Is it common for repair shops to jack up prices of parts?

[pete6032]

I've had some service done at a nearby repair shop. The overall price of the service (parts + labor) has been reasonable but when I get the invoice I notice that the price of the parts is very high compared to what I could get them for, even compared to OEM. Is it common for repair shops to increase the price of parts to be very high and underquote on labor costs? For example I had my oil pan gasket repaired and I was charged $90 for the gasket but only 1 hour for labor. I could have gotten a gasket myself for $25-$30.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Not all shops do this but many mark up the price of parts a little to make some money off their expenses. More so if they carry those parts as stock in their shop. All stores mark up prices from what they pay. I don't know a single business that doesn't do this.

Now marking up a oil pan gasket to $90 seems overly excessive. Dropping a pan is super easy and can be done in your own driveway with a couple of wheel ramps or jack stands.

I'd call them and question this after getting a quote from the dealer. They might refund a partial. if not make sure to hit up Yelp and any other site that this shop is registered at or has reviews of them at so you can let others know.

I can drop an oil pan, place a new gasket and re-bolt it up in less than 30 minutes.

 

[BoomerD]

Yes. Perfectly normal. Parts houses sell them parts at a significant discount so they can mark them up when they sell them to you.
MOST shops won't install parts brought in by customers...and the ones that do, won't offer any kind of warranty on that work.

 

[NutBucket]

What's cost of the OEM part? Is it $25-$30 or is that for a Pep Boys part? Usually the parts used by a decent shop are OE quality...many times they're from the OEM supplier but not branded with Toyota, etc.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Some markup is normal, and where the warranty covers labor, the price is inflated a bit to cover that risk.

But if you're comparing the OEM or near-OEM quality part to a low quality third party knockoff, you will see a pretty wide disparity. (Sometimes 2-3x the cost.) The cheap one will work, but often not as well or as long, and fitment issues are common.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

YES -- they do mark up the price of items in the "parts" column.

The question you must ask for choosing repair shops, is whether one shop's markups are in line with another's. If you're choosing a new repair shop, get three estimates for a well-defined project, specifying precisely which parts are being ordered. That is, if you're replacing your struts or shocks, and you want KYB MonoMax, then get estimates from all three sources for KYB MonoMax -- regardless what each shop prefers or recommends.

You can have an open and honest relationship -- preferably long-term -- with your repair shop. Often, they will explain it thus:

"I can use parts the customer purchases independently, but we choose the better OEM parts, and if a part is defective, it's easy for us to send it back with a short turnaround. If the customer's part is defective, then we cannot do the repair until he replaces it himself."

When you buy parts independently, you pay shipping, handling and tax. It may take more than a week before the part arrives. When the shop handles parts-acquisition, the time and turnaround is much shorter.

Unless you're doing a DIY project, you should learn to live with this fact of life. Otherwise, you can do most of your repairs in DIY mode. But even the home mechanic will use a repair shop occasionally.

 

[pete6032]

I think and OEM gasket is about $40-$50 so the markup was double. Unfortunately I don't have a garage or any of the tools needed. The undercarriage is a rust bucket since the car has lived outdoors in Wisconsin and Illinois for a decade and a half.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I think and OEM gasket is about $40-$50 so the markup was double. Unfortunately I don't have a garage or any of the tools needed. The undercarriage is a rust bucket since the car has lived outdoors in Wisconsin and Illinois for a decade and a half.

Step #1
Permatex Rust Treatment
Step #2
Spray-on Undercoating

Can you find a place on a warm sunny day where you can spend some time under the car? I suppose you might need some 100-grit sandpaper, before you start spraying . . . . If the car still runs OK, you can prepare the undercarriage to last another decade, I suppose -- if the rust has not caused any real damage to something essential . . .

 

[local]

The cheaper the part the higher the markup, standard practice in pretty much everything. Just look at the markup on fountain drinks or tea at any restaurant if you want to be outraged.

Cost is part of the reason why I do all my own vehicle repairs.

