My local dealer want to charge me this amount!

[80sGuy]

My car broke down in another town due to coolant leak. I got a 'BEEEEP' with 'Coolant low" lit on dash. I pulled over to check and my reservoir was completely empty and liquid was hazing up moisture behind by the engine/firewall. Must be coolant flange I thought. Had the car towed it in to my local dealer. There will be a $249 inspection fee which will be waived when the work is done. They pressure-tested it three days later and say the hose between the engine and firewall broke which prompted the leak - yep, coolant flange hoses. They came up with a cost of $1080 including tax just to replace both the 8E1819371T & 8E1819373R hoses which they doubled in price from their parts dept, with a $249/hr rate, assuming (3) three hours?
This is not an easy part to tackle with especially if one does not have access to adequate workspace, but doesn't the quote sound quite excessive??? Was also gonna have them do the Timing Belt, Water Pump, and Thermostat while I'm at it but they wanted an additional $3100 for the extra work. Guess I'll have to force myself to do them. Money is tight since my sleepyhead POTUS has given all our hard-earned tax dollars away to his buddy Zalenskyy in Ukraine. Well, you get the point.

[Theiceman]

that's insane, could you hv AAA towcit home and do the work yourself ? it would be a fraction of the cost. that quote is approaching the value of the car

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[80sGuy]

I really had no choice as I was stuck on the road with my gf, and definitely stuck now at the dealer. I can't just leave the dealer after $145 tow (with AAA by the way) and $249 diagnose fee. Bite the bullet and just do it. Hopefully he can at east get me a 15% off. Yes that's fricking insane! You thought the sales department is ripping people off, I'd say that's fake news, as the service is the one that is really raping people, not ripping.

[Gunnarrrrr]

That is legitimately insane. I’m sorry for your loss brother 🫡


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[Theiceman]

set fire to the car and walk.

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[80sGuy]

Bwahahahaha!!!

[vce1232000]

dealer pricing is crazy......

[oVeRdOsE]

seems a bit pricey, seems like a '' i dont want to do the job, but if I do, Ill make money''.

- Small general independent shops still around 150-170$/h. This job is about 4h, + 30 min for coolant fill and air purge, put +1h for prepping cleaning, calling , admin : 935$

- part is 10-15$ on rock auto. But they will probably get the oem one, + profit = 75$

Total : 1010$

So makes sens. working on old car, shops will charge you.

Last week, we got a huge snow storm, loose clutch pedal pressure due to a ring pintched , didnt feel like to do the job , and the indy charge me 160$ for a simple seal replacement and bleed... I took a time slot that could be more money for him, so this need to be paid.


You should find a VW specialist independant that do those often and can drop his time down to 2h. They still exist, but rare nowadays .


Shitty job I would say, but saving 900$ I did it. Flange was 12$, coolant 15$, clamp tool 20$, beer 20$. Took me around 5-6 hours. I reaseal the vacuum pump in the mean time.

[Theiceman]

beer 20.... best comment lol....rear flange is about a 4-5 beer job. real pita

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[Jayz691]

Flange is not that bad, if ya remove the vac pump/chain cover, for space. I did without doing that, and was a pita. But $1000+ is just silly..
Avoid dealership at all cost, for work on 15yr old car.
And $3k for TB job is just highway robbery. Its a fairly easy job, and $200 in parts(oem).


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[Jeevan]

In west coast its common. 3 years ago a shop gave me 1700$ quote(parts are mine mind you) for timing belt change. I am like f it and did it myself. Coolant flange pretty much same in California and Washington. Too many rich people here. ALIGNMENT costs about 300 in a good shop with 2-3 weeks for an appointment. Its a joke

Coolant flange is hard especially hoses get fused themselves. Expect to replace atleast 2-3 hoses after cutting them lol. Its literally impossible to get some clamps


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[Gunnarrrrr]

In west coast its common. 3 years ago a shop gave me 1700$ quote(parts are mine mind you) for timing belt change. I am like f it and did it myself. Coolant flange pretty much same in California and Washington. Too many rich people here. ALIGNMENT costs about 300 in a good shop with 2-3 weeks for an appointment. Its a joke

Coolant flange is hard especially hoses get fused themselves. Expect to replace atleast 2-3 hoses after cutting them lol. Its literally impossible to get some clamps


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$300 alignment lol no one on earth is paying that.

Idk how but I got a lifetime alignment on my new SQ5 from wheelworks for $160


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[vce1232000]

get the vaseline out & pucker up buttercup ....lol

[RPMtech147]

nm...

[oVeRdOsE]

$300 alignment lol no one on earth is paying that.

Idk how but I got a lifetime alignment on my new SQ5 from wheelworks for $160


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depends of the car.

I hit sideway in a pot hole my bmw e90, and the rear subframe bushing were squeeched, so the car was crawling.

1st shop told me the frame was bent : 60$ for the inspection and no aligment,. (I did not believe that, the hit was mild)

2nd shop (who does lambo, porsche, vw, audi, bmw) had to unbolt and realign the subframe and the proceed with this fancy german suspension. = 250$ .

[Benji16]

I did thos job not to long ago it was really easy. Remove intake manifold and have access to the coolant flaged and hoses it rook me 5 hours and some beers.

[texasboy21]

Dealership shop rates can vary, try another location.

Also, independent shops typically have cheaper labor rates compared to dealers. DIY is always the 'cheapest' as long as you dont factor in those silly things like:

- the cost of your time
- the potential frustration/headache/concern it was done correctly.
- the opportunity cost of using the time to work on the car vs something else more impactful like work, family time, etc.
- any tools you may have to rent or buy.

and on and on.

