Here's the deal...

I am getting my turbo installed, i just got back from the mechanic, and he is telling me I have to pay more for the install. I was originally quoted $1000, and now he is saying it will be extra labour and he is charging me $1500. (and that doesnt include tuning)
When I asked around before deciding to have him install it a few ppl quoted me less than $1000 but i figured for a couple hundred bucks I might as well stay loyal to the guy i've been going to for the past few years.. but $1500 seems ridiculous..
The intercooler piping I had ordered was a universal kit off ebay, and he says it doesn't fit so it will take more time to bend it all properly, and he will have to send it out to get welded and that costs $20 per weld. (he doesnt weld aluminium at his shop)
Does that sound reasonable? Is it justified?
I also asked if i scrapped the whole kit, because I only paid $120 (or something) on ebay and at least the clamps and hose fittings can stil be used, how much for him to make me a pipe out of steel since he can bend and weld that at his own shop.. he says $600 because it will take most of the day to do it and its rougly $300 in materials..

Am i being jacked here?
Im pretty pissed off..

 

What shop are you using...? Im local.

300 in materials for charge piping is a bit excessive (for mild steel), and 300 for labour if it really takes him all day (which i doubt) is about right, gotta figure. 300/8 = $37.50/hr which seems like a fair labor rate if you ask me.

For labor to install the setup, if he wants 1500 and charges aprox. $37.50 per hour he must estimate hes got about 40hrs (a week) putting it together. I don't know how much is involved with your setup, but 40hrs seems a bit much to put what sounds like mostly a 'kit' together.

You have to remember, these guys gotta make money too. If he charges $40/hr for labour, pays his employee $12 (uncertified etc.) then hes making $28, but he has to pay for overhead, so by the time thats over, he might make $12-$14.

Anyways, goodluck with whatever you decide to do, its too bad you dont have friends with tools and a place to work. Id do it in my driveway and spend the $1500 on tools before i paid someone else to do it, you probably live in an apartment or dont have driveway space to do this kinda work im guessing.

 

with that kind of money you could just get a setup designed for ur car and put it on yourself. what kind of car is this on?

 

nah he doesnt have employees... i have no problem paying someone for thier work.. i just wanted to know if it was justified..
he is saying the extra $500 heis charging is due to the fact that he has to bend and weld the intercooler pipes, and the exhaust i also bought was for a civic coupe and is too long for the hatch so he will need to cut and reweld that as well...

so if its justified then i have no problem..

 

honestly putting a turbo kit on a car is so easy. If you have a basic set of tool and a little bit of expierence working on cars its not hard at all. I put my last turbo kit on a car in 3 hours, and that was with all hand tools and taking my time.

Just take your time put the kit together and then bring the materials and **** to another welder that will charge a lot less.

And then you have saved a ton of money for a tune. Or hell build a block on the side. i did my last motor build for under $1500.

 

I can't install a complete turbo kit that DOES fit in 3 hours, that's bs. If the stuff you bought doesn't fit, he has every right to charge you extra. Extra time = extra money. And nobody is running a business charging $40/hr for labor, or not for long at least. $65-120/hr is the going rate for competent labor, and at that, 5-6 extra hours of work turns into a lot of money.

I'd do the same thing if someone brought in an ebay kit to install and it didn't fit. He's not in the wrong.

 

man go to sears and buy a tool set for 100 bucks tops, buy a jack and lift it.. do it all urself.. with that extra 1500 u might as well build ur head, upgrade pistons or something else.. hes right in his way cuz he has to charge in order to do it but why pay sumone 1500 wen u can take ur own time and do it? its seriously not as hard as it seems.

 

we sell turbos installed for 1100 no more no less.

 

haha tony your response was damn near exactly what i was going to say.


$1100 parts and labor installed for a turbo kit....sounds like good quality stuff!

FWIW the closest "big name" shop to us, turbo installs start at $1400 or so, and thats if everything DOES fit..not including any exhaust work or tuning


1500 for installing a turbo kit, making charge piping, and modifying (anotherwords making another) exhaust sounds like a good deal.


i'll be honest....when people bring me low quality ebay parts i charge aditional labor just on principle. not to mention it makes my life a lot harder, it takes longer to do, etc.

if people dont like that or dont understand why than there is a few other shops around here i can give you their numbers to. if you want a good quality turbo kit that is reliable, looks good, and is tuned properly with good managment i'd be more than happy to help you, but im not going to be the "cheapest" guy around.

i'd feel pretty worthless if i had the reputation for being the "cheapest" because we all know what that means in the long run...........

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I can't install a complete turbo kit that DOES fit in 3 hours, that's bs.
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I'll clarify. Before i do the install i bolt up the manifold, turbo, wastegate. I have the oil line kit already assembled and the pan tapped. all thats left to do is connect the DP,IC and piping, injectors. Fuel pump i assume is already in. I did a peak boost kit in a DC last year in under 3 hours actually, everything fit well also though.