 

[someone16]

I think and OEM gasket is about $40-$50 so the markup was double. Unfortunately I don't have a garage or any of the tools needed. The undercarriage is a rust bucket since the car has lived outdoors in Wisconsin and Illinois for a decade and a half.

Do you mean buying from the dealer for OEM prices? Shop shouldn't charge more than what a dealer would charge at most for parts. (Otherwise you would just go to the dealer to do it.) Not much you can do now after you paid. But then charging 1 hr for the job isn't that bad so maybe they were just shuffling the numbers around?

 

[mindless1]

It is not only common but normal and expected for shops to charge a premium for parts, making profit off of them compared to what you could acquire the same part for yourself given a minimal amount of savvy shopping.

At the same time this is worst at a dealership that will only use OEM parts which are commonly priced higher than the exact same part sold under the true manufacturer's brand, let alone equal or higher quality parts under 3rd party major labels (depends on the part where the quality falls).

I don't consider that fair but they should be allowed a little margin for things they have to maintain stock of.

No, they don't do it to make up for undercharging on labor. Quite the opposite you will never find a shop that undercharges on labor book rate. Sometimes a repair may have some unanticipated problem that pushes the labor time past book on a particular specimen of vehicle but on average the labor time (using an experienced mechanic) is far below book time.

They're screwing people twice and yet, mechanics are entitled to earn a living. It's more often the owner and other inefficient overhead that causes repair prices to be so high.

If you were charged only an hour for labor, it probably took them 20 minutes. It is enlightening to see how fast a repair can go if you have a lift and the right tools and experience, but all these things cost money.

 

[desy]

Yes I don't think they 'markup' however you pay full retail no sale prices for you, often I find the same part at rock auto however I get to pay full retail at the shop

 

[Rifter]

I do alot of my own work, but when i bring it to my mechanic he usually charges me his cost on parts since im a family friend, he does a 20% markup for most customers on parts. Even with them at his cost i can usually get the same brand part cheaper from rock auto if i can wait the week or two for shipping(im in canada) which is what i normally do as im not in a hurry most of the time.

My mechanic doesnt mind at all if you bring in your own part but there are lots that wont do it.

 

[mindless1]

If I were a mechanic it would depend on the part (or the shop owner's policy) whether to install customer supplied parts. To the customer it seems reasonable to request it, but to the shop, they don't want to put on generic junk and have a comeback.

Today the part quality issue is as murky as ever with some major brands producing both upper tier parts and a value line, and not necessarily even sticking with the same manufacturer for the value line if they (often) don't make it themselves. You can order two of the (seemingly) exact same thing, and what arrives are parts that aren't identical.

Some will say just get the OEM part, but the OEM part may not be the same that came on the vehicle years earlier, and yet it is at least what the vehicle manufacturer endorses as correct... on the other hand, how much does the vehicle manufacturer know about it if it's not a part that should have failed within the expected lifespan of the vehicle? Blah blah blah it works till the warranty ends.

 

[desy]

Yep sometimes aftermarket is better than OEM as after a few yrs they can remanufacture the flawed original part, you are changing it for a reason

 

[BoomerD]

Yep sometimes aftermarket is better than OEM as after a few yrs they can remanufacture the flawed original part, you are changing it for a reason

We had a 2005 Ford Expedition for several years. There's an AC hose that splits the freon flow between the front and rear AC units. Factory (warranty) hose failed after less than 2 years, Factory replacement failed after less than 3 years. Took the truck to an independent shop, explained the repeated failures, they went to an outside hose shop who built the replacement. Lasted until we sold the truck 6-7 years later.

 

[Rifter]

Yep sometimes aftermarket is better than OEM as after a few yrs they can remanufacture the flawed original part, you are changing it for a reason

Id even go further and say almost always there is a better aftermarket part, the issue is figuring out which one that is out of the dozens of crap parts. You really need to start hanging around the car clubs/forums for your specific car to gain knowledge of which aftermarket parts are worth it.

