Ray73

I have a new to me 2009 TL. I will need to have the timing belt done in a few months. It's very clean and 101,000 miles.

How much time does it actually take to do the timing belt and water pump? I'd like to pay for a realistic amount of labor.

I watched two YouTube videos, the videos are only about an hour. I know that the videos are edited.
I'm not sure why the repair guides (like Driverside) show 3.5 for the timing belt and then an additional 0.5 for the water pump.

I'm seeing dealer prices of $880, 950, 1050 and 1650. The highest includes water pump, timing belt, the tensioners and idlers plus the spark plugs.
The $880 is only timing belt, and "inspection" of water pump and plugs. At 100,000 miles I'm not sure what an inspection of the plugs could accomplish.
The cheapest might add coolant separately.

El_Cheapo

Chances are that they will charge you book time even if they were able to do the job in 2 hours. That's typical industry flat rate.

4 hours for a timing belt sounds about right. Yes, videos are heavily edited to show the important parts.

Are those prices with parts or labor only? Parts cost depends on OEM vs aftermarket.

Sounds like you might not need to do spark plugs. I would only do them if I was doing valve cover gaskets and valve adjustments.

A timing belt service should include:

• Timing belt
• idler pulley
• tensioner
• water pump
• Coolant
• Cam & crank seals (only if leaking)
• Serpentine belt (only if needed or customer approves)

Honestly, get estimates from independent shops. The cheapest would be if you DIY.