4.5hrs to install springs

[Sinhcredible]

Got a quote from AWE and they said it'll take 4.5 hrs to install H&R OE springs. That's over $500 in labor. People weren't kidding about S5 owners getting charged a premium.

[Keith@APR]

If there is an alignment in there, that's pretty standard regardless of car.

[motivated]

If there is an alignment in there, that's pretty standard regardless of car.

Same quote I got and confirmed by my local shop.

[Omeletpants]

Got a quote from AWE and they said it'll take 4.5 hrs to install H&R OE springs. That's over $500 in labor. People weren't kidding about S5 owners getting charged a premium.

What do you mean "charged a premium"? If it takes 4.5 hours it take 4.5 hours. What is the premium?

[ItsDubC]

B8 A4 spring install is pretty much the exact same procedure as on an S5, and mine took a little over 5 hrs to carefully DIY IIRC.

[iinviktus]

It's the trapezoidal front suspension that adds time.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Mine was $335 with alignment. And this was from a very reputable shop that I have dealt with for 15 years that specialize in euro. Very particular especially with my vehicles.

[elf_cruiser]

Blah! I did mine myself in the driveway with air tools in about 3 hrs. And 1.5 hrs was spent on the first corner trying to use a spring compressor, total waste of time - you don't need one. Could do it again in under 2 hrs for sure. I did have a helper tho :)

[Tommy@Nemesis]

That time is pretty accurate. We've lowered a handful of B8's at my dealer and it's always between 4-5 hours.

[Tommy@Nemesis]

Mine was $335 with alignment. And this was from a very reputable shop that I have dealt with for 15 years that specialize in euro. Very particular especially with my vehicles.

Thats a killer deal you got from them!

[Mops@Nemesis]

Just under 4 hours @ $75 per hour plus around $40 for alignment....really? I would hate to pay someone any more than that an hour to install springs. I guess I dont appreciate him as much as I should! He has lifted my Tacoma's and lowered my Audi's and its always been aroound $250-$300. I will thank him next time im in!

[iinviktus]

Mine was $335 with alignment. And this was from a very reputable shop that I have dealt with for 15 years that specialize in euro. Very particular especially with my vehicles.

This sounds about right with the proper tools/lift. Typically, when shops quote, they use the time specified in the repair manual, or what the dealership would charge.

[elf_cruiser]

How is it taking 5 hrs at a dealership with a lift, etc?? Did I skip some steps, or what? LOL!!
Front - Remove wheel, remove swaybar link, unbolt lower strut mount, remove plastic strut tower cover from fenderwell, remove spring retainer from top of strut shaft, remove upper strut mount, swap spring, repeat in reverse to re-assemble.
Rear - remove plastic undertrays, loosen all subframe bolts, remove lower shock bolts, remove subframe bolts on one side, use floor jack to lower subframe until spring falls out, replace spring, re-assemble, repeat for other side, tighten subframe bolts and re-install lower chock bolts...

Are you guys at the dealer take the whole strut out of the car? That would take a lot longer...

[iinviktus]

Not sure why the repair quotes such a long time, especially if they're mechanics at a dealer that works on these cars all day long... guess that's why they called it a stealership.

[motivated]

Not sure why the repair quotes such a long time, especially if they're mechanics at a dealer that works on these cars all day long... guess that's why they called it a stealership.

Like someone else said, I think they just quote the time from the repair software that all the shops use for quotes on hours. If you have a good shop they will probably get it done quicker and give you the real hours. If you have a sneaky shop they might still finish quicker but stick with the hours quoted in the software. Key is to find someone you trust or sit there and wait the four hours and watch them do the job.

[iinviktus]

Like someone else said, I think they just quote the time from the repair software that all the shops use for quotes on hours. If you have a good shop they will probably get it done quicker and give you the real hours. If you have a sneaky shop they might still finish quicker but stick with the hours quoted in the software. Key is to find someone you trust or sit there and wait the four hours and watch them do the job.

