$40 to Change A Headlight!!?!!??!!

yup.
Im not surprised you didnt get a quote BIGGER then that.
A few years ago ( about 10 ) I drove a ford probe.
187.00 to change a light.

then













i learned to do it myself. ;-)

If theyre replacing just the bulb, that alone can cost 20 dollars. Not to mention the time it will take them to open it up and get to it. If the whole damn head light had needed to be replace that could have been anywhere from 50-100 bucks, and thats on the low end. most garages charge atleast 40 dollars labor per hour, so your head light takes half an hour to change and the part costs around 20. If its a newer car it probably has the halogen lights... those are expensive little buggers. If you really dont like the cost of having it done by a professional, worm around for a guy with a garage who works for himself, offer him 30 to do it.... otherwise... buck up, taxes, death and malfunctioning vehicles are the only things promised to us in our life.

good point!!

maybe you can buy just the light somewhere and then drive up to a small garage and offer to pay them a few bucks to show you HOW to do it?
20-30 bucks?
Show them you have the light, the RIGHT one at that. . hehe.. and just say you need to know how to do it yourself and if you pay them a little for their time, would they show you how?
then wink those sexy eyes and smile........

Last time i had to replace a headlamp, it cost me $21.00. I replaced it myself, because i happen to have a security screw driver with multiple rare bits, and had the right size trex to do the job--otherwise the clowns will charge you an arm and a leg . . . unless . . .

You happen to be in Kingston, Ontario. My Sweetiepie's Honda had a headlamp go out, so just before Chrimbo, we drove through the slushy snow to the Honda dealership, and they said they'd fix her right up. We wandered around looking at the cars in the showroom, and they were done in under ten minutes. They handed her an invoice, and i took it from her--and then reached in my pocket for some change. It came to $6.00 Canadian, so i gave them three toonies (two dollar coins) and we were on our way.

Well, the problem is that no one seems to have a small enough screwdriver to get in there....stupid foreign car....I am going to take it to the shop that changes my oil and ask them. They like me. :wink:

The actual light is $12. So you are telling me the 15 minutes it takes them to change it is worth $25? I sure would like to make $100 an hour.

oh yeah.
auto shop labor charges are HIGH. but they have to be. They dont make money on the part. you can only charge so much extra on a part.. but you still have t afford the tools, the workers, electricity bills etc.
If a larbor charge is lets say... 40 an hour.. the person who is working on your car is only making about 15 of that. Overhead is enormous for auto shops.

That's also what their time is worth. Auto mechanics are (hopefully) highly skilled and highly educated specialists. It may be ridiculous to pay someone to change a headlight, but not to diagnose and repair a serious problem.

Me, I'd spend the money on a tool to do the job myself rather than paying an expert to do a menial task.

I agree PD. I would pay them whatever to fix my engine or brakes...but not that much to replace a bulb.

you should be able to find these 'speciality' tools on your own at places like Austo zone.. or.. ebay?

I agree with PD. their time is priceless for major problems but ridicilous for light bulbs and oil changes. hehe

Especially since the other one may go in the near future...

even better point...!

Honda
Honda
Honda

Sometimes it really does pay to go into the dealership - gotta admit that $6 was a surprise.

remember the old joke :
"what's the charge for putting in a new sdrew ?"
"that'll be a hundred dollars, sir/ madam"
"may i have an itemized invoice , please ?'
"certainly, here it it is madam/sir"

(when the bill is $100 and up you are addressed as "madam/sir" - it's included in the charge)

ITEMIZED BILL
-----------------
screw $ 00.05
knowing how to put it in $ 99.95
---------
total $100.00

(all laugh, please !)

Bella Dea,

You ain't heard nothing yet.

You know the cars that have these high intensity blue lights?

Guess, just guess. Over a thousand dollars for one headlight!!!

<thud>





that's 3x what I paid for a car that lasted a few years

I hate those lights! THey suck when the car is coming at you with them. But I have awful night vision....

<<Note to self...do not, under any circumstance, buy high intensity blue lights. >>

You're talking about xenon lights. The real ones don't blind other people. It's the people who buy the cheap rip-offs and put them in their sh!tbox Civics....those are blinding.

And yes, those lights are huge money to replace.

So your car isn't still under warranty?

Yet another reason for me to abandon my hidden dream of one day owning a car (or for that matter learning to drive a car). $40 eh? Egads!