Am I being ripped off on this repair?

Question

This problem started about a week ago.
My 97 Neon would not start. The engine would turn over, but it would'nt get the "spark" it needed to fire up. After diagnosing the spark plugs and Coil Pack, I finally gave up and took it to a mechanic. After they took a look at it, they determined that the Fuel Pump was defective and wanted to replace it. The original estimate was $500.

I shopped around and saw that the Fuel Pump itself costs around $230. I'd do the job myself, but I don't have the necessary tools and work space to carry out the job.

I was just curious to see if I was getting hosed on this job. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Answer 1

i own a repair shop ,and that's a pretty fair price on that job,its not cheap ,but its not a hose job ,the labor on replacing the pump and sending unit is always around 100 -150 bucks,depending on the shop,so all together that's not to bad ,providing that is whats wrong with it,and that does repair it,that should take care of it though,i have done a lot of those before,and that don't sound too bad on parts and labor,good luck i hope this helps.

Answer 2

Well, Neons have a gas tank loaded fuel pump....

You figure on

Lab work (Pulling Codes) = 1 hour
dropping the fuel tank thats at least .75 hour
R and R the pump = .5 hours
Replacing the tank = .75 hour

3 hours of actual labour

Parts
Pump = $230.00
Fuel filter = $3

Parts $260.00
Labor @ $80/hr x 3 hrs= $240

I'd say $500 is about right.

Answer 3

well almost all garages are gonna double the price of the part and double the cost of labor. so in other words if your paying 200 for the part then the shop only paid 100 for it, and if your paying 150 for labor then the shop is paying the tech 75. most shops where im from charge about 75-80 per hour for labor. so 500 dollars (when the part would normally cost you 460) seems like a pretty good price.

Answer 4

I am sure your can find a better deal on a fuel pump but that is still about right if the part is $230, heck a lot of times if it is just one little part it is usually a lot more for the labor than it is for the part itself.

Answer 5

If the part itself is that much you have to acct for labor and they always charge more for the part. If you had a friend who could help yeah that would be great but otherwise it sounds reasonable. We just don't realize how much we really pay when getting our cars repaired. I was told to get 3 estimates for my car repairs.

Answer 6

I work at a Carquest store and think that is a very cheap price on a fuel pump but it seams that the carges are justified

Answer 7

The $500.00 estimate is a fair estimate.the Techs. have to eat too.

Answer 8

if it takes 5.4 hours nope. If it takes less, yes. Usually mechanics want 50 dollars an hour. anything more is ripping you off imo