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Dealer lift kit installation cost....

Discussion in '2.5 Gen Tundras (2014-2021)' started by BuggyMasters, May 6, 2016.

  1. May 6, 2016 at 1:19 PM
    #1
    BuggyMasters

    BuggyMasters [OP] New Member

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    i am going to lift my 2016 crewmax. I am going with the ReadyLift 60-5475 4" kit.

    For the background: I have owned way too many vehicles (around 100 now!!). In all my dealings with vehicles there is only 1 dealership service department that is what I consider to be "worthy". You feel welcomed there. The people are awesome to deal with. They have never acted like they don't care weather I come there or not. They are a genuine well run business. I honestly don't have anything bad to say about them and they are the only car dealership where I can honestly say that and I'm a tough customer so kudos to them for that.

    Prior to buying my truck they had a brand new lifted tundra crewmax, SR5 lifted, nice wheels/tires, TRD Exhaust...the works. It was setup perfectly in my opinion. But they wanted $64k for that truck but had it on sale for $54k. They gave me the build sheet for it. I took it home and pluggd in all their part numbers into Ebay to learn that they had about $7900 in parts over and above the truck itself so $53k was just too much. Figured I would buy a stock truck and slowly put it together.

    I bought the same lift kit they use and got an excellent deal on wheels and tires already mounted balanced and ready to go and now I'm ready to put the kit on. I am a stickler for a factory warranty. I never want the dealership to tell me they won't warranty something because I modified it. So I am thinking about having them do the install. They have done this setup many times and should be well versed in it.

    On their build sheet they had 6 hours labor billed for the lift kit install. This kit from readylift is probably the simplest lift kit I've ever seen. Spacers on top of the struts. Struts do not have to be decompressed or anything. Replacement of the upper control arms, and lift blocks for the rear.

    I am mechanically inclined. There's an install video on you tube and I feel like I could do the install myself in no more than 4 hours in my garage taking my time. Afterwards I would have to have it aligned, have the TPMS sensors married to the truck and get the dealer to program the truck for the new tire size.

    So I hit the dealer up on them doing the install. They said...brace yourself....10 hours!! Their normal labor rate is $115 per hour but he'll do $100 per hour so $1000 plus tax for the install all inclusive. When I said "here's your build sheet for the one you guys did before showing 6 hours" he said he wasnt sure why it said 6 hours. He then went around back and came back with a printout from Add On Auto (whatever that is) and it shows that lift kit at 9 hours labor plus another hour for the alignment.

    So that's $1070 all inclusive OTD for the installation.

    So the pros are that these guys have done it many times. I feel everything will be done correctly. Anything that will need trimmimg that the instructions don't tell you about will be trimmed. It will be aligned properly and anything that needs to be programmed will be programmed. And very important is that I won't have to hear the words "can't warranty something because the kit was not dealer installed".

    The cons: That's $1070 for something that will probably take them about 4 hours to do!!! In fact He said if I drop it off in the morning they'll likely have me done by 2 or 3.

    I understand the deal about flat rating jobs. Am I crazy to be considering doing this?
     
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  2. May 6, 2016 at 1:30 PM
    #2
    LOTSOFTOYS

    LOTSOFTOYS Toyota Whisperer

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    We do most lifts on trucks for 5 hours or so.
    That is only the suspension. I get 3 hours for ucas. So we would quote u 8 hours plus alignment. So right in the middle of what u found. But our labor rate is 125 per hour. Its an open market man, shop around.. if u think u can do it, do it yourself?
     
    dcsleeper408 likes this.
  3. May 6, 2016 at 2:03 PM
    #3
    BuggyMasters

    BuggyMasters [OP] New Member

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    That actually makes me feel better to hear that. I like these guys and want to maintain a good relationship. Just want to make sure it's not out of line so to soeak and that I'm just not paying attention.
     
  4. May 6, 2016 at 2:06 PM
    #4
    LOTSOFTOYS

    LOTSOFTOYS Toyota Whisperer

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    Imo if you are devoted to them, they should be devoted to you. Do you have a relationship with the manager or any of the techs? They are likely to help u and treat you very well if you do have such relationships.... I have someone request me by name atleast once a week.... I tend to help those people out more so than customers I don't know or don't return to us often.
     
  5. May 6, 2016 at 2:47 PM
    #5
    PlatinumPro

    PlatinumPro New Member

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    i would consider this fair.
    on my previous tacoma i installed a toytec 3" lift and uca's with standard hand tools by myself and i would guess it took 14 hours... no, 14 painful hours lol. the lift wasn't too bad but the uca's are no joke to install and there is definitely a reason for using air/power tools.
     
  6. May 6, 2016 at 8:23 PM
    #6
    T-Rex266

    T-Rex266 Elon approved Staff Member

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    :spy:
     
  7. May 6, 2016 at 11:04 PM
    #7
    csuviper

    csuviper Moderator Staff Member

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    Some Mods :) See build thread for details
    Just got through an install on mine. UCA install is a pain in the ass. Took a good 4 hours or more to get them pulled off, new ones properly greased and installed. Oh and its so tight back there on the highly torqued long rear UCA bolt that you can't use power tools. Plan to use a large hammer to get the steering and UCA ball joints off. Had a newborn at the house so I was dealing with lack of sleep and lack of time each day.
     
  8. Jul 19, 2016 at 2:30 PM
    #8
    Ardnut

    Ardnut New Member

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    This convinced me...

    Was going to have someone come over and help me but I was quoted $425 to install my UCA's, CO's, addaleaf, and diff drop, + alignment. And the shop is right around the corner from my office.
     
  9. Jul 19, 2016 at 2:34 PM
    #9
    bandit

    bandit New Member

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    Duh Tundra
    Do it yourself.....It's one of the simplest things to do on these trucks. Save the install money for another mod.
     
    Ardnut likes this.
  10. Jul 19, 2016 at 2:45 PM
    #10
    JC303

    JC303 Same same but different

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    I think my ears are burning! :cheers: I say if you're going to pay for something, pay someone you trust.
     
    T-Rex266 and LOTSOFTOYS[QUOTED] like this.
  11. Jul 19, 2016 at 2:49 PM
    #11
    Ardnut

    Ardnut New Member

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    I definitely want to do it, not afraid to wrench on the truck but with the fam and work its just finding time.
     
    bandit[QUOTED] likes this.
  12. Jul 19, 2016 at 4:36 PM
    #12
    PlatinumPro

    PlatinumPro New Member

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    that price is very fair and it would be senseless to pass on that assuming the shop is qualified to do so.
     
  13. Jul 19, 2016 at 4:42 PM
    #13
    bandit

    bandit New Member

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    Duh Tundra
    Turn it into a family project. Have fun with it. ;)
     
    Ardnut[QUOTED] likes this.
  14. Jul 19, 2016 at 4:45 PM
    #14
    Ardnut

    Ardnut New Member

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    Both are under two... otherwise little man would definitely be turning wrenches/handing me beers. I have a CJ5 I'm saving for him. He will know his way around an old engine bay.
     
    bandit likes this.
  15. Jul 19, 2016 at 7:33 PM
    #15
    LOTSOFTOYS

    LOTSOFTOYS Toyota Whisperer

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    Case in point just the other day lol
     
  16. Jul 19, 2016 at 7:40 PM
    #16
    astro-jason

    astro-jason New Member

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    With them installing and retaining factory warranty without question if anything happens then 1070.00 is a good deal. That's just my opinion.

    -Jason
     

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