V70 Turbo - $480 labor $497 parts. Did I get cheated?

[mydamnvolvo]

I went to work with my 2001 v70 after my 960 didn't start, and I noticed that there was oil in my driveway and down the road. I went to my mechanic (real nice guy. I hope.) and he said that I'd need my turbo replaced. He did it, along with replacing the water pump, timing belt, and a few other small parts like new bolts and clip and such. He charged me $480.00 for labor and $497.32 for parts. Did I get cheated? I hate to come off as naive, but I am not used to working on Volvo's (I used to work for Chrysler) and I use that car only for major trips (More than 100mi) but should I give the car the boot before I have ti do this again?

[abscate]

4 hours plus TB, turbo, and water pump??

You did well, Obiwan.

[scot850]

That is great value, I know you may not think that, but there was a lot of work doing this! You don't mention the mileage on the car, but if this is the first timing belt it was well over due. If it is the 2nd, it is premature, unless your car doesn't have the 10 year replacement schedule. If the car has the original water pump you were also on borrowed time.

We just had our 2006 XC70 serviced and it was $500 + mostly in labor.

Neil.

[vtl]

Sounds like a good deal both for labor and parts.

[oragex]

It'd be a good deal, but we hear quite rarely about a turbo going bad. Could have been a simple hose.
What brand were the water pump/timing belt? If it's some random jobber, then it's not a deal. What's more, the original water pumps go easily past 150k miles.

[tryingbe]

Yes, sell the car now.

[chrism]

$497 for parts is suspiciously LOW if he actually installed a NEW turbocharger on top of the T-belt and water pump work. I'm more inclined to think the oil leak, as oragex suggests, was something like a leaking oil line connection at the turbo which is somewhat common with these cars. Either that or he replaced the turbo with a used or rebuilt unit???? Whet the heck if it works good. You may be comparing the repair costs to the car's market value and thus questioning your sanity. Believe me, we all do that around here. "Total cost of ownership per mile" and "cost to replace the vehicle". That's what we all focus on in order to justify owning these cars. (Even that becomes questionable at times.) In the big picture, a $1000 repair bill at 150,000 miles isn't way out of line this day and age.

[JudgeRat]

"Total cost of ownership per mile" and "cost to replace the vehicle". That's what we all focus on in order to justify owning these cars. (Even that becomes questionable at times.).

I'll go further and add: "total cost per month and/or year owned (including insurance, gas, maintenance, etc.)" ...just more rationalizations for a sometimes irrational situation. Admit it, part of the reason we own them and don't give them up is because we love them, even when they don't always love us.

If folks start to question your sanity, just tell them: "It's a Volvo thing, ...you wouldn't understand".

[mecheng]

You should be concerned about how cheap that is not how expensive. He replaced the turbo for that amount of money?? Where did he source it. If its rebuild it is many hundreds of dollars, and it is a big job to replace. Also ask what kind of parts he used.

If something is too good to be true, it probably is.

[mydamnvolvo]

Hey, thanks for the feedback. I asked my mechanic, and he claims that when you replace the turbo, you need to replace the timing belt. The car has 165,000miles, and has only had one water pump and timing belt replaced (that was reported). He knocked off $100 because I know him, which was basically the water pump. so the parts pre-discount were $605.62. He said it was 4 hours of labor at $60 an hour. But as I was test driving it to work, it stalled 3 times while waiting at lights. He adjusted it (i don't know what) So, I am going to give it some time. Thanks