor guides. I do think 1.5 hrs. is a little much on a pickup though, but it was right for that van with having to remove the dog house.

 

[Jonny-K5]

my girlfriend once took in her toyota tercel in for a check engine light . they said she needed new plugs and wires,because what was on there wasnt factory parts, and thats what was caussing the light(BS).they wanted 550 to do it! if you've ever seen a 4cyl. toyota engine, it couldnt be easier. its all right in front of you. i coulda done it in 10 min. i hate dealers.

 

[big_truxx]

id say RIPPOFF!!! 1.5 hrs to change plug wires? i change mine in about 5 min... when i did my first set ok maybe it took me 15 min... but that was being excesively slow and precisive being my first time i wanted to be sure i got it right. thats why i do my own. i can trust the mechanic working on my truxx.

 

[CyberSniper]

Decent pre-fit wires will cost $45-75. Cheap parts-house brand wires will cost you $17-30.

It'll take about an hour to put the wires where they belong. For the driver's side, down the back of the motor and have the wires come up underneath the manifold/header. On the passenger's side it's a bit easier.


Labor is usually $40-80/hour. The person doing the work usually makes $8-15/hour plus commission. Usually they're paid using GM's "warranty" book which shafts the employee and the company charges based on AllData's book which shafts the customer. Benefits these days usually cost $12-25/hour for good benefits (such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield). Most grease monkeys have ****ty benefits. Then there is workman's compensation taxes, social security taxes, et cetera. Usually labor is split in thirds. 1/3 goes to the company, 1/3 to taxes/insurance (give or take), and 1/3 for wages.


If you're going somewhere and the labor prices seem high ask the workers what they get for benefits/wages. A happy worker usually does less shady work.