How much should it cost to have an alternator replaced on a 1994 Pontiac Grand Am? I just had mine replaced and it cost $260 for parts and labor (in New Jersey). Does this seem approximately right or was I ripped off?
My first thought is that the price is not out of line. But it’s hard to be certain without detailed information. The first thing to know is exactly which engine is in the car.
Alternator prices vary quite a bit among different cars, so any comparison with other makes, models, years, or engines may be meaningless.
In auto repair, you can always find someone who is more expensive and someone who is less expensive. Paying a higher price than another shop charges doesn’t necessarily mean getting ripped off. Some shops offer more in expertise, integrity, and parts quality, and their price reflects it. The benefits of these intangibles aren’t always evident right away, but sometimes they’re very valuable.
okay, thanks. I guess i don’t know much about my engine except that it is an automatic transmission.
Thats fair, did you get the old one back so you could inspect it then give them the core?
just the alternator for a geo metro 90ish $200.00
for a honda accord 98: $450 (actual quote from a dealer)
no i didn’t get the old one back. i didn’t know that i should and i wouldn’t know how to inspect it. what’s the core? it sounds like they gave me a fair price though.
I don’t follow what you’re getting at here. Inspect it how, and for what purpose? There’s not much you can tell about a failed alternator simply by looking at it.
And then on the other end of the spectrum there are some that can be bought for less than 50. As your examples illustrate, comparing these prices among different cars is pretty much an apples and oranges thing.
For meg: virtually all alternators are rebuilt units (brand new ones, if available, tend to be ungodly expensive). Part of the deal on buying a rebuilt part is that you turn in the old one so that it can be rebuilt. This “trade-in” part is called a core. It’s standard practice to price these items on the assumption that the core will be returned. You could keep the core if you wanted to, but there would then be an additional charge.
I just had mine replaced in a 91 GMC Safari mini-van yesterday, as a matter of fact. Total = $279.
Well just so you know my father had a similar car to the OP and it cost the same to change the Altenator so no I don’t think you got ripped off.
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My first car was used and had a bad altenator that failed within a week. They would not replace it because they said they only covered stuff on the engine. Ok, looks like it’s on the engine to me. They wanted the same price, I bought one for 30 bucks. Of couse over the 5-6 years I owned the car I replaced 10 of them, at least they were all free! It was an 86 Mustang, I never did understand how I got so many bad ones.
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I had an oil leak that tended to saturate the alternator every 9 months or so on my old 1987 300ZX (230,000 miles). Alternators were cheaper than fixing the oil leak. I seem to recall $200-ish.
There’s cheap ones, and there’s good ones.
" I don’t follow what you’re getting at here. Inspect it how, and for what purpose? There’s not much you can tell about a failed alternator simply by looking at it."
You know why? Becuz that way you know they put a new one in! Instead of doing somethiing
sneaky like just putting in a belt.
Unless you watch them remove the part from the car, you don’t whether the old part they show you came from your car or from their trash shelf.