Average Car Repair Time

ARFlyer

ARFlyer

En-Route
Joined
Dec 31, 2011
Messages
3,187
Location
Central AR
Display Name
Display name:
ARFlyer
How long sould it take to change the head gasket, valve seals and valve covers on a boxer engine? Also to change all the fluids, brake pads and align the car.

I took my car to the dealership Tuesday morning and was told it would be ready by the end of the day. They gave me a loner car which is just a new car of the lot. Well Tuesday afternoon I walked in and was told that they never got to it. Wednesday I call at lunch and was told it would be done by close. 30 minutes before close I called and was told by a different guy at best Thursday evening. At that time the guy said he had the engine out of the car and was elbow deep inside it. :nonod:

Well just now, @ 4:30pm, I got a call that started with the statement "how comfortable are you in the loner car". :mad2: The service guy told me that they have been short handed this week and that he just now got done with the engine. They still have to do everything else and road test it. He said he MIGHT have it done by close at 5:30 but not likely. If not by 5:30 then by at least 10 tomorrow morning. He told me that him and the techs know that it should have been done TWO days ago. :yesnod:

So what sould I do when they finally get done with the car? Ask for the loner car to be free, reduced the payment or just pay the quoted price because this never happens? :confused:
 
Skylane81E said:
Poop happens, your rights as a customer vary by state.
Click to expand...

I understand that completely. However if they had said it would be a week because of the lack of employees then I would be more understanding.
 
You should tell the service manager that you feel misled, and see what he offers you to make you feel better. But if they've given you a loaner for the duration of the repair, I don't see how you're really adversely affected by the delay.
 
TMetzinger said:
You should tell the service manager that you feel misled, and see what he offers you to make you feel better. But if they've given you a loaner for the duration of the repair, I don't see how you're really adversely affected by the delay.
Click to expand...

Well true... I have not thought of it that way. I'm hoping the price is for a fixed hour amount and not the actual time it took.
 
TMetzinger said:
You should tell the service manager that you feel misled,
Click to expand...

+1 to this.

Take a moment and make a few notes about who you spoke to, what day/time, what was said and/or promised.

Likely the Service Manager has yet to hear his system isn't coming up to scratch and wants to know stuff like this. If he does right by you, then you know that dealership is worth your continued business. If he doesn't, then vote with your feet.

If they aren't willing to cut this bill, lobby for something of value in the future, like oil changes, A/C service, new tires, etc.
 
ARFlyer said:
Well true... I have not thought of it that way. I'm hoping the price is for a fixed hour amount and not the actual time it took.
Click to expand...

That's the way it should be. They likely have an estimation guide that says for this job, allot/bill for this much time. Then it's on the tech to do the job in less to increase the profit.

You have a valid right to ask to see the "book time" and that should have been on your estimate before the work is done.
 
Depends on the boxer engine. '69 Beetle, a couple hours. '09 Suburu, a couple days.
 
AggieMike88 said:
That's the way it should be. They likely have an estimation guide that says for this job, allot/bill for this much time. Then it's on the tech to do the job in less to increase the profit.

You have a valid right to ask to see the "book time" and that should have been on your estimate before the work is done.
Click to expand...

I made sure I had a quoted price list of everything before they started the work.

Head Gasket, Valve Seals, Valve Covers: $1700 w/tax
Alignment: $99

Everything else was for part price only:
Spark Plugs
4x4 Diff Fluid
Transmission Fluid
Rear Brake Pads

However the estimate did not include the book time.

Sac Arrow said:
Depends on the boxer engine. '69 Beetle, a couple hours. '09 Suburu, a couple days.
Click to expand...

My car is a '00 Subaru Forester. If anyone remembers my older thread about my Montero Sport. I got rid of it because I ended up needing a new engine. So we bought a family friend's Subaru a few weeks ago. But got the price down enough to repair the car and end up at 0.
 
Last edited:
I did a head gasket on an '88 BMW 325is in front of my house while in high school. With the help of my Dad, and factoring in stuff like my job and what not, it took me about three weeks.

A year and a half later, I had a shop do the same repair and it took about two days.

For the record, the head gasket needed to be replaced since I had to remove the cylinder head. It was a lesson to me: make sure you keep your rocker arms in adjustment!

Edit: For an actual hour approximation on that engine, I'd say about 6-8. They are only charging you labor for that amount. Also remember that he said they are short-staffed. Plus, they probably have four or six other cars with a myriad of other problems that also need to be in and out, so they have to work on those while they fix your head gasket.

Be happy you have a loaner!
 
Last edited:
I'm pretty sure they'll only be charging the book rate, and not for the extra time it sat without being worked on. Stuff happens - it could even be due someone calling in sick one day. Most shops don't like to have one guy start the job and another finish it so they'll wait for the first guy to get back.

With a loaner, it seems like they are trying to inconvenience you as little as possible. But you can still ask them about giving you a break for the amount of time you didn't have your car. You might get something extra out of that deal.
 
Last time my X3 was in the shop, it took an extra day. Since they gave me a brand new 3 series Convertible, (120 miles on the clock) to use at no charge I was happy.

