Please lie to me and tell me this is a fair price...

[JeffKeryk]

I was asked to check this work order for a big, older RV. The brake pedal went to the floor.
The shop is a busy place in a nice Santa Cruz mountains town.

I know RVs are a different ball game, but what is a fair price?
Not a DIY price; a reputable shop price.
Thanks in advance.

 

[bullwinkle]

$672.50 sounds like a lot of labor for rear brake (assuming rear disc) replacement. Otherwise, looks about right.

 

[Trav]

I was asked to check this work order for a big, older RV. The brake pedal went to the floor.
The shop is a busy place in a nice Santa Cruz mountains town.

I know RVs are a different ball game, but what is a fair price?
Not a DIY price; a reputable shop price.
Thanks in advance.

I cant lie to you, they forgot to add the $14.50 for the Vaseline.

 

[Hall]

I cant lie to you, they forgot to add the $14.50 for the Vaseline.

They didn't forget to charge for 3 cans of Brakleen (at 2x the retail price) and a tube of Sil-Glide (also at 2x the retail price) !

Seriously though, I presume since this is on a heavy-duty truck chassis, how pricey are things like (quality) brake rotors and pads ? I'd presume you're not putting $24.99 pads on a vehicle like this or that they're even available at that price or are they ?

 

[bullwinkle]

Rotors $210 apiece isn’t too high, maybe CA labor is a lot higher?

 

[Nick1994]

For California pricing and working on a huge motorhome, it doesn’t seem THAT far off to me.

 

[JeffKeryk]

All good.
Or not... Ha!

 

[JeffKeryk]

I cant lie to you, they forgot to add the $14.50 for the Vaseline.

That Vaseline would be the cheapest thing on the quote...

 

[supton]

I'm guessing a shop that can handle a motorhome has to have a rather large service bay, no? And larger than normal jacks, air guns and whatnot? meaning a higher than normal labor rate.

 

[Lyman]

The two things that stand out are the Labor and the cost of the rotors. We all know shops mark up everything but it looks like 100% mark up is what they did here. Im guessing that is 5 hours labor. A bit much but it happens. Oh I see Santa Cruz. That is a high rent area for sure.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The two things that stand out are the Labor and the cost of the rotors. We all know shops mark up everything but it looks like 100% mark up is what they did here. Im guessing that is 5 hours labor. A bit much but it happens. Oh I see Santa Cruz. That is a high rent area for sure.

I told them to go to O'Reilly for parts...

 

[andyd]

Supton has a point,though Ive seen plenty of out sized rigs worked on outside of garages. If the brakes were leaking in the rear, why are all the parts listed for the front end ? I'd love to see what the take offs looked like.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

What's that labor rate per hour?

Also, is this 4 wheel, front or rear ( invoice is a bit confusing)

Looks definitely high for SE US but in California, this might be well inline for a heavy vehicle.

 

[JeffKeryk]

What's that labor rate per hour?

Also, is this 4 wheel, front or rear ( invoice is a bit confusing)

Looks definitely high for SE US but in California, this might be well inline for a heavy vehicle.

It is a large RV. I have never seen it. Rear disc brakes and RE service.
I think they booked 6 hours.

 

[Trav]

That Vaseline would be the cheapest thing on the quote...

What bothers me about that bill is the $129.50 for diagnosing, usually when you have the work done they waive that fee. Top that off with a diff service with 3 pints of fluid for over a $170 is almost $300 and 32 bucks for some silicone is padding the bill a bit IMO. The cheap bast.. didn't even throw a new air filter in.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

toys are expensive (RV's, boat's etc...) and California labor isn't cheap. There are certainly a few things on here you could question but the bill won't go to half by any means. You could ask them to walk you through the invoice.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

It is a large RV. I have never seen it. Rear disc brakes and RE service.
I think they booked 6 hours.

I'm going to go with Trav here

I can buy fairly 6 hrs @ about $115 as a labor rate for an RV

I do have issue with including the technical charge ( since you are getting the work) and combining the RE labor etc since its in the same vehicle area ( just charge parts and fluid)

I don't know parts cost in Cali. well enough to comment but they don't seem outright outrageous but are higher than would be over here but not much.

 

[NewtonPulsifer]

I’m in San Jose and the places I go to always waive the diag fee if the labor total exceeds it. Norm’s Auto Repair and Akin’s Auto Repair. Also just checked the reviews of that repair place - there’s better places if you can make it into Santa Cruz. Go elsewhere if possible?

EDIT: They also mark up the parts like 15% only. That’s like 80% markup!

 

[meadows]

If they can do it right now, do it so the trip is not ruined. If you are on a trip, what is the trip worth?

 

[samven]

It seems a bit excessive to me. I think that P30 chassis is just a 1 ton dually with 12500 GVWR. I know they used to put way bigger RV's on them than they should have and they always sagged in the rear after a couple years. Like others have said they seemed to mark the prices of parts up 2x retail. Labor might be OK, I think they have drum E brakes and might have to pull the axle to get new pads on Hence the rear end service.