does this seem right???

im just wondering, and wanting some opinions....
i was going over my repair bill, for my vx, which is still not running, and i noticed that the shop charged me 249.47 for removing, and replacing my water pump.
NOTE, they already had the front off to replace the timing belt, and i bought the water pump from merlin. wouldnt it be a simple unbolt the old one, and put the new one in, or is it more complicated than that????? what kind of time is involved in this??

oh, oh, and when i asked for my old water pump....huh, they didnt have it, they pitched it.......hmmmmm

does that price seem a little steep?

please let me know, im already miserable, so it wont make me feel any worse.

should i look to add rape charges to my law suit, if i go that route??

thanks
david

I am so sorry......I've been following this saga of yours for an unbelievably long time now. A complete tear down, and nut and bolt rebuild of the entire driveline should be completed by this time! I'm wondering which wrench you chose...Moe, Larry,and Curley Auto, W. E. Cheatum Garage, or was it a local, independent, Chimpanzee? Post their name, so none of us stumble into this little shop of horrors :mad: As for the water pump, that price is probably what you would expect as a stand alone repair, but this is not a stand alone repair if they are in there anyway. What you stand to gain by challenging them at this point, is iffy. When it's running(and leaving) may be better timing. You don't anger the surgeon, that is about to remove the wart from your yutz...save it for the recovery room. You may have cause to take legal action at this point. I feel your pain, and I'm rooting for ya'. Hope the story ends soon. Wayne

Chopper,
thanks for the support! TOWNE VIEW AUTO CLINIC http://www.towneview.com/

the vx is out of their hands as of now, but still not running due to the cat. converters being toast. the vx is now at the isuzu dealer, so angering towne view is the least of my worries. this issue, added to the issues i listed in my timing belt thread toward the end, i think would add fuel to my fire in a lawsuit.

thanks again chopper

any other advice is welcomed, (translation, logs for my fire!! lol)

Sorry to hear about this David, I really thought you were "out of the woods".

That shop should change it's name to "Dewey, Stickem & Howe".

Hey Indiana: $249.47 for a water pump change with the engine/timing belt intact is one great deal, but with the timing belt already off and you supplied the pump that's way over priced. When I did my timing belt I also replaced the Water pump and it was a 20 min job max.....Good Luck, and your in the right placed for knowledge...THIS FORUM ROCK'S......HAT'S OFF ALL ! ! !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IndianaVX

im just wondering, and wanting some opinions....
i was going over my repair bill, for my vx, which is still not running, and i noticed that the shop charged me 249.47 for removing, and replacing my water pump.
NOTE, they already had the front off to replace the timing belt, and i bought the water pump from merlin. wouldnt it be a simple unbolt the old one, and put the new one in, or is it more complicated than that????? what kind of time is involved in this??

oh, oh, and when i asked for my old water pump....huh, they didnt have it, they pitched it.......hmmmmm

does that price seem a little steep?

please let me know, im already miserable, so it wont make me feel any worse.

should i look to add rape charges to my law suit, if i go that route??

thanks
david

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Regarding the $250 for the water pump replacement; I would think most mechanics would know to recommend changing the water pump WTIT (while they're in there) if an engine has that type of configuration and would charge accordingly, but whether a service-writing program automatically adjusts for a timing-belt/water pump job is debatable.

That same labor charge showed up twice when I was inquiring about having the timing belt/water pump job done on one of my vehicles at a Ford dealer once. When I asked why it was listed that way when I knew that once the timing belt job was halfway completed, only seven more bolts would have to be removed to install the water pump, I was told that the total was just an estimate and would be adjusted later. Whether that would have happened is also debatable, but it made me suspicious enough that I didn't hang around to find out. (I ended up buying the parts and doing the work myself).

