Shop Labor Rates!!!

[Forum Crawler]

$200 is the new normal. Inflation everywhere you look today.

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[ShadowsPapa]

Wow it’s been a while since I had a shop install mods on a vehicle but datum $145 is up there from last time! Is that on par with what you guys are seeing!?

That's crazy cheap!

Near 200 here.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

$200 is the new normal. Inflation everywhere you look today.

EPA regs, insurance costs (check into normal business insurance - when we had our store - that was a killer) Credit card costs, legal fees, taxes, utilities, shop equipment (decent lifts, dispensing systems, compressors.....) , customers griping about things, when you have employees, it's not just their hourly rate - it's SS, unemployment taxes, you pay for their vacation........ I recall when the state here was negotiating with the unions, the real cost of an IT person making something like 80K was well over 100K - so don't say that "the techs get it all" or that the shop keeps it all or whatever. There's very real costs to having employees - my wife and I know this quite well. And if one complains of anything and gets an attorney involved, then your costs go up again.
Even shop cloths have to be taken care of certain ways, oil disposal (there's time plus direct costs).
It's not like the tech gets 30 and the shop keeps 170 - I see people here talking bull crap like that. Nope, your expenses easily cut that down to nuttin'.

 

[BennieD]

$150 here. That’s why I do most all my own! Bought a Tazer mini because I paid $125 to get computer flashed for LED lights at dealer!

 

[Minty JL]

Shesh. And the mechanic/tech is prolly making 30-40.

If he/she is lucky

 

[Dickster]

120-160 is pretty normal in oregon. Join a off road club or group. Some times you can find guys installing stuff out of their home or can help you. Sometimes you will find a guy in a group that owns a shop and is will to help out good people with reasonable price if it is easy work. Also trading services for services is pretty normal for some independent shops.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Also trading services for services is pretty normal for some independent shops.

Done that in the past - needed a carburetor professionally restored to perfect condition for a classic car. It had to be just right. I know a fellow who does that for a few friends.
I traded him some other restoration work (including plating and other electric work) for a complete carb restoration. The guy goes so far as to install the carb on his own car and tunes everything so it's a bolt it on and drive away with it thing. He even included a rare aluminum tag with a correct build date and carb code in the deal.
Works for me - I prefer the electric work.

(I got a great deal as he also put up a youtube video of the car I restored the parts for and mentioned that I did the restorations and showed the parts in the video)

Trade when possible (especially if the other person truly knows what they are doing, and that guy is picky as heck, a perfectionist)

 

[Dickster]

Done that in the past - needed a carburetor professionally restored to perfect condition for a classic car. It had to be just right. I know a fellow who does that for a few friends.
I traded him some other restoration work (including plating and other electric work) for a complete carb restoration. The guy goes so far as to install the carb on his own car and tunes everything so it's a bolt it on and drive away with it thing. He even included a rare aluminum tag with a correct build date and carb code in the deal.
Works for me - I prefer the electric work.

(I got a great deal as he also put up a youtube video of the car I restored the parts for and mentioned that I did the restorations and showed the parts in the video)

Trade when possible (especially if the other person truly knows what they are doing, and that guy is picky as heck, a perfectionist)

yep i do it all the time. i have been in the car world a since i was 16 and have made a lot of friends in every category. I am construction sheet metal by trade and someone always needs something done lol. I traded gutters on my buddies house for him to install a bunch of stuff as i am busy a lot as well.

 

[Jefe1018]

$140 is the rate for what I consider our most reputable 4x4 shop. I just got a quote last week for a few items I don’t want to spend a day cursing on.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

yep i do it all the time. i have been in the car world a since i was 16 and have made a lot of friends in every category. I am construction sheet metal by trade and someone always needs something done lol. I traded gutters on my buddies house for him to install a bunch of stuff as i am busy a lot as well.

If you were closer - I have a couple of things for real sheet metal pro. Hard to find around here, though.

 

[Dickster]

If you were closer - I have a couple of things for real sheet metal pro. Hard to find around here, though.

yep i get it all the time lol. ill trade work for work any day. might come out a head some times and some times you have to give more, but it all works out.

 

[DiehardTory]

Shesh. And the mechanic/tech is prolly making 30-40.

Good Guess.. the "A" tech is in that range in many major markets.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Good Guess.. the "A" tech is in that range in many major markets.

For a standard 40 hour week, that's only 83,000 gross pay annually. Not a lot in major markets where it's more expensive to live anyway.
I was doing 80 annually when I retired from IT work 7 years ago.

A friend who is a top Mercedes tech in Germantown told me that with my automotive training and background and knowledge of networking that I could probably get into 6 figures as a Mercedes tech in places like KC. (that was around 2010 or so)
If you are good, it's hard work, and you will be tired at the end of the day and they'll keep you moving.

 

[balakachai]

There's high rates for sure but there's also arbitrary inflation of the time for the project - I can pay high rates out of respect for workmanship and knowledge - but randomly inflating the time is just theft

 

[ShadowsPapa]

There's high rates for sure but there's also arbitrary inflation of the time for the project - I can pay high rates out of respect for workmanship and knowledge - but randomly inflating the time is just theft

Who says that is going on? Dealerships go by flat rate "books" and always have. If the books says the factory allows 4 hours for something, that's the rate applied in most cases.
Who are you to say they are padding things? - randomly inflating?
Examples?

I had a service advisor cut the bill on some work I had done by about 1/3 if not a bit more because he said after we talked about what it would take, the time and work involved when I dropped it off, he felt really bad that it took a lot longer than we had talked. I would have been fine with the bill because I expected it to be a time consuming process.
Seems that some deflation goes on as well.
He saved me well over $200, closer to $300 - and I felt bad for the tech!

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