New Brake Pads&Rotors took 4.8 hrs? Am I getting Ripped off?

[AlexusVTEC]

Hey people, I’m in an emergency situation and I need your help here. I took my car to get the brake pads and rotors replaced. They quoted the price of the job to be a little more than 200 – parts and labor. About 90 for the pads and rotors, then 120 for 2 hours worth of work, so about 210.

They ran into a problem and thought that they had to replace the bearings on the driver side. They took whatever part the bearings are housed in, so they could get the bearings pressed out, but they realized that all that they had to do was clean off the bearings, and just “re-build” them?

They just slapped me with a bill for $425! He said that the reason is that each side took 2 hours for the rotors and brake pads to be removed/replaced. My question is, how could it take 2 hours for a shop with all the necessary tools to remove and replace the rotors and pads? Is this logical? I’ve already dropped $250 of the bill, and I am a struggling college student paying for this myself. I’ll be much more at ease dropping the rest of the money off if I know that this is acceptable. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

How long would it take to “rebuild” bearings?

[under advisement]

you don't rebuild bearings, you can sometimes clean them if a bad seal let a little dirt in then repack them with grease, but you don't rebuild them. As far as the extra time (which if the labor rate is around $60 per hour would be three hours) I'd have to check my flat rate guide and know the year and model of the car, but most Hondas are about 1.3-1.5 hrs per side to remove and inspect wheel bearings.

[njaccord]

i don't know about the bearings but i recently got my rotors and pads replaced and it ran me $250 parts and labor and it took about 4 hours.

[tenguzero]

Yea, under advisement called that one. Under NO circumstances should you let them "clean" and rebuild your bearings after they've been pulled. Those things come sealed up, and are readily available, for a reason- no matter HOW good they clean it up, if a minute amount of crap gets in there, it can mean trouble, and added hassle for you.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/bearing3.htm

I'm unsure from your post if they actually pulled the bearing apart, or just did some external cleaning though.
It does kinda blow that you have to deal with them when replacing the front rotors (on the 5th gen at least) seeing as they go for around $30 a pop, and add extra time and hassle on. 4.8 hours though seems rather steep. And they still ended up hitting you for a bill TWICE what their estimate was for? Isn't the point of an estimate to give the customer an idea of what they can expect to pay? Most places I've gone to (if they give the estimate in writing) will STRIVE to come as close to it as possible, often honoring it, even if they weht a little over. I guess it all depends on how much the money means to you.

[BullShifter]

If you signed an estimate for $200 & you didn't authorize additional work, then you are only liable for the amount signed for.

[SR20DETpower]

yeah my dad owns a shop. If its 50 bucks over the estimate you don't pay it. So if they ran into problems and charged you extra hundreds of dollars, that you have ot pay before getting your car, contact the news stations and the Better Busines Beareua immediately.

[pSyLaNcE]

they're trying to confuse you by getting technical...in actuality there is no need to repack a bearing that comes completely assembled in one piece...i have a 93 accord...and have replaced my pads and rotors since i bought it a year ago...the only thing they would've needed to do was replace your wheel seals..and in no way would've that jacked the price that high....in that time span you're speaking of they should've been able to replace your rotors, pads, drums, shoes, and your drum hardware, or the pads and rotors in the rear for some models....
they definitely had to no right to do work unless you specifically authorized for them to do so...
hey...in 4.8 hours i could've done that job and been through watching a movie...without air tools and i'm not a very good weekend mechanic...go get a second opinion then demand that they release your vehicle...unless they feel like having a lawsuit on their hands...they know they ripped you off...i'm pretty sure they don't want to have a judge tell them the same thing and destroy their crooked shop along the way.....i am so tired of shops trying to rip of women... the sad thing is i know plenty of shops who do that sort of shady work...

[1SlowAccord]

I had a similar situation happen to me when i had my old explorer. I ordered a body lift kit for it from a shop, and the owner said that it would take 1.5-2 hours to put it on, and he gave me the estimated price, so i went ahead and ordered the tired for it knowing my lift would be put on the same day i recieved the tires. well i went to the shop and the lady said that it wasn't in yet, but should be in later in the afternoon, i called the place that i ordered the tires through and they had them in, so i went ahead and put them on. the tires rubbed around corners and over bumps, but i knew i was getting the lift that day. went back to the shop and the lady said the owner didnt even order the lift, but they could have it in the next day. so she ordered it and over-nighted it. went back the next day and we were getting ready to install it, total the lift and labor would be just over 200 dollars, well the main mechanic there said it would take 4-6 hours for the install. making it more like 400-500 dollars. which was way more money than i had. and the shop owner got all pissy with me and basically told me to *&$% off. so i didnt get the lift. Point is, if you are really concerned with the money, take them to small claims court. because at least here, you had a verbal contract or sorts. sorry for the long post, i just could relate.

[cwoblong]

Did mine myself.Whatyear?Mine is a 96 .It was abitch.Not like older models with the two screws holding the front rotors on.Major pain for do it your selfers.

[BullShifter]

Originally Posted by cwoblong

Did mine myself.Whatyear?Mine is a 96 .It was abitch.Not like older models with the two screws holding the front rotors on.Major pain for do it your selfers.

Yep, those pressed on rotor's can be a bitch.

[cwoblong]

YEA I f*** up a wheel bearing the first time.You would think honda could come up with something better.