attn shawn you got majorly ripped off ex:front struts are rebuildable and do not need to be replaced!!!i know this because i am a licenced mechanic for 12 years.your 1990 could not develop all these problems even at 4000000 k.m.s./250000miles i know this because i restored a 1980 200 series with approximatly 230000kms/120000 miles. there are manuals that dictate how much time is allowed for a repair (chiltons shop rate manual)

in my opinion the thief inflated labour approx 50%and also 85% percent of the parts did not need be replaced.this is only an opinion as i have not physichally seen or worked on the car this is based on your info.contact your local comercial crimes division and have them send a perfectly good car into this buisness and when they get the fraudulent repairbill they have grounds for fraud charges

In general I think this bill is on the high side. Not ripoff high but there are a few items in the parts list that caught my eye and I know you could get better prices on them from IPD if not others like alloemvolvo.com. However, now you have to take the ultimate responsibility and not only buy your own parts but install them yourself. For me that's a balance of time, money, kids and skill. Not necessarily in that order. I have gotten similar prices for similar parts and work done from a well known southeastern PA Volvo/Saab/Porsche shop. I have also gotten equal prices from the Volvo dealer who is a mile from house. I have gotten better prices (and I think workmanship) from a Volvo only shop in central Jersey. So, for the big jobs, or when I have the time, or just plain want it done right I think you can guess what my 1st, second and third choices are. For your job, if the work is good be happy but consider finding a more competitive priced shop the next time.

After 31 years of VW's, Volvos and Saabs I have this advice:

Learn as much as you can about your car.

Be very specific about what you want repaired and don't go in "open ended".

Start doing your own basic maintainance: engine and trans oil, filters, a bottle of Techron to keep the injectors happy, regular wash and wax, check the radiator and keep some track of your gas mileage as this may be the first and best indication that your car is not feeling well. I have found that when I ignore things like this I get bit in the tail. But if you are keeping up with things, you'll know what needs to be done then either you or somebody you choose can do it.

Get more than one price estimate, and look at the labor rates and the labor (are they young kids or skilled journeyman).

Last but not least don't be afraid to question things and if you have to stand your ground DO IT! And again, if you have been keeping up with your car you'll know if the diagnosis is right. BTW, this board and the other Volvo websites are the greatest resources in the world!

Cost of brake pads, tensioner, timing belt, strut inserts, bearings is at 100% avg wholesale price.

Struts? no name or Boge/KYB?

Pads? OEM or Carbon Metalic or Repco?

Timing belts/Tensioner? Contitech/Bilstein or Gates/Fels?

I think he soaked you on parts and some of the labor is costs for work done on separate componenets when entire assembly is out and is at BOOK time rate and he probably did it in 1/2 the time...

In other words he saw you coming!

Time to BOLU...Bend Over and Lube Up!

I think the price was a little high. I agree with the post about it being unlikley to need barings. But you did have a lot of work done. If you were happy with the job, count your blessings. You could have paid that price and got crappy work to boot.

I have found there is not an abundance of good, (competent), Volvo shops out there.

If you don't do any of your own work, then yes, Volvo's can be expensive to own.

I do less and less of my own work as I get older, so a good wrench is a rare find.

Steve M.

Sorry, I think you got taken.

With this amount of work done, they should have cut

you a bit of slack. A volume discount, if you will.

I would suggest to everyone never to take the car in, and

say:” Go ahead, and fix what’s needed, she’s due for some work”.

This is what a typical mechanic lives for. An open check book

proposition. Rather, try to be more specific, and state exactly

what you want done to the car. In process, negotiate the best

price, and by all means, see more than one shop.

Well informed consumer will intimidate those guys, and gain

respect. You can learn a lot from this forum, please use it.

I too live in Texas (Denton, the “happening” place … )

Ah gotta mow mah frunt chard somtom. Fursd ah need to fix

dis code in mah nose. If ah don’t hurry ah gunna bay late

fahwer skoo.

