1950 Buick Special assistance

[Guest Ron J]

Folks:

 

I'm new to this forum and to owning a classic car.  I am grateful for any insights you can provide. 

 

I bought my son 1950 Buick Special for my son on his graduation from Pharmacy school.  It's been at a restoration shop getting repairs to make the car safe from my son since it had been sitting for a few years.  I think I've been taken advantage of.  There were some concerns by them about the rear differential though they didn't know exactly if a problem was really there.

 

I received my invoice yesterday and they sent my differential out for repairs, without my authorization, and the total bill for this is in excess of $6,000.  It was repaired....not replaced with a new one. 

 

Can this be right??

 

Many thanks, Ron

 

[NC-car-guy]

Ooo my!  I know the rear diff is a real pain in the @$$ but 6k? jeez?

[JohnD1956]

There is not enough information for an opinion.  What exactly was done to the rear axle unit?  And keep in mind, chances are good that any internal repairs means removing the entire axle unit from the vehicle. 

 

Do you have an itemized bill for the work that was done?

 

[60FlatTop]

You need an itemized bill. If two guys charged  20 hours time at a $100 per hour labor rate for shop R&R, parts and labor for the rearend farmed out with a 40% markup could run $2,000. But you really need to know exactly what they did.

 

I am reminded of a '59 Cadillac that came in for a brake job, complete including lines. AND a total of something like 25 other jobs from fixing the horn, wipers, steering link; just a whole laundry list. The owner's comment- "Gee, that's a lot for a brake job."

 

In building construction I start at 50% labor, 50% materials. Then I normalize to the job. It gives a good order of magnitude. Using that roughly, you are in a $3000 parts, $3000 labor. At $1,000 per man day it is 3 days. Then $3000 is left for two businesses to divvy up the fixing of the rearend. I would say you are not far from equitable. My issue was that you don't know exactly what was wrong with the rear.

 

On the brighter side, my best customer who spent the most money was a pharmacist.

Bernie

[Guest Ron J]

I have requested an itemized invoice.  I do know that the work was completed in one day.  The restoration company charged me for 11 hours of labor to have their mechanic drive the rear axle to the repair shop, wait on it and then return back with it completed.  I interpret the actual work was less completed in less than 8 hours.   My problem is not being informed that this work was needed and approving the potential invoice.  Seems like the car was treated like a credit card....now pay the bill Ron! 

[Guest Ron J]

I meant to add this too because I thinks related or these costs are "normal" for a Buick this age. 

 

They replaced all four brake drums as part of the brake work completed.  They charged me $807 for the drums themselves; $507 for the front and $300 for the rear. 

 

I find this charge shocking as well and without notification either..... 

[Thriller]

Repair without authorization is wrong. That said, I'm no lawyer so don't know if you have any recourse. 

 

My my first red flag is the use of the phrase "restoration shop". I think that is code for charging multiple times what a mechanic might. While these aren't common, there are still a decent number of mechanics out there who can do the brake work and such. If you haven't already, do a search online, possibly including eBay for the brake parts and that will tell you whether or not you were gouged. While the rear end may have required work by a specialized shop, it may not have been the most economical way to transport especially if you paid for an employee to sit around and wait. That's what courier services are for. 

 

Unfortunately, you may be in a position of having a mechanic's lien put on the car if you refuse to pay. 

 

[Pete Phillips]

If I were working on it and something was wrong with the rear end, I would have gone to a salvage yard and gotten a replacement, used rear end from another Buick around the same age,  from a nearby salvage yard for about $500, and then labor to switch them out for about $1000-1500. $6,000 seems WAY out of line to me. I guess I'm lucky because there is a salvage yard about 100 miles from me, with quite a few early 1950s Buicks, and that is about what he would charge for a rear end.

I also have to add that I have never heard of an early 1950s Buick rear end needing repair or replacement in the nearly 40 years that I have been buying, selling, and working on old Buicks. I know it can happen, but I have never experienced rear end failure nor any need for their repair. Was it making a lot of noise?

 

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Leonard, Texas

[60FlatTop]

The math isn't working out. If the rate was $200 per hour for the transport and waiting that's $2200 with $3800 going on during the 8 hours at the other shop at $475 per hour including parts.

 

Paving a road is expensive. If it is a road of good intentions it can be a lot worse, you know the quote. I'd say pay the bill, gather up your car and everything connected to it, and bail out minimizing the losses as best you can. Cars are terrible gifts. All cars are fairly demanding liabilities.

I am a real Buick guy and I can tell you, I wouldn't get very excited about a gift of a 1950 Buick. If it is a convertible you can probably recover the kind of money you are writing about and not get hurt too bad. Another body type, not so good. Either way, it seems that you are at the point of exponential frustration. I know the feeling. I have been there. Escape is the answer. Are you waking up at 3 AM and simmering over this thing? Get it home and turn it all into a nice Rolex.

Bernie

[JohnD1956]

I think Thriller is on the money. The business is referred to as a "restoration" shop.  Restoration is different than repair, in that restoration is to make "as if new".  Thus the new brake drums vs just repairing the brakes.  But I also think that 6K to repair the rear is very high. Was that 6K to repair the rear axle and then another 800 for the drums?  Or does the 6 K include other charges? 

 

 An itemized bill will be required if there was any malfeasance here. Between that and your contract before the start of the job, you may have something to work with.

[Larry Schramm]

I just had the rear axle in my Silverado repaired at 262,000 miles.  Had them put in all new bearings, seals, carrier, and a new ring & pinion and the price was about $1,250.00 which I thought was reasonable. Everything except the brakes, housing, and axle shafts.

 

With an older car I would not know the parts prices. 

 

Also remember on that car, the complete rear axle needs to be removed to do any repair?  Correct?? 

Edited November 12, 2016 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[Beemon]

After sourcing bearings, removal, rebuild and install was $800 for my 1956 Buick.

 

Did they machine a new ring and pinion? That's the only thing I can think of that would have that steep of a price tag.

[Trulyvintage]

You are asking for advice from a public forum ...

 

No one was there when you entered into the agreement to have your car worked on.

 

Any auto repair contact should have in writing before work in undertaken:

 

Scope of work

Parts & labor required

Authorization to repair

 

If you didn't get that beforehand - you made a mistake.

 

Jim 

[60FlatTop]

Just out of curiosity, where did they source the brake hose and how much was it?

Bernie

[TxBuicks]

I agree with Bernie.  Get your car and get out of there as fast as possible, before they do any more work on it.  At this point, you will never trust anything they say or do.  You may have to pay their bill to do so, but it is too late now. The shop was dishonest in doing the work without your permission or prior knowledge, but the work is done now and there's nothing you can do about that.  Chalk it up as a lesson learned, and make sure you get estimates beforehand.  References don't hurt, either.  I tend to go to places referred to me by trusted friends, whether they are more expensive or not, because I trust the references.  Good luck, and please keep us posted on this situation.