Fair deal? $300 to fix oil leak?

[hoontime2]

So this is about my mum car, I know much about cars as a monkeys to spanners.
She got the top seal and now the mechanic at Kmart now saying there's oil leaking at the bottom and he needs to remove the gasket to seal the bottom of (motor?)

He wants $700. But I found a mechanic off gumtree that advertise himself at $35 per hour. So I got him telling me it's $300 to fix the job.

Anyway is this a fair deal?

it's a 1995 Holden Apollo.

and it had so many changes in the past 2 years.

[Jace]

So the sump gasket needs replacing?
Tell Kmart to jam their $700 and don't go there again.

For what it is, $300 even sounds like a lot.

[Water Boy]

Ahhhhhh.

Look around your local garages and check them out. It may be only a simple fix.

Cheap may not always mean good. And expensive may also not be the best.

[VW Convert]

Ahhhhhh.

Look around your local garages and check them out. It may be only a simple fix.

Cheap may not always mean good. And expensive may also not be the best.

Good advice. $35.00 per hour sounds too good to be true and $700 is a lot of money to replace a sump gasket. The reality is, no one can answer the question without knowing the precise nature of the problem. Possible it may be more than a sump gasket replacement.

[mikinoz]

I'd suggest that you take it to a middle of the road place like ultratune.

[DubSteve]

A decent mechanic would be able to sort this out for half the price no doubt!

[brad]

$35 an hour sounds very cheap. I was charging family/friends $45/h a few years back when i had the time to do weekend work & they thought it a bargain.

The $700 sounds like they might be covering their risk a bit much. Is it the sump gasket or a front/rear main?

Why not ask jimmy Mac on this forum if he can recomend anyone (or himself) for the job. If you get it done cheap then I can guarantee it will cost a lot more in the long run.

[Speed]

So this is about my mum car, I know much about cars as a monkeys to spanners.
She got the top seal and now the mechanic at Kmart now saying there's oil leaking at the bottom and he needs to remove the gasket to seal the bottom of (motor?)

He wants $700. But I found a mechanic off gumtree that advertise himself at $35 per hour. So I got him telling me it's $300 to fix the job.

Anyway is this a fair deal?
it's a 1995 Holden Apollo.
and it had so many changes in the past 2 years.

You really take your mums car to Kmart???

Being cheap with a car usually bites you back, However if it is a sump gasket, then yes $700 is way too expensive.

I'm guessing there is more to the story.

[hoontime2]

Yes, it's a sump gasket seal.

if $300 is too much how much reasonably would the price be?

she off to kmart mechanic to see the exact problem

[Maverick]

I'd suggest that you take it to a middle of the road place like ultratune.

I wouldn't be calling places like ultratune middle of the road, they're down there with kmart and repco!