Just had my daughters car worked on at Christian Brothers on South Western. Cost $436 to replace a battery and 2 radiator hoses. That seems outrageously high to me. Labor was over $200. Is this out of line or am I off base here? I recommend you stay away from Christian Brothers.

This is a ripoff. You should have bought the radiator hose and battery at Auto Zone or Advance Auto Parts then bring them to a shop to pay only the labor cost. I think where you buy the battery, they install it free or for a small charge.

How much work does it take to replace radiator hoses on your car? Did you ask for an explanation from the cashier as to why labor was so high? If not, your complaints here are premature. Go back and ask for an explanation. If that isn't sufficient, ask for a credit on your bill.

Even if there were mechanics on here, without knowing what kind of car you drive and what all is involved with removing and replacing hoses, it's difficult to say whether that's out of line.

According to Alldata, replacing both radiator hoses on my car (an Infiniti I30) costs about $42 for parts and two hours of labor. Call it $250 at the dealership.

You can get a battery at Sears for under $100.

Just had my daughters car worked on at Christian Brothers on South Western. Cost $436 to replace a battery and 2 radiator hoses. That seems outrageously high to me. Labor was over $200. Is this out of line or am I off base here? I recommend you stay away from Christian Brothers.

Speaking as an ex-mechanic, there are alot of variables when it comes to repairs.

The price of parts, the time involved to remove parts to get to the hose, the time replacing the hose, the time replacing the parts you had to remove to get to the hose. Today's newer cars have everything packed so tightly that it hard to get to just one part and swap it out.

They probably ran a pressure test on the cooling system and flushed the entire system. (The flush itself cost $30-$40 at most quick lube stores.) They may have also tested the charging system to verfiy it was the battery and not the alternator or some other problem causing the battery to drain.

Most good shops will do a thorough work up of each problem. My suggestion is that you call them and ask for explanation. If they are good shop they will take the time to explain everything.

My best piece of advice when it comes to auto repairs is get three estimates if you can. When your getting the estimates, pay attention to the way the mechanic or sales person works with you. If they are giving you the hard sell and no straight answers, move on to another shop. The better shops will talk to you in a friendly manner, be up front with you on the pricing and make some effort to save you time or money.

Like most shops, it really doesn't matter how long it takes to do a repair in real time. They open their book and if it calls for 2-hours of labor, then that's what they charge. I guess I don't blame them - wouldn't seem fair to penalize a "speedy" mechanic.

Personally, I never just drop off a car. I get the price up front and then make an informed decision.

I also began doing several of my own repairs years ago. Believe it or not, there is still alot you can do yourself on new cars.

I replace my own hoses, spark plugs, injectors, belts and even do my own oil changes (only makes financial sense if you're going synthetic though).

Mechanics love timing belt jobs as most (certainly not all) cars can be changed out within 30 minutes.

That now has become one of my deciding factors when I buy a car - can I tune it up and do basic high dollar repairs myself.

I love my Jeep Liberty Renegade for that very reason. Everything is right there and easy to get too.

A tuneup can be $700 easy. Or, I can do it myself in 1-3 hours for about $60.

Back to your question - price seems okay, but certainly not a deal. However, in the future, I'd buy my battery at a place with free install and replace hoses myself if they can be reached without removing anything important.

Have never heard anything bad about Christian Brothers. If you want a good alternative, Downtown Auto Repair on NW 10th near Hudson is really good. Todd is smart, talented and honest. No quick in and out, but you can know it will be repaired properly.