 

[desy]

Oh for sure good better best, and lots of stuff have better than OEM esp suspension brakes alternators exhaust systems stuff like that

 

[dainthomas]

I had a shop quote me $350 for a blower motor in my truck (installed). Can't remember their labor rate, but I got the OEM part for $120 and took me 15 minutes. I was surprised because they've always been reasonable otherwise.

 

[desy]

I got quoted $80 to change a license plate light bulb during an inspection from a dealer at which I just spend 2300 during the same visit. WTF the service agent did it himself for free instead of a mechanic padding the billing

 

[BonzaiDuck]

A new story of mine pertaining to this issue of finding and using a repair shop.

My old mechanic and shop owner was a master mechanic with maybe 45 years of experience. In recent years, I've suspected that he was a cornpone racist and of a political persuasion that I'd love to boycott. But he had a bicycling accident -- 78 years old -- broke his leg and had a concussion. He decided to retire. He sold his shop to an outfit under a franchise.

The new folks represent something of a political dilemma. One partner I don't mind getting my money; the other one is "one of those". But these are young people, and they don't have the experience of the previous owner. I wanted a master mechanic I could work with who could keep my 24-year-old Isuzu Trooper running tip-top, while saving me money. I don't need to be sold unnecessary service. I don't need foul-ups that need to be recycled under repair warranty, or situations where a costly recommended repair that could be deferred leads to more damaged parts, confrontations over "liability" and delays in making things good.

I had a minor engine-oil leak, but have never needed to top up the engine oil. I have a minor transmission Dexron-III leak which requires top-up of about 3 ounces ATF every three months. The drop pan seems to magnify these leaks, making them look worse than they are. I don't care about minor engine oil leaks under the circumstances I've described. I got tired of checking the drop pan and checking the tranny fluid once a week. I thought that the leak was coming from the forward adapter pan gasket, because 1.4 quarts of Valvoline "Stop Leak" ATF formula had absolutely no impact on the rate of leakage over six months of monitoring.

So I took the car back in, asking them to check the pan gaskets and to fix them if that was indeed the problem. The shop manager comes back to me with the story he'd given me four months ago: "You need to replace your valve-cover gaskets." And I abjured doing so, because any leakage from the valve covers was minimal; I never have to top up the oil. This time, I made the mistake of succumbing to the advice; the previous valve-cover-gasket replacement had been done 14 years ago, even if only a lapse of 50,000 miles.

The procedure required removing the intake manifold, peripherals and the valve-covers. Somehow, it was necessary to disconnect the heater hoses input and output to the heater core. The only way to refit those hoses requires removal of the intake manifold and passenger-side valve cover. The mechanic broke off the nipple for one of the hose ports. They had to keep the Trooper another four days, and ordered a refurb heater core from Albuquerque. All this extra work was promised under their repair warranty.

But now, they have to remove the entire dashboard assembly to get to the old heater core and replace it. And after all this, I warned the shop manager: the car has a lot of complicated electronics; I didn't want more stuff unraveling in the process of making the initially unnecessary repair "right".

Do I stay with these people? Or continue my search for that "master mechanic" I need so much? I'm NOT getting rid of the Trooper, though. I see those things offered on EBay for years 1987 through 2002, with asking prices between $4,500 and $6,000 -- some with as little as 80,000 miles on the odometer. Why do people keep them? I could explain. You could easily guess, if you think about it just a little. . . .

PS This "episode" reminds me of a cartoon I saw in Penthouse Magazine during the 1970s. A guy is in his pajamas, standing in front of a mirror and examining a little red pimple on his chin. He starts to squeeze the pimple; yellow pus comes out and starts piling up on the ledge of the sink. He squeezes some more; the pus pile grows; his head gets smaller. This continues, until there is a massive pile of pus, and a pair of shoulders without a head.

 

[mindless1]

^ Three things.

