So, how many hours should I expect my mech. to bill for a fuel pump on '96 SSE?
Thanx!

Should be around 4 hours. He will want to drop the exhaust, might have to cut the fuel tank straps, and/or new hardware.

I disagree. I can do one in the driveway on ramps in half that time. If he charges more than 2 hours he either ran into serious trouble or took his time.

Wren, we both know the mechanics go by what the good book tells them to. When I worked for Ford, we charged based on that book, regardless of how long it actually took us to do it (which was actually shorter than the book quoted. If we went over, we went to .5 hour incremements). Though I admit, I was guesstimating.

Anyone have access to such a book on this forum?

(And yes, I agree it physically should take alot less time than I quoted. Chrish asked for the billing hours, not the actual labor time.)

That will make a difference on the bottom line. There is more haggling room at a small owner/operator shop since their overhead is much lower, and care more about local reputation. The better ones will charge only the amount of time they put in. From my experience with small shops, if they have a respectable amount of volume, they can afford to haggle with you a bit. Or if they have little volume, they may charge less just to GET your business.

Best way is to shop around, ask other people where they take their cars and if they were treated well. For a job like this, I could see a variance of around 150.00 in price comparisons.

I called my dad. GM dealership shop book states 2 hours.