If they didn't call you to tell you the estimate was short to actuals and bill was the same as the estimate (or less), I would be OK IF there was no or no additional charge for the loaner.

If only I could get a free loaner when the plane is in maintenance. :rofl:

Cheers
 
Last edited:
If they're not done with it today, and the car they gave you is a new car off the lot, this sounds like a good weekend for a road trip!

Reminds me of when I bought my Accord. I traded in a Voyager with over 230,000 miles on it. Did all the paperwork at the dealership, blah blah blah. I got up to leave, since it was late in the evening, and the credit wasn't yet approved due to the time, and the salesman handed me the keys. I was surprised, but he said it was ok, that he'd call me if there was a problem.

Next day comes and goes, no call, ok we're good. I had already planned a road trip for that weekend, so we went. The following week, 9 days after the "sale" I get a phone call, and they want me to come in. We get there, and "There's a problem with the loan." He never had a chance to tell me what the problem was. I stood up and told him to give me my keys back. He started to get them, and made some comment about not worrying about the miles on the Accord. I said, "that's a good thing, because there are 1500 miles on it now." His face went white with panic. I also told him that I'd taken off the pinstripes, and that I wanted to be reimbursed for the mudflaps I put on it, and the floor mats that I'd bought for it.

When we left, there were new loan details worked out, and we were assured that there was no problem. :D
 
Just be happy your time estimate for car repair isn't 5 to 7 weeks like mine is!

It's a hail damage repair...
 
You ask the average car repair time, but you should know the Boxer is no average car...
 
Everskyward said:
Just be happy your time estimate for car repair isn't 5 to 7 weeks like mine is!

It's a hail damage repair...
Click to expand...

Hail damage is usually PDI or paintless dent removal and should take one to two days max. Even if it requires panel replacement it should be 2 weeks tops and thats for MAJOR work. If you had a big hail storm in your area, just wait a couple months to get it fixed when the shops get caught up.
 
A "loaner" by definition is a freebie, now if it was a rental through Enterprise or some other rental company I would be concerned. I seriously doubt they are going to charge you for the use of the car, expecially if they have had it many days longer than promised. I can see charging you for the one day that it was supposed to take, but that should be noted upfront and since it wasn't, I bet they won't charge you any part of it. At least I wouldn't, but I'm a really nice car dealer. ;)
 
Everskyward said:
Just be happy your time estimate for car repair isn't 5 to 7 weeks like mine is!

It's a hail damage repair...
Click to expand...

N747JB said:
Hail damage is usually PDI or paintless dent removal and should take one to two days max. Even if it requires panel replacement it should be 2 weeks tops and thats for MAJOR work. If you had a big hail storm in your area, just wait a couple months to get it fixed when the shops get caught up.
Click to expand...

It took about 3 weeks to get our hail damaged car repaired. 2 weeks to wait for their #1 painter to get back from vacation, then a week (actually about 4 days) to get the dents repaired paintlessly and to repaint the areas where the paint had been cracked or chipped off. It shouldn't have to sit on their lot for that long, we just had to get on their schedule then drop the car off when they were ready for it.
 
steingar said:
You ask the average car repair time, but you should know the Boxer is no average car...
Click to expand...


I found that out when about every shop I called in Little Rock said they wouldn't work on it. Something about it being a specialty car... :rolleyes2: That why I ended up at the dealer.

I got the car this morning with the cost of the repair being $2700.00!!! :yikes: :yikes:
So I hope that this will be the first and last major repair for awhile.
 
N747JB said:
Hail damage is usually PDI or paintless dent removal and should take one to two days max. Even if it requires panel replacement it should be 2 weeks tops and thats for MAJOR work. If you had a big hail storm in your area, just wait a couple months to get it fixed when the shops get caught up.
Click to expand...
None of it could be done by paintless dent removal. Almost all the panels need to be removed and replaced. The estimate started at about $9,000 now up to over $12,000. It's almost ready for paint now.
 
Everskyward said:
None of it could be done by paintless dent removal. Almost all the panels need to be removed and replaced. The estimate started at about $9,000 now up to over $12,000. It's almost ready for paint now.
Click to expand...

Surprised they didn't total it.
 
wsuffa said:
Surprised they didn't total it.
Click to expand...

When I was at our local body shop last I over heard a guy getting his pickup totaled over hail. The only parts that were damaged was the roof of the cab and the bed. He even told the guy not to add in the bed damage, but the assessor said he had to... ? :no:
 
N747JB said:
Hail damage is usually PDI or paintless dent removal and should take one to two days max. Even if it requires panel replacement it should be 2 weeks tops and thats for MAJOR work. If you had a big hail storm in your area, just wait a couple months to get it fixed when the shops get caught up.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of the ironic sight I saw two days ago near home. Painless Dent Repair work van loaded with dents. ;)
 
Makes me wish I had kept my old car six months longer. They would have totaled it and I could be getting a new one now!
 
Sac Arrow said:
Depends on the boxer engine. '69 Beetle, a couple hours. '09 Suburu, a couple days.
Click to expand...

Porsche? Look at the shoes, then the suit and size 'em up from there...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top