is the quote for my repairs fair?
Posted by umsolikeuh@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 14 comments
i just got my car towed to a shop and they are quoting over $1500. the serpentine belt, front brake pads & rotors need to replaced, along with something else that i can’t remember right now (i’ll update when i think of it). i can’t afford that at all right now, and im unsure if the quote i’ve received is fair. other shops won’t give an estimate over the phone. i just want to know if this is a fair estimate or if im being scammed?
ImprovementOne34@reddit
Pending location and the other item you are forgetting, that seems a bit high. I recently had serpentine belt done for under 200 with labor and parts at my mechanic. If only front brake pads and rotors remain, you are looking at maybe 700 in parts and labor? Any quote in ballpark range of 700-1100 seems reasonable to me for those three items. Pending what your other item is, that 1500 is probably reasonable.
umsolikeuh@reddit (OP)
it’s the front and rear stabilizer links + an air filter. i just told them i’ll do the air filter myself which knocked ~$80 off
Equana@reddit
Impossible to tell for sure because...of the something else you can't think of right now and the lack of a reason for TOWING the car in. It also helps if we have an idea where you live... Canada or Los Angeles will be much higher than Centerville, Ohio.
CarsandTunes@reddit
Did you miss the part about the serpentine belt?
umsolikeuh@reddit (OP)
a mid-sized city in michigan! i also added the reason for towing to the post
Repulsive_Vanilla383@reddit
Why was it towed to the shop? If it stopped running the brake pads and rotors are not the cause.
CarsandTunes@reddit
Serpentine belt probably.
umsolikeuh@reddit (OP)
it was because of the serpentine belt for sure
Beneficial_Try9602@reddit
Without knowing if the “something else” was an interior light bulb or it was towed in because my head gasket blew and I overheated my engine until it seized up…it’s hard to say for sure.
Sorry but the price of unknown repairs is unknown.
umsolikeuh@reddit (OP)
yeah i realize i should have given more context im just stressing about it! i added the rest of the info if that helps at all
YeahIGotNuthin@reddit
If replacing the belt also includes replacing the tensioner and idler pulleys, it's "a little high" depending on where you are. (It's "a little high" in Meridian, Mississippi. It's "crazy low" for San Francisco.)
Any chance you could do this yourself? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Vb-ziHyiE It's not exactly rocket surgery, and it looks like a $25 belt, an $80 tensioner & pulley assembly, and a $30 idler pulley.
The brake pads and rotors are about $125.
It's about $265 worth of parts, and you'd need a set of tools to do it. And you'd want a pair of jack stands to do the brakes; you don't want to do that work with the car lifted up on its scissors jack.
jrileyy229@reddit
If you want to save money, anyone can do brake pads and rotors with YouTube and $25 of tools from harbor freight
phil161@reddit
It’s high. I just did my front brakes myself for about $170 parts (pads & rotors) + my own labor (about an hour). I replaced the serpentine belt last year for $30 but that took about 2 hours and a lot of cuss words because of the poor access in my 09 scion. If you can work on cars yourself, replacing brakes & the serpentine belt are fairly straightforward jobs.
specialneedsdickdoc@reddit
Without knowing what the "something else" is we can't say 100% for sure, but $1,500 is likely fair.