Since the VX is no longer at the first shop, you may be able to get the additional charge (and any other issues) sorted out by going through your local Better Business Bureau before resorting to a lawsuit. The BBB route is more democratic and less likely to put anyone into total defensive mode. The first shop may be inclined to work with you to prevent getting a black mark added to their BBB listing, especially if you can get the Isuzu dealer to corroborate any unnecessary charge(s) or questionable work.

i went to the shop again today, and asked about getting my recipt for the water pump i had shipped to them from st. charles, and, of course they didnt have it.....they said "didnt st. charles send YOU the recipt??" i said, "nooo, the recipt is usually in the plastic envelope on the outside of the box, or in the box" then i asked about the labor charge for putting the water pump in. well, the only thing that i could really understand is her saying " we wernt going to put it in for free" and her explination contained about 21 "ummms" and 32 "uhhhhs" it was something along the lines of when we put the timing belt on, and then had to take it off, we had to adjust for, and the origional estimate,blah blah blah.......... i just said that seemed excessive, i didnt appreciate it, and i had to get out of there. whatever.........

treckker, thanks for your input on the BBB. that really brought about another line of action to take befor the lawsuit route. and they are a memeber, with big ole plaque in their lobby from the BBB. THANKS A TON FOR THAT SUGGESTION

THIS FOURUM DOES RAWK!!!

david

In these cases, you are much better off bypassing the front-desk folks and going straight to the service manager. You know and he knows that the extra labor charge to put in a pump that YOU supplied during a t-belt change should be 1/2 hour max, and he will likely relent as long as you keep pushing when he says no and you keep saying the same thing over and over again. As soon as you walk, they win. If you don't, they don't. If you are sure that they shouldn't have charged you $250 for it (and you should be!), he will realize it and will likely relent. Give him the necessary suggestion: "Considering the amount of work you did, how long it took, and the size of the bill, I want you to discount $200 for the installation of the water pump as a courtesy to a good customer."

It is better to fight a battle on the front lines (in front of the service manager who can alter the bill) than from the rear (through the BBB). If that doesn't work, THEN go to the BBB.

Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IndianaVX

treckker, thanks for your input on the BBB.

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You're welcome. I just hope the shop will work with you in reaching a fair outcome. I've had to go the BBB route in the past, and it's basically a negotiation between you and the shop with the BBB acting as an intermediary. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but it's worth a try, and provides an opportunity to get things settled in less time than a lawsuit would probably require.

Was the availability or delivery date of the water pump in question at some point? Back-ordered? I ask because if changing the water pump was agreed upon before any work was started, it would sure be odd for them to have completed the timing belt job, only to turn around and have to tear everything back down again to install the water pump. That would simply seem to be poor planning on their part, especially if they knew it was on the way. Was replacing the WP listed on an initial estimate?

Vehigaz,
right now, i am at the last page of my online complaint form with the BBB. was comming back here to check dates. glad i did. because as i was filling it out, i felt like the whole time, i need to be talking to terry, the owner/head mechanic. brenda, who i talked to earlier in the day is owner/receptionist. thanks for the good luck wishes....i need em...

treckker,
it was suggested that i replace the water pump, along with the timing belt. the price they quoted me was way higher than what i could get it for, and water pump was not covered under my extended warranty, so i figured id save some money, and get origonal isuzu part and i had a belt tensionor ordered with the water pump for the same reasons. for diagnostic puposes, while waiting for the pump, and tensioner to come in, the shop put the belt on to see if the truck would run, or if there were other knocks or what not that needed to be addressed. they said, at that time it ran fine, so they were at that point waiting for the pump, and tensionor to come in, so they could put things back together, and send me on my way. so YES, in a way, the pump was scheduelded for replacement.
and thats the issue I have.....if it ran then, then how did the cam get broke in the mean time after they replaced the w. pump (if they actually did). because after the pump replacement, and all the re-assembly, they couldnt get the truck to run right due to the cam being busted. then after geting the head rebuilt, letting me have the vx back without the egr being hooked up, then after hooking egr back up, letting me have the vx again when it was throwing codes, and charging me 70.00 to diagnose that the cat converters were tosted from fuel pouring into the cats from the codes that they didnt check for. i havent paid the 70 bucks, not sure that im going to either.