BG Auto: How much should this cost

[Andarvi]

Can't find too many spots online where they even list the price for this part. My 2002 audi a4 (i know) needs to have the rack and steering pinion replaced. The guy quoted me 900 for the part, 100 for the labor. That sound about right?

[Day]

I put my steering pin in your mom's rack for free.

[Tyche]

That seems expensive for a rack and pinion, maybe it's just because it's an Audi. Can't beat the labor cost though.

[*Shinzon*]

It's a job that you could do yourself. Price on something like that might vary from car to car. But I'd recommend if you do it yourself to be very careful. Since they replaced the rack on my older subaru the steering hasn't quite been aligned like it should be. If you want to check on prices, call a few other mechanics and see what they give you on price. Anywhere like pepboys would work too.

[Nyx]

That sounds a little high to me. I think the part should be closer to $600. :/

[Furionstormrage]

That labor is very cheap, does that include adjusting the steering and re-aligning (If needed) the front end?

As for the part, not knowing if yours is a Quattro with a 4 or 6 cylinder, that's expensive but his labor is so cheap, overall that's probably in line with what most shops would charge for the job.

[Andarvi]

Just called around a bit and heard if it wasnt and audi it should be a round 3-500, but because i am dumb and bought this car, 900 seems relatively inexpensive.

[Andarvi]

That labor is very cheap, does that include adjusting the steering and re-aligning (If needed) the front end?

As for the part, not knowing if yours is a Quattro with a 4 or 6 cylinder, that's expensive but his labor is so cheap, overall that's probably in line with what most shops would charge for the job.

its a 4 cylinder quattro.

[Mizango]

That labor is very cheap, does that include adjusting the steering and re-aligning (If needed) the front end?

As for the part, not knowing if yours is a Quattro with a 4 or 6 cylinder, that's expensive but his labor is so cheap, overall that's probably in line with what most shops would charge for the job.

^

[Electro]

Expensive car = expensive parts. Especially if you are buying directly from the manufacture.

Ex. My 2006 Chevy Silverado 2500 needed a new inside door panel (plastics) that I scratched really bad with some angle iron I was using for a metal sculpture. Called in the the chevy house here and they told me the part was $450 bucks. I looked online and found it for about $150.

Just make sure you can't find the part elsewhere cheaper first.

[Nyx]

Here's a start...

http://www.thepartsbin.com/catalog/?...546+4294963338

[Andarvi]

Im looking around online and finding much lower prices, are sites like these usually not legit?

http://www.rackpinionwhse.com/ShopBy...=True&rewrite=

[Furionstormrage]

its a 4 cylinder quattro.

That's about right part-wise. Shops and Dealers almost always charge close to double the cost of the part, to cover the warranty on said part. (And pad their wallets. It sucks, but they all do it).

I'm more concerned about the cheap labor price, for $100 I sure as hell wouldn't install a rack, refill the system, realign the car, and readjust the steering. I just don't want to see you get screwed with shoddy workmanship and end up having to pay another shop even more money to get the car to drive right.

[Furionstormrage]

Im looking around online and finding much lower prices, are sites like these usually not legit?

http://www.rackpinionwhse.com/ShopBy...=True&rewrite=

That's about average, the shop is going to charge a lot more to cover any future "Warranty" work. (And so they can stay in business, they have to make a profit on the parts)

[Andarvi]

That's about average, the shop is going to charge a lot more to cover any future "Warranty" work. (And so they can stay in business, they have to make a profit on the parts)

I see. So if i just buy the part myself at a much lower price online, the mechanic will most likely charge more for labor? Figure I'd see if that makes sense here before proposing it to him.

[Furionstormrage]

I see. So if i just buy the part myself at a much lower price online, the mechanic will most likely charge more for labor? Figure I'd see if that makes sense here before proposing it to him.

It depends on the the mechanic, some will charge the same labor but won't warranty their work, making it a a gamble (If anything happens to the part later on, you'll have to pay again to have it fixed).

Some don't do anything unless they provide the part, some don't care. Just talk to your mechanic, see what he's willing to do to help you out.

[Andarvi]

It depends on the the mechanic, some will charge the same labor but won't warranty their work, making it a a gamble (If anything happens to the part later on, you'll have to pay again to have it fixed).

Some don't do anything unless they provide the part, some don't care. Just talk to your mechanic, see what he's willing to do to help you out.

OK, good looks. I will do that.

[Arew]

It may be because I live in bumfuck Ohio, but the place I work at only charges $65/hr for labor. We mostly work on semi's though, other stuff as people bring it to us.

[Melchiah]

You can expect a shop to charge a markup on parts they don't stock on their shelves, and a rack and pinion would be one of them.

Call your local Audi dealership and get a price quote from their parts and service departmet, and compare it to the quote from the shop. Dealer items are usually pretty high, so it sounds reasonable for an Audi to me.

Shop labor is normally figured from Mitchell On Demand, or some other labor estimation source. When I worked for Firestone back in 2004, our shop rate was $70/hour. So we would charge $70/hour times however many hours the labor manual called for for the job.

I can tell you that when you have the rack and pinion replaced, you will absolutely need to have the front end aligned. Replacing the rack and pinion requires the disconnection of the outer tie rod ends(most racks come with new inner tie rods already installed) and upon reinstallation it is extremely unlikely that the adjustments will be in the same place as the one that was removed. A toe adjustment will be absolutely necessary, however the camber and caster should be unaffected. Even at this, most shops charge a flat fee for wheel alignment, around $60 bucks or so, and I can tell you that isn't included in the price you were quoted. A rack is at least 1.5 hour job by the book, and at $65 an hour you can tell the alignment price isn't included. Unless this shop is really really cutting you a deal.