Fair cost of part+labor: Serpentine belt, 03 Camry

[ipisors]

03 camry, i forget the model detail# but it's NOT the more expensive one, just a basic with all electric.

anyway, $154 seems a little high for sepentine belt (which is about $20-30) plus labor.

the dealership told me book-price for labor allows them to charge 1.5 hrs labor for it.

while i don't doubt the truth of that that is what is in that awful labor book.......I've googled it extensively and site after site after site i look at refers to a "half-hour", or MAYBE an hour - certainly not an hour and a half - to change the darn thing.

Agreed I could do it somewhere else - i.e. non dealer - for a third the price?

[Brian R.]

Welcome to the AF!

You can definitely get it done for cheaper. Shop around and get a recommendation from a friend at work or neighbor.

[kris]

Pretty much every mechanic shop out there, uses the National Labor Guide for reference. That is a way to make things a little more fair across the board. Some shops may charge more per hour, some less. The average rate is roughly $65-$75 per hour. So yes, you might be able to find a little cheaper price, as the shops labor rate varies from shop to shop. It is only fair, as they all have overhead, skills, tools, etc they need to pay for.

On the other hand, looking at the labor guide, I believe they are incorrectly adding everything up. Here is what the guide states for your issue;


Drive Belt
Replace

AC Belt 0.5
NOTE
Each Additional Belt, 0.2

Alternator Belt 0.4
NOTE
Each Additional Belt, Add 0.2

P/S Belt 0.6
NOTE
Each Additional Belt, Add 0.2

Sounds like they are adding the labor up as if you were to replace each individual belt independently. For instance, if you came in one month, and needed the PS belt replaced, then a few months later you needed the Alternator belt replaced, then a few months more the AC belt. Those particular rates for each item is listed in bold.

However, since th PS belt is already removed to get to the AC belt, the correct charge for the other belt should be the 0.2 hours, since the belts are already off. Make sense?

So, if I were to bill that job, going off the Labor Guide, I would charge 1.0 hours. You start with the "hardest" belt being the power steering belt at 0.6 hours, then add each additional belt ie. 0.2 hrs x 2 + 0.6 hrs gives you a total of 1.0 hours. A savings of roughly $35-$40 or 0.5 hours of labor.

That's not to say that a skilled technician can't complete the job faster, and correctly. That is an incentive for him to get the car in, taken care of, and move to the next job. A tech like this could easily bill out 10-15 hours in a day, while actually only working 8. Thats part of being a skilled mechanic, and knowing your job well.

So, knowing this you can either go back to the dealer and explain all this to them, as I can pretty much guarantee they are using the same program I am. Or, find a shop that would have estimated it this way to begin with.

[ipisors]

Thanks to BOTH of your answers. the first person's answer enabled me to immediately tell the dealership (am I allowed to use their name? a major toyota dealer in phoenix who may or may not be on Bell Road) and tell them "NO". half hr, to 1 hr, at the most.

the second person's answer with specific detail about the labor guide's calculations and how they were probably being used wrong enabled me to give the dealership greater detail why, as well as tell my wife why I said "no" - all in greater detail and taught me a hell of a lot.

BY THE WAY, they both just saved me $75.00. My wife just told me when she went up to him (I am at work, she is at the dealership) and said "no, too expensive labor", he immediately cut it to half and did it for $78. plus the oil change.

You both were quite right and I hope you have a WONDERFUL night! It's hard to believe how sneaky these service people are. I'll never get repairs done again without forum'ing first if I can avoid it.

I do agree the labor guide is widely accepted. But like you said, some will simply do it for less (non dealers) and in this case you point out how easy it must be to either mistakenly calculate the guide's pricing, OR be smart enough to use it to their advantage..

[kris]

Glad we could help.