I have a farmall 140 1976 model had a noise in the left final drive took it to an old dealership that still works on tracktors I had them do both sides the bull gear on the left side was loose new seals and gaskets and brake bands and some bearings the parts came to 1000 dollars the total bill cam to over 4300 dollars it just seemed high to me what do you think
- Thread starter e darnell
- Start date
IAtractorKid
Member
Sounds pretty high to me but then again they call them stealerships for a reason! Locally IH dealer here is $80/hr shop rate...next one down the road closer to a major city is $100/hr.
My aunt in ND took her Farmall M into the local dealer for a leaking PTO seal and would only run with 1/2 choke...$3600 later they replaced the PTO seal and put a remanned carb on it because the other "was so warn out it couldn't be rebuilt."
My aunt in ND took her Farmall M into the local dealer for a leaking PTO seal and would only run with 1/2 choke...$3600 later they replaced the PTO seal and put a remanned carb on it because the other "was so warn out it couldn't be rebuilt."
Corona Boy
Member
Yup
rustyfarmall
Well-known Member
you need to find out what their hourly shop rate is, and compare that to the number of hours you were billed for. $1,000 for the parts actually sounds about right, but I can't imagine an experienced shop would have taken much more than 8 to 10 hours to do that job. Even at $100 an hour shop rate, the total for labor shouldn't have been more than $1,000.
$1,000. for the parts, and $1,000. for the labor.
some years back neighbors wife told me that it cost over $4000 to rebuild the engine in one of their tractors at the dealer and it still wouldn't pull like it did, didn't tell her they had been taken to the cleaners the problem was the injector pump and they didn't replace it,i hadn't been to long before rebuilt the same size engine in a combine and had less than a $1000 in master overhaul kit and machine work
redforlife
Well-known Member
Sounds high to me. Old rule of thumb is labor ussually runs about a close equal to cost of the parts. I know shop rates have went up, but gosh dang it, parts have to ya know.
Dean Olson
Well-known Member
That's plenty. But you couldn't buy a new tractor for that.
The dealerships are always high. I just had a water pump replaced in my 387 Peterbilt with a C15 Cat engine. $1800. Took the mechanic 5 hours. I was billed for 9 hours labor.
I complained and it was explained to me that the "BOOK" shows it to be a 9 hour job. I broke down so had no choice but to use the dealer. Had I been home my local mechanic would have charged about $1000. for parts and labor.
The dealerships are always high. I just had a water pump replaced in my 387 Peterbilt with a C15 Cat engine. $1800. Took the mechanic 5 hours. I was billed for 9 hours labor.
I complained and it was explained to me that the "BOOK" shows it to be a 9 hour job. I broke down so had no choice but to use the dealer. Had I been home my local mechanic would have charged about $1000. for parts and labor.
Owen Aaland
Well-known Member
I&T flat rate for overhaul the differential and final drives is 9.2 hours. Brake overhaul for both sides is 5.1 hours. At least part of the brake labor should already be included in the other overhaul. Looks like 15 hours should be plenty of time but it all depends upon the condition of the tractor and how many other problems were encountered.
Lovespullin
Member
If Owen is correct, book time is about 12hrs. BOOK time, not mechanics time. That's how a mechanic makes his money. Being good and fast enough to beat the time. I know because I was one and made a ton of money at it.
Why does everyone cry about a mechanic making money but not lawyers, doctors, and the such. At least a mechanic is blue collar.
Don't like it do all the work yourself.
Why does everyone cry about a mechanic making money but not lawyers, doctors, and the such. At least a mechanic is blue collar.
Don't like it do all the work yourself.
Brownie450
Member
We broke the adjusting bolt on the 1460 clean grain---a 7/16 X 4 inch bolt, threaded all the way up, & it cost $14.
2 bushings for the pivot on the hydro pump belt drive tightener --1440 were $23 each.
The small parts are EXTREMELY high.
Stopped at the green store for a set of points for the 4020 the other day---$22.50.
2 bushings for the pivot on the hydro pump belt drive tightener --1440 were $23 each.
The small parts are EXTREMELY high.
Stopped at the green store for a set of points for the 4020 the other day---$22.50.