LOL, that was me who said that. I was just speculating on why the dealer quotes such a long time to do the work :).

[A5MD]

If there is an alignment in there, that's pretty standard regardless of car.

I agree w/ Keith. My local shop was charging $320 W/O an alignment

[A5MD]

Like the above post said, its whatever the manual says. Only thing different is what the shop charges per hour. IIRC, Awe charges $115/hr where as my local shop is $80/hr.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Yea and there is NO WAY i am paying somebody those wages. I know my guy that charges around $75 per hour is only paying the help $20 an hour tops and they do most of the work so enough said. I could not handle paying way more for the install than the springs themselves.

[ddun]

i paid $250 for coilovers on my B8 A4

[Ryan_T]

I was also quoted 5 hours, but considering the place I go to have a lot of cars waiting to get work done, and that they were all done by the end of the day, I highly doubt that number.They probably did it to give themselves buffer in case things go wrong. I normally have things to do and can't stick around, but my car's done by in less than that time. They charged me something reasonable, so it's all good.

[bhk1004]

Lol if I was gonna pay the same price as the stealership ill take it to the stealership instead of a small shop that thinks it has the right to charge the same price. 3 years ago I paid 200 for coilover install on another vehicle and I felt that was over priced without alignment.... but then again I'm mad stingy and I negotiate hard lol. Polish/Greek mechanics I've found are very open for negotiations. Oh and when negotiating always do it for CASH. usually will save you at minimum paying tax.

[Kevins350z]

any shop you guys would recommend that charges reasonably in the bay area?

[iinviktus]

any shop you guys would recommend that charges reasonably in the bay area?

I got my springs installed at a reasonable rate at Motorsport Techniques in Hayward. Kin and his staff are awesome. If you go, tell him a guy with a white S5 referred you. He may not remember though as it was early last year.

[A5MD]

Yea and there is NO WAY i am paying somebody those wages. I know my guy that charges around $75 per hour is only paying the help $20 an hour tops and they do most of the work so enough said. I could not handle paying way more for the install than the springs themselves.

I definitely agree!. The springs cost about $260ish and its crazy that the install range from $300-$500. Now $300 with an alignment would be a different story

[Alkivar]

i paid $250 for coilovers on my B8 A4

coilovers are actually a slightly faster swap.

[ddun]

they charged me 5 hrs @ $50 an hour

crazy good labor rate for quality work

[faster160]

f paying for it! I guess maybe I'm lucky that I can do a lot of this stuff myself, it took about an hour on each corner for the coilovers. I did the rear swaybar at the same time. So I guess if your paying for it, it would be 4-5 hrs worth of labor.

[Toysoldier]

Lol if I was gonna pay the same price as the stealership ill take it to the stealership instead of a small shop that thinks it has the right to charge the same price. 3 years ago I paid 200 for coilover install on another vehicle and I felt that was over priced without alignment.... but then again I'm mad stingy and I negotiate hard lol. Polish/Greek mechanics I've found are very open for negotiations. Oh and when negotiating always do it for CASH. usually will save you at minimum paying tax.

@ bhk1004 - Where in NJ did you get your work done? I've got OE springs to install. I'm looking for a reasonable place/price (if it exists).

f paying for it! I guess maybe I'm lucky that I can do a lot of this stuff myself, it took about an hour on each corner for the coilovers. I did the rear swaybar at the same time. So I guess if your paying for it, it would be 4-5 hrs worth of labor.

@ Faster - Although I'm looking for a place to install the springs... I am more than willing to do it myself (have full access to a lift, tools, etc). Cost will determine if I'm gonna do it myself or not, then I just need to set time aside to do it. Anyway, what were the steps to do the install? Elf-Cruiser listed some steps but sounds like a gloss over....Would be cool to see a DIY write-up. Any tricks/tips?

