Reasonable or rort? Opinions wanted.

[savage1987]

Dropped my diff parts off to a shop here in Townsville today.

I had been quoted "not much more than $440" for the job.



Having a look at the parts I dropped in, he revised his quote to "I can't quote this til it's finished, wouldn't be surprised if it ends up over $2000"



The only parts included in his cost is a kit of bearings and seals. Everything else I have provided.

VN 28spline BW w/snapped LH axle
spare LH axle
Harrop Truetrac centre
2nd hand set of 3.9s



His reasoning is that he wasn't aware of the ratio change. SURELY even with the small amount of machining required to get the 3.9 ring gear onto the Harrop centre is not worth an additional $1500 in cost?!!


Opinions wanted, particularly from people within the industry. Honestly I hadn't even expected to pay that price if the gears were completely rooted and he had to supply new ones!


Help, want this sorted out ASAP.
Sam

[Dr HaxZaw]

You sure he didnt think you wanted a new gear set to change the ratio rather than modifying your existing gears? Im not too sure what the tolerances would be for the machining of the new gear to fit the centre but if its high then would explain the cost

[DevilDRake]

$900-$1000 sounds normal for all of them changes, but 2k is ridiculous

[savage1987]

No, new gears are not included in the $2000. He was clear on that.

I'm thinking it's worth my looking into freighting interstate or something to build this.

[ClairBear]

Sam,

Where you go, don't do anything without a written quote up front. Otherwise you have a fight on your hands. This goes for anything really, not just car repairs.

C.

[savage1987]

I'm going to give him a call in the morning and have a long chat I think.

I'll call Phil Purser @ Final Drive in WA and see what he has to say about it also. Might be worth freighting it there and back, at least I know he does good work.

[letthiswork1]

Sam,

Where you go, don't do anything without a written quote up front. Otherwise you have a fight on your hands. This goes for anything really, not just car repairs.

C.

Words of Wisdom there.

Always get a fixed written quote or agreement. Too many times did i get a price and then when i go to pay for it they throw something else in that we briefly discussed which he never told me would cost extra..

[savage1987]

Just rang Phil @ Final Drive in WA, he doesn't do the Borg Warners any more but gave me the number of a guy in Brisbane who he recommended.

I spoke to this guy (Ray @ Western Suburbs Differential & Gearbox Services) and he's quoted me $795 plus maybe another $100 in machining costs. I'm happy enough with that if it means I end up with a good diff out of it.

They both agreed that $2000 is far too much for that job.

I'll look into freight later, and I'll pick the parts up from the shop they're at now when I get a chance.

[savage1987]

UPDATE


so I got a better reception from Brinks Performance here in Townsville, decided I'm happy to take it to him and he actually wants the job so that's already a good start.


I stopped in to Town Automatics today, to pick up the parts that I had left in their care, only to discover them sitting out in the weather EXACTLY where the guy had me put them when I dropped them off.

My brand new Harrop Truetrac centre has rust on it.

I spoke to him (fairly politely, considering the circumstances), he flat out does not care, and sees nothing wrong with leaving thousands of dollars of (potential) customer-owned parts out in the rain for weeks on end.

I asked him would it really have been that difficult to bring it inside a workshop, he said "I sprayed it with WD40" as if that made it all OK somehow.



Seriously, where do I go from here, am I just being a bitch or is it reasonable for me to be a little bit ####ing angry that my $1300 BRAND NEW diff centre has rusted due to the laziness of SOMEONE WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER? Frankly I'm disgusted with the service, especially given I was dealing directly with the manager the whole time, not just an errant staff member.

[hakhawk]

cut your losses. take your stuff, give it a scuff down, and maybe ask the new guy to pull the center down and double check it(though that might kill the warranty). but there should only be any surface rust, should just need to give it a clean to make sure theres no water in it, clean up any visible rust and put it in.

IF anyone asks you where to go for diffs, recommend NOT to goto that guy.