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Please tell me if I've been ripped off by my mechanic??
Had a tear in the rubber bag of one front strut assembly (Airmatic). While I was having it replaced the mechanic called and recommended I have them both changed out, because "if one goes there's good chance the other one is soon to follow".. (turns out to be nonsense with these airmatic struts). So i took the mechanics advice. I need to say that the shop that did the work is very highly regarded on this forum, and many other high end import auto forums. Google search had plenty of positive mentions and reviews on enough forums to cover several pages of google search results. Lambo's, Ferrari's etc...Ended up costing me upwards of $3k to have 2 new shock assembly's replaced and I also had new drive belt swapped out...The price didn't surprise me b/c i still own a 2002 CLK55 that I bought new in '01.. To have a cpl shocks replaced on a regular domestic car would cost a few hundred bucks on the high end so $3K to replace them on an AMG seemed to be about right.. However, it's not the price at all that i'm concerned about.. I posted pics of the brand of strut assembly's which is "Arnott". I also posted a pic of my invoice (blacked out the shops info). The invoice clearly states I purchased "strut is original strut assembly". So, not only did I end up with aftermarket replacement struts but they were refurbished ones..They charged me $991 for the refurbs which the general public can buy for $450 from Arnott brand new.. I know that an auto shop would pay drastically less than $450 for a new strut assembly and i don't even want to know they're cost for a refurb which they get $200 cores when they return the ones they took off . Am I correct to say they probably paid approx $350 for each strut assembly and received $200 each core they returned ??
If so, I payed $991 each for refurbished aftermarket strut assembly's which cost the auto shop $150 and claimed they sold me original strut assembly's.. I wanted to post this on here and hopefully get the advice of people that know allot more than I do before say which auto shop it is, just in case I'm wrong but I think a little simple math can show that I was cheated.. Please give me some advice as to what I should do, if anything.. Thanks..
Well I guess if anyone in Dallas want to pay out the *** you can go see Raffi over at Autoscope. I hope this post is helpful and save people some money.. I sure didn't.
Last edited by Canuck11; 10-14-2014 at 11:32 AM.
Reason: reposted with invoice showing the auto shops name.
Well like you allredy know the Arnots go for about 500US max.. they are remanufactured orginal struts. Seems they have high margin on their prices though
Looking past the high markup on parts alone, the labor prices are outrageous. I would say you need to find a new mechanic who is a little more reasonable.
Find new mechanic and get to know your car. You could have ordered the Arnotts and found multiple DIY on how to replace on here for less than 45min or so each side. Obvious the markup on parts and labor!!!
"strut is original" I believe refers to the one that was on the car that failed.
$991 is basically full dealer list for new struts. The Arnott remans are excellent products, so no worries there.
That said, I would say they could get those reman struts for probably about $350 each (core included). A $640 mark up on each strut is ridiculous and I would for sure be pissed.
Assuming a labor rate of roughly $95 an hour, they are claiming 4 hours for each strut. Thats also high.
My opinion, an honest shop would have charged you $550 for each strut, and 6 hours of total labor. $1,670 plus tax.
As stated by others, labor seems through the roof. For some perspective, belt alone takes me less than 5 minutes by just popping off the engine cover. Also, helped my brother swap his passenger strut just last week in under 45 minutes. Find a new shop cos this is rape.
Hmm, I read that invoice as stating that the strut that hadn't failed, yet was removed, was original. Otherwise I'd imagine they'd use the term "OEM", if they were referring to the replacement. Could be wrong. Also, when one fails, the other isn't too far behind.
You're doing your math wrong on the core charge. The shop gets charged the $200 up front when they purchase the strut and then refunded the $200 when they return them, so you do not subtract the core from the guesstimated cost. In other words, the shop DID NOT pay $150 for these struts.
They should have only charged you $371.34 ONCE, as the OEM time to replace is 3.6 hrs for BOTH sides. Maybe a mistake? $300 per side is def more than just an 'AMG' markup. These guys are straight ROBBING *****S! Also RAFI??? **** RAFI I've dealt with a guy name rafi and he was a scammer.
Audi S4 (sold), E46 M3 (sold) 05 E55 silver/black(sold)
Highway robbery. Took my indie ship in Glendale all of an hour and change for each side. I bought the Arnotts myself and had them shipped to him directly.
05 E55 AMG, 2011 Range Rover Sport SC, 2004 BMW 745Li
Definitely got ripped. Like someone stated earlier, alldata is 3.1 hours for both front shocks. Yes you can change them in an hour each, but most shops use all data for quoting jobs. And its always a red flag when the shop does not list the part numbers on the invoice for you.
I own a shop out there in chicago and if i could get that kind of labor out of my customers i would be a millionaire. Labor per side should'nt be more then 1.5 hrs to 2hrs. At a average labor rate of $75 to $100.00 per hour which should have been about 150 to 200 per side so i would say he got you on the labor and over changed the struts.
2004 W211 E55 AMG >>gone but not forgotten > W123 280E > W124 E280 > W126 380SE
I replaced the front right strut earlier this year and was advised to change the front left at the same time. I live in Australia where OEM prices are outrageous and circumstances called for an immediate replacement to get me home 2000km away hence I paid $2900 plus installation to replace the one shock. Total cost would have been $6400 if I did both which I was also advised to do. Sure enough the other shock failed within 3 weeks although by that time there wasn't the urgency so I was able to order an Arnott from the U.S. and install myself although with the cost of postage returning for the core deposit wasn't an option.
Anyway point being if one shock fails the other is likely to fail also - I have no idea why this should be the case - does anyone wiser than me know why?
Last edited by TheTherapist; 10-15-2014 at 10:53 AM.
10-14-2014, 06:16 AM
