[Gogar]

You can't just take the number of bays and $100 / hr and find the day's take.

My fave indie Porsche shop has three bays and three guys in the shop. One guy is doing accounting and ordering and answering stupid questions on the phone all day. I bet they bill MAYBE 15 hours a day.

I have another friend who has a two-bay shop behind his house, and works alone for $50-60. He can bill 6 hours a day and do ok.
Keeping up with all the current diagnostic tools is very difficult for a one-man shop though.

I think you can make a good living as a mechanic, but nobody's gettin rich, that's for sure.