Shop trying to pull a fast one?

[04QuattroTurbo]

I not quite ready to do a Timing Belt change, but is planning for the future. I called a shop in San Francisco, Euro Car something or rather, and the guy quoted me a ballpark of $1000 parts and labor. He touted the metal impeller water pump that he will be including. I told him that I may have a resource for the parts, he then started scruntinizing the parts. Is the timing belt tensioner hydraulic like ours? Does the water pump have a metal impeller? Make sure it is hydraulic....LOL. So do you guys have any idea what he is talking about for one, two are the Performance Cafe or the ECS tuning Timing belt kit complaint with this?

[AudiA4Turbo22]

did mine yesterday, our water pumps are plastic i put a steel one on! i think anything around $800 is a good deal, and trust me the parts he's getting is no better than any factory or aftermarket kit, i got it from a supplier for wholesalers, and its around the price of ECS and perfcafe pricing!

[wolfdog]

The ECS kit is fine and he won't be giving you anything different or better. It comes with the metal impeller water pump to replace your original plastic one.

[manhertm]

I wouldn't more than $800 max for that job(parts & labor).

[ladedruck]

Keep in mind two things when thinking about trying to take your own parts to a shop.
1. Shops price work with the profit on parts and labor in mind. They will use up the same resources they have to make $$ (space and labor) with or with the $$ made from the part sale. Why should the shop do the job for less profit on your car then others? A shop that doesn't make a parts profit will be a shop that is out of business or a shop that has to charge more labor on all jobs.
2. If you supply the parts and he supplies the labor. What happens if the belt comes off? Is it his fault or your parts? Do you have a way to tell other then asking people on the internet what they think? If the shop supplies the parts and the labor then they can and should stand behind the job. If they don't supply both I don't see how or why they would.
Buying parts cheaply from internet companies is great for the diy guy. But when you take parts to a shop you have eliminated the middleman's $$ but are still wanting him to do the work and take on the risk. Seems like he gets the shaft to me.
And for what it's worth the metal impeller water pumps have a way higher catastrophic failure rate in my 20 years of experience on these cars. I use only the oe pump on engines that run them on the timing belt. The impeller may break but the bearings seem to hold up much better and the broken belts/ruined motors are fewer. I'd rather have a car overheat then break a belt any day.

sorry this started off a quick post and ended up a book.

[04QuattroTurbo]

The shop quoted me $550 for labor, he wants me to doublecheck, since he claims his parts are better than any kit out there, which sounds like bull to me. Evan, I understand what you are saying. I'm still under CPO warranty, so should I take it up the rear and let some shop have at it? LOL

[A4Avant02]

If you have not seen the 'group buy' being put together, take a look at this thread.....we need a few additional participants for this timing belt deal

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=220626

[NVR STSFD]

^Definitely get in on this. Freddie rocks!

[Mike@PureMS]

Our kits use only the best quality genuine OEM supplied parts or better! We feature all metal water pumps made in Europe.

We'd got hundreds of happy customers with all our timing belt kits, and we include everything you need to make the job pain free!

[Papachristou]

i got my kit from mike@purems its all OEM type stuff. great service too!

that shop is throwing you a load of bullshit that his parts are better however some shops wont install parts you bring. after all they are in business to make money...

[04QuattroTurbo]

i got my kit from mike@purems its all OEM type stuff. great service too!

that shop is throwing you a load of bullshit that his parts are better however some shops wont install parts you bring. after all they are in business to make money...

Of course it is, but it is always better to make some money ($550) in labor (mostly profits, margin on parts are very small) than make no money, so unless it is as previously pointed out, a matter of guarantee, can't warranty the work if the parts weren't from the shop, I don't see why a shop won't do it.

Even that, a shop won't guarantee their work if the parts were provided by the shop, is silly. If the parts are obviously OEM grade or better, why can't they?

[04QuattroTurbo]

BTW, Freddie's group buy is a little high for parts. $600 each? Heck, the shop I'm talking about didn't even charge that much for it. Puremotorsports full kit is 1/3 the price and so is Performance Cafe's and ECS tuning's. Unless that $600 includes labor.

[aaaudiprotein]

I think an average price is $750 for everything.
Thats like $250 for the parts
$500-labor.
Evan@Absolute is right, they also make money on some parts, but hey, it wont cost anymore anyways + you will get some kind of a warranty if they supply all the parts.

[jojoampt]

or 1300$ at the stealership

I think an average price is $750 for everything.
Thats like $250 for the parts
$500-labor.
Evan@Absolute is right, they also make money on some parts, but hey, it wont cost anymore anyways + you will get some kind of a warranty if they supply all the parts.

[A4Avant02]

Freddie's group buy is $600 for parts AND labor.

So, with his quality of work, this is a DEAL!!!

[AudiA4Turbo22]

or like me who got it done for $400! lol i did most the work!

[04QuattroTurbo]

Freddie's group buy is $600 for parts AND labor.

So, with his quality of work, this is a DEAL!!!

Oh, my bad. I take it back, that is a deal, if it includes labor.

[Gom33]

just get in on the group buy!!! i have heard many great things about Freddie and his shop...

[Maverick]

get the parts from ECS and do it yourself!!!
talk to AudiA420T and dirtybird about the details.
You will feel it is an achievement after you DIY the TB job.

[a4wd]

$600 with labor and parts is just plain stupid doo doo cheap.. GET IN ON THAT GB so i can get mine done too!!!

[jonsaudi]

just get in on the group buy!!! i have heard many great things about Freddie and his shop...

I need to get my TB done soon too I've been hearing about this "Freddie and his shop, sounds like a great deal for parts and labor + warranty, right? But where the heck is he located??

[NVR STSFD]

^Freddie is located in Brentwood.

http://eastcountyeuro.com/

[jonsaudi]

^Freddie is located in Brentwood.

http://eastcountyeuro.com/

Thanks.

[A4Avant02]

Make sure to add yourself to the list of interested owners as part of the group buy in the other thread.....We are trying to get 10 total.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=220626