Labor Cost vs. DIY

[LennyLenihan]

For those of you that work in shops or have DIY Knowledge:

I was supposed to have an RS4 Sway put in with Eibach springs on Thurs but my labor estimate came back at almost $500! More than the parts!

This seems nuts to me. How long would that all be if I did it myself? I know the sway is fairly straight forward, how long do springs take/how hard is it? Would I need special tools?

Thanks!

[CrtchRktRcr]

You would need a spring compressor. You can rent them at autozone/checker etc.. Get some pb blaster and hit all the bolts the night before. It is really pretty simple and you can find a diy on here i'm sure. I never take my car anywhere, everything is a learning process.

[saizero]

From what I hear, it's not very hard. here is a DIY: linky link (http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225821&highlight=rs4+sway+bar+diy)

EDIT: sorry I misread you post OP, the link only covers the RS4 Swaybar. the springs would be trickier but do-able. you would have compress the springs to swap out the struts. to give you an idea linky link 2 (http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?299279-lowering-spring-diy&p=3994466&viewfull=1#post3994466)

[nikitynick]

thats rediculous, i usually see around $200 for springs, and maybe 50-100 for a sway bar. i would offer the job for local guys from the forums, they could probably do it for free if you give them some pizza and beer lol

[16V-Dub]

Figure 4-6 hours of labor but if it's a high quality shop charging $80+ an hour that's about right. Might be less labor to install new shocks too which is always recommended ;)

[elwigglero]

thats rediculous, i usually see around $200 for springs, and maybe 50-100 for a sway bar. i would offer the job for local guys from the forums, they could probably do it for free if you give them some pizza and beer lol

$200 for a suspension install? Where's that shop?

Most shops charge at least $80-90/hr for labor (dealer is around $110 iirc). Any legit shop will bill at around 3-5 hours for a suspension install. Whether it's just springs, springs/shock combo/coilovers is irrelevant. The amount of labor is the same. Good reason to do the suspension right and get a full set up rather than just springs, because you don't want to pay for multiple installs.

Or if you have the tools and the space, give it a shot.

[akaEsCo01]

$200 for a suspension install? Where's that shop?

Most shops charge at least $80-90/hr for labor (dealer is around $110 iirc). Any legit shop will bill at around 3-5 hours for a suspension install. Whether it's just springs, springs/shock combo/coilovers is irrelevant. The amount of labor is the same. Good reason to do the suspension right and get a full set up rather than just springs, because you don't want to pay for multiple installs.

Or if you have the tools and the space, give it a shot.

Truth, $200 is the price from someone that does side jobs or an independent shop with low hourly rates.

Suspension will take you about 4 hours if it is your first one.

[pierranchis]

Installing my coils took 3 hours with my bro in law taking 3 cig breaks. So if he can knock them out in 3 hours, so can a mechanic which means 80$/h x 3 = 240 for a FULL suspension job. To make things even better, the first 10 mintues were spent saying things like fuck, shit, ass, where the hell can we find a hand spring compressor (the one at nissan is bolted to the wall), and the next 20 minutes was re reading the DIY and then the AHAAA!! moment when we realized that dropping the sub frame a bit was WAY easier. So in reality, 200$ labor is OK to pay. As for the sway bar, well, dude, if you can put gas in your car then I'm sure you can replace a sway bar. Good Luck!

[LennyLenihan]

thats rediculous, i usually see around $200 for springs, and maybe 50-100 for a sway bar. i would offer the job for local guys from the forums, they could probably do it for free if you give them some pizza and beer lol

Well, anyone in SoFla looking for some free beer and pizza? I'd love to go hands on and learn this and would love even more to have someone with experience showing the way. I have a roomate that is into cars as well, and would be happy to lend a hand.

[pierranchis]

Well, anyone in SoFla looking for some free beer and pizza? I'd love to go hands on and learn this and would love even more to have someone with experience showing the way. I have a roomate that is into cars as well, and would be happy to lend a hand.

Lenny, I live in Pompano and if all goes well will be picking up my exhaust from USP on Friday and will be installing that along with my sway bar on Saturday. I will talk to my bro in law and see if he can get some time in the shop to knock this out on both cars. He might charge for the suspension, but the sway bar I doubt it, especially if we're doing mine as well. PM me your number and well link up this weekend.

[Sal_B7]

^^what a nice guy.