I always did my own wrenching and had my son-in-law do the jobs I couldnt do. He always gave me a price beforehand. I cant do much anymore and my SIL has a broken arm so I went to a local mechanic and asked how much to change plugs. He said he wasnt sure, the job is a real PIA. iI dont feel comfortable having work done without knowing the cost. I didnt go anywhere else yet and is it common practice for garages not to give a price?

Typically there is a book they use that list how long the job should take that estimates are given off of. They take the time it list times the shop labor rate.

Ive been a mechanic since I was very young. Working a farm you just always do it. But there have been times ive had other people work on things. After back surgeries, harvest time...etc
If I go to a garage, ive never had them say it will be X amount. Too many variables
like rust and computer resets etc..
Sure you can go to the book and it says 2 1/2 hour job lol
I find most of the time it takes half the time their "book" says
but ive also found it to go the other way. Up here we have long winters with lots of salt on the road. These "books" don't take that into account.
Also if the book says 6 hour job and it only takes them three hours you'll get charged by many garages for six anyways.

The local mechanics around here are friends of mine and they don't give a price till the jobs done. Then charge me the real time it took.
And any work I did for my in laws was free. Just buy the parts. Then I would argue with them when they tried paying me lol

Majority go by the "book" price

Stealerships started this practice

Find a local that is honest and will charge you the actual time

391 I would not call the mechanic who you saw dishonest or shady as he may be going to charge you for actual time instead of book time.

You can search the www for " spark plug change time for ____________ " and get the book answer.

Shop rates is what is a shock.
>$120/hr is the norm around here

He is local and I know/ trust him. He is a local guy, 2 lifts, 4 bays, inspection station, a bit on the hardscrabble side (think of the movie deliverance).. Why couldnt they say between 150-250?, a ballpark, something....seems like it could cause problems not having even an idea what cost might be.

I dont agree to anything without knowing the cost

I haven’t paid for many repairs over the years either, but if you know him and trust him go for it, then duke it out later.

They should be able tk give a price, legally here they can go 10% over the quoted price without contacting you first

"To cover his butt from the whiners."......What does that even mean?

Sorry I'll edit that. Thought we were just yackin here.
Good luck with the vehicle maintenance bids.

I didnt consider it whining to know a price for services going in if that is what you meant? Im still going with him, just a little uneasy not knowing the cost up front. He treated me good the last few times way back when I used him but that was quite a while ago.

You can but people get REAL nasty when it doesn't fall within that price.
I understand with a plug job you can come close to estimating but other jobs not so much.
Let's take the plug job for example:
If he says between 150- 250 thats just 45 minute leeway in labor. And if it needs another part like wires, coil or someone cross threaded a plug doing it before price can change dramatically.
Not arguing with you, just showing the other side of the story. Hope everything goes easy for him and you

Some vehicles are more of a pain to do certain jobs than others. I do a little bit of wrenching on my own vehicles, sometimes with my dad's help depending on the job. I learned a while back to search online for the job and year/make/model to review the process before I decide if it's something I want to tackle or pay to have a pro do it. There are lots of videos out there for just about everything. Not saying ypu should do it yourself, but it might put yoir mind at ease that you're not getting ripped off (or at least know what to expect) if you watch the spark plug change video for your vehicle and halfway through the mechanic has the whole front end torn apart versus a 6 minute video of a quick plug change.

The real big jobs are worth asking around to find a mechanic that works for a dealership but does their own stuff on the side. I saved thousands of dollars getting a transmission replaced that way, and my dad just saved thousands of dollars having his timing chain replaced. Compared to letting the dealership do it.

$120 shop rate sounds cheap, I think my dad was quoted $200/hr at a Ford dealer for a "book" 14 hour job.

I just pulled those numbers out of the air. I just wanted an if all goes well price and I know it could need more LOL.

"Some vehicles are more of a pain to do certain jobs than others.'....He even said that, I wanted to know the painful price. And, come to think of it, hes the mechanic and should have the tools to make it less painful.

Sorry but most of my life I had to ask, because I needed to make sure I could afford to have the repair done. My comment is usually <

(Is hey how much do you figure this will cost, because I'm not sure if I can afford it this week. I need it fixed but may have to wait a few weeks or a month.)

That usually gets a good solid price. If not it gives you an out so you can shop around or save up some cash. Just because I could put it on a card, In my opinion it isn't always the best way to do it.

I can't put a numerical value on trust - but to me it is worth a lot. I am blessed we have a local guy about 3 miles I trust. Have no idea his rates or shop charge. I take things to him, he fixes or diagnoses them and even gives us the truth if it is worth fixing or not......to me, that is worth far and above whatever he charges me. I have never once felt like he was overly priced. He is trained and experienced in his trade - I am not in many of those areas - to me, I trust him and he is worth every penny he bills me.

I just got a quote to put plugs in my 2024 Mazda CX 5. They wanted $157 for parts and $140 for labor. It's a 4-cylinder. I ordered premium plugs through Walmart for $60 and should be able to install in under 30 minutes if the YouTube video I watched was any indicator. Oh, and they wanted $1250 to do brakes/rotors all the way around. Ordered all the parts and a socket I need for the job for less than $250. I'm sure my local mechanic would be less, but these jobs are way to easy for me to throw that kind of money at them.

Yeah...And if they do it in half the time they still charge you for however many hours the book says it should take. I know it for sure..truck was in the shop 4 hrs and they charged for 7. Heck i wasnt even in the shop 7 hrs...


Mechanics here are 59 to 75 an hr.