Underbelly Revealed - Auto Repair and Technicians

[asphaltgambler]

Independant shops and dealers base their repair hourly dollar rate on what the local market will bear........no real suprises there. The time per repair guides for independants are based on two sources; Mitchel or All-Data systems. Both are PC/Web programs udated quarterly.

Dealers use a basic method for COD repair time of warranty time mutilpied by 150% which is usually close to the aftermarket times.

Repair shops dealer or otherwise will (never?) charge on a scaled system similar to a law firm because of greed.

[AUTOBAHNX]

i hear your story. we opened our open shop for that reason. fairness and honesty are the big things in our shop. also work by the hour - no rush, sloppiness tolerated. small, owner porshe technician wrenches too. Always need good help.

debbie
autobahnx

[john walker's workshop]

that's porsche, just so you know, debbie.

[RoninLB]

An independant elec & AC marine mechanic that knows his stuff can write his own ticket without much physical beating.. meaning ripping diesels apart can hurt for a mature guy. Great bucks and various business deals are always popping up. Other than marine, the same package will work on land, but with a lower exposure to those "various b deals".

meanwhile, I'd suggest cooling out for a few months while baby sitting a tuna fleet down south. They are often balls to the wall and blow up everything.

[masraum]

Originally posted by wludavid
I always hear about the 'book rate' but I've never seen any book. The shop I take my car to charges $95/hr which is a little higher than average around here, but I trust that they do good work and they support the local BMW club chapter. I've accepted that when the charge me for 3 hours of labor, they aren't actually spending 3 hours on the car; I just wonder how much extra they are charging and what those standard flat rates are.

Does anyone know of a good resource?

I've seen the "book". It used to be a book, now it's a CD.

Many times the guys can do the work much faster than the book says. They usually still change what the book says.

All in all I usually figure that a mechanic is at least partially a rip-off. That way when I find a decent one (they are out there, but few and far between) it's a pleasant surprise. I prefer to just do my own stuff because I can't always find the good ones.

[ejfbmw]

With 35+ years of hands on experience in my field (Tool&Die) I have this to say; we all face it, everyday, what is fair and honest. And some of us take honor in the workplace more serious than others. If there is an employer who is also honorable, we are fortunate to find them. I have been fortunate. My employer respects me and my work and in turn has my loyalty regardless of the ups and downs of business. It's a win win situation, my employer needs what I have and I need an employer (not everyone is cut to start their own business). Like I said I am fortunate.

[SLO-BOB]

Originally posted by masraum
All in all I usually figure that a mechanic is at least partially a rip-off. That way when I find a decent one (they are out there, but few and far between) it's a pleasant surprise. I prefer to just do my own stuff because I can't always find the good ones.

No truer words could be spoken.

I'll add all the trades to that list that includes mechanics. I've been ripped off by plumbers, tile setters, HVAC, roofers, AND mechanics. I've learned how to do all those things now, not because I'm cheap, but because I just want a quality product. I would pay a premium just to know the job will be done right. Turns out, even money isn't good enough incentive to get the job done right. You just have to luck out and get a guy with a work ethic.

If you have a good mechanic, or tradesman-HANG ON TO THEM!! Bribe them with bags of coffee or lquor-whatever it takes.

[asphaltgambler]

I do take some offense to mechanics being "rip-offs" Aggreed that customers don't always get what they're paying for especially in the auto repair business.

The current flat-rate pay system does not in itself promote good quality work but by default. Customers pay for results plain and simple. The technician wants to be as efficient as possible to make the most money. If the tech is not skilled or is sloppy it will in the end cost him money both short term and in the long term by losing a customer and then his job .

Very, very few shops pay for good work performance or high customer satisfaction. It is understood that if the tech does good work and meets deadlines that automatically the tech will be rewarded with high pay.

Look, most technicians do want to do a good job on each vehicle and take pride in their work. But they are the only highly skilled blue-collar tradesperson that is compensated this way.

