I was just charged $325 dollars to replace my O2 sensor on my 2002 honda accord. Was i scammed/overcharged?

Question

i went to the dealer and i paid almost $500 for the O2 sensor replacement, the diagnostic test for the 'check engine' light, and the labor... any thoughts?

Answer 1

yes I have a thought, Sean I am a mechanic, have been for 35 years, have worked on almost anything from a minibike to a firetruck and things with no wheels (generators etc) there are people all over this site who will give you tech advise including me at my web page www.mycarandineedhelp.com a free web page/ service all you need is the willingness to try , time and tools. we a lot of times will let you know not to tackle it your self if its tricky. shops charge aprx 100.00 per hour for repairs give or take 20 dollars. the parts when purchased from the dealer are usually at the high end of the price curve. you could have gotten a diagnostic done at any shop with a reader, and purchased the parts yourself from say napa and done the labor yourself  total cost likely less than 250.00 total.and that is a high figure. dodge man contact me if you would

Answer 2

You are the victim of the "neon age", -- you must have a flashing "sucker" sign on your head, -- they really "took you" on this one!  

If you have any ability at all,- go by yourself a Haynes Auto Repair Manual for your year and model car, - Is about 10X times more valueable than your "owners manual"! Places like AutoZone sell them for less than $20.. It tells you all about everything except rebuilding transmissions, (even wiring diagrams). Read this and you will be able to do some things yourself, - they give step by step instructions, and illustrations to help you!   The rest of the things you will at least know something about, and not fall into this kind of trap again!

Now on this particular problem, you could have gone somewhere like AutoZone, borrowed the "code reader" and read the diagnostics, and possibly have replaced the defective part yourself, -- possibly getting by for less thn $100. At most places one of "the guys" will even help you run the "reader" so you get the right information- (if you don't know how)!

Forget about the dealership (unless you like to pay double or more for everything)!  Hunt around and find independent garage (personal reccomendations work good here). Take your manual with you, just in case they don't have one that covers your car, mechanic will appreciate it!

Answer 3

What kind of vehicle is it??...what year is the vehicle??.

Details may help you with a more accurate answer here.

Answer 4

you did get charged too much on this one,you might want to consider next time going to a smaller shop ,hey can perform the same amount of work for half the price that a dealer charges for it,that was to high for a diagnoses and 0-2 sensor,good luck.

Answer 5

The typical labor rate in any garage is Min. $45.00 Hr. roughly, and bepending on how long that takes for them to do all that, should have been no more than 2 hours, I can do it all in that amount of time. Plus add another $90.00 max for the O2 Sensor...I looked it up online for each accord listing from Autozone, for each model because you didnt specify. But all in all - It should have costed you roughy $200.00 for the whole job, $250.00 at Max...no more than that. You got Ripped off bigtime, and I would never go to that garage again.

Answer 6

everything costs more at the dealer. I hope they kissed you when they finished. Look at your bill to see what the charges were for. Parts at the dearler are more. Labor is often more. They usually do the work quicker, but charge by flat rate. If you really want to know how hard the job is look in Chiltons auto manual  at the public library. They aren't going to give you any money back, so faggeddabout it. Just, next time use a cheaper shop. Original parts are most often better quality than aftermarket, though.

Answer 7

$85 to hook it up to the machine $40 for o2 sensor at $75 per hour you do the math,some shops will charge labor to run the machine I don't

Answer 8

325 dollars for a diagnostic fee, the o2 sensor, and the labor is very reasonable. How is 325 almost 500 I am wondering. Labor rate is based on $100 / hour which is the norm where I live. I dont know of any shop that charges 45 / hour, how would they survive.

Answer 9

wow  thought jetta was bad.

diagonstic test ...free

02 sensor...i picked it up 174$

labor to install ....35$

you may have been ripped off  as VWs are more expensive to repair than Hondas

Answer 10

you got robbed should have only been 300 at most.

Answer 11

you can get the price of a 02 sensor from a parts store. It would help if we knew more about the problem and the itemized charges from the dealer.