Harry Klever
Member
e darnell, was clearly taken advantage of, I dont know of any shop's that charge $275.00 @ hour. Motor home shops charge $140.00 @ hour, because they are are hard to work on !!!! That's the highest that i am aware of.
Curt Cooke
Member
Feeling much better about the screwin's I've taken from time to time.
After all this, you are probably not going to get any real satisfaction from the dealership if you complain. They have you over a barrel and they know it.
They might knock a couple hundred dollars off the bill and act like they're doing you a HUGE favor, but that's all you can expect. They're not going to admit to overcharging, and there certainly is no mistake on that bill...
How many hours of labor did they charge for?
They might knock a couple hundred dollars off the bill and act like they're doing you a HUGE favor, but that's all you can expect. They're not going to admit to overcharging, and there certainly is no mistake on that bill...
How many hours of labor did they charge for?
CenTex Farmall
Well-known Member
I don't see how those business owners can sleep at night.
tractorguy2
Well-known Member
If the parts are all OEM. $1000 was not high. I really can't say about the labor. I don't know how many unexpected problems like twisted off bolts and such.Could be some machine shop labor figured in?
I had a guy that wanted the "play" removed from the steering his WD Allis. The parts were over $1200. One bearing that had to come from Allis was $350.00. Had to have a shaft build up and keyway recut. That was right at $200.
I had a guy that wanted the "play" removed from the steering his WD Allis. The parts were over $1200. One bearing that had to come from Allis was $350.00. Had to have a shaft build up and keyway recut. That was right at $200.
Dave H (MI)
Well-known Member
(best mattress money can buy!)
steelfronts
Member
You got hosed. Maybe the dealership could justify their bill with hours and high priced parts but its totally irresponsible to spend 4300 bucks of someone else s money on a 2000 dollar tractor. Any body that has done brakes or bearings on an A or anything similar only one time before could easily do that job in one day.
Phil Tibbetts
Well-known Member
I would say you not only got taken for a ride but they didn't use Vaseline.
Dean Olson
Well-known Member
I have no problem with you making money. Charging "book hours" that are far more that what it actually takes is stealing. It's just wrong. I recently pd 9 book hours and the mechanic did it in 5. Makes me feel a little cheated. This job was on a Peterbilt truck in the Peterbilt dealership.
Please
Explain
The
Excessive
Repair
Bill
In
Laymen's
Terms
Please
Explain
The
Excessive
Repair
Bill
In
Laymen's
Terms
Got a chuckle out of that, Dean. Thanks.
Probably most folk that turn wrenches got an expensive lesson in "shop rate/rape" before they took up DIY in earnest. If I hadn't been part Scott and prone to taking things apart from about age 4, I probably would have done the same.
I don't fault anyone for making that mistake once, or for getting a dealer fix out of dire necessity. No one with a lick of mechanical aptitude willingly repeats the mistake. Mechanical work is only the basis of rocket science: most threads turn right to tighten; if tight is important, a torque wrench is your friend; keep enclosed things clean inside, keep moving things lubed often; fix little problems before they get big. All the rest of the details can be found in an I&T manual.
I truly feel for the OP, but for anyone else thinking about "sending it to the dealer for some noise": $4,300 buys a lot of tools, including jacks, stands, a descent compressor for an air wrench, and easily leaves enough for $1,000 for bearings and seals, and possible even some custom machining.
"YMMV"
Well Worn
"Book hours" are there to protect the customer as much as they are there to "benefit" the mechanic. Jobs often take LONGER than book hours due to inexperience, unfamiliarity with the specific machine, complications, etc..
You'd pop an artery if a mechanic charged you 30 hours for something that should have only taken 10 hours, because he never had that particular model of car apart before and had to do some research as he was working.
You also don't want the mechanic charging you for the time he spends BSing with other customers while your machine is in the bay. He's not punching in and out on your job every time he stops to answer the phone or talk to someone.
87nassaublue
Member
That's exactly why I became an engineer. I don't know what all was put into this machine or what all labor was involved but that sounds like a huge bill. I don't do all my own work any longer, but I do shop the internet for parts and do use people I can trust for work. I still do most of my own work, but I'm too busy to do all of it. My son in law is an ASE mechanic. Dealers usually get a premium for parts and they charge standard labor times for each task which runs up your bill. I don't like to pay 12 hours labor for a job that actually takes 2.
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