I recently went in on a trade with a diesel mechanic. I worked for him for three months and put in $2000 worth of work in for him training his horses. I thought that he was going to replace the exhaust on my truck as well as a list of other things. It is a 1985 C30 dually chevy western hauler. It has a 6.2, banks turbo, 4 speed with a two speed splitter. The following is the work that was completed. What would you all apraise the work at?
Inspect entire truck to find what needs to be repaired/ replaced( engine, body, chassi, drive train)
Repair exhaust to get to pass emissions
Diagnose dash lights and gages probles
Diagnose wiper/ washer problem
Reroute fuel lines away from exhaust
Run cleaner through injector/ fuel/ intake system
Run engine cleaner prior to service
Engine service
Took truck to get emissions
Check and adjust rear brakes
Replace front brake pads, turn rotors, pack wheel bearings, clean rust from caliper sliders
Diagnose two speed problem
Repair batter connections
Check charging system
Tighten engine belts
Repair all tail lights
road service calll to get truck to shoulder of highway and get started
Diagnose cooling system problem and fill with water

What would that have cost me if I went to a shop to get it fixed?
Thanks for all your help!
Jenn

i just went thru some of that list on my brothers 6.2 farm pu . i had a post on it last week . i spent roughly 500 bucks on parts and three days worth of my spare time. if i were to charge him labor it would be 1000 bucks and the list was not that long. some of the things like dash gauges and lite can be two hours or a day. very hard call . if you do not trust each other do not do business . bartering can only work if trust is used. he has to trust you that you gave him a fair shake too.

If all the things were done then I would say you are into it a good 3500 bucks.
Thats the question what was fixed and what parts were used and what you give a list of things to be done but what was actually done? What was your agreement? Was it to fix all things wrong with your truck including parts? A Rebuilt engine is normally around 1200 bucks a Goodwrench around 26. So did the agreement include fixing the exhaust? Was that specified? Did he just give you a lis of items that needed to be fixed? Lots of questions need to be answered before yours can be answered.

That is one of those lists that will nickel and dime you to death... That is quite an expensive little list if you have a shop do it. Hourly rate around here is close to $70/hour, and I'd say that's a good 15 hours of work there, what with all the emissions testing and other stuff (although that rig should be exempt from emissions testing... Wonder what's up with that?). Plus parts that would be a pretty good bill, maybe $1500.

Hard to say exactly because I don't know what parts were installed exactly (in particular the "engine service" area of things could have been quite costly depending on what exactly was done). Judging by what you've got on the list, I would say that the cost was mostly labor. I don't see anything particularly expensive in parts on that list.

Trades are a very hard thing to make work propperly. Best bet is to get itemized estimate for all things to be repaired. Without an estimate, you won't be happy with the results:(

yeah if he went ahead and fixed or got the parts neccesary to fix all of that list, then it would have been a worthwhile trade. But if he just diagnosed the problems and told you what you needed to do to fix it, then you got taken.

Remington

I see tons of "diagnosed" things. Did he fix those after he diagnosed them or just tell you what needed to be done to get them right? That list is full of piddly little stuff that just sounds big. It seems to me he is piling on to make it look like he did tons of work, and that alone means you are right to be suspicious.

"Diagnosed dash lights" and "fixed tail light" are probably the same thing (even the same fuse) - no big deal. "Reroute fuel lines" - did he pull them over an inch with a tie-wrap or did he put in new lines in a different area? I suspect a 2-cent tie-wrap. "Diagnose cooling system and filled rad. with water" - come on - he CHARGED you for looking at the expansion tank and for putting water in the radiator? "Took truck for Emission Testing"?? Diesel emission testing is rare, but some states require it in some counties - $35. "Engine Service" - what does that mean? - could be tens or hundreds of dollars. Did he at least change the oil and filters (oil, air,fuel)? If not, "engine service" means he glanced at it while he had the hood open. "Diagnosed charging system" and "tighten belts" are the same thing and takes five minutes. As I said - piling on.

The brake work was the big ticket. That alone saved you from being ripped off. At $2,000 I think you paid absolute top dollar for the stuff he listed, but I'm not sure I would say you got exactly taken. Just in case though - I'd take it somewhere and ask them if those brakes look new.

It sounds to me like you needed emergency road service (loose alternator belt, dead battery, died, wouldn't start?) and then made a deal with the tow truck guy for him to fix stuff. That's a good lesson - pay attention to the small stuff when you have plenty of time and can shop around. When your truck is dead in the road is not a good time to negotiate from strength.:(

I'd suggest twice a year using one of those special deals you see in the paper (16-point inspection and oil change - $20 at Jake's). One of those would have caught everything above and saved you a lot of $$$.

Oh, and if you live in cold place get some antifreze - I can't believe he didn't spring for the few dollars it would have taken. Time for one of those $20 Get Ready For Winter specials at Jake's!:)

I see tons of "diagnosed" things. Did he fix those after he diagnosed them or just tell you what needed to be done to get them right? That list is full of piddly little stuff that just sounds big. It seems to me he is piling on to make it look like he did tons of work, and that alone means you are right to be suspicious.

"Diagnosed dash lights" and "fixed tail light" are probably the same thing (even the same fuse) - no big deal. "Reroute fuel lines" - did he pull them over an inch with a tie-wrap or did he put in new lines in a different area? I suspect a 2-cent tie-wrap. "Diagnose cooling system and filled rad. with water" - come on - he CHARGED you for looking at the expansion tank and for putting water in the radiator? "Took truck for Emission Testing"?? Diesel emission testing is rare, but some states require it in some counties - $35. "Engine Service" - what does that mean? - could be tens or hundreds of dollars. Did he at least change the oil and filters (oil, air,fuel)? If not, "engine service" means he glanced at it while he had the hood open. "Diagnosed charging system" and "tighten belts" are the same thing and takes five minutes. As I said - piling on.



Diagnose dash lights and gages probles: could have been HOURS of electrical problems to search down
Diagnose wiper/ washer problem: same...electrical problems maybe
Reroute fuel lines away from exhaust: 30 minute job..TOPS
Run cleaner through injector/ fuel/ intake system: pour a bottle in the tank..no time spent
Run engine cleaner prior to service: pour a bottle in the engine, no time spent
Engine service: i'm assuming oil change, 30 minutes if done correctly
Took truck to get emissions: wow?
Check and adjust rear brakes: 30 minutes
Replace front brake pads, turn rotors, pack wheel bearings, clean rust from caliper sliders: standard 4x4 brake service charge..120 bucks because of the hubs
Diagnose two speed problem: could have been a long drawn out electrical problem
Repair batter connections: 5 minutes
Check charging system: 5 minutes
Tighten engine belts: 15 minutes
Repair all tail lights: once again, could have been electrical problem, not everything is fixed with a fuse
road service calll to get truck to shoulder of highway and get started: whatever he charges
Diagnose cooling system problem and fill with water: what was the problem?


was anything fixed? heres the thing, without knowing how much diagnostic time was used, i could never give you an estimate on labor charges. i have dealt with electricqal issues that i couldnt find for days, turns out to be a bad splice buried in the bowels of a wiring harness wrapped in tape. alot more info is needed.

Depends on how involved the electrical work turned out to be. If the electrical work wasn't too involved I would say you got taken. He didn't do a whole lot with the rest of the truck. Where do you live to have needed to pass emissions with an 85 diesel? I have an 85 6.2 and the smog police have never come anywhere near me. Of course emissions could be quite different in Canada.

:chevy::grd: