Here is the actual e-mail string from a request to rebuild a blower motor.

The vendor is J.Pinto in Philadelphia. Found them in Hemmings.

Arrive at your own conclusion. Start at the bottom:

Hello..unfortunately we do not document what we do to each order but use our own discretion to rebuild...What';s most important is to remember we guarantee all our work.
Thank you.
Regards,
J Pinto

I would like to know what specifically was done to the motor for the cost.

Also, what parts were replaced or rebuilt.

Thanks


Hello.we've received your order.
Final cost is $299 plus $18 S&H= $317 Total.
Please send check or Money Order to:
J Pinto
PO BOX 63532
Philadelphia,Pa 19147
Website
http://jpintoelectric.webs.com/

 

While this does look shady and is not the answer I would like for shelling out that much cash, I can partially see the reason. Like when I had my brake booster rebuilt - I wanted the old parts back so I could see their condition, as well as a summary of its initial condition. None of this was done because I bet he gets them in and does them assembly line style - just rebuild it all and be done. Now when i questioned him he did assure me all wearable or deterioratable parts were replaced and it is guaranteed. I DO wish places like this were more personal with their work.
Judging from the name, I wonder if they specialize in rebuilding Pinto parts....

Now I did buy a supposibly rebuilt Kirby vacuum a while back and the guy assured me it was all new inside and he guaranteed it will run fine. A year later, i decided to pull the housing apart and it looked like nothing inside was changed. A lying SOS he was but the vac worked fine and still is, 17 years later after only one set of brushes...

 

Ha!! I think the only problem here is someone actually paying $299 to get a blower motor rebuilt

 

You should have asked this question before the work was done and established what you would be getting for your money.

Kinda tough to say you didn't get what you paid for, when you didn't specifically know what you were paying for.

Also, if you wanted the process documented, you probably should have specified this prior to having the work done. . .

At least it appears they will garuntee their work. But again, if you don't know what they did, hard to say what they will "garuntee."

 

So you're saying you sent them your blower motor and they want 317 to get it back?? I'd tell them to keep it. A replacement is much less expensive.

or... did you submit a request (quote) to have it rebuilt? Kind of confused on this point.

 

For $317, I would expect the old parts back, plated with gold.

Why would you pay that when you can buy a cheap new one for $30, or a "top notch" new one for a bit more? It's not even a part that you can see.

- Eric

 

Perhaps another good reason to open a seperate section on this site:
(to voice a good, bad, indifferent experience with a vendor)
so we can all learn from other peoples' misfortune and we can at least make an informed decision if we wish to go with a particular vendor.

 

Really? It wouldn't be enough just to get the parts back? They really have to be gold-plated, too?

 

For $317? You bet your sweet bippy.

 

 

I guess I'm on the other side of this one. You're having a part rebuilt that is typically not rebuilt. Is this an uber rare car or part that you cant simply replace?
The cost and availability of parts (brushes, bearings, etc) for all the electric motors out there is tough to know, but the individual components will always be more than some chinese reproduction. The labor time to disassemble and rebuild will be a lot more than to simply assemble a new one. And labor costs in the US are probably 10X of anywhere else in the world.
In addition, if you want them to take the the extra time to document the condition of each part and ship back the worn ones, you should have told them that up front. But dont expect that done for free.
I just looked at the blower motor for my 72. It looks to be pressed and riveted together. I'm a little surprised you could even find anyone to rebuild it.

 

I have to agree with Gary. There are guys for whom a perfect rebuild of the original factory part is the only option. This usually costs a lot of money. I just finished a rotisserie restoration on another car a couple years ago, some of the prices for things were insane. I had a few things done like this, but if parts were ok functionally, I did cosmetic restorations on them myself and called it good enough.

Did you get a quote from them prior to the rebuild? Did you discuss with them your needs, and get an estimate of what your motor needed? They have parts listed for sale on their website, there are neutral safety switches for $200 and heater motors with switches for $500, I'd say yours is right in line with what they're advertising. It's a bit late in the game to question the job, now that it's done, but maybe you can put yours up for sale and find one that's in the price range you'd be willing to pay to replace it with? I'm sorry it worked out the way it did for you, it was somewhat avoidable though.

 

Let's not beat this one up too much until we get more details from the OP.
Aside the assumption made by his screen name, we do not even know what car model this is for, let alone the level of restoration he is after. I mean we already found out someone would pay 600 bucks for a water pump pulley...

 

I did not pay the price - got the part back.

Found a good shop in Michigan who will rebuild it for $75.

I don't use repro parts.

I refurbish/rebuild GM parts.

Keep the jobs and $$$ in the USA.

Will spend more to meet those goals.

 

75 vs 317? big difference. Hope it turns out like new or better

 

There ya' go!

Can't argue with that. For $75, I think you're doing the right thing.

- Eric

 

So you sent the part, they gave you a quote, you decided it was too rich, and they sent the part back. I don't understand the warning, it sounds like an ideal outcome...?

 

Yup, this is confusing. The original email sounded like the part had been sent, was worked on and the final bill was 317.00
Something's missing here.

 

Glad it seemed to work out.

When I first saw this thread and saw blower moter I was thinking a blown 455 and thought $317 was a steal.

Larry

 

My blower motor been sitting on the bench for years.......it was extra weight lol

 

You guys aren't taking everything into consideration.....I just shipped a set of '69 Chevelle 4 speed pedals, Z bar, etc to WI tonight. Fedex cost approx $18.

I seriously doubt the electric rebuilders he sent to motor to were going to reimburse him for his shipping costs....OOOOPS....that's shipping costs TWO WAYS if you want your part back!!

So.....you can send parts around the country and find out for yourself or read what he posted and consider your ALL-IN costs on each part.

Last time I checked you pay for shipping with the same $ bills you use to buy parts, etc.

Put another way.....it's a warning to prevent people from wasting their SHIPPING $ (same $ as the other $) on a particular company.

Quit making things more complicated than they really are.

 

Who's making things complicated? The website the OP posted gives a general idea of how much this guy charges to do the work. I don't know what kind of quality he has, but based on this, it shouldn't come as a shock when you get a price from him that's right in line with his other work. If you're shipping parts cross-country to get quotes when there's a way to find out for free that he's expensive, it's not HIS fault when you decline the service and have the part shipped back.

Aside from the OP, nobody else here seems to have any experience with this particular shop, and there's now a "warning" up about them, even though they didn't do anything wrong. I think that's a little harsh based on the facts we've been given. If this is complicated, then call me complicated.

 

I tend to agree with this, now that the whole story is in.

I wonder whether the Mods, with the OP's permission, might be able to change the thread title to more accurately reflect its content and the OP's experience, and better guide future members (and non-members) who might search for this info.

- Eric

 

MY442, you were flat out wrong dinging this vendor.

 

Opinions vary.

 

I found a great vendor that will rebuild all types of electric motors, including blower motors:

Casey's Auto Electric
714 Portage Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49001
269-381-5161

Great service and quality, resonable prices.

They rebuilt my blower motor - camr out like NOS.

Highly recommended!

 

??? Maybe would have been a good idea to have this as a separate thread for recommendation. People looking at the title of the thread may not read down to here for a ++

Glad you got the service and quality you were after. Should post pics of the finished work as part of the recommendation.