Am I being ripped off?

Question

I drive a '98 Mazda 626 and I broke down yesterday. A horrible grinding noise was coming from under the hood of my car a few hours before I broke down, but I had to drive it to work - I had no other choice. I took it to Firestone (the only place it could be towed on a Sunday that was close to me) and they said I need a new water pump, timing belt, and some sort of spring that is under the timing belt?
It turns out that the belt or something near it was grinding up against my engine and little silver shavings had gotten into everything, and apparently my water pump is not functioning properly. They are telling me that I will have to pay $880 - does that sound right?

Also, the latch on my trunk is broken (it is stuck open) and I asked them how much it would cost to put a new latch on - they quoted me $300. I said "no thanks" to that. Is every auto shop going to give me the same price for a little latch?

Much help is appreciated as I know next to nothing about cars.

I was told that I was being charged so much because of the labor, since they have to lift the engine out of the car to work on it. I was also told that I need a new timing belt because once they remove it, it will be "stretched out" and it is better to replace it in that case.
Is that right?!

Answer 1

Here is the straight scoop. Labor prices for mechanical repair have run up to $95.00 an hour. It would be about a six hour job to replace the water pump, timing belt, timing belt tensioner, etc.
The trunk release would involve a latch and a cable that could take two hours to repair. All of these prices seem high for a Firestone Store.
Ask for a detailed breakdown in the estimate. How many hours at what shop rate. How much for parts? Neither of these jobs requires more than average mechanical ability. Shop around and have the car towed to the low bidder.

Answer 2

I'm not that familiar with Mazda's but, I doubt seriously that they will have to remove the engine, but I could be wrong.

If the water pump went out, and it is driven by the timing belt, then you would want to replace the belt, the tensioner, and the water pump. The 880 sounds a little high, but in the ball park, I guess.

The latch on your trunk, should be handled by a dealer. It could be something as simple as the latch got closed while the trunk was open. If you take the trunk key and hold it in the open position, then take a screwdriver and see if you can manually open the latch. I had a neighbor have the same thing happen with a door. real simple fix, in his case.

Answer 3

Some mechanics will try and rip you off, but not all of them. I think they have gotten a really bad rap. I was a mechanic for about 10 years (with the military), and I know enough about mechanics to be dangerous. The issue with your engine could be 100 % true, the price actually sounded a little cheaper than what I have dealt with. As far as your trunk latch, Im not certain. It sounds a little high, but I am not an expert on pricing parts. Maybe try going to different automotive websites, or eBay. You could ask the maintenance shop what part it is, and then price it on your own. If you are feeling really excited you could probably find directions on fixing it yourself. good luck!

oh yeah..and one other thing. with my car, I had a few things go wrong with it. Nothing major, just little things like your trunk problem. I did some research to see if other car owners of the same car were having similar issues. I was able to find a solution to two of my problems that way.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, that's probably right, but
you can always get a second opinion. A different garage might quote a lower price just to get you to come to them.
And labor charges are always a big part of the cost. And it is helpful to have a friend who is also a mechanic.
Automobiles tend to break down or start needing expensive repairs on average after 3 years. I know, I'd get to 50,000 miles or 36 months, whichever came first, and it's always the same thing: $500 just to do an entire list of repairs for normally scheduled maintenance. So, I would just take that $500 and use it for a down payment on a new car!!! It really saved me the headache of worrying what was going to break down next. I've found that it was cheaper to make a monthly payment on a new car that wouldn't break down as opposed to spending a lot more on repairs each month on an old car. Not to mention avoiding the untold cost of emotional stress caused by worrying if I was getting ripped off or not. Yep, I'll take a new, reliable car over an old, unreliable car anyday. Well, hope this helps and gives you a new perspective.

Answer 5

it sounds like what they are telling you is true as far as engine work (pump ,belt, spring) firestone is expensive but very effective. shop around. call sears, or goodyear and dare i say it, the mazda dealer. to compare - but make sure you tell them that you need everything firestone said. there are also local shops in the phone book that can beat that price and guarantee the work. but for the trunk you can get fixed cheaper, you dont need a well trained mechanic for that. you just would have to show them that problem, the other major repai stuff get a price by phone. they quote them all day

Answer 6

unfortunately, yea that sounds about right. Timing belts are around $500 to replace and the springe is required. The water pump is about $100 to buy, if you have someone who can put that in for you, you can probably buy it cheap from salvage yard and save yourself couple hundred. Cars suck, whenever I buy a new one, I always check to see what it will cost to fix it before i buy it, lol, if I can afford that, then I can afford the vehicle. Make sure they offer warranty on the job too, some places will and some wont.

Answer 7

Sounds about right to me especially if the job requires an additional shop hour or two to clean up related problems you didn't detail for us. It would have been cheaper had you done the 60,000 miles timing belt maintenance specified by Mazda. You end up paying more if you don't do the required preventive maintenance. Don't wait for something to break on your car. Have it maintained regularly.

Answer 8

if your car has over 70,000 miles its time to change timing belt ... 2 find a penn Jersey or pet boys ask on how much to change timing belt and put a new sertine belt and a water pump. you need to call around to get prices. the trunk part can get at a junk yard or car dealer.