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I shopped around for the cheapest price for my Toyota Hiace Regius cambelt replacement. I received a quote of $500-$600 from one of the shops which prompted me to let them do the job.

After the work was done, I was surprise to be billed almost $900. They charged me $90/hr (labour) for 7 hrs and the rest was parts and materials.

They said this particular job was very complex compared to other cambelt jobs they had done.

Do you think this charge is fair?

Vincent

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 8 October, 2010

It is not uncommon for a job to go over the initial estimate due to unforeseen circumstances. Often these extras are only obvious once the repair has started and dismantling has taken place.

When this happens the repairer has a responsibility to inform the customer of the extra costs involved and to seek approval to proceed.

If there was no such extra work and the labour was the reason for the increase then the repairer should have to adjust the invoice in accordance with the original estimate. It is not unusual for a job to run over an estimate by around 10%. This is considered acceptable within the industry.

To be fair to the repairer, the total job was probably worth around what they have invoiced. They should have done their homework however before giving you the original estimate. For that reason they should consider making an adjustment to their invoice.

It’s one of the risks when shopping around for the cheapest job. Once the garage has the vehicle what can you do?