"Inlet Valve" Leaking

[leakingwash]

I think I got the model number (FDB4050LHSI) right. Where can I verify this at. The guy said our inlet valve was leaking so I looked for it and this is the part I found: http://www.repairclinic.com/SSPartDetail.aspx?s=t-fdb4050lhsi-%3d%3di1378823&PartID=1378823 . He said it will cost us $165 for the repair and I wanna see if we just got jipped. How hard is this repair and how can I see if this is the right part?

Thanks!

[JWWebster]

$165 is too damn much money to pay. Here is your part 154637401
You need a screw driver and pliers or crescent wrench and pipe tape.

Shut off water
Remove old valve.
Install new valve using pipe tape where applicable
check for leaks.
Buy us all a beer with your savings LOL

[leakingwash]

Wow insane. I think the first charge was $50 for him just to come out and we scheduled him to come in a few days. Is it too late I'm guessing? It's my dad's not mine btw.

[ryan111]

Somewhere around $100 would be reasonable for this job parts and labor. I could even see $120 but $165 is way to high.

[AJ]

Without knowing all the details it's hard to say what was a fair price to charge.
A standard service call can very a lot from one area of the country to the other.

We also don't know how much windshield time the technician has into this call. In a rural area such as I live in it's not uncommon to drive 40-50 miles one way for a service call.

[leakingwash]

Suburbs. I think he's about 3-5 miles from our house.

[jumptrout51]

What zipcode?

[tgoods]

That's probably about the going rate around here.  I don't charge that much but my cost of doing business is a lot lower than other shops.  I don't have a shop full of union employees with families to feed. I think Sears and A&E charge about $120 just to walk through the door.  Add the part plus markup and that should come to about $165. Come to think of it, I offer a lot better service for a much better price.  Maybe I should rethink my business model?

[MajorApp]

 I think $165 is more than fair. You can always do it yourself but remember this: Without the knowledge of the technician you wouldn't have known what the problem was. Knowledge and skill combined are valuable.

[JWWebster]

Major I am thinking about coming out of retirement

[theoldstoveguy]

You are paying them for what they know, and what they do. How much does your doctor charge and you are going to them,you are paying for their knowledge.

[ryan111]

I guess where you live at has a lot to do with it or I don’t charge enough. I think our problem is we don’t charge enough for second trips. We got a $70 min. charge but will come back to install a part for $15. But to be honest I got a lot more complaints when we charged $55 min.

[ryan111]

And yes, I agree you pay for knowledge.

[kellonnie]

im going to have to raise my rates.

[MajorApp]

 I have a an "Original Blue Book Major Appliance Job Rate Guide" from Service Company Solutions ($89). It lists the water valve job for the Frigidaire dishwasher at $231.90. Thats parts, labor and a $79.99 service charge. My service charge is only $55 so I make that adjustment, and another adjustment for the area of the country I live in and sometimes another adjustment for people that just don't have much money to spend on repairs. $165 is a good deal