Volkswagen Repair: Replacing motor mounts on 99 beetle, car repair shop, bentley dealer

Question
Hi,
My 99 Beetle has 108k miles and yesterday my a/c stopped working. We took it to auto shop today. They said it was caused from bad motor mounts and that the engine was hitting the a/c switch. They want $1200 to replace the mounts. How difficult is this to do? Thank you!!

Answer
Hi Jamie;
This seems excessive to me.  There is only one mount that is anywhere near the A/C system, but there is another under the car..called the "dogbone"..and even if both of these mounts need to be replaced they are less than $200.00 each...so let's say $350.00 for parts...at the most...if you bought your Volkswagen parts from the local Rolls Royce/Bentley dealer....they might be this much...
Anyway, to replace them both is 1.5 hours, flat rate time, but let's say we want a really stellar job, so we'll pay 2 hours...at $100.00 per hour, which is more than my shop charges. so $550.00 now, and $20.00 per pound of refrigerant, we charge for 3, so $60.00...now it's $610.00, and we'll even do a recycle, evacuation, and recharge for 1.5 hours, so at a full blown Volkswagen, German specialty car repair shop with 12 techs., and a 14 bay service facility you should pay $760.00...with tax, and some forgotten seals, "O" rings, a little compressor oil, what have you done including tax for under $900.00...
Jamie, let me ask you a question.  Does the car make a big clunking noise when you push on the gas pedal from a stop?  I mean BIG!  No?  Then, if you have to, TOW your car to a place you can actually trust.  These guys are trying to make you pay for their next big weekend party...on their boat...with limo service.  Good luck, Jamie.  I hope this helps.