Looking for good mechanic in CO - Got Ridiculous Quote

[lonepatrone]

My mother and father took their trusted L2500 in for service to their dealer in Northern Colorado and were told they need a new clutch to the tune of $5,000. I asked them if they had a detailed estimate, but they did not. I suspect the high quote is due to the high demand spring season, but I have to think they can do better than that by a long shot.

From what I can tell if they replaced all clutch components the parts cost would be around $500. Even estimating $120 an hour for labor puts the labor cost in my book at the high end of $1200 for a total of $1700 or so.

Please advise if I'm off base. Also, please advise if you know of a good independent Kubota mechanic that can do the job right for a fair price.

I did trying searching before posting with no luck. Thank you for your time.

 

[ETRon]

Definitely get a second opinion there........ maybe a third as well!

 

[BotaDriver]

Just saw a post on splitting a L2600 I believe for PTO issues and the labor is 16hrs. I believe that's the book rate on it, and would expect splitting for the clutch to be equal to or less than 16hrs.

In all honesty, I wouldn't trust any mechanic for any work that wasn't under the MFG's warranty. I would get the service manual and do it myself so I knew it got done correctly. Service manuals are rather thorough and if you can follow directions, it should be straight forward.

When I was 16 my 18yr old cousin and I having just basic wrenching knowledge split apart a ~1970s ford tractor with FEL to replace a freeze plug on the back of the block. It's not very complicated, using a floor jack, pair of jack stands, some wooden blocks, and hand tools. It's about 2000lbs heavier than the L2500.