I was referred to a guy at a local Meineke and went in to meet him and confirm he'd let me bring my own parts. Forgot the stupid O2 sensor and they killed me on it (25ish dollar part and they charged me 80).
Mill

 

Wholesale cost of a quality O2 sensor is about $38-50 w/o tax. Retail is about $75-80 or so.

We in the service business have to make a profit on parts and labor in order to pay our bills and taxes. We can't sell stuff for our cost and work for half price and stay in business.

Which by the way everything costs a lot more for commercial stuff than your private bills. And we have those, too.

I don't appreciate private individuals griping about the cost of labor. You don't want to pay, do it yourself. There is no screwing going on at $70-80 per hour.

Another thing. If you bring your own parts in for the tech to install, thinking you are saving a dollar or two, don't expect him to do the labor again for free if your part ends up being bad. Even one new in the box. If he supplies the part, then the redo is on him.

 

I understand completely, and people working on their own vehicles, sourcing parts for themselves is killing your business the same as when a person fixes their own toilet instead of calling a plumber.

I get it, but when you're perfectly capable of doing something yourself, and save yourself 50-80% the cost in the process...

That's kinda what this entire forum is all about.

I could just tell everyone here just to go to a shop and have them do it.

If I had done that with my trucks, I'd literally, without exaggeration, be at around $10,000-12,000 (each) worth of repairs+original cost of the trucks by now. Instead, I'm at $4200 each, including purchase price.

Today's market/economy (again, at least where I live) does NOT want you to save money on your own vehicle, that you own completely. It's a frikkin racket, and you're simply expected to make car payments on a car you do not own, OR, make up that cost anyway by paying insane rates at a garage.

 

You sure use the word "insane" a lot.

No, more power to the people who want to do it themselves. Some do it because they want to. Some do it out of economic necessity.

But it's not fair to complain about service prices when someone is doing you a service. At your request.

 

Thanks

 

Thats a crazy price. You can buy a borla catback for $450.

 

I'm a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force and do maintenance on multi million dollar jets everyday, so I certainly feel capable of swapping out the exhaust myself. But if someone will do it for me for around the price that it would cost me just to buy the parts I would let them because its a 22-year-old Jeep and I'm sure everything down there is going to be a rusty PITA to take apart.

 

I was a maintainer on the flightline AF as well, lol. 2A553B. Just got out a few years ago. I was on heavies though.

And yes, there is certainly a lot more rust under my 89 than there was on the brand new C130J's.

As much as I hated those things...at least there wasn't any rust.

At least you got the hobby shop on base if you need a lift or power tools.... I miss that.

 

Yeah thats where I would be doing the swap if I do it myself. I'm a 2w1 on the F-15/A-10.

 

Let me start by stating that it's my intention not to offend anyone on here, so if I did, I apologize. All of you have been really helpful. I do want to clarify a couple of things, though. I don't think anyone would fault me for wanting to save money where I can (i.e., parts). Let's be serious, the cost of parts is exorbitant and I don't want to pay a 100% markup on them when I have the ability to get them cheaper. I am more than willing to pay labor costs for jobs I'm not capable of doing, such as welding on a catback. I also weighed the costs and benefits of buying the parts myself, including that I am responsible if they fail. All of this was discussed with the owner of the muffler shop before the job was done. Btw, I would use their services again in a hearbeat and have referred them to others since.
Mill

 

The difference between an $80 O2 sensor and a $20 O2 sensor is the difference between an OEM and an aftermarket piece of junk.

Now, if they gave you an aftermarket piece of junk for $80, then you got ripped off.

If they installed an OEM, it's a fair price.

 

A lot of people see that number, and do some quick math, and think, "Man! That guy is getting rich off of me!"

They have no clue about the overhead that's covered in that number. It's not $70-80 per hour going straight into the mechanic's pocket.

And sometimes, going to a good shop is actually cheaper than DIY. That's why you have to shop around.

I just priced an exhaust system for my truck. A local shop quoted me slightly less than buying the parts myself. Why beat myself up with that job when I can get it done better and cheaper and easier?

On the other hand, I just saved many hundreds by replacing my fuel rail, injectors, and O2 sensor.

You have to shop and compare. If you aren't, you are doing stupid.

 

^^^makes sense. thanks for the insight.
Mill

 

The XJ's exhaust from the header back can be repaired or replaced using one wrench.

Normally to do this all the exhaust parts need to be oe or direct fit.

I've done a XJ in under an hour, the exhaust works fine and has never leaked, caused problems, etc.

Used heavy duty exhaust clamps to make the connections.

When replacing OE exhaust remember OE is usually higher quality stainless and non crimped, same or similar to mandrel bent.