Ripped off at local Vette Shop

[1quik6.0]

Hey guys i wanted to ask a few questions about what you feel i should have been charged or what you would have charged me for some Mod Installs i recently did.

First of all i have an 06 Trailblazer SS 2wd with the LS2 in it.

So i take my SS to a local Vette shop because he was local to me and overall seemed like he knew what he was doing, but in the end i felt i got ripped off and thought i would see what you would do if u were in my shoes.

Ok SS had these mods installed...

Kooks 1 3/4 Catted Headers
Stainless Works Catback system
new LS7 throttle body
new rammer CAI that i was told about on another site
GTO efans
Autometer Trans Temp Gauge- installed interior wise obviously
Underdrive Pulley

Ok now b4 u toss some #'s at me i furnished all parts above EXCEPT hardware for efans (relays, etc)

Now throw some numbers at me and i will respond. I do realize im in Calif, but again i got rimmed bigtime in my eyes.

[1quik6.0]

I was billed for 42 hrs on this SUV of mine, what would you do if you were me?
SS was in shop for 3 weeks, go figure.
Im thinking of a few things and they involve the Court system.

[LETHALxLS1]

whats the hourly rate at the shop??

[newtechnova]

seems high to me. did you get a quote on the labor?

[99bluebird]

42 hours? Yea you got ripped hard-whats that a $2500 bill?
The throttle body and CAI you shouldve done by yourself.

The headers/catback-8 hours at absolute most
Underdrive pulley-2 hours?
Trans temp and fans are probably where they "got you," usually anything electrical they can pretty much charge what they want if noones watching.

[Z28venom]

Did they use any vasoline?

[1quik6.0]

yah i got a bottle of kj with it, but on a serious note i got jacked bigtime and learned a huge lesson.

[1quik6.0]

Guys don't use NorthStar Corvettes, big ripoff and they don't know what the fukk their doing! Their located in Mt.View Calif.

[tonyjnjz]

yeah that sounds rediculous!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10-15 hrs sounds about where it should of been....and how hard are those headers on a truck??? has to be easier than on a camaro and thats a 5-6 hr job..catback.1 hr...intake..20 min..tb..20 min....pully i have no clue on those but not much more than an hr........so yeah 10 hrs sounds reasonable..........u should of been quoted before hand bro.....why wernt u??????? i always ask how much BEFORE they start the job..

[blue02Z]

damn! i'd say you got rammed pretty hard. did there work come with a warranty?

[jamessr]

Well its hard to argue after the work has been done. It does sound like alot of hrs though, but I'm not sure theres anything you can do about it. I'm sure you've signed some type of paper authorizing him to work on your car, thats a contract. Next time get a "quote" and I'm not saying it as a flame just advice. Cause if he had quoted your $2500 I'm sure you would have told him to pack sand.
However a header install is costly at any shop, My opinion you over paid by $1500. Hope that makes it a little easier to swallow... oh wait you got it from behind sorry.

[jimmy77611]

I think you should invest in a labor time guide and add up all of the stuff. It can't be 42 hours. For items like the CAI, which aren't in the labor guide, just be generous and say 2 hours, headers should be no different than exhaust manifold labor, but just add an hour to each side just for kicks. Still wouldn't come up to 42 hours. You should definitely take them to court over this. Prove they ripped you off to a judge by using the labor time guide.

[JEFF01Z]

If you did not sign any quote prior to them starting the work, it should be pretty to fight it through the courts; you won't even need a lawyer.

Most all shops make you sign a work order or something to that nature authorizing them to work on the vehicle. Typically this will have an estimate of the parts and labor. Depending on how it is written they are required to get authorization prior to making further repairs and/or any increase beyond the original amount quoted. Any shop that does not do business this way is really hanging themselves out there on the line.

First step is to read any fine print on anything you may have signed prior to them working on it. If you did not sign anything and can prove it; this is your fight, you did not authorize the work that was done, which would entail a full refund of the cost + court costs.
If you did sign something, it just depends on the wording of the disclaimer.
Your other alternative is like stated in previous posts. Get a labor time standard book. Look up all replacement items that was done, even though aftermarket stuff is not listed. Typically electrical work is done on clock hours, not flag hours. So they should have a time record of some sort for the electrical work. There is no real way to flat-rate electrical work because there is no way to encompass all jobs under one rate.

Have all your ducks in a row when you get to court. Present all documentation to the judge and proof from your sources. Their downfall against the judge will be proving were they came up with that labor amount. If they cannot prove a standard exists you are almost sure to win.

[1quik6.0]

All this info is from him, i wrote nothing on any of this. First one is his first stement i signed thinking it was my original estimate (hard to read i know) ok 2nd statement is day i went to pick up my SS. Exhibit A&B are where my 42 hrs came from.

Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

[JEFF01Z]

It seems real odd. So I take it you paid the total amount of both invoices or just the second one?

The key things they really killed you on is a no brainer. What I would like to know is where in the world they came up with that amount of time.
I could not read the small print on the invoices, but either way, the dates are different. It appears that the first invoice was for parts. Obviously the headers are a big portion of this. At that time of the invoice they should have had a labor amount on it. I know that somethings they would not have an exact figure for. But it is pretty easy to look up a standard amount for replacing the OEM part. I can see tacking on some time for fabrication, but they went way overboard on this.

9 hours to wire the fans in, come on now. There is no way it took this long, unless the guy doing it was a real moron and had no clue what he was doing.

11 hours to install the fans. How hard could this had been. I don't own a trailblazer, but I just can't fathem it possibly taking this long to install. On top of that they gig you for another 9 hours to wire it.

The amount of labor is very unreasonable. I would do a little research of labor rates of changing the oem parts. Most electrical work is done by clock hours + 1 to 2 hours depending on how long it actually took. Most labor standards are usually are 50-70% more time than it acutally takes to do the job for your average tech. Obviously the more skilled the person is, the more hours they are able to flag.

To sum it up you need to:
Research labor standards for OEM replacement for the items replaced.
put all this in a formal report.
Bring the book with you to court.
Your main complaint is that you did not authorize that amount of labor. Your original estimate was for xxxx and when you pick up the vehicle it was something totally different and a whole new invoice.
The other thing you will have going for you is they will have to provide a something as to where they have came up with the amount of labor charged. Standards we put in place to protect the shop and the customer. If they cannot come up with something to prove their amount, their credibility is greatly reduced with the judge.

[blue02Z]

i work at a dealership and i have never seen anyone-even the heavyline dude-flag that many hours. one time he pulled the engine on a fed-ex truck and the total labor came to 25 hours. as stated above, you need to take them to court and get some money back, including you court fees. that is complete bullshit. it took them 3 hours to do your trans pan? warranty times pay 7-9 hours for a complete trans r&r according to gm.

[1quik6.0]

This case was WON by me today, case closed!

I didn't go into Court thinking i would come out a rich person, but i did want to prove to the Judge my side of story and most of all make sure guys/gals in here be careful on who they take their vehicle to. I know i learned my lesson and at same time it was very well worth my Monday morning.

[mrr23]

good deal.

[JEFF01Z]

So what was the final result? Did they refund part of the labor? How prepared was the shop when they showed up, or did they even try to fight it?

[sgt0704]

what lesson did you learn? do the work yourself? a chilton and haynes manual are great.