Date:         Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:55:30 -0500
Reply-To:     joel walker <uncajoel@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         joel walker <uncajoel@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Subject:      Re: overcharging?
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Robert Stewart asked ...
> He is telling me this is going to cost me $1100 roughly. Now... I
>already paid him $400 when I dropped the van off with him toward the
>total of all these costs. Mind you it's all been in cash as well. His
>rate is $60 an hour.

i can't really help much with your numbers ... so i'll just tell you
my story.

on my 88 bus, i did an tune-up/oil change and air filter change. only
i got the fuel injector wires pinched underneath the air filter box
when i put the box back in the bus (i always remove it for better
access to the #1 spark plug when i change the spark plugs), and didn't
know it.  vibrations of driving the bus wore the insulation off the
wires and they shorted out to that little metal shelf underneath the
air filter box ... basically all the battery amps went zinging through
the engine fuel injection harness, melting it almost completely ...
but did not catch fire.

luckily, it happened just as i pulled into the parking lot at work
after lunch. big smoke out the air vents.
had it towed 60 miles to the only mechanic i trusted or even knew that
could/would work on it, and they checked it out ... no major damage to
any components other than the harness ... and found a good harness in
a junkyard about 30 miles from them.

the mechanic went to the junkyard, removed the harness, brought it
back and installed it in my bus (after removing the old harness as he
went).

two days of work. a little over $1,100.00 ... and that was 1992, and
they didn't charge nearly as much as your hourly rate.

so i don't know ... but i was really glad to have my bus back working
again. and have always been VERY careful of those injector wires ever
since!!! :)

best of luck!
unca joel