1) Don't have loyalty to a building. A shop is nothing without the same owner, service manager, and mechanics. Two out of three might cut it. Or might not. Sadly, you might find a competent mechanic these days, but if you find one old enough with a lot of experience and money in the bank so they're not greedy for padding a bill, they're about retirement age and you'll have to find another one soon enough. I wrote mechanic but really I mean service manager and owner. A chain seeks to grow by maximizing profits, to upsell as much as possible. They may also get the cheapest rate mechanics possible and rush them so they yank on old heater core hoses, etc.

2) Your Trooper is worth about $1500 if nothing else is wrong with it, maybe a little over $2K if the mileage is closer to 100K mi. and it is in great shape (garage kept). Places like Edmunds take into account actual selling price, while ebay listings of those which don't sell because they're priced too high, do not establish vehicle value.

NADA estimates are more of a tool for dealers than anything. KBB assumes a perfect market and top notch condition still. Edmunds is where reality lies for private sale vehicles unless something enters the twilight zone realm of classic vehicle value. To Trooper enthusiasts, perhaps yours has reached that point and is worth more than I appreciate, as I usually assume a certain amount of rust after 24 years but in some climates there might be barely any, but if you can't even get a new heater core, this is one of the factors in vehicle depreciation, that parts supplies run out.

Often such vehicles are worth more to their owner than they can get at resale, which is why so many people keep them until a major engine or transmission failure. Many people don't like buying something that age unless they're desperate because they feel the owner is hiding something while the owner knows how it has aged, and might even have receipts for repair parts under warranty still. Ask me how many times I've replaced my lifetime warranty hood struts for free on my oldest SUV. On that note #3...

3) The way to cost effectively own that old a vehicle is don't let anyone else work on it if you can help it. Routine repairs that can be done to newer vehicles will break things on older ones, particularly when old enough that the rubber has rotted and the plastic is brittle. Fixing those things can break more things.

I wouldn't even top it off with 3 oz tranny fluid every 3 months. Check it yes, but only top it off once or twice a year. I'm not suggesting "let it go to pot", just that 3 oz one way or the other is hard to even measure, depending on transmission temperature.

On the plus side, assuming they put a new intake manifold gasket on, that might have been near needing replaced anyway.

I don't know a lot about Isuzu repairs, but I would try to do all the repairs yourself. You won't find anyone who will take better care of your baby than you will. Shop labor at $100/hr pays for a LOT of tools if you need them... and I don't just mean special mechanics tools, even things that just make a repair less of a PITA like a cordless impact wrench or impact driver, more lengths of socket extensions and wobbles, thick nitrile gloves so your hands get less beat up and it takes 5 seconds to remove them and go from covered in grease to eating lunch, etc., no more scrubbing under your fingernails.

I pity those who live in apartments or condos that prevent being able to DIY repairs. That can result in thousands of dollars higher TCO if you're in it for the long haul.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

^ Three things.

1) Don't have loyalty to a building. A shop is nothing without the same owner, service manager, and mechanics. Two out of three might cut it. Or might not. Sadly, you might find a competent mechanic these days, but if you find one old enough with a lot of experience and money in the bank so they're not greedy for padding a bill, they're about retirement age and you'll have to find another one soon enough. I wrote mechanic but really I mean service manager and owner. A chain seeks to grow by maximizing profits, to upsell as much as possible. They may also get the cheapest rate mechanics possible and rush them so they yank on old heater core hoses, etc.

2) Your Trooper is worth about $1500 if nothing else is wrong with it, maybe a little over $2K if the mileage is closer to 100K mi. and it is in great shape (garage kept). Places like Edmunds take into account actual selling price, while ebay listings of those which don't sell because they're priced too high, do not establish vehicle value.

NADA estimates are more of a tool for dealers than anything. KBB assumes a perfect market and top notch condition still. Edmunds is where reality lies for private sale vehicles unless something enters the twilight zone realm of classic vehicle value. To Trooper enthusiasts, perhaps yours has reached that point and is worth more than I appreciate, as I usually assume a certain amount of rust after 24 years but in some climates there might be barely any, but if you can't even get a new heater core, this is one of the factors in vehicle depreciation, that parts supplies run out.

