I recently took my Taurua into have a hot oil smell diagnosed. They called me after looking at the vehicle and told me that the pan gasket was leaking. This diagnosis sounded reasonable since the car is a 2004 model but when the bill was presented it was for over $525. I asked what made the cost so high. I have done repair myself in my younger years and it didn't seem to be such a big deal. the bill contained nearly $400 for labor. I don't think that removing the pan bolts, cleaning up the the crankcase and installing the new gasket should require $400 of labor. I understand that the shop needs to get some fee in addition to the pay of the technician but this seems exhorbitant. I was not given an explanation of the reason for the high labor cost.
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