300M timing belt replacement

The original (now ex-) dealer's quote of $750 did *not* (I called and
asked) include the pulley and tensioner -- he wants another $220 for
both. So his price is waaay high by comparison with yours -- and I don't
think the labor rate has yet reached $90/hr around here.

Can you be sure that the parts in Mopar cartons weren't also made in
China? -- perhaps even came off the same production line as the ones at
AutoZone or Advance Auto or Pep Boys? "Hey, Chang, pack 1000 of these in
Mopar cartons, 3000 in AutoZone cartons, and 2000 in Advance Auto
cartons. OK?"

And if I want to an independent shop and had the job done, is there any
guarantee that they would use Mopar parts? Would they give me separate
prices for "genuine" and "after-market?"

I am now waiting for quotes from two other dealers.

Perce

 

Ted Mittelstaedt wrote: "Most people don't make money 24x7. They make money
40 hours a week and the rest of the hours in the week they don't make
anything at all. If a person can save $250 by spending 8 of those non-paid
hours
doing the job themselves, vs. paying a pro for it, it's like they are
getting paid an extra $250 for that week."


I look at it different way. My time off is valuable with things I have to
do around the home, camp or fishing or just drinking beer. I figure how
long it going to take me to tackle a job plus Mopar parts and compare it to
the cost of the dealership. If it is cheaper for me to pay the dealer then
to do it myself then I will pay the dealer. I do have the luxury of getting
a discount on Mopar parts and labor since my wife sells cars for the
dealership. If the dealers price is to high and I can get the parts I
sometimes can get a friend that is a mechanic for the dealership to complete
the work either at hid house or mine. Cost beside parts is cost of a good
home cooked meal and some beer that I help him drink.

Bottom-line is the OP realized this job is bigger then he might be willing
to take on. He asked if the price quoted is too high. If the original post
does not include the hydraulic tension pulley then the price is to high.
One sight I use to help make my decision is http://www.alldatadiy.com/. I
purchase a subscription for every vehicle I own. It has good photos and
diagrams to help you understand what you need to do.

 

The first of those other two dealers (still an authorized dealer) has
come back with a quote of $1240!!! for timing belt, tensioner pulley,
hydraulic tensioner and water pump (parts + labor + 6% tax).

Drain, flush and refill cooling system (standard service item at 100K
miles anyway) is another $148.

Replace thermostat and hoses is another $748! if I really want but his
"technician" (not just a mechanic; that may explain why his prices are
so high) says he's never seen a bad thermostat on one of these, so why
bother?

Perce

 

This next paragraph was my quote (attribution got snipped):

That may be true. And of course it's also true that some will refuse to
let you bring in parts (we've all seen the signs over the cash register
that say "Would you take eggs into a restaurant and ask them to cook
them for you?")

In my experience, typically when you take your parts to a shop that
agrees to install them for you, they charge the same labor. That was
the case on my 3.2. What I gained was that I got premium parts (either
OEM or best aftermarket for every single part) instead of whatever the
local auto parts store had available as their lowest-end part, and I got
the OEM/premium parts for less money than the shop would have marked up
the inferior parts to if they had supplied them.

What I lost by doing that is a guarantee on the work if a part (that I
had supplied) was bad or failed). With the best parts available, I was
willing to take my chances, and have had zero problems (3 or 4 years
later). It was more than an even trade IMO.

Perce - Seriously - try pricing the same parts at
www.mopardiscountparts.com as a comparison. I think you'll be amazed.
No sales tax, but you will pay actual shipping - typically $10 to $20 on
a large order of parts of this type. They are a dealer, and the parts
are OEM. With the exception of one part, they always have shipped the
same day I ordered - only thing I can figure is that they are just
around the corner from a warehouse. Located in OH, I live in VA - I
always get the parts the next day by UPS ground.

 

Woah! Not including the hydraulic tensioner - OK - no big deal. But to
not replace the pulley (with its bearing) is malpractice. That's the
closest to "let's not replace anything, including the belt, until it
breaks" philosophy as you can get (other than maybe not replacing the
water pump too).

But - yeah - you're right - that does make their price ridiculous.

