HELP I could really use some advise here as tomorrow I either pay the shop or do it myself this just seems likealot for just changing the thermostat ! HELP my 1998 v70 started overheating so for $65 the corner mech would tell me what the problem is , so he calls me and says the thermostat needs to be replaced and estimates 370.00 counting the 65.00 so is 300.00 a rip off ? I cant see it taking more than an hr !

 

Thermostat is really easy to do on a V70, tell him thanks and take your car back and do it yourself.

 

Make sure that price is just the thermostat and if it does, tell him to learn how to use a standard labor times guide and take it elsewhere or do it yourself. It might include new coolant and an engine coolant temperature sensor.

 

I have seen shops charge over $200 to do a coolant flush.

 

 

It helps to educate the customer as to why you want to charge $365 to replace a $12 part that can be swapped out in 20 minutes.

 

$12 for an aftermarket one. Using dealer parts would be more- if they are doing the ECT at the same time then it would be about $145 in parts for the thermostat, ECT and Volvo coolant.

How long it takes is irrelevant to the price. Labor for the thermostat is .9 and the sensor is .4. There is some overlap, but if draining the system and refilling with new coolant, I can see charging 1.2 or so.

 

Thanks a million for the advise , ive always worked on my own cars but Volvo is a new thing to me , I did the thermostat myself and I did run into unforeseen problems like the fuel line but nothing I couldn't figure out , after all was said and done it took me 30mins and that's counting cleaning up all the gasoline that spewed everywhere when I went to start her up ( forgot about the frigin fuel line lol ) , I saved myself $ 300.00 and I really like this car more than ever !! Thanks again !