XT1 repair

[Paul MacPhee]

New member here looking for opinions on my recent service.

I have a 2015 XT1 with 160 hours on it. Except for oil changes, it hasn’t been serviced. It was running rough and blowing some oily smoke on throttle down. I had a local shop pick it up for a complete Service including drive belts and mulching blades.

After having my tractor for almost a month, I finally got it back with the attached invoice. I was surprised at the cost of the service and would appreciate your opinions of these charges.

 

[digger]

New member here looking for opinions on my recent service.

I have a 2015 XT1 with 160 hours on it. Except for oil changes, it hasn’t been serviced. It was running rough and blowing some oily smoke on throttle down. I had a local shop pick it up for a complete Service including drive belts and mulching blades.

After having my tractor for almost a month, I finally got it back with the attached invoice. I was surprised at the cost of the service and would appreciate your opinions of these charges.

View attachment 146475

Yet another good reason to do your own work. Just sayin.

 

[PACub100]

Wow, hopefully it runs like a top for a good while...

 

[gary noblit]

I'm aware of parts cost today but 160 hrs and replacing a carb and valve cover..I'd ask why..80 an hr has become common unfortunately... diggers right..learn to do your own if you can......the other parts seem high retail but hang on it's not over yet....

 

[Paul MacPhee]

I'm aware of parts cost today but 160 hrs and replacing a carb and valve cover..I'd ask why..80 an hr has become common unfortunately... diggers right..learn to do your own if you can......the other parts seem high retail but hang on it's not over yet....

Could you enlighten me? I’m beginning to think the Kohler engine isn’t what I thought it was…

I also understand that if I did my own work it would cost a lot less but I’m not a wrench…

 

[mgonitzke]

Nothing out of the ordinary there. They fixed an oil leak. Replaced the carb because carb kit + time to disassemble/clean/reassemble is more than the cost of the new carb. Lots of other simple maintenance parts, and all of those take a little bit of time to do, which adds up.

$80/hr = mechanic + overhead + insurance + etc.

Life is expensive when you don't know how to do anything yourself. Either learn how to do the simple maintenance tasks, or continue paying someone else to do them.

 

[Peter Maggiacomo]

Price is cheap for my N.Y. area ....which is $100 + an hour.

 

[jpaulus]

Valve cover???? how did the valve cover wear out? You need to learn how to do routine maintenance or find a good shade tree mechanic.

 

[dschwandt]

Did you get the old parts back?
At least the carb!!

 

[gary noblit]

Paul, consesus is prices not too far out but consider this...you're paying someone more than a dollar a minute to do things you can do...air filter,oil filter,spark plugs, if you do these on a regular basis (100 hrs or so) you would also save 60 hauling fee....I still don't get the valve cover unless you damaged it...

 

[Paul MacPhee]

Gents,

Thanks for the candid advice. I really was just trying to see if the shop prices were fair. Seemed to me like a big bill for a $2k machine, but what do I know…

I did not get any parts back. The shop told me the valve cover was leaking and that the gasket was integral.

P

 

[jpaulus]

"The shop told me the valve cover was leaking and that the gasket was integral". INTERESTING, very interesting

 

[dschwandt]

And they have never heard of gasket sealer....right!!
Couldn't have been that much wrong w/the carb no older than that machine is.
Should have insisted on getting it back, be a good core for a kit IMHO.

 

[Jay Fetters]

The only thing I would question, is if the gasket is integral to the valve cover, why did you have to buy a new gasket along with the valve cover? But that is a trivial charge. It is common for a valve cover to warp and cause a leak, and just a new gasket won't fix that. But I think they did you a fair job, and that bill wouldn't scare me away from that shop, unless the quality of service doesn't match the cost of repair. Remember, cheap work isn't good, and good work isn't cheap.