Replacing battery cables

[sunwoman154]

My son acquired a poorly maintained 1991 Explorer from his dad last year. He couldn't get it to start last week, and took it to a local repair shop. He was told that he needed new battery cables and a new battery. The existing battery was still under warranty, so he got that replaced at no cost. The mechanic put OEM cables on at a cost of $108.

The charge for labor was $287 and my son was told that the existing cables had to be pulled from the main wiring harness and the new ones re-wired in.
The receipt does not show how much labor was involved, but I was told it would be up to 3 hours.

Did we just get ripped off, or does this make sense to you guys?

thanks from a concerned mom!

 

[GRainMOnkey]

i spose cost would depend on what wires had to be replaced but if it was just batter cables to me that seems extremely high considering im planning on changing mine and from what i've seen its pretty straight forward.. maybe i dont know what im getting into but for just a battery cable it just doesnt seem right to me..

 

[Rhett]

Well if you follow the + cable from the batt back, it does branch off to quite a few places. It's not open and shut easy, in my opinion. I would want to know if 3 hours labor is book time on that job though.

 

[JDraper]

I've done that replacement on a '92 (which is basically identical to a '91) and it's not fun. If I remember correctly, it took a good 2 hours minimum to do the job. If they used a Ford OEM battery cable, that price is probably about right.

 

[sunwoman154]

Thanks for the information! And yes, the mechanic did use Ford battery cables (at a cost of over $100)

 

[GRainMOnkey]

didnt seem like that much to it but i guess there is.. i know i looked up a new positive battery cable on napa and they are like 24 bucks... maybe its missing something? says its for a 93 expo tho..

 

[ColinM]

The napa cables are kind of sold in pieces if i remember correctly (i work there) you buy the main positive cable, then the "branches" seperately. But either way it'll end up being cheaper. Usually the Napa one will be slightly longer since it's meant to fit a few applications instead of just one. I can check when i'm at work tomorrow.

 

[GRainMOnkey]

would appreciate it if you could before i ended up getting one online. thanks!

 

[JDraper]

If I remember correctly, Pep Boys carries the proper positive battery cable harness for about $35