FWIW, I'd like to point out that service charges per hour can be defined in 2 ways. The 'Time and Materials' generally means that if it takes the tech/mechanic 66 minutes to actually do the job, you'll be charged for 1.1 hrs of labor.
The second way is 'Book Time'. Book time is a slippery slope for the consumer; not as much for the repair facility. If the 'book' says it takes 2.4 hrs for the job, then you'll be billed for 2.4 hrs, regardless of how much less it took to perform the repair. On the other hand, on my truck, a particularly screwy problem resulted in the quoted 'book time' to be thrown out the window, and it reverted to actual, for a total about 3 times what the book time would have been. Got a slight adjustment, but it seldom benefits the consumer. In California, the fine print shows about book vs actual time. Even if the mechanic has done this a 100 times, and can do it in 1/2 the time, you'll still be billed at the book rate. It's also 'book time' that insurance companies use when generating a quote, and it seemed to me that they were looking at book times that are particular to that make, model and year. I'd love to know if the book times for Tesla repairs are available, perhaps for those fortunate enough to live in MA (the auto right to repair state). Mechanics are generally credited with book time, and repair management usually wants to see more billable hours than actual hours.
Now, if the suspension / drive unit is out, and an alignment has to be performed as part of the DU replacement, I'd be pinging on higher-ups for a more reasonable labor charge. They could and should adjust the labor charges. Most will look and see what they can do.
In my business, I work on electric cars (not Tesla's) and generally quote flat rate repair charges, and while there's no book rate, I base it on the fastest I have done that work in the past. I typically get phone calls while work is in progress, and I don't want anyone tapping their foot, wondering if the clock is still ticking while I'm on the phone.
Now here is one more thought. In California, you have the right to the replaced parts returned to you by the repair facility, unless the price shows that there is a core fee, or exchange. I have more than 35,000 miles on my 10 month old MS, and am leaning towards the extended warranty. However, if I have to replace the screen, and I have heard it's about $5,000, shouldn't I get the old one? $5,000 for an exchange unit would be ludicrous (to quote Elon's definition of ludicrous, wouldn't the dollars fly out of my wallet at a ludicrous rate?) I would also find it even more interesting when you apply that logic to the battery pack, motor and controller, if they were out of warranty. You might not think the 8 yr, unlimited warranty would cause anyone to be concerned, but I remember someone in San Francisco using their Tesla as a limo or taxi, and the warranty is voided due to commercial use, per the owner. So, if the contactor is bad in the battery pack, why should a new pack be necessary.... if it's an exchange, it should be 100's or a couple of 1000 max. Surely, the labor of removal of the pack would be about $6, since we have all seen Elon's video of the battery swap in less than 3 minutes. Sure, opening up a pack to replace the contactor (or BMS module) should be priced as such.
be priced as such. Sure, seals and maybe a new cover, perhaps testing after repair, but you are not buying a new pack, so it shouldn't be priced as such.
Sure, replacing a defective module might be the case, but again, if 90% of the pack is not replaced, we should see fair and reasonable pricing. Makes me wonder if I might want to buy a salvage Tesla for parts. The sum of the parts could add up quickly. I'd also love to see Tesla's statement about using and flashing my car, in that event, as my car is not a salvage title.
Finally, Although I will probably start a separate thread, what are your thoughts about battery range, and setting to a percentage of range? As it decreases, at what point will you say you've crossed the line, and will decide you need it replaced, repaired, etc. When setting the charge limit, I initially thought I'd just like to set for a certain number of miles, say to charge to 240 miles range. Now, I have come to realize that since the battery pack rated range will decrease, Tesla probably doesn't want to glaringly show that setting the charge limit to a specific number of miles (which isn't an option) will show up as a higher % of charge as the pack range decreases. IE, 240 miles might be 80% today, but might be 84% in 6 months.
Scotty