While I don't make $100 per hour, my time in the evening and weekends are worth that to me.Bob Lincoln said:Sure, my labor doesn't cost $100 per hour.
I was actually referring to the refrigerant oil in the system not the refrigerant itself, either way, once you exceed more than 4x the price it's a bit over the top in my opinion.Bob Lincoln said:There is a big difference in the purity of different brand refrigerants. The low price you paid may reflect a lower quality. Some are selling filtered, recovered refrigerants that still have contaminants. And typically a 12-oz can of R134a here is about $15-$18 now.
I would be careful throwing around the word "always".... As an example... Moog developed a very superior tie-rod end for the mini-vans (or maybe it was the PT?) compared to the OE ones..... solved a lot of the issues from the original design.ImperialCrown said:The Mopar Value Line parts are supposed to make the dealer more competitive with the various independent shops and auto parts stores out there. OEM is always more desirable than generic aftermarket.
You can have a good or bad experience with any shop. Find someone that you trust and stick with them.
http://www.mopardiscountstore.com/valueline.html
Exactly, its the old "save a buck" and spend my time to do it, or have the time, but spend your money.Jeff2KPatriotBlue said:While I don't make $100 per hour, my time in the evening and weekends are worth that to me.
But I would strongly advise against using their stuff for brake pads. They guarantee the parts but not the labor and the last time I used Value Line pads, they were dead in less than half the time as "regular" Mopar pads. Definitely not worth the money.The Mopar Value Line parts are supposed to make the dealer more competitive with the various independent shops and auto parts stores out there
At that price, the dealer parts are Value Line and of lesser quality.paultek6 said:Front brakes and rotors $442.50 . This is why the small repair shops do the most business . The parts cost about 118.00 and takes about 1 hour at the most.
You don't mention what vehicle this is for. Front pads and rotors for my '06 Ram was about $400 at the local Firestone shop- dealer would have been in the same neighborhood. Quality pads and moderately priced rotors at Advance or AZ would have been $200+. I did go with Advance's Everwear rotors one time and they warped in 15K miles. The rotors installed by Firestone have yet to warp and they have 25,000+ on them. I don't mind paying for quality work and quality parts.paultek6 said:Front brakes and rotors $442.50 . This is why the small repair shops do the most business . The parts cost about 118.00 and takes about 1 hour at the most.