Shops

[Placeholder Bus Name]

Is there a thread for good or bad shops?

I've had my bus at the shop for 2 months. The shop has been very difficult to deal with and hard to get information from. I even had to deliver them a part that they 'could not locate'. Anyhow the repair is done now and the cost is twice what we paid for the bus.

To prevent others from getting burned like we did... is it okay to name shops that we'd had good or bad dealings with?

 

[Meathead]

I feel your pain. It probably wouldn’t do any good here bc we all live so far apart. But yeah, if you meet others here that live near you let em know.

Auto mechanics, I think, have a book. 2012 Tacoma - replace alternator = X dollars labor. Diesel bus guys all seem to charge $100 to $120 an hour but I think they just make that shite up.

Peace

 

[Brad_SwiftFur]

I'm having the rear gears swapped in my bus. Since this wasn't time sensitive and I could shop around ... I was quoted 4 hours labor at $150/hour for a labor cost of $600. I don't think this is unreasonable considering rent, property taxes, power, water, utilities, insurance (which is really expensive), worker's comp insurance, and countless other overhead costs. And I'm paying for their knowledge, expertise, experience, tools (which for a 400 pound part may be well worth it alone) and use of shop space. They also dispose of drained oil, and my old gears will be reconditioned and sold (this was to be the case at the axle shop too). Long story short, I was looking at $1500+ for the gears and carrier assembly (exchange), plus gaskets, fresh oil, and whatever else, or around $2000 for a turn-key job ($1150 for carrier assembly plus all the other stuff). My time is worth more than the $400 difference, not to mention saving the aggravation and my arms and back (and some friendships).