Often such vehicles are worth more to their owner than they can get at resale, which is why so many people keep them until a major engine or transmission failure. Many people don't like buying something that age unless they're desperate because they feel the owner is hiding something while the owner knows how it has aged, and might even have receipts for repair parts under warranty still. Ask me how many times I've replaced my lifetime warranty hood struts for free on my oldest SUV. On that note #3...

3) The way to cost effectively own that old a vehicle is don't let anyone else work on it if you can help it. Routine repairs that can be done to newer vehicles will break things on older ones, particularly when old enough that the rubber has rotted and the plastic is brittle. Fixing those things can break more things.

I wouldn't even top it off with 3 oz tranny fluid every 3 months. Check it yes, but only top it off once or twice a year. I'm not suggesting "let it go to pot", just that 3 oz one way or the other is hard to even measure, depending on transmission temperature.

On the plus side, assuming they put a new intake manifold gasket on, that might have been near needing replaced anyway.

I don't know a lot about Isuzu repairs, but I would try to do all the repairs yourself. You won't find anyone who will take better care of your baby than you will. Shop labor at $100/hr pays for a LOT of tools if you need them... and I don't just mean special mechanics tools, even things that just make a repair less of a PITA like a cordless impact wrench or impact driver, more lengths of socket extensions and wobbles, thick nitrile gloves so your hands get less beat up and it takes 5 seconds to remove them and go from covered in grease to eating lunch, etc., no more scrubbing under your fingernails.

I pity those who live in apartments or condos that prevent being able to DIY repairs. That can result in thousands of dollars higher TCO if you're in it for the long haul.

Generally, I agree with everything you've said.

There seems to be a cult of people around the orphaned Trooper models and generations. I've always inclined toward buying a used car and keeping it running as long as possible. I keep a spreadsheet of mileage milestones, repairs and parts, and the expenses. I bought the used Trooper for $8,500 in 2002 [the year they stopped making them]. Over the next 17 years, I spent a total of $15,000 in upkeep, maintenance, repairs and parts. The original MSRP on the vehicle was $29,000 in 1995 dollars.

So I might, in theory, have spent the $23,500 on a new car, but it would also have meant that I had to disburse that money over a six year period, or pay it up front. I wouldn't find the quality or features of the Trooper in a $24,000 vehicle.

We develop a personal attachment to our cars over time, and this affects our choices in the long run. I feel a sense of pride with what I've done with the Trooper, and I couldn't get this sense of pride for plopping down $24,000 on a new car.

Twenty years ago, I would indeed have tried to do all the repairs myself, but for major things like an engine overhaul or transmission rebuild. At the moment, the SUV has a new suspension that's a year old. The Tranny has 60,000 miles on it; bolt-on parts like alternator/radiator/water-pump etc. have weathered generally 27,000 miles. The tires have about two years of wear. The brakes have all been replaced and serviced in the last year.

My objective is to keep this car running for at least another five years. In 2018, the smog-test results were better than those taken in 2002 -- don't ask me why, because I wouldn't know. I can afford to buy something like a new to 3-year-old 4-Runner with "car payments" next January, after my mortgage is paid off on my Virginia property. I can afford to pay cash up front for a new car about two years after that, and still keep half my savings in the bank. But if I do any of that, I'll keep the Trooper as long as I can.