 

i know hes a good mechanic and thats why ive been going to him for the past 5 years...
but when i hear those few ppl who say oh its only a 3 hour job or why dont u do it urself or hey ill do it for half the price then i start to doubt my mechanic...
but i can see the price is justified..
i dont want someone who cuts corners, nor do i want to take the 1500 and buy tools and try and put it together in my own driveway..

i guess i was mainly bothered by it all because i had put aside 1500 for the install and tune and now ill have to fork out another 5 bills.. not the end of the world..

thanks to everyone for their posts

 

read what he said about the 3 hour install. he more or less said it takes him 3 hours to install it if he has 75% of the work done BEFORE he starts. doesn't make much sense.


also keep in mind you dont have a turbo kit. you have a bunch of random parts that dont fit and that your pretty much asking him to make you a turbo kit.

sounds to me like your mechanic is being honest and fair with you. sure he isnt working for free, but everything sounds totally reasonable to me

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 187Chor &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but when i hear those few ppl who say oh its only a 3 hour job or why dont u do it urself or hey ill do it for half the price then i start to doubt my mechanic...</TD></TR></TABLE>

unfortunately this statement is your problem...and too many other people problem as well. glad to see you have turned this thought around

A complete motor swap doesnt take 4 hours and neither does a turbo kit install...even with the best parts. I cringe when I hear people say things like this...

Sometimes you get lucky and the schlup who flopped all the parts in did it correctly...but generally thats not the case.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">. And nobody is running a business charging $40/hr for labor, or not for long at least. $65-120/hr is the going rate for competent labor, and at that, 5-6 extra hours of work turns into a lot of money.
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Couldn't agree more. I won't open my tool box for less than 85 an hour. It's pretty much the standard fee here on the east coast. For a 100% bolt on kit that I never have to blink at putting on, it's a flat $850. If the welder has to come out, it starts climbing. Just the way it goes.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I can't install a complete turbo kit that DOES fit in 3 hours, that's bs. If the stuff you bought doesn't fit, he has every right to charge you extra. Extra time = extra money. And nobody is running a business charging $40/hr for labor, or not for long at least. $65-120/hr is the going rate for competent labor, and at that, 5-6 extra hours of work turns into a lot of money.

I'd do the same thing if someone brought in an ebay kit to install and it didn't fit. He's not in the wrong.

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i would say more but Tony, Joe and Chris pretty much hit every point i would make.




Modified by mike@synapse motorsport at 6:50 AM 11/7/2007

 

I am a do it your selfer and I have a garage spare car, and many tools. I mocked my stuff up on a spare engine and nothing fit. After about 3 months of sending stuff back and trimming welding and buying odd couplers and crap I had a kit that was bolt in ready. I installed a competition clutch and flyweel with my turbo kit and it took me about 2 days when it was all said and done. My kit is different and required certain modifications. If I were a shop and charged my self to install the kit turn key ready I would have probably charged $1500-2000(and I am very cheap) just because of all the modifications that had to be done to the turbo parts and the car itself. This install is comparable to the equipment supplied with a reputable kit like injectors pumps, piping, etc... my 2 cents

Mocking up is the key to a smooth install and that is where the shop will let you know how much they will really be charging.

 

Just curious, what's the name of the shop doing the install?

 

You're lucky he's only charging you $1500 to install an ebay turbo kit. Those kits are complete garbage and take way too long for installation.

edit: tony said it best lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I can't install a complete turbo kit that DOES fit in 3 hours, that's bs. If the stuff you bought doesn't fit, he has every right to charge you extra. Extra time = extra money. And nobody is running a business charging $40/hr for labor, or not for long at least. $65-120/hr is the going rate for competent labor, and at that, 5-6 extra hours of work turns into a lot of money.

I'd do the same thing if someone brought in an ebay kit to install and it didn't fit. He's not in the wrong.

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I feel your mechanics pain on this one. Universal piping kits never fit and it takes a LOT of time to make piping fit like it should. All of you saying he should just do it himself haven't ran across making piping(THE RIGHT WAY)

 

you're not gettin jacked, thats a good price. that universal piping kit you bought is nothing but a bunch of random bends someone sent you and called it a kit. Its like someone bringing a lego kit to someone and saying " build me the eiffel tower" it says its a kit ! it should go right together. But you find that you have about a thousand parts that you gotta figure out where it goes.

 

$1500 for a turbo install is way too much... even if the guy has been your mechanic for a good while. Like the other guys have said, with a good amount of wrenchin' knowledge and hand tools, you should be able to put the kit together yourself and save that install money for an engine management system and tuning.

 

^ kind of a silly statement. I think the question is how much should it cost for someone to do it... not whether or not it is worthwhile to pay for it. I think pretty much everyone on this site agrees you shouldn't pay for a turbo install.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97LXF20B &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">^ kind of a silly statement. I think the question is how much should it cost for someone to do it... not whether or not it is worthwhile to pay for it. I think pretty much everyone on this site agrees you shouldn't pay for a turbo install.</TD></TR></TABLE> read the previous posts

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PrecisionH23a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You're lucky he's only charging you $1500 to install an ebay turbo kit. Those kits are complete garbage and take way too long for installation.

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im NOT running an ebay turbo kit...
my quoted install price went up when i brought him an exhaust that was for a coupe not hatch which he will have to cut/weld to fit, and a universal intercooler piping kit which will also need to be cut/welded and fit.....
........and i have since been made aware of the painstaking labour that requires and im cool with paying $1500

(this thread may now be closed)


Modified by 187Chor at 3:47 PM 11/8/2007

 

to mount an intercooler and make piping.....and to not only install, but cut/weld/ and modify and exhaust for 500 bucks is a good deal if the works done nicely