[80sGuy]

So, over $900 later I got my car back today. Everything is fine so far. They first replaced one hose and say it should be good but I opted for them to replace both hoses (8E1819371T & 8E1819373R) like they recommended. It seems like they didn't have to replace the 'flange'. So how worry should I be? Sort of like replacing the timing belt and say water pump looked fine with no leaks so let it be.

[Gunnarrrrr]

coolant flange is always a big failure point. I wouldn’t pay to get it done, but I would definitely put aside a weekend to get it done. Might as well handle a valve cover gasket at the same time and some other maintenance items.


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[Theiceman]

there is no question it is going to leak at some point, but they rarely fail catastrophicaly. it it may start leaking if they have been messing around down there . don't worry, just replace it if it leaks

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[80sGuy]

Yeah I just don't want coolant dumping out all of a sudden in less than 60 seconds and end up in another tow situation. I can probably deal with a slow leak and bide time to get it fix, this time hopefully by myself. Damn that's gonna be a challenge.

[Jayz691]

Can't beleive they chaged ya $900, to change 2 hoses at the flange, and didn't change the flange.. It a well known failure point. They usually crack, start leaking for a bit, then let loose. Was the first thing that went on my car, 5+ years ago, and it came out in pieces.. And see this quite often. Hopefully it holds up for ya, for a while. Just crazy they didn't change itFB_IMG_1546666937310.jpg

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[texasboy21]

Can't beleive they chaged ya $900, to change 2 hoses at the flange, and didn't change the flange.. It a well known failure point. They usually crack, start leaking for a bit, then let loose. Was the first thing that went on my car, 5+ years ago, and it came out in pieces.. And see this quite often. Hopefully it holds up for ya, for a while. Just crazy they didn't change itFB_IMG_1546666937310.jpg

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Have you installed the metal flange yet? Excited to hear some feedback.

[Jayz691]

Have you installed the metal flange yet? Excited to hear some feedback.

No. Not gonna bother till I do my rebuild this spring. Mine is fine now, and be much easier with engine on a stand.

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[80sGuy]

Can't beleive they chaged ya $900, to change 2 hoses at the flange, and didn't change the flange.. It a well known failure point. They usually crack, start leaking for a bit, then let loose. Was the first thing that went on my car, 5+ years ago, and it came out in pieces.. And see this quite often. Hopefully it holds up for ya, for a while. Just crazy they didn't change itFB_IMG_1546666937310.jpg

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Yep! Now I know the part and instead of relying on what they're telling me based on their expertise ("we found the leak from the coolant lines running to the firewall") - which lacked every bit of common sense. I am just hoping it'll hold up for at least a long while and if it leaks it wouldn't be catastrophic.
How hard was the job for you on this?

[Jeevan]

Need tiny t30's with 1/4 extensions. This is not easy, you will scrape all your hands when its set and done. Use this time to rebuild vaccum pump and may be replace timing cover, tensioner. You know while your are in there game


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[Theiceman]

I've got the rear flange down to less than 90 minutes . but it's like anything else if it's your first one it will take you forever.
tools are key on this one . there is a thread where I supplied a ton of tips but I have no idea where it is lol .

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[aluthman]

You brought it to the dealership and expected something other than them raping you?

[Jeevan]

You brought it to the dealership and expected something other than them raping you?

Dont speak truth. There are millennials here that will come to argue(not the author).

[Gunnarrrrr]

Dont speak truth. There are millennials here that will come to argue(not the author).

Do millennials even drive audi’s these days? I figured they’d be at the age now where they’re driving their medicare part B mobility scooters


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[aluthman]

Do millennials even drive audi’s these days? I figured they’d be at the age now where they’re driving their medicare part B mobility scooters


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I'm an elder millennial (born in '85) and I'm still driving my B7.

[vce1232000]

Do millennials even drive audi’s these days? I figured they’d be at the age now where they’re driving their medicare part B mobility scooters


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I'm an elder millennial (born in '85) and I'm still driving my B7.

Im a early generation X 1966. I still drive my B7 A4. but I have a B8.5 SQ5 also

[80sGuy]

You brought it to the dealership and expected something other than them raping you?

Uhh...no, I ended up towing it in to the dealership because I had no idea what went wrong other than coolant leaking all over and my tank was empty. I couldn't find the source when pulled over. Thermostat was dry, tank lines were dry, radiator hoses were dry. I've heard of the 'flange' before but don't really know the components of it - like what or how many hoses, other items that goes with it, and also couldn't see it. At the time when it happened we were 25 miles away (in the valley) from home. I thought about my girl more than anything else. It was fricking cold as fock. We waited 2 hours for AAA's contractor at the tune of $144, plus dealer's initial inspection rate of $249 no matter what. I was already down about $400 no matter what or however I put it. if I cancel, then I'd have to pay for the dealer fee and pay for another tow. So yeah, from that point onward I just wanted to get my car fixed. I knew it wasn't a huge problem but wasn't expecting the exorbitant rate. Rape? Oh yes, you can say so, but lesson learned and I hope everyone else that comes to read this thread will learn from my experience. Now I know where the flange is thanks to the guidance from some of you fine folks in here. I'm just gonna have to tackle it myself one day, hoping the 'flange' itself will hold up for at least a little longer, who knows it might as I am just being too worrisome maybe (?) Before this ordeal, I already bought some vital parts and anticipated to getting work on - the Thermostat and all necessary o-rings, Cam-Follower, and PCV Valve. Was gonna first work on those preventive maintenance.
Oh, and also...I'm way too old to be a 'millennial' in case some of you are wondering - hence my avatar name. I was a young teen during the 80s and loved every moment of that decade!!!