Hi all,
I'm writing this with a bit of backstory to go with my initial question. It's just a bit long, but I promise it's a good read. I'm basically looking for reassurance that I'm not insane. If you could spare a second so I can spare my sanity, it would be much appreciated.
I have a 2014 Ford F250 Lariat Ultimate. It has 16,000 miles on it. I am the first owner. It will be at SEMA this year along with some other shows in 2016. I am currently active duty military, and paying for a lot of parts and labor doesn't come easy. Thankfully there's been roughly a dozen companies who have contributed to this build and helped out so much and were able to make this project possible. One of those additions is an 8 inch 4 link BDS lift kit. With help from BDS, I was able to get this sweet kit a few months ago, and with SEMA around the corner, I sent some of the parts out to a local powdercoater and they just came back. The install was scheduled for Oct 1st.
I was a mechanic prior to joining and I specialized in custom stuff, specifically wiring/electrical items on anything from big show trucks, to mainly Polaris UTVs, golf carts and the like. In order to keep costs down, I've done as much work on my own truck as physically possible, but since my last lift kit, I no longer have access to my shop, thus a lift or the available space to install a lift kit of this size. (Driveway is not an option). Basically I'm trying to get the point across that I know a bit about trucks/lifts/ect, and I know a little about what I'm doing. This truck has already had two separate lifts, a Procomp 3.5 inch leveling kit, and a Fabtech 6 inch kit with some other stuff like upgraded shocks, steering stabilizer, all the fun stuff. Both kits I put on myself.
Last month I begin shopping around local offroad shops here in northern CA for a decent and reputable place to get my lift installed. And with the recommendation if a coworker, I found a place, who for now, will be called "The Shop".
"The Shop" normally doesn't put on kits which they don't source themselves. A common practice, and I'm privy to this. But, they agreed to install this kit. I was quoted over the phone an initial price of $660-875. A bit high, but I considered their great warranty on work, and the fact that I'm going from a kit with radius arms, to a 4 link kit, along with a few other things that make this a bit more of a time consuming kit. So I agreed.
I walk in on the 1st, and the guy at the counter pulls up the work order, and we get everything settled. They have my truck, keys, the powder coated parts, everything else, it was all set. He tells me it will be estimated at 6-8 hours of work. Reasonable, truly. Then he hands me my written estimate. $1,160! I kind of jumped.. This guy didn't change anything about the initial work order, yet somehow my price jumped by $300-500 dollars. But, again, I weighed my options, and went with it. I assumed they were including an alignment since they were going to drop the whole front and rear and they had to put it all back together.
At the end of day 1, my truck isn't done. I get a call from The Shop saying it looks like it's going to require 10-12 hours of work. @ $145 an hour, that raises the price A LOT. Then he proceeds to tell me the kit was missing 4 bolts. (It wasn't. I checked all parts 3 different times before dropping it all off). He says he'll only charge me what he paid for the 4 bolts. A whopping $45! Those are some damn expensive bolts... Then he tells me that price doesn't include alignment! That's another $145! The price is now approaching $1,500 after the first day of work. I told them to hold off and not do anything until I talked with their service manager the next day.
As of now, (Day 2), they've put 14 hours into my truck. 6 the first day, 8 today, and I'm sitting at $1,345. And that's after a LONG talk, with the service manager who took a bit of the price down. And the shop hasn't even touched the back yet. This was all the front. I keep being reassured that their tech is the best, and he's installed hundreds of these things. Yet just this morning the service manager said this was the first new model Super Duty they've dealt with that had a 4 link kit added.
Moral of the story, we're moving into day 3, they have me by the b@lls since my truck is sitting in pieces on their rack, and they keep racking up hours and thus the price keeps going up! Am I crazy? Is this right? Is this shop just incompetent? Average lifts go on for around $500-600. This price has more than doubled from their initial estimate, and they haven't touched the rear yet. I've made it pretty clear I will not be paying that much. But what options do I have?? Any help is appreicated. Standing by! Thanks.