Thanks for reminding me why I quit going to dealers about 30 years ago.
I see things have not changed.

 

Let's put it this way: From years of reading posts on 3 different LH car
forums, while - yes - some aftermarket parts do happen to be the same
part as the OEM, you won't find the quality going the other way, i.e.,
OEM switching to a clearly inferior part, or one that is clearly
supposed to be the same part but doesn't fit (hits or rubs something due
to a slightly different shape) - that's something you don't see on teh
OEM parts (someone will probably post with an example of where they've
seen that though).

Having said all that, companies in trouble will do some shady things, so
it could be that they start buying the cheapy parts and third-party
labeling them to turn them into OEM. Nothing would surprise me at this
time, but so far I have not seen evidence of that on these parts.

 

I agree.

For the record, there are two separate parts: The tensioner pulley, and
the hydraulic tensioner. While they work together to tension the belt,
they are two distinct parts when purchasing and installing them.

I also get alldata subscriptions, but as time goes on, I am not so hot
on them. *IF* you want complete schematics right out of the FSM
specific to the year and car, and if you want access to TSB's, they are
good. But I find the textual and procedural information is *so* skimpy
as to be almost worth zip towards the price of the subscription. IOW -
what info. they have is generally right out of the FSM, but what they
have in the way of test and procedures is probably less than 5% of the
information that is in the FSM - and some of that left out info. is
important.

Within the last year, they revamped the format of their information,
and, on the same vehicle subscription, I swear that the "new"
presentation makes it harder to find stuff, and even more info. is
missing than before. I very seldom recommend them to people anymore,
*unless*, again, you're mainly wanting schematics and/or TSB's - for
those two things, the info. is 100% there and straight out of the FSM.
But for the procedural stuff and specifications, it way too spotty for
me. I'm not sure I will be renewing any of my subscriptions.

IMO...

 

Another reminder: My parts (t-belt, water pump, tensioner pulley, hyd.
tensioner, both rad. hoses, both accessory belts, t-stat) were around
$360 - all OEM or Gates, then $300 labor, which I admit could/should
have been $400-450. I did supply my own coolant - because I wanted to
make sure G-05 went in it.

That's another thing you want to insist on - G-05 coolant (Chrysler
dealer - called Mopaar 150,000 Mile Long Life, Zerex G-05, or Ford
dealer - they have several types of coolant - ask for "Premium Gold").

 

Forgot to emphasize my point there, which was: My parts price may not
have looked that great compared to yours, *UNTIL* you look at what parts
I got for that money - and not inferior parts either - compared to what
the dealers are (not) including in their price. Timing belt and water
pump for - what - around $300!! And the one place wants an adder of
$748 for a t-stat and two hoses!! You've got to be kidding. I would RUN!

 

Now I have the quote from the second (still-authorized) dealer:

$1000 for belt, tensioner pulley, hydraulic tensioner and water pump.

$80 to drain, flush and refill cooling system.

$175 for thermostat and hoses -- don't think I'll bother, even at that
price.

And their labor rate is up to $90/hr. already.

I'll ask at one or two independent shops as well.

Perce

 

Then I agree, their price is a bit out of line, but then again, they
aren't paying me to run their business and I'm not paying them to run
mine.

Not in this case. Take my word for it, side by side, there is no
mistaking the two brands of parts.

Realistically, there is no guarantee that you'll take a breath tomorrow.

If you choose an independent shop, I can see no reason why they wouldn't
use OEM parts if you request them.

Many do though I can't speak for anyone other than myself.

Working the parts quote using NAPA first line parts;
Water pump is $7 cheaper
Timing belt is $5 cheaper
Tensioner pulley is $41-$45 dollars more expensive depending on which
product line.
They don't offer the hydraulic tensioner but if they did, odds are it
would be priced higher.

You know for a fact that the OEM stuff will last for at least 95K miles
based on your own experience. The Autozone and NAPA stuff, ????

I can say, based on experience that the aftermarket stuff can and does
fail much sooner.

 

They are doing essentially that now, Mopar calls it the "value line" or
some such.

AC Delco has their "all makes, all models."

Both are very equal to the dimestore Autozone crap.