So....My 01 225 has ~84k on it, and needs maintenance. Things like fuel filter, brakes, timing belt are fine. I need to have my cold plugs installed, haldex service, trany & diff fluids, dogbone bushings, brakes flushed, and blinker fluid [8D].

How many hours of labor you would think this should run? The local reccomended shop is Ralphs Foreign Auto (Burlignton, VT) and their labor rate is 65/hr unless you bring parts then its 75 [:'(]. They said for the haldex (I have parts) that it would be an 1-2 hours because they would have to drop out some components to avoid risking damage to the sensors and such in the area. This seemed weird to me, since other wise its just pia diy. Any thoughts over all? Do you think supplying fluids and avoiding that markup is worth the diff in hourly rate for the other services I listed?

I know I could do the plugs and a couple other items myself, but I dont own a torque wrench, stands , jack etc, and dont want to spend the money and time right now when I can just spend the money.

 

You need to concentrate more on that timing belt and water pump before all the other minor stuff. Always change your timing belt around 80k on an audi, i can't tell you how many TT's came into my shop with blown timing belts before 90k.

Timing belt & water pump= 4.5 hours
Haldex fluid and filter change= 1 hour
Spark plugs (on a225)= 1 hour
Brake fluid flush= 1 hour
Total=7.5 hours total for dealership labor.

P.S. nothing has to dropped down to service the haldex unit, just a splash shield which takes 5 minutes.

 

Thanks, sorry to not make clear that the timing belt service has been done, ie rollers, tensionsers, water pump, etc. I need the haldex, plugs and brake done definitely. The dogbone kit and trany/dif fluids can wait, as I am sure that will be another several hours, and I only have a few hundred to spend on main at the moment.