$687 for a Jeep Wrangler battery and rebuilt Alternator.

[lha1992]

You took your Jeep to the dealer? Or someone local?

Mopar Batteries are expensive. We had to put a new battery in my dad's 2002 durango and it was gonna cost almost $300! Luckly the SUV was still under warranty though.

And this is why I do all of my own work. Including engine replacement.

Thats what I do.

 

[thedelihaus]

You said it's a '91. Does it have a 4 cylinder or it is a straight 6? Automatic or manual?

Let me know and I will look up the labor time to replace it tomorrow at work. I know the 4.0 straight 6 Cherokees are pretty easy to do.

4.0 straight six, manual. I have done them before. I imagine it could have been done in 30 minutes when I did it, but there were breaks for a sip or two of beer, some good conversation, and also me teaching the fella how to do it.

But I'd love to know what the books say! Much appreciated!

I am also aware how fast things can be done- I knew what VW charged for labor, what was paid under warranty, and how long it really took.

And though far from a master mechanic, I used to do points and carb rebuilds, fork seals and valve adjustment on my motorcycles, and brakes, HEI ignition on my old GMs, shocks, bodywork, etc...

 

[thedelihaus]

You took your Jeep to the dealer? Or someone local?

Mopar Batteries are expensive. We had to put a new battery in my dad's 2002 durango and it was gonna cost almost $300! Luckly the car was still under warranty though...

I was shocked to see some batteries listed at $260 or more!!!!

Holy moley!!!!


But I can still get a nice battery for easily under $100 for most cars.


I'll leave the $100 and up batteries to the 4x4 anti-spill gel batteries, performance batteries, sealed trunk-mount batteries (also worked for BMW), etc.


As a temporary career change, I worked as a light duty mechanic and later a service manager and respect the craft of auto repair.

I also feel any professional should get paid what they deserve and some mechanics work real smart as well as real hard.

 

[jocko_nc]

Yea, I used to have a Jeep I6. Pretty straight forward engine.

 

[TOO LOUD???]

Where I work 127.00 for the alternator, 80.00 for the battery. That's over the counter pricing, factor in shop markup and by the book labor rates @ 85.00 per hr going rate around here and your pretty close to your figure, also most shops here are charging a shop supplies charge normally a % of the bill or a flat 15-20 bucks. One shop I used to wrench for, our markup was suggested list or 45% gross profit on the part whichever was higher.

 

[whoaru99]

Yup...everybody that looks at the part gets a cut. Adds up real fast.

Another consideration is that sometimes one might just prefer to pay someone else to do a job even though they could have done it themselves.

I've proven to myself that I can shingle a house, put in windows, put up cement fiberboard siding, etc. However, if there is a next time for any of it, I'll pay someone else to do it because, frankly, I'd rather been fishing, etc.

 

[grumpy]

I prefer to take my alt in to have it rebuilt. Bills suburban will do it for about 30 bucks.

The days of 40 buck Delco Alternators and starters are long gone. Try 400.00 from the dealer and about 350 anywhere else...

 

[whoaru99]

Finally broke down and bought the expensive dealer alternator for my truck a couple years ago.

The original went out after about 10 years, and I got tired of putting in cheap remans about every year, so I went to the dealer and have not had to mess with it since.

 

[thedelihaus]

...127.00 for the alternator, 80.00 for the battery...over the counter pricing, factor in shop markup... by the book labor rates @ 85.00 per hr going rate around here and your pretty close to your figure...most shops here are charging a shop supplies charge normally a % of the bill or a flat 15-20 bucks...

Let's call that $227 total in parts then. That's still around $460 in labor- close to 6 hours.

...One shop I used to wrench for, our markup was suggested list or 45% gross profit on the part whichever was higher.

with that markup, it's around $330 in parts then.

Still, around $360 in labor. At $85/hr, that's still over 4 hours.

Fellas, I dunno. This is a simple job on an easy access engine and straightforward procedure.

Not as simple as the old two bolt mounting models and "v" fan belt (the kind a backyard shade tree mechanic would "tension" by a smartly placed crow bar), but still an easy alt. To swap out.

So, 4 to 6 hours seems a bit padded to me, on this simple model.


A bottom-mount alternator on a BMW or something in a cramped engine bay, this ain't.

 

[JonL]

I'd like to see the repair ticket and how it's itemized. Let's not forget sales tax, too. That could be $60 or so.

 

[thedelihaus]

It'll be interesting to see what Jhal says is the estimated labor time spent on this.

My guess is, despite the discussion to replace the battery and alternator, they still did a "mandatory" diagnostic at an hour, 20 min. to a half hour for battery exchange (a 5 min. Job at most, from experience), and an hour to an hour and a half labor for the alt., still in my experience much inflated.

Chalk that up to possibly three hours labor, add in a new battery at some highly marked up price, and an alternator, rebuilt, but priced accordingly to what a new factory one would cost, which it isn't. New, or factory, that is.