[A5MD]

f paying for it! I guess maybe I'm lucky that I can do a lot of this stuff myself, it took about an hour on each corner for the coilovers. I did the rear swaybar at the same time. So I guess if your paying for it, it would be 4-5 hrs worth of labor.

Would you be willing to do work on the side? I would like to install OE springs in the next couple months...let me know

[Blake P]

any shop you guys would recommend that charges reasonably in the bay area?

SonicMS in Mountain View. IMO, there is no better shop in the Bay Area for quality work at reasonable prices.

Let them know Blake from Fresno referred you and you'll get the red carpet treatment!

[dpeturboa4]

Sounds about right. We charge about 4hrs for spring installation plus alignment. I have done B6, B7 and B8. Springs and coilovers and i have to say coilovers are so much ez'r and faster to install. I do so may B8 (A4,A5 and S5) right now, it takes me about 1hr to install.

[faster160]

A5MD, Unfortunatley, I live in Germany now, I understand not having time to do upgrades. My schedule doesn't allow much time to work on my car either. All my German friends love my S5 they go CRAZY over it. Way more looks than an dime a dozen M3! BTW there is three new A7 in my area haha, they are awesome!

[elf_cruiser]

@ Faster - Although I'm looking for a place to install the springs... I am more than willing to do it myself (have full access to a lift, tools, etc). Cost will determine if I'm gonna do it myself or not, then I just need to set time aside to do it. Anyway, what were the steps to do the install? Elf-Cruiser listed some steps but sounds like a gloss over....Would be cool to see a DIY write-up. Any tricks/tips?

Hey man - wish I had some time to do a write-up... Lemme at least go take some pics to show u how easy it is...

[A5MD]

A5MD, Unfortunatley, I live in Germany now, I understand not having time to do upgrades. My schedule doesn't allow much time to work on my car either. All my German friends love my S5 they go CRAZY over it. Way more looks than an dime a dozen M3! BTW there is three new A7 in my area haha, they are awesome!

Ugh. O well.What made you move there? Work, military??

[BlkS5]

That time is pretty accurate. We've lowered a handful of B8's at my dealer and it's always between 4-5 hours.

That time is BS book time. Real time is two hours. The dealer told me $800, a loal Audi non dealer shop said $300. I went for the $300.

[Tommy@Nemesis]

That time is BS book time. Real time is two hours. The dealer told me $800, a loal Audi non dealer shop said $300. I went for the $300.

Actually that's not book time. That's the time that the flat rate technician/ shop foreman decide they will do the install for.
If you want to see the book time, I will gladly post it from Elsa which is Audis warranty labor guide.

The overhead that it costs to keep a dealer open month after month is not cheap. Most of our technicians are paid $30+ an hour to work on cars, so it's impossible to have a labor rate around $70-$75 an hour.

[Gzo17]

I paid $300 with alignment and it didn't take 4.5 hours.

[Tommy@Nemesis]

In case anyone wants to know:

Audi labor times from Elsa:

Front springs remove and reinstall-40 75 20 50- .50 Time units
-Predecessor: both front struts remove and reinstall 40 85 20 00- 2.50 Time units

Rear springs R&R: 42 72 55 50- .20 Time units
-Predecessor:coil springs remove and reinstall 42 72 20 00- 1.10 Time units

Total time before alignment is 4.30 Time units/hours

The alignment measurement is 44 95 03 00-.90 time units and that doesnt include adjustments. That brings it up to 5.2 hours plus adjustments which pays .50 time units max

[lorinsercclass]

I was complaining about the same thing a month ago. I had not dropped any of my cars or modified them since like '04 so I was SHOCKED when shops were quoting me labor of $375-$500 just for INSTALL of springs. I remember back in the day I was dropping my A4's/A6's/Mercs for $375 with springs included! Times have changed I guess. At the end for the A5 I payed $275 for install though and they were done in like a couple hours.