Remove, weld, reinstall power steering pump bracket?

[8gitmusik1]

Good afternoon fellow oilburners. I need some guidence please? I dont want to add another diesel mechanic to the hall of shame but..... With shop rates on the rise and rates varying in different parts of the USA... What do you or would you consider a fair price for removing, welding and replacing a power steering pump bracket on a 97 ford f250 7.3 powerstroke?

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[8gitmusik1]

A friend just towed his 97 f250 PS to a shop for an estimate only. They said they were swamped and would get a chance to evaluate it as soon as they had time and call him with an estimate. He called several times to check on the status of his truck and was told they hadnt had a chance to get to it. So, fast forward a couple weeks. He is a truck driver so he hadnt got a chance to physically go check on his truck. Was just patiently waiting for a return call based on the shops promise to call back with an estimate when they found a new or used PS pump bracket. He was in town over the weekend so he stopped by the shop, in person, to see first hand what was going on with his rig and.... what he discovered was, they went ahead and did the the repair, without his approval on a price. A whopping $575.00 bill. He was outraged and called me for a second opinion. Without his authorization, they decided since the part was difficult or inconvenient to locate they would remove the powersteering pump bracket, take to a local welding shop and weld the crack and reinstall it without his approval.

What do you all think about this and what whould you do if it happened to you?

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[Thewespaul]

As a shop owner, you need a customer’s approval to proceed on work. Your friend didn’t give permission to have them work on his truck, and legally he doesn’t owe them a dime. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend just taking the truck and leaving without paying anything, and I’m sure you can work with the owner to find a fair middle ground where both parties are satisfied.

 

[8gitmusik1]

As a shop owner, you need a customer’s approval to proceed on work. Your friend didn’t give permission to have them work on his truck, and legally he doesn’t owe them a dime. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend just taking the truck and leaving without paying anything, and I’m sure you can work with the owner to find a fair middle ground where both parties are satisfied.

Thank you for the input Thewespaul. Good common sense advice.

My thought on my friends situation. I did some checking. The company that welded the bracket said that if I brought in a similar bracket with a partial crack, they would charge a low of $25 and a high of $75 to weld the P.S. pump bracket. Labor at typical shop rate of $75.00 per hour would be 2 hours up to 2.5 hours to R&R the bracket, so $150 up to $185, for the labor. I figure another $75 for the parts runner to deliver and then pickup and return the part to the shop to reinstall the P.S. bracket. Add in a typical erroneous misc. shop fee of $50 and then tax at 7%. Total should be no more than $405 then the tax @ 7% = $435.00.
The shop didnt give a estimate and he didnt give written or verbal approval and has been presented with a $575.00 bill. What do ya'all think? What would you do or say in this situation. Feedback please?
P.S. They still have the truck....


Anyone else willing to chime in?

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[nj_m715]

they didn't look very hard
copart is probably cheaper

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...esc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=7.3+power+steering+pump

 

[Thewespaul]

Get a discussion going with the shop owner, yall need to sit down and have both parties have their say. The shop owner has money out on labor and the welding, and hes gotta pay his guys, but he screwed up big time by not authorizing the work first. On your friend's side, he got side lined by a repair bill he wasnt expecting to pay, and a bill thats pretty bloated for what it is. Both parties are in a rough situation on this one, and to avoid getting lawyers involved its important that yall sit down and talk this one out. Have your friend explain the situation from his point of view, but be understanding of the shop owner's position. Saying something along the lines of "I know yall are busy and its easy for a small project to get overlooked like this, and I want to find a common ground where we both work out well" will work a lot in your favor for negotiating a proper payment, and will help keep the shop owner from locking up on you and saying just to pay the bill or get a lawyer. Ask him how much it cost him to get the bracket repaired, and print out some ebay and car part.com pages with the exact bracket for sale. Show him the costs of just getting a replacement, and I would start with an offer to pay what the welding shop charged, plus what a comparable bracket would cost shipped to the shop. Expect to be flexible with your negotiations but dont pay that full bill. Explain that your friend has been missing his truck for work and needs it back soon, and that yall are interested in quickly finding a fair price for both parties to be happy.

Its a sticky situation, but navigated correctly it shouldnt be too bad. Remember you are the customer so you have the advantage that he (should) be trying to make you happy. Good luck.

 

[8gitmusik1]

Get a discussion going with the shop owner, yall need to sit down and have both parties have their say. The shop owner has money out on labor and the welding, and hes gotta pay his guys, but he screwed up big time by not authorizing the work first. On your friend's side, he got side lined by a repair bill he wasnt expecting to pay, and a bill thats pretty bloated for what it is. Both parties are in a rough situation on this one, and to avoid getting lawyers involved its important that yall sit down and talk this one out. Have your friend explain the situation from his point of view, but be understanding of the shop owner's position. Saying something along the lines of "I know yall are busy and its easy for a small project to get overlooked like this, and I want to find a common ground where we both work out well" will work a lot in your favor for negotiating a proper payment, and will help keep the shop owner from locking up on you and saying just to pay the bill or get a lawyer. Ask him how much it cost him to get the bracket repaired, and print out some ebay and car part.com pages with the exact bracket for sale. Show him the costs of just getting a replacement, and I would start with an offer to pay what the welding shop charged, plus what a comparable bracket would cost shipped to the shop. Expect to be flexible with your negotiations but dont pay that full bill. Explain that your friend has been missing his truck for work and needs it back soon, and that yall are interested in quickly finding a fair price for both parties to be happy.

Its a sticky situation, but navigated correctly it shouldnt be too bad. Remember you are the customer so you have the advantage that he (should) be trying to make you happy. Good luck.

Awesome response Thewespaul. Well thought out and tactful approach.

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[8gitmusik1]

Well, just wanted to follow up on the result. My friend payed the full amount in the end and it was justified. It turns out they had to ez out a sheared bolt that broke off the block and the welder put much more time in welding the back end of the original power steering pump bracket and reinforced the weld and the ribs with adding and filling in with more aluminum to make sure the brack will not break again. Once the owner of the company explained that he took the extra time and insight to treat the truck and bracket and sheared bolt and aluminum bracket welding reinforcement as he would if the truck were HIS OWN. Once he explained the details, my friend wrote hime a check for the amount that was due. they had 4 hours labor at $75 hour plus showed the original welding receipt the shop paid to get the welding outsourced. In the end, the company showed to be honest and of integrity. No wall of shame for them, just thanks for a job well done.

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[FarmerFrank]

That’s good it worked out but I still would have expressed my opinion on how he should have called first. Heck I’ll call a customer if I find an option that would save them money vs the route we agreed on when they dropped it off.


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