That still leaves me with the "master mechanic" problem. I'm over 70, and a lot less inclined to lie down on a creeper after putting my Trooper on jack-stands. If I'd avoided all the labor charges on the Trooper for the last 17 years, I am sure I'd feel very "flush" right now.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Back in the day when I needed service I would take my Mercedes 450 slc to an independent Mercedes shop! The guy was a master mechanic and treated me well! His process were far lower than going to the local Mercedes dealership!
Well He also passed on and the shop was sold to some young mechanics! They jacked the prices sky high!
I needed my brakes replaced! I ended up buying the rotors and the brake pads and taking my car across the street from where I was working to an empty lot and doing the work myself!! Turned out well!!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Back in the day when I needed service I would take my Mercedes 450 slc to an independent Mercedes shop! The guy was a master mechanic and treated me well! His process were far lower than going to the local Mercedes dealership!
Well He also passed on and the shop was sold to some young mechanics! They jacked the prices sky high!
I needed my brakes replaced! I ended up buying the rotors and the brake pads and taking my car across the street from where I was working to an empty lot and doing the work myself!! Turned out well!!

Yes -- my own shop-owner/veteran-mechanic had 50 years of experience when he retired last year at age 78. The "new" people are under 40 years old, and couldn't have that sort of hands-on experience.

In my continuing Trooper saga, they made good on the damage they did to my heater core. This was an all-time record, however, for the length of time my Trooper was in the shop. They knew they had to make good on their warranty, but to cut their losses, they tried to find a salvage heater-core. "Should arrive UPS day after tomorrow . . ." "I had to call them to push it forward . . . " "It should get here in a few more days . . . " Finally, the salvage part arrived, and it was an A/C evaporator -- not the heater core we wanted. I told them to order a new, $460 heater-core on a Friday, about 13 days after I'd taken the car in just to solve a minor transmission leak [succumbing to the pressure to replace valve-cover gaskets -- leading to all this . . trouble]. The part arrived on Tuesday, the Trooper was ready to go on Wednesday.

The shop-manager asked me while I was driving him back to the repair-shop, if I'd noticed that the A/C compressor belt was slipping. This was an ongoing problem I'd mentioned to the previous owner's partner two years earlier! Dousing the belts with spray-on belt dressing, it was not a major concern. But when I'd asked about belt-tension, the partner had said "there's nothing wrong with the tension, and the belt isn't worn." Another shop I tried last year suggested that the power-steering hose-leak we fixed had been "lubricating" the belt. But this wasn't true.

I checked the shop-manual, and there is a single 12mm-flat-to-flat "tensioner adjustment bolt" on the A/C belt-tensioner-pulley. I tightened it about one turn, and the squealing diminished almost entirely. I could only worry about the tension -- whether my adjustment would cause the belt to break or the compressor to seize up. The symptoms had always suggested a problem with belt tension as opposed to a failing compressor -- squeals on acceleration, or when the engine is cold. So right now, I'm keeping the socket wrench on my passenger seat as I fine-tune the adjustment by loosening the bolt a quarter turn here and there until the squealing becomes apparent.

These are minor things that lead to major things. If the former shop-owner's partner had just listened to me, or advised me of the possible causes, or SIMPLY ADJUSTED THE TENSIONER BOLT, I wouldn't be wasting time with this S***. And the moral of the story: YES! It's better to do your own maintenance and repair. These folks behave as though they're bad doctors, who wait for you to get really ill to collect a bill. One needs a repair-shop that works with you, without taking advantage of gaps in the customer's knowledge.

This is the down side of used/old car ownership, and this is why people shell out huge sums for new cars with drive-train warranties -- a big part of which depreciates by thousands of dollars just for "being out of style".

The up side, I can quantify. Over 17 years, I've saved about $14,000 in full-comprehensive insurance payments by shouldering the risk of damage to my Trooper when I'm at fault. The repair bills have always been a fraction of what you'd pay annually for new car payments. Of course, this costs me time reading the shop manual and fretting over the vehicle as I do.

In the old days, vehicles were simple enough that you didn't have to read 150 pages of the shop manual -- sorting through 2,000 pages just to find the 150 -- to get an idea of the work you might have to do. And doing things for the first time always carries a risk they'll be done incorrectly. That's why a 78-year-old mechanic with more than 50 years experience with an honest reputation is worth finding.

Don't hold your breath in your mechanic-search quest!