And if you had a C4, a wire & plug change is like a major overhaul! (almost)
Good point
Stealership
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 65,010
Likes: 133
From: Title town, Champs live here.
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19
What type of plugs? and labor/hr must be 
. I'm not very mechanical, but could learn to be with the info here. Search is your friend, use it and buy an extra tool or two and you will be a happy camper, with more money for mods.
. I'm not very mechanical, but could learn to be with the info here. Search is your friend, use it and buy an extra tool or two and you will be a happy camper, with more money for mods.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,469
Likes: 4
I dunno... I'd never accuse a dealer of doing a service for a really great price, but $225 for a set of Corvette plugs actually doesn't seem that outrageous for a dealer. Probably $50 for the parts and 1.5 book hours of labor.
I don't understand why people get upset about paying people to jobs they don't have the time/skill/tools to do themselves.
I don't understand why people get upset about paying people to jobs they don't have the time/skill/tools to do themselves.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 9,369
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From: Zephyrhills, Florida
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 946
From: Communist Colorado
Thats too high, but you did go to a dealer! You can DIY in about an hour, going slowly......its a pretty straightforward job.
I'm having a hard time figuring out where $225. came from though. Even if they charge you a mark-up on the plugs, say $10.ea, and an hour labor @$70./hr, I come up with $150.???
I'm having a hard time figuring out where $225. came from though. Even if they charge you a mark-up on the plugs, say $10.ea, and an hour labor @$70./hr, I come up with $150.???
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,369
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From: The line waiting to see Santa Claus stretched all the way back to Terre Haute, and I was at the end, Indiana
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18
I would bet that $70/hour doesn't come close. Probably more like $90-100 in CA.
That rate seems a little high, but not totally out of line. Probably books at 1.5 hours + $4-6 each for premium plugs. You also have taxes, shop supplies, etc. A good mechanic can probably do it a little quicker than the book, but that's where shops make money.
You might check if the rate is for book time or actual time. In my bike shop we base a quote on the recommended book time, and actually quote it as "not to exceed" a certain amount. If the mechanic finishes early, we only charge the actual time (quote 4 hours, but charge 3 hours, for example). If the job goes over, we only charge the quoted amount unless there is some underlying reason we didn't know about (He worked on it himself and screwed it up, etc). If it takes 5 hours and we quoted 4, so be it. My mechanics don't work straight commission, but many shops do, so you will probably pay the straght book hours, which are usually a little high for routine maintenence items.
That rate seems a little high, but not totally out of line. Probably books at 1.5 hours + $4-6 each for premium plugs. You also have taxes, shop supplies, etc. A good mechanic can probably do it a little quicker than the book, but that's where shops make money.
You might check if the rate is for book time or actual time. In my bike shop we base a quote on the recommended book time, and actually quote it as "not to exceed" a certain amount. If the mechanic finishes early, we only charge the actual time (quote 4 hours, but charge 3 hours, for example). If the job goes over, we only charge the quoted amount unless there is some underlying reason we didn't know about (He worked on it himself and screwed it up, etc). If it takes 5 hours and we quoted 4, so be it. My mechanics don't work straight commission, but many shops do, so you will probably pay the straght book hours, which are usually a little high for routine maintenence items.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,916
Likes: 1
From: West Palm Beach Florida
I didn't have any problems at all changing plugs in my C4 everything went smoooothly & changed valve cover gaskets, although one side was a bummer, changing the valve cover gasket.
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