[AUTOBAHNX]

Not all shops or mechanics are rip offs. Ethics and the ability to sleep at night is most important to us. And if we bill 3hrs to do a job, your damn right it took 3 hrs. Heres how it goes at our shop. If the book says 3hrs and we complete in 4. We bill you 3. If the book says 3 hrs and the job is completed in 2 - we bill you 2 hrs. The incentive for the technicians is quality of work. You do a good job in a reasonable amount of time and you are compensated. We do Porsche (to the guy who caught my typo previously - at least i can pronounce it properly), and perfection usually takes longer than book unless, its something we've done a million times. Our customers get custom custom work. We pride ourselve on it. We sleep well at night - knowing we have not ripped off anyone. Technicians that do not take pride in their work - dont last here.

79 930 screaming fast
www.autobahnextremist.com

debbie

[djmcmath]

Easy with the angry comments, Debbie -- JWW's comment was light-hearted, I'm sure, and I doubt he was making any reference to your work ethic or quality. There was a recent thread where someone was selling "PORCHE (sic)" decals at a great price. I'm sure I'm not the only one who caught the reference.

Dan

[Walko]

I think most dealers don't give a damm about ripping off the customer.

I have been quoted more than once 8 Hours to remove the motor and Box from my 911 and then another 8 hours to reinstall it. At $100 per hour it adds up. My way around it is to tell them I will deliver the motor on the box trailer.

Why don't you try some sort of mobile business ie buy a little truck/ van and go to the customers house and just do maintenace like tune ups etc no heavy lifting no engine rebuilds and charge like $70 per hour you will make a klilling./ No huge overheads to contend with.

Michael

[rattlsnak]

I could have wrote this exact thread a few years ago. I was/am a 25 year ASE master tech and saw alot of this too. This whole flat rate thing started in the depression era so people could keep jobs, and yes, it made perfect sense , THEN. The only one who it makes sense for now, is the owners. The customers end up getting screwed. In what other industry can you have 20 employees at work for 40-50 hours each week, and get a paycheck for half that, and NO cost to the employer? I have seen several attempts by techs at certain dealers to pay techs on salary, but to the bosses, you are simply replaceable, and they feel that the techs would become unproductive. (unproductive , meaning obtaining less than 40 billable hours a week) We say that the cars would get fixed properly and with more care, because we would have the TIME to diagnose them correctly instead of rushing through a job so I can get another work order before somebody else does. I could go on and on, about so many different levels here, but to keep on topic, I have changed careers myself and couldn't be happier. Sure I miss it, and of course i have my own projects to work on. The turning point a few years ago was actully not the business practices, but I got injured and was out of work for 3 months and realized I didnt want to be 65 years old and busting my a$$ in all kinds of weather trying to make flat rate hours.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by asphaltgambler
My former manager lied to customers, overcharged them for work done, charged for work that was not done, charged for parts that were used but represented as new, kept small bonuses and gifts that were meant for the technicians, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc

I'll tell you what I would do if I found myself in your position. I'd kick the guy squarely in the balls and while he's bent over, I'd kick his head over the goal posts.

Assaut you say? Well, if he wants to sit in the same cell with you, he will press charges. If he wants to go on illegally ripping people, he won't say a word through his broken teeth.

I have some of these characters in my family, a service writer (good job for him, he' a natural crook) and a flat rater who makes consistantly a grand a week on a (weak) high school education. That's better than me, why did I go to college? LOL.

There are now commissioned electricians and plumbers in the repair field. Aviod them. It's been the norm in carpet cleaning for years. Get the flat rate guy for that. The one that does it all with no upcharges.

I set an electrician up many years ago on a nice job for an owner. Several thousand dollars of easy work. I asked him for a hundred bucks. I felt unclean and have never done anything like that again. I have given a little referal fee out now and then, but I won't take one.

But the guy at the begining that took tips and whatever that were for someone else definately would have tasted my boot. On the strength of the fact that he also cheated customers while cheating the line mechanics would have given me cause to wipe the floor with the jerk. Wouldn't be the first time I was booked for that. Never charged, though.