Well I spoke with the shop owner today, and after swearing at me for a bit he asked me what I though he should have charged. I said that I thought $150 was more than reasonable (he wanted $300). So after throwing a few more F-bombs he agreed to that price. $30 an hour is way more than I make and I'm the rich bitch with the hummer lol

 

lol Way to stand your ground constantini7. Glad it worked out in your favor.

 

Good to hear C

 

Wow, good deal! Did you have to listen to the "cost of running a business" speech? IE: Taxes, insurance, rent, equipment, benefits, license, etc...

$30/hr won't get you far in business. Hell, I would not have done it out of my home garage for $150, a couple 12 packs maybe , but really, the full billet handle swap out is a 4-5hr job for an experienced mechanic.

 

Well there actually is a little more to the story. The real reason that I didn't try it myself was because I am friends with one of the owners of the shop and I was feeling bad because their garage business hasn't been that great since they lost their dealership. I thought I throw them some work so the guys would have something to do. I guess no good deed goes unpunished. As for the time it actually took to install. After being in the shop for four hours I went to check on it and one handle was done and no one was working on it. Two hours later still just the one handle. I was told they needed to keep it overnight. Checked in first thing in the morning and still just the one was done, nobody was working on it. I then made a comment to the 'boss' that I needed my car back that day. At 1:00 I got a call that it was ready. Really? 5 hours of 'labor' from a 'skilled' mechanic. I don't think so.

 

The info I posted is fact, not "I think" and for a dealer to do it for $150 was an awesome price!
Most shop rates around here are $80+/hr. YOU GOT A GREAT DEAL!

I do my own work and have a little experience, mine took 5 hrs with a mirror swap included.

 

Ok so maybe I did end up getting a good deal, maybe not, but the bottom line is that they acted like it was no big deal when I asked them to do it. It is something that I would have done myself if I knew they were going to charge me that much. The shop is no longer a GM dealer and has the highest rates in town. I have four cars that I have always brought there and paid more for routine service just because they were 'friends' of mine. This isn't the first time I've felt like they've taken advantage of me and I guess I was just tired of it.

In the end I guess I should take some of the blame because when I asked them how much it would cost for the install I should not have just accepted the answer 'oh it shouldn't be too much'

Well at least now I don't feel bad going somewhere else and paying $30 for an oil change instead of $65 lol.

 

Oh and by the way since I own a liquor store I would have happily paid you in beer for your service. Hahaha