On a serious note. The mechanic wants $500 for an alternator, battery, and alternator belt.. is this reasonable? anyone know?

The battery is very easy to replace yourself, get one from an auto parts store and do that part yourself to save you at least $80 from that quote

go to broadmoor
yelp.com/biz/broadmoor-a…
you can rest assured they won't rip you off.

alternators are mad expensive.

yeah call at least 3 or 4 different shops and compare pricing.  I guarantee you they will each give you different quotes

2001 Saturn SL

Anyone a mechanic by chance?

Go to Emerald Auto Repair - they're straight shooters.

i've bought a couple of rebuilts from autozone, with no problem. they were for older used cars, so why not. if you were driving something over the $30,000 price mark, getting a new would probably be a good idea. but  at $500 it sounds like he's trying to make $320 in labor. which would be 8 hours @ $40/hour. a battery, alternator, and belt should take less than two hours, if you're a slow -ass mechanic.

David C.
Oh yea, GREAT advice to someone who doesn't seem to know anything about cars/repairs. I'm referring to the idea to buy a battery and install it herself.

re:which would be 8 hours @ $40/hour.
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wow, if you know a mechanic who charges $40/hour, let me know... er, maybe better not. I don't think I'd go to him/her.
And it's not about timing yourself while you do the work, there's a standard time allowance for various jobs. if the actual mechanic can do it in half the time, good for him. if he's slow, it's his problem.

The shop should look up the alloted hours, multiply by their hourly rate, and give you the result as the labor charge.

You have to be careful.  Most mech's will charge you for a new alternator, and they will give you a rebuilt.  The rebuilds are NOTORIOUS for NOT working.  The replacement on the belt is dependable, and where the belt is for labor charges.  Like you have been advised, find your own battery, they charge you extra for that too.  Check Sears, good buys and warranties.  Stay with the yelpers overview of mech's 500.00 IS TOO MUCH!

Looks to me that the 1.9l Saturn SOHC motor has a bottom mount (typical) alternator at the rear (firewall side) of the engine. This typically requires removal through the wheel well or through the crossmember. These take a lot more work than alternators which are on top. The level of difficulty will determine the labor cost, some cars require removal of an axle to remove the alternator or so the book says, they will quote the labor charge based on this information. Axle removal is called for on one of my cars but I (and others) have been able to remove the oil filter and patiently turn and slip the alternator past the subframe and engine block. Alternators typically have a long service life so ease of replacement isn't the primary goal when the designers decide on location of the ancillary parts.

Get more quotes before having the work done, but don't wait too long if your alt. needs replacement. Rebuilt alternators are fine as long as you buy the ones which remanufactured with new parts,  cases, bearings, brushes, pulleys, etc. they cost more but you're getting as close to a new part as possible. I've used them for year and have not had problems. When I worked for a part distributor the rebuilt parts that had the highest return rate were the cheap rebuilds.

Have a look. When looking at the front (right side when in the car) you see the curved bracket on your right? That is for the A/C compressor (not good design to have rubber hose passing right next to the exhaust manifold). The bracket you see on the left where the white tag is, that's where the alternator resides. It's down at the bottom towards the back when installed in your car.

cas07.businessflow.ms/3.…

I agree with you.. I'm going to call around and get other quotes

Let me try that link again:
cas07.businessflow.ms/3.…

call aaron at broadmoor. (i linked it above)

i've sent tons of people there. he is always honest - the family has been in business for YEARS and they're excellent.

i don't get anything for sending you there. i'm not affiliated. i just know how hard it is to find a mechanic you can trust.

I know a great, honest and cheap mechanic but he's in Daly City

Nevermind, the link won't work this way. Let me know and I'll send you the link so you can see for yourself if you're interested. Sorry

Don't forget to ask for cost estimates "with" labor costs...many mechanics love to omit that, then you get shocked when you pay the total.

depending on the hourly rate for installation x how many hours, it could get up there in price but $500 seams expensive

Louis, I am not 100% but the pics I've seen of the 1.9SOHC Saturn shows the A/C compressor on top. Maybe the DOHC has a top mounted alt?

GM/Delco alternators are a bitch. Even if you buy one "new," it's probably a rebuilt one. The only peace of mind is that, last time I had to buy them, they had a lifetime warranty. But that still doesn't offset the labor cost whenever you have to have one reinstalled. Like I did. 3 times.

I can't wait for this thread to turn into that scene in Slacker, where those two guys start talkin' shop about cars.

Looks like John's friend is giving me a much better price. Question how do I break it to the shop that I'm not going to use them? Do most shop's charge a fee for looking at cars? I will have to get them to jump my car just so I can drive to the next one.. LOL ARGGGGH!

Sarah "I dont want to know your name" W. says:

2001 Saturn SL

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You could probably get a whole other 2001 Saturn SL for $500.

Yeah i know.. I'm selling the thing as soon as its fixed

Sarah, I'd bet you could just get away with telling them how your budget is tight right now and you're going to have to fix it later or you might just sell the car. After looking at your pics I'd say you should have no problem (guys are suckers for girls in distress, even when they fake it), I'm sure you know how to work that cutesy charm, and flash em that smile of yours. (pssst, Sarah is a cutie, have a look)

this thread just turned from useful to creepy in no time at all.

ha ha tell me about it Suge. It ended well.. I told them to not install the battery, I can do that myself. Ended up being $150 cheaper. YAH! Thanks for your help guys

my bad on the $40/hour rate. it's been about 7/8 years since i've had to go to a repair shop. but even at $80/hour, it shouldn't take 4 friggin hours.
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bottom line: if you go to a mechanic (man or woman) and you don't know shit about cars be prepared to be screwed. i'm on my 12th vehicle. i've been through this bullshit too many times.

Sorry it wasn't supposed to come out creepy. What I was trying to say was just tell em a story (or use the one provided) and that you (Sarah, not Suge) are a cutie, nothing more, the end.