 

[Wornears]

Did the shop give the customer a cost estimate on this job? I'd have to see an itemized list and have it explained very clearly to me before I'd authorize that amount for that work.

 

[kx250rider]

The labor might be a nasty job, so I can see $100 or more for that. However, I don't understand why anyone would buy a new alternator, when you can usually send out any alternator to have it rebuilt for under $50. Even my weird Toyota Diesel alternators are $50 to rebuild (new brushes, new IC regulator, and new diodes & bearings), and the retail on those is about $790, not including the brake vacuum pump which is part of the alternator on those. So the Jeep should be no problem at all to rebuild, and the job should be able to be done, battery, alternator, labor and tax, for maybe $225.

Charles

 

[whoaru99]

However, I don't understand why anyone would buy a new alternator, when you can usually send out any alternator to have it rebuilt for under $50. Even my weird Toyota Diesel alternators are $50 to rebuild (new brushes, new IC regulator, and new diodes & bearings), ...Charles

I gave my reason earlier.

The first OEM lasted ~10 years, subsequent aftermarket remans lasted about a year on average. I got tired of replacing them.

The OEM that is back on there now has been trouble free for just over two years and there is no indication of pending issues.

I have had similar issues with other non-OEM electrical parts. Yeah, the price is cheaper today, but to me it's also about the cost in the long run.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Cost for the same service on my 1969 Jeep Wagoneer,

Rebuild of existing OEM alternator, removal, rebuild, and turnkey replacement. $69!

New battery from shop who rebuilt my Jeep alternator, $69 more

Total bill, $150 with tax included. Shop is less than 2 blocks from my house and rebuilds starters/alternators. Does excellent work for reasonable prices.

 

[thedelihaus]

The lowdown-

$249, rebuilt generic alternator.

$109, generic battery.

$329 parts/labor/tax.



We'll see what the labor breakdown is hopefully if Jhal pops in. Seems like it's 3-4 hours labor billable, though I know what it really takes.

 

[markdi]

I have a hopped up w41 ho quad four in a 88 grand am
.
I have owned it since 1992.

I put the hopped up w41 ho quad four in it in 1995.

I rebuild my own starters and alternators.

falkner electric sells rebuild parts.

I took my car to a shop once - only once - a few years ago.

A cv joint broke on me during the coldest part of the winter.

I have mild cerebrial palsey on my right side and I can do a head gasket on my quad four in 2 days.

Head gaskets last me 90 to 100 thousand very hard miles.

knock on wood

My car has the original starter and alternator that it left the factory
with on it.

the only sensor I have had to replace is the o2 sensor

I bet the 4.0 HO 6 that they put in some of those jeeps moves them pretty good

 

[JonL]

Don't understand... $329 PARTS/labor/tax... were there more parts not itemitized?

As to rebuilds... Good luck finding a local rebuilder any more. The "generic" (white box) rebuilds from the parts stores aren't worth the core charge. They are crap. The remanufactured units by Bosch, WAI, and other big companies are better, and more expensive. $150 trade price isn't unusual. $249 for a rebuilt sounds high, but some units are more expensive than others. One curiosity... the post with the instructions said FIVE electrical connections. That's more than most alternators, so perhaps it is a more complex unit and more expensive.

$109 for a battery is normal. I get trade pricing, just spent $100.89 at NAPA for a battery for my daughter's Volvo. It's a special size, but the closest "standard" was $95.

 

[thedelihaus]

Don't understand... $329 PARTS/labor/tax... were there more parts not itemitized?...

Sorry- meant labor/tax. Maybe a disposal fee worked in there?

...As to rebuilds... Good luck finding a local rebuilder any more. The "generic" (white box) rebuilds from the parts stores aren't worth the core charge. They are crap. The remanufactured units by Bosch, WAI, and other big companies are better, and more expensive. $150 trade price isn't unusual. $249 for a rebuilt sounds high, but some units are more expensive than others...

Fortunate to have a local place still doing it, but you are correct- those days of cheap rewinding and relatively fast turnaround has gone the way of the dodo.

The shop does sell rebuilds for about a third of the price, and I've used them with good results. They own a junkyard, and have a relatively big supply of cores to work with, so if you bring in your old core, you can usually walk out with another in-hand. Only on occasion do you have to come back, and it's often 24 hour turnaround.

...$109 for a battery is normal. I get trade pricing, just spent $100.89 at NAPA for a battery for my daughter's Volvo. It's a special size, but the closest "standard" was $95.

Not an outrageous price for the battery. Still, one can be had over-counter for $65/$85.

But that's nit-picking.

 

[rcaman]

Big question is whether you are comparing new against a rebuilt alternator. I still remember when you could buy a rebuilt battery. Good old days when they were sealed with tar. We even sole the plate kits and bottles of replacement battery acid.

corinth mississippi good rebuilt battery $19.99 with exchange and their good batteries.