How much to tune and fit Tein suspension.

[Guest]

Hey guys.

Recently I took my car to a reputable Subaru mechanic in wellington (who I will not name). There were a few issues, it crunched going into fifth, it made a whining noise in 5th gear, and the wheels squelched if I turned them when the car was stopped. They told me my gear synchro's needed work and that my front right shock had a mild leak. I told them to go ahead and do the synchro's blah blah and I figured it was time for new shocks. I went out and bought Tein Type Flex shocks. Mag and turbo agreed that part of the price they would tune them (as the old shocks had already been pulled off to see if they could be rebuilt and so now the new shocks would have to be fitted by the mechanic). I NEVER told the mechanic to tune the shocks, I told them to fit them that is all. Mag and Turbo told me tuning would take an hour or so. I went to pick my car up yesterday and low and behold the mechanic decided to tune them aswell and for this I recieved a $435 bill for removing the old shocks fitting the new ones and tuning them, WTF!?!?!? I never asked them to tune them and what's worse is that they didnt know what they were doing and clearly taught themselves (slowly) with the clock running up my labour costs! I paid as I need my car back butr Im gonna talk to the service manager today and I imagine this will end up in small claims as I am pretty pissed off. To make matters worse the wheels STILL squelch, 5th gear STILL whines, and they took all my Tein stickers, badges, anti rust spray. I mean the stickers and whatnot were only a small thing but this whole deal has left me feeling pretty sour.

So at the end of all this ranting my question is...

Is $435 an appropriate price to remove old shocks fit new ones and tune them?

[Guest STiEVO]

im sorry i cant tell you if its expensive but i am posting in support of your plite. talk to the highest up person at M & T and explain exactly what you were expecting them to do compared to what they did. also go to no less than 3 other fitting buisnesses that do the same things and ask for a quote with both a fitment and a fitment and tune.

take these quotes with you when you revisit M & T and if all else fails ring fairgo

[dubbedup]

 STiEVO said:

im sorry i cant tell you if its expensive but i am posting in support of your plite. talk to the highest up person at M & T and explain exactly what you were expecting them to do compared to what they did. also go to no less than 3 other fitting buisnesses that do the same things and ask for a quote with both a fitment and a fitment and tune.

take these quotes with you when you revisit M & T and if all else fails ring fairgo

+1

[Swindog]

Mate if you havent paid for it dont worry too much. Just dont pay until its been agreed to by both sides.

Customer is always right type thing. Same as in building contracts...they have retentions on them so we hold back money incase something goes wrong and we need money to cover it. You have the same power as a consumer. If you specifically told them NOT to fiddle with them and they have, its not your prob and i would pay for it. I would ask to see a job sheet with how much time it took to do it then minus that off the bill and if you want the stickers, ask for them back, if they dont have them, minus that off the bill too. Pay what the calculator says.

By terms of the consumers rights, you havent got the service you expected.

[Guest]

Hey people.

Thankyou for taking the time to reply. I went and saw Mag and Turbo this morning and asked them what they would charge to fit and tune the shocks if I hadn't bought them there. They told me it would have been $250 including GST. The mechanics in wellington charged me $435 plus gst so all but $500!!! I contacterd them this morning and they're claiming they didnt even tune them and that all they did was fit them. $489.38 (to be exact) to fit shocks!!! I am APPALLED!!! These mechanics are clearly useless if it takes them close to a day's labour to fit shocks!!! I'd love to name the place but fear repramand from any staff members that may be clubsub members. Unfortunately I already paid so there's nothing I can do about it I just have to take a deep breath and NEVER EVER go back there again. And if any of those mechanics are on this site (and I have good reason to believe they are) Mate go f*** yourself your useless as an asexual at a brothel! Thankyou everyone for your time though and all I can say is always make sure you agree to a price befor letting a mechanic commence work!

[Swindog]

Still. Go and ask to see the job sheets. Did that price include a wheel alignment?

