am i getting ripped off?

[rmswenson747]

just had my mechanic (bmw certified, private garage specializing in bmw) replace my BMW Valvetronic Eccentric Shaft Sensor. car would start, had to have it towed there, he diagnosed, and repaired.

$640 for the BMW Valvetronic Eccentric Shaft Sensor (FCP has for $460)
$110 for gaskets/seals
$730 for labor

$1480 for the repair, plus $135 diagnostic charge

would really like some input.. thanks...

[seattlesquash]

Not sure about ripped off but I paid about $800-$900 for the same job with Indy.

[White94RX]

$730 at $135 an hour is 5.4 hours. That's fair for the amount of work involved. It damn sure didn't take him 5.4 hours, but that's book time, so I wouldn't be mad about that. What I would be pissed off about is the additional $135 diagnostic fee. That's crappy. The diagnostic fee is there to protect the shop from people bringing in their car for diagnosis, then not performing repairs. Then they get charged the fee. For someone that buys the repairs, the $135 should have been rolled into the $730, and not charged additionally. If anything, I'd bump up the 5.4 to maybe 6 hour total. I would never charge an additional diagnostic fee when you agreed to the repair.

[Basedtiger]

It sounds a little excessive to me. Especially considering that you can also get that genuine stamped part cheaper from literally everywhere else. The dealership should be last resort. They're good at times but can't expect fair deals.

[Codes2]

Seems the summary is 'not abuse', but 'billing maximum for every aspect conceivable'.
At best, if the job was done well, you could review them as 'maximum possible price, though not found to be corrupt'.
My local indie bills like White94RX just defined. Bumping up elsewhere to cover a cost. Still sideways in my mind, but less obvious.

Maybe they are total newbies and worked much longer than the book time and were trying to cover their costs?

I'd say it's fair to ask about the inflated parts cost (not uncommon) and also about the diagnosis fee (typically absorbed if they accept the job).