New Caliper 175$?
 

I took my car to the shop and they said they had to special order a caliper that was making noise which was why I brought it in. I did not authorize any repairs yet I walked in the autoshop to a 300$ bill today, 175 for the caliper, the rest for labor. Is this legit?

front or rear caliper?

That's legit for a new reman caliper but calipers are rebuildable for about $100 including labor. Most mechanics today are either too lazy or incompetent to handle such a tough task as rebuilding something. They are simply bolt on boys.:D

I'd ask for the old part to be reinstalled and then pay for the hour of diagnostic they'd charge and take it elsewhere.

If he authorized the repair he'll have to pay the same amount to install the original. Chalk this one up to not having shopped around. :(

He said he authorized no repairs so it gets into that stick situation that you just need a good-faith mechanic such as yourself. Mistakes happen so a fair thing imo would be for the shop to charge what they paid for the caliper which is probably around 125ish or so.

Auto Zone lists a rebuilt front caliper for $55.99 with a $37.00 core charge.
I just installed one on Nicks 96 from Advance, and it was a perfect fit.
Advance matched Auto Zones price, and was closer to my home.;)
Tom.

I used the autozone calipers to replace all 4 about 7 months ago... still going well :)

My mistake - sorry I missed that.

Then, unless he authorized an inspection/estimate/diagnosis charge up front, he isn't responsible for any charges.

I don't understand though, because he says this caliper he needed to order was loaded, and that autozone charges 300$ for this "loaded" caliper. He showed me and it looked just like a nut on the end. Granted this loaded caliper was new at 300$ supposedly...and the subaru dealer charges 175- unloaded? Could anyone explain this to me? He gave me 20$ for the inspection he charged me and I ran. I learned a lot about negociating. I didn't authorize it, and now I have a 300$ bill. But I guess life makes you learn lessons the hard way until you can learn them from the right people who have learned them the hard way, right?

'Loaded' reman calipers include the pads, for that caliper only. Usually the mounting bracket is included, but not always. Regular 'non-loaded' reman calipers don't include the pads and can come with or without the bracket, depending on the supplier and the part number.

Regarding the 'parts changers' quip: Try finding caliper rebuild kits these days. The aftermarket parts suppliers are cataloging fewer of them each day, there's more money in assemblies. You can thank Daddy Bush and NAFTA for that. When you own a repair shop and have a car torn apart on the lift for an estimate you won't want to put the wheels back on and tell your customer to come back in 3-5 days while the kits are special ordered. Then when the car returns you get to take it back apart again. And you know the customer will want to pay for the labor to do that. I've got pretty thick skin but I'm sick and tired of people beating on repair shops and mechanics. Sure, there are some bad apples but a lot are wrongly accused by people with that ^^ attitude. How about telling us what you do and let us tell you war stories about the idiots in your profession and how all involved are stupid, liars and cheats?

Beav, I am totally ignorant when it comes to auto repair. I have no idea what a loaded caliper is, maybe that is why I am upset. I do not mind supporting a good mechanic, especially when the job was done so quickly. I am 16 really just wanted to learn more about the repair. I guess I just had a bad taste in my mouth after taking my car to firestone and them wanting to replace all my rotors and brakes for 500$ when they were fine. Mechanics bust their asses, so I am not getting down on them, I just feel like because they see a woman or 16 year old walk in they think they can take him for a ride. This is not always the case, but I just enjoy learning about things in any case which is why I asked here. Thanks for your reply, I'm now confident in the job that was done. You are the brain of this forum anyways. By the way, is there a wiring harness I can use to install a new stereo deck that I can find in the retail store best buy or circuit city etc.?

no the one that they say will fit your car really wont.... there is some where you can buy it online