[Guest STiEVO]

frk them post up their name to serve as a warning to others

[funkytown]

yes also very interested as im thinking about doing the same.. also in wellington.. soon

Would like to stay away from people like this for sure..

sounds like you have them by the balls - if your case is like you say it is. Good luck getting your money back bro.

Let me know and i can try and help out.

[Guest]

Hey there. Unfortunately I dont have them by the balls. They're claiming it took 5 hours to change the shocks at $87.50 plus gst per hour for labour, and I cant prove otherwise. Im leaving it aye I cant be arse fighting them they're a big company and probably have fancy lawyers etc. I'm putting it down to experience and never going back there. They charged an extra $66 plus gst for wheel alignment so no that was not included in the price. Am I being a whiney bitch or does $500 sound about right to fit shocks? All I can say people is always discuss prices with your mechanic befor you let them get stuck into the work so you dont end up in the same place as me. Best of luck to all of you I will PM you STi and Funky with the name of the dealership.

[nt_a_foz]

i would say 2 hours would cover fitting shocks..

I can do it at home in a garage without a hoist in that time easily...And i aint no mechanic

[Swindog]

Mate,

It takes me about a hour...an im a builder...not a mechanic.

For that price i would have expected a wheel alignment included...they may have been training an apprentice but you shouldnt have to pay for that.

[funkytown]

I would keep at them eh, they arent as high and mighty as you might think.

Go to small claims - doesnt cost you anything. Just take proof that it doesnt cost that much / quotes etc.

[pl0x]

 funkytown said:

I would keep at them eh, they arent as high and mighty as you might think.

Go to small claims - doesnt cost you anything. Just take proof that it doesnt cost that much / quotes etc.

+1 get quotes from afew other places, writen quotes, and show them that

[Munkvy]

So just to clarify - was it Mag and Turbo that did the install, or the other place?

Either way, I agree that its an excessive amount of money!

I would suggest approaching their head office about it. Or perhaps the MTA, although you may struggle to get anywhere with Joe at the MTA Mediation service. Worth trying however, as there is no cost to you and its bad for their reputation.

[funkytown]

the other place did the fitting, it was supplied by M & T.

Other company needs a good slapping, not M & T

[G-unit]

1st time i ever tried fitting my own shocks took about 3-4hours all tp and that was me alone never done them before with bolts that had never been removed by the way they were on

[Guest STiEVO]

not sure about adjusties and alighnment but we removed and fitted the rears on the rs in less than 25mins. and when i asked how long it was gunna take my mate said oh about 20 mins . i thought he was taking the piss.

[funkytown]

changed my own springs as well, struts never had the bolts off and i didnt have the right tools.. took my about 3-4h with a scissor jack.. Did all 4 tooo.. never done it before myself.

[Guest]

I supplied my tein adjustable and it cost me $280 fitted with heights adjusted and wheel alignment, I was quoted $300 by hyper.

[Guest]

was in the garage 3 hours all up

[Guest]

Hey just to clear it up mag and turbo are all good they didnt fit the shocks just supplied them. It was a mechanic's in wellington that fitted the shocks,

[swee]

Shit $87.50 an hour! Is that what an average mechanic charges these days or are they on the upper end of the scale?

[funkytown]

upper end..

like (BUT NOT) wingers they are big name brand that charge quite a lot for their backing.. i guess.. However they have done the dirty this time thats for sure..

[Guest]

$87.50 plus gst! So...$98.44 Great huh? And even with mechanics that are supposedly worth that much it takes them longer than most to change the shocks? Something is very wrong there!

[funkytown]

totally bro - even at that price - which i assume you were aware of before they started i would have asked around first - particulary on here as we could have helped out for free..

dam right that more $$$ should mean more experienced and less time... clearly not in your case and i would continue persuing the subject with them and head office.

You've had numerous poeple here say that they can change em on the street in fuk all time led alone in a garage with the tools.. and XP.

Get a couple of genuine quotes to verify whats said here and go from there.