I'm writing this with a bit of backstory to go with my initial question. It's just a bit long, but I promise it's a good read. I'm basically looking for reassurance that I'm not insane. If you could spare a second so I can spare my sanity, it would be much appreciated.
I have a 2014 Ford F250 Lariat Ultimate. It has 16,000 miles on it. I am the first owner. It will be at SEMA this year along with some other shows in 2016. I am currently active duty military, and paying for a lot of parts and labor doesn't come easy. Thankfully there's been roughly a dozen companies who have contributed to this build and helped out so much and were able to make this project possible. One of those additions is an 8 inch 4 link BDS lift kit. With help from BDS, I was able to get this sweet kit a few months ago, and with SEMA around the corner, I sent some of the parts out to a local powdercoater and they just came back. The install was scheduled for Oct 1st.
I was a mechanic prior to joining and I specialized in custom stuff, specifically wiring/electrical items on anything from big show trucks, to mainly Polaris UTVs, golf carts and the like. In order to keep costs down, I've done as much work on my own truck as physically possible, but since my last lift kit, I no longer have access to my shop, thus a lift or the available space to install a lift kit of this size. (Driveway is not an option). Basically I'm trying to get the point across that I know a bit about trucks/lifts/ect, and I know a little about what I'm doing. This truck has already had two separate lifts, a Procomp 3.5 inch leveling kit, and a Fabtech 6 inch kit with some other stuff like upgraded shocks, steering stabilizer, all the fun stuff. Both kits I put on myself.
Last month I begin shopping around local offroad shops here in northern CA for a decent and reputable place to get my lift installed. And with the recommendation if a coworker, I found a place, who for now, will be called "The Shop".
"The Shop" normally doesn't put on kits which they don't source themselves. A common practice, and I'm privy to this. But, they agreed to install this kit. I was quoted over the phone an initial price of $660-875. A bit high, but I considered their great warranty on work, and the fact that I'm going from a kit with radius arms, to a 4 link kit, along with a few other things that make this a bit more of a time consuming kit. So I agreed.
I walk in on the 1st, and the guy at the counter pulls up the work order, and we get everything settled. They have my truck, keys, the powder coated parts, everything else, it was all set. He tells me it will be estimated at 6-8 hours of work. Reasonable, truly. Then he hands me my written estimate. $1,160! I kind of jumped.. This guy didn't change anything about the initial work order, yet somehow my price jumped by $300-500 dollars. But, again, I weighed my options, and went with it. I assumed they were including an alignment since they were going to drop the whole front and rear and they had to put it all back together.
At the end of day 1, my truck isn't done. I get a call from The Shop saying it looks like it's going to require 10-12 hours of work. @ $145 an hour, that raises the price A LOT. Then he proceeds to tell me the kit was missing 4 bolts. (It wasn't. I checked all parts 3 different times before dropping it all off). He says he'll only charge me what he paid for the 4 bolts. A whopping $45! Those are some damn expensive bolts... Then he tells me that price doesn't include alignment! That's another $145! The price is now approaching $1,500 after the first day of work. I told them to hold off and not do anything until I talked with their service manager the next day.
As of now, (Day 2), they've put 14 hours into my truck. 6 the first day, 8 today, and I'm sitting at $1,345. And that's after a LONG talk, with the service manager who took a bit of the price down. And the shop hasn't even touched the back yet. This was all the front. I keep being reassured that their tech is the best, and he's installed hundreds of these things. Yet just this morning the service manager said this was the first new model Super Duty they've dealt with that had a 4 link kit added.
Moral of the story, we're moving into day 3, they have me by the b@lls since my truck is sitting in pieces on their rack, and they keep racking up hours and thus the price keeps going up! Am I crazy? Is this right? Is this shop just incompetent? Average lifts go on for around $500-600. This price has more than doubled from their initial estimate, and they haven't touched the rear yet. I've made it pretty clear I will not be paying that much. But what options do I have?? Any help is appreicated. Standing by! Thanks.