Well, I don't know where you are living, but in this area, which is not a cheap area, and does have a lot of Volvos, thats pretty steep. Yes, you did have a lot of work done, and at 130, a lot could well have been due.

I find it VERY hard to beleive that you needed wheel bearings. basically, they just don't go bad in Volvos(ie RWD non 850 types). Only if they were both over tightened when adjusted. On a long shot maybe one, but 2? Nope.

His labour charges were a bit screwy, in my opinion, and when a shop wants to play around with a you a little, they make it kind of fuzzy like that.50$ for valve adjustment and gasket. Thats 30 minutes max, and I have to see a b230 that really needed adjusting at 130. i am sure if he had really sdjusted them, there would be a parts charge for the shims, which I don't see.That should have come under the "tune up" charge.

The brake and shock labour seems pretty fair, becasue struts can be really crappy if they fight, and they fit under the catagory that if you do them enough times, you can make money to make up for those jobs you loose money.

As for parts, the strut mounts were a flat rip off. He was making double if you paid 80$ for the two.Can't ay wha shokcs and cartridges were put in the car, but they had better be good ones at those prices. I don't beleive in going cheap there, so they better not be the simple gas shocks.

tensioner was a tiny high, and the belts maybe. T-Belt sounds about right.Good deal on the R 12.

Basically, what you got done, would be the equal of what is generally called a major service, plus struts,front brakes, and t belt/water pump. Then you needed some belts. And at that mileage, the car was truthfully probably due. No bearings.

Here's how its priced here, (except dealer)

Major service with parts(which include parts you didn't get, like Volvo plug wires 60$, fuel filter 18$, air box sensor 20$)450$

struts(with parts)380$

t-belt/h20 pump(with parts)250$

brakes n rotors. 200$

The belts and hoses would have been additional, but wouldn't have added to labour

About 1250$ There is some flex in that, going down a little. And this is with very responsible shops that really know Volvos.

Yeah, it was a lot of work, and worth doing. But I think you should shop around a bit.

Shawn -

What part of Texas are you in?

Looks like you have a big trip ahead of you and getting all of that work done on your car will save you the hassle of getting stranded. As far as DIY is concerned it becomes a matter of what your time is worth to you. For me I don't have much of a choice but to do it myself (being a grad student doesn't pay the big bucks ya'know). I did break down and go to the shop when I had to get my U-joint pressed into the driveshaft. Well worth the $30 I paid instead of beating on it all day.

That doesn't look too bad. In the first 6 months I had my car, it had 2 or 3 trips to a shop for work that were about $600-$700 each. The good news is that it's been going pretty good once I got past the major stuff that the previous owner didn't keep up with. You could have saved money by buying the rotors/pads/struts/shocks from some place else. Check out my links page below for some good online parts sources if you need any parts in the future.

You got a pretty good deal...on SOME of the parts...good price on the strut mounts and $628 for all the labor? Not too bad, really.

The shock prices seem a little shocking....pads are a really steep..got you on belts....shopping around for these could have saved some $, and of course DIY would have cash in your pocket.

You should be good to GO!

ouch.

But it does look like you'll be trouble free for a while. Does not look like you got overcharged, just has a lot of stuff done.

You could have saved a lot of the labor charges by doing the simple stuff yourself (maintance). To a DIY $1500 is worth a 'new' 85ish 240 to add to ones collection.

Good investment nevertheless. Makes me think opening up my own repair shop.

Given the amount of work he did (a lot), you did OK. Some of that you could do yourself, but don't let the DIY purists make you feel bad about it. Personally I don't mind paying for good work.

Not unreasonable and, as Dick wrote, right out of the flat rate labor book. He did not overcharge you on parts. DIY next time and save: many of the things done are easily done by the do-it-yourselfer.

Probably not unusual and a lot from a flat rate book. It does help us do-it-yourselfers realize how much we save.

Have a good trip!!

dick (College Station, TX)