DW victim victimized by Mechanic??.

[careless in NY]

hey folks, i have been having death wobble syndrome for over a month now with some progress in replacing parts. i just finally got billed by mechanic for all the parts and labor. i had estimated my bill closely less than $2000 total, but yesterday when i got billed my bill is actually $2500. he actually charged for the time troubleshooting at $80/hr. he claims he spent the time test driving and taking apart the entire suspension and drive shaft in order to test, investigate thoroughly. he claims to even had put parts from other jeeps he has in his lot for troubleshooting as well. i appreciate the time and trouble he put into my jeep, however, i never heard of paying for the time spent troubleshooting. is this a new thing in the industry?? i do not ever recall paying for troubleshooting. i am aware that DW is not too easy to detect but 5 hours!!?? and the DW is still there. its better than before, but i still may have to spend more time and money myself to cure my jeep of DW. am i being fleeced here???

[mikec041]

Dealers have been charging diag. time (also know as rack time) for a while. Which is BS since they use flat rate and the time alloted is well over inflated.

[YtseJam454]

You are paying for his incompetence. Don't be a fool. See the last 2 posts I replied to on Death wobble. New front solid control arms and less positive caster will eliminate DW.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2204372/2

[trannyman52]

$80 pr hr. may be high,,,but that is regional number {cost of utilities ,,taxes ,,up-keep of building, tooling ect,,ect,,..scanning tools range from $1,000 to 7,000},,,our compressor just took a dump,,,GOT ER FIXED FOR FREE!!!! er,er oh ya it cost $985.00,,,, Didn't have many customers offer to pitch in to fix,,,,,,was getting dizzy blowing in the hose and the air tools didn't work that well....Why should they work for free????? Do YOU!!!!

When you go to a shop for repairs,,,one might look for some course of action from the shop,,,like Yes,,,we have seen this problem before,,not We'll check-er out....If you are the first-one of that problem in that shop,,,you pay for the learning curve,,,,,most shops {independant} will suck-up some of the costs,,,but unknowns can get $$$$$,,,,Now the next person that comes in with the same problem,,,,,,,the mechanic is a GOD!!!!!!!

If the problems are not going to stop you from using the vehicle,,,best advice is to shop the problem around,,,OR,,,you can always fix it yourself!!!!!!!

think green,,,Go yellow.....E85