[charlie1946]

I have a 1999 toyota camry 4-2164 2.2l dohc .Went to mec he did evap sys leak test.Inject smoke into evap sys ck for leaks. I NEED EVAP SOLINOIND AND CANISTER 391.51 LABOR TO INSTALL PARTS 195.00 INJECT SMOKE 75.00 diagnose codes fr com 59.99 Did I pay too much

[kitch428]

Yes, and I bet at least one of the codes was p0446. With that code, all said and done at my place would be about 75 less.
I'll have to check on that canister and CCV valve for 391.00 Seems rather high.
But the labor would be like this.
1.0 hour to check it out.
1.5 to replace it.
=2.5 total labor hours at 97.00 per

Now what was that 59.99 for?

[charlie1946]

The 59.95 was for diagnose computer

[kitch428]

As I said, about 75.00 too high on the labor charges, and parts mark up a little higher. I'll see tomorrow on parts.

[this8384]

Where exactly did you take your vehicle to? Was it a dealership or was it an independent shop or was it a guy who does side work? I think you were definitely taken for a ride, unfortunately.

[charlie1946]

My mec I have used for yrs how much do you think I over pd tks

[this8384]

As for costs, we fall below the average shop but $75 for a smoke test? That's awfully pricing just for a machine that uses mineral oil. $195 for labor is outrageous; there's no way this should have taken more than 1-2 hours to do. Is this a dealership? In regards to the parts, it could be that the solenoid comes as a complete assembly, so that may or may not be out of line.

[kitch428]

OK, I checked on cost of parts today. If you were to come to my dealer and be handed these parts over the counter, you would have paid 383.79 incl tax.
So, as I said, "seems a little high" so your guy got his mark up all right.
You would have paid 195.00 in labor and that's it. No smoke needed due to the knowledge of the product we work on.

This8384, a little FYI, the '99 Camry you have to drop the exhaust and/or the rear suspension cross member just to get the canister out. The Closed canister valve on the air box is 5 min work.
They're known for a lot of corrosion up there and disconnecting everything can be a bear. 195.00 is right in the ballpark, but the other charges are bogus.

[this8384]

Kitch, it seems we agreed on the 2 hours @ $97/hour; we also agree that it was awfully pricey on the $59.99 computer diagnostic and the $75 smoke leak detection. That's why I was asking if this was a dealership or an independent; I can't see any independent shop charging that much and getting away with it.

As for the mark-up on the parts, if he was an independent mechanic, it sounds like he charged list price on the solenoid, just as the dealerships do and just as I do. I only get 20-25% less on most of it so the mark-up really isn't made by the independent shops; I'm not rolling in the dough from parts mark-up *lol*

[charlie1946]

Thank you

[shoveldave]

$60.00 bucks for a scan and an hour to properly smoke test a system doesn't seem outrageous to me. As for a slightly higher parts price, perhaps there is freight costs in getting the part out to his shop. If you've been going to this mechanic for years and trust him, why castigate him when he's clearly in the ballpark? Anyone on the internet can tell you how cheap they WOULD HAVE DONE IT! Get quotes from other local garages, then get the work done where you feel the most confidence. For all you people who think auto repairs are pricey, I encourage you to buy all the tooling, get all the training, take out a mortgage and build a shop, then feel free to give your work away if you want. HTH!