Rear shocks

Tiny
CPITTSER
  • MEMBER
  • 2009 FORD FUSION
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 130,000 MILES
I took my car to a shop to have the rear shocks replaced. I was told there would be extra labor involved because he had to remove "brackets" to access the bolts. Is this correct?
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Thursday, April 12th, 2018 AT 1:23 PM

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Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,699 POSTS
Yes. The car was made to go together quickly on the assembly line with little regard to servicing it later. When I worked for a mass merchandiser in the 1980's, we were allowed fifteen minutes to replace each shock absorber, on average. That was very close to the time specified in most "flat rate" manuals. We often could do all four in less than thirty minutes. Shops use these manuals so they all charge for the same amount of time to do the same procedures. An experienced mechanic who has invested in a lot of specialty tools and advanced training will get the job done faster, but you pay the same amount for labor. An inexperienced mechanic will take considerably longer to do the job, but you do not pay more than what is specified.

Flat rate time listed to do one rear shock absorber on your car is 1.2 hours which implies it is a real involved, miserable job. The flat rate time to do both rear shock absorbers at the same time is 1.9 hours. That means they expect the job to take four times longer than normal.
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Thursday, April 12th, 2018 AT 3:31 PM

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