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I need to replace the roof reinforcements for my VW Tiguan. I am quite concerned about the amount of hours required by car dealer shop for this

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Namely items 3 and 4 need to be replaced. This requires the roof to be cut and then re-welded back.

Any idea how many hours a shop would require for this?

EDIT : I haven't gone to any shops yet to get a quote, I was asking here first so I could have a "defense" in case I need it.

Yes, there is a repair document original from VW AG. It's a 28 MB PDF describing the procedure step-by-step (English language). See page 154 "Renewing front roof cross member" and page 158 "Renewing rear roof cross member".

Basically, along precise diagrams and tools specifications, it says that you need to saw out the roof, cut out the old cross members, weld in the new members and then put a new roof on by bonding and then welding (and, of course, paint job finally).

EDIT 2 :

Porsche Bucharest (VW Dealer) quoted 20h (1500 USD - roof and cross members renewal and windshield renewal) and 2000 USD materials (this includes roof, cross members and windshield).

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    How many hours did the shop quote you? See if you can find (or if they can present) auto repair labour guide — a book (or software) that lists hours necessary to perform certain tasks for many different cars. I don’t know if there’s one such thing in Romania, but there are plenty available in English, and maybe someone here could quote you an estimate from that. Although it seems like very specialized job, not sure this would be listed (but there could be some generic rate for cut-and-weld body work). – theUg Aug 26 '13 at 4:58
  • Subjectively, this is a very big job. – mac Aug 26 '13 at 16:42
  • I was afraid of being a "very big job" but could this be larger than 50 work hours? – Andrei Rînea Aug 27 '13 at 8:23
  • I edited the question providing link to download the factory repair document covering this procedure. – Andrei Rînea Aug 27 '13 at 8:25
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It is a big job but I can't tell you how many hours it will take. The body shop looks up the cost in a estimating guide, and generates and estimate based on that. The differnce in shops is going to be in the parts used, dealer vs aftermarket, amount of parts mark up, the paint system used, and the labor rate the shop charges. Just know how long it should take is only part of the equation and won't be a good way for you to compare.

Take it to two different body shops and get a written estimates. Don't tell the second shop you already have an estimate, just get an estimate. If those two are comparable then your done, if they are a lot different get a third estimate.

Look for an I-CAR gold class shop if there is one in your area. You will know that they are at least educated on what to do. Disclaimer I am an I-CAR instructor.

You can also check Assured Performance Collision Care to find a reputable body shop. Disclaimer I am an inspector for them. They verify many aspects of the body shop, equipment, training, business practices etc.

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  • so, basically, even with the repair document (the PDF above with the factory repairment procedure) not even a rough estimate could be given? :( – Andrei Rînea Aug 28 '13 at 9:12
  • @AndreiRinea If I had access to an estimating guide I could look it up, but that's what the body shop is going to do anyway. – Move More Comments Link To Top Aug 28 '13 at 12:43
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In the end the roof member was good but I needed to replace the roof anyway. It took almost a month for a part-time worker and the costs were :

  • 1200$ (USD) new roof
  • 250$ paint job (roof and rear fenders)
  • 800$ body works

Effective worked hours were probably 50-60.

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