Yallr payin HOW much?

[Blknight.aus]

from another thread.


Who charges only $50 per hour???


I just paid $100 per hour at Davis Performance Landys for work on my new engine.

Ron

Holy crap am I undercharging for forigners when I charge for them.....

someone tell me that thats not the going rate for greasers out there ATM......


Actually it would be better if a heap of you confirm this for me...

[easo]

Can't confirm rates, but can vouch for your work Dave.

Cheers Easo

[DirtyDawg]

Might be for the company, betcha it isn't that way for the employee mechanic..

[Blknight.aus]

actually its a low tech bit of info gathering for something I have afoot long term....

[LandyAndy]

The local retired mechanic charged $40 for the nice people,MORE for others.
A new to town mechanic,South African,with heavy mech trades,lots of Series landy experience from the OLD country charges $75hr.
Top bloke,had beers with him a couple of times now.He has done a fair bit of our shire servicing,a good mechanic,just a tad too expensive compared to old Rocky!!!
Andrew

[jsp]

I don't know I got the shock of my life when a local LR fella only charged me 80 bucks all up for an hour with the P38, 10 bucks worth of parts, cleaned out throttle body, and reset SRS and a heap of other codes with a test book.

I booked into this place as I have pricing issues and quality issues elsewhere locally and he was within walking distance (7k's) of work. First time my car had been to a mechanic in 2 years and I was thinking he would charge at least $125 just to hook up test book like the other locals do.

So Yeah I would say you can still get someone who seems pretty good with a full workshop full of Rangies and disco's and defeneders for $50 an hour if your lucky?

maybe it was a one off?

[seriesly]

had to ring lube mobile today for flat mates ea falcon
144 an hr first hr

109 an hr after that
plus parts

he got out the for sale sign instead

[googe]

Can't confirm rates, but can vouch for your work Dave.

Cheers Easo
You pay for expertice totaly agree :),some backyarder charging $40 an hr takes all day to make the problem worse,and an expert charging $70-100 an hr takes minimal time and the jobs done right.

Greg

[rovercare]

from another thread.





Holy crap am I undercharging for forigners when I charge for them.....

someone tell me that thats not the going rate for greasers out there ATM......


Actually it would be better if a heap of you confirm this for me...

From what I've been led to believe from another forum member whom a b ought a certain motor from, your a nice bloke with your charge:)

Aslong as you don't silicon his hoses on you rough barstad:p

[460cixy]

the ford dealer where i work charges 110bucks an hour so im led to beleave.

[justinc]

We're $88/ hr incl.


JC

[barryj]

We have to realise that the hourly rate is highly based on overhead costs.

Someone who say has a workshop at Newmarket in Brisbane is paying high rent or if they own the facilities will want a high return for the value of the location.

Someone else might have a workshop attached to a fuel station at say Woodridge. Rent and facility value would be less.

Also what equipment a company has will dictate what they need to charge. Say if someone has the latest and greatest computerised workshop with all the bells and whistles they will charge out higher.

My background is Furniture Making. I could invest one million dollars on a machine but if I don't have the use for it my hourly rate would have to be high. On the other hand I might be better off with a $100,000 machine that takes a bit longer to produce components but it might just be what I need.

We need to consider the above when quoting hourly rates. Horses for courses.

[FenianEel]

From experience.....

Most dealers in the Brisbane area are around $100-$110 hr

Most non dealer LR specialist are around $70-80hr

Most other mechanics seem to be about $70hr these days ;)

[barryj]

From experience.....

Most dealers in the Brisbane area are around $100-$110 hr

Most non dealer LR specialist are around $70-80hr

Most other mechanics seem to be about $70hr these days ;)

Spot on!

[Bytemrk]

I get charged around $70 per hour.. ( non dealer LR specialist ) in Melbourne.

Mark

[PhilipA]

Remember that hourly charges should include GST, so $88 is really $80.
But even so , Australia now seems to have some of the most expensive labour rates in the World.

I am on a BMW forum and they are bitching about USA BMW dealers charging USD75 per hour, when the local dealer here is trying me ( unsuccesfully) for A$150. UK appears to be more expensive than here.

Maybe its because they have to pay ridiculous salaries to keep the mechanics from "goin West young man".
I think in times of full employment like this that everyone then has a go at getting more profit and why not? I suppose.
Regards Philip A

[beforethevision]

My mechanic charges around 50-70$ an hour, or so it seems due to the work he does. Certainly nowhere near 120$ from austral. Hes not a land rover specific mechanic, but a true genius at what he does and works from a home workshop in munruben. I wouldnt go to anyone else.

[rick130]

Remember that hourly charges should include GST, so $88 is really $80.
But even so , Australia now seems to have some of the most expensive labour rates in the World.

I am on a BMW forum and they are bitching about USA BMW dealers charging USD75 per hour, when the local dealer here is trying me ( unsuccesfully) for A$150. UK appears to be more expensive than here.

Maybe its because they have to pay ridiculous salaries to keep the mechanics from "goin West young man".
I think in times of full employment like this that everyone then has a go at getting more profit and why not? I suppose.
Regards Philip A


On another board I saw figures of US$100-110/hr for car air con servicing (West Coast US) about twelve months ago.
Probably like here, hourly rates vary wildly.

[mcrover]

I used to be charged out when I was road service at $80 and doing backyarders I charge $25 to $50 per hour, depending on if Ive done the job before and I know exactly how long it will take me and how well I know the person.

Doing backyarders has it's risks for the mechanic as well as the customer, if things go wrong for the mechanic, it can cost a fortune to rectify the problem as a mechanic knows sometimes things happen that are not related to the initial problem but you cant tell a customer that and the easiest way to keep people happy is to just fix it at your own cost.

This is one of the reasons I dont do many backyarders anymore.

If possible when I do any work for people I get them to help me and show them whats involved to try to limit this but I have been burned on a number of occasions.

The risk to the customer is that the backyarder may not know what hes doing and actually stuff things up and there isnt really any recourse on the backyarder to repair it unless you go through the cival court process and thats costly and time consuming.

This is another reason why hourly rates are relatively high.

[Blknight.aus]

Been there MCrover... I sometimes do jobs where it takes me longer to explain the potential other faults that might come up from fixing one component without doing a lot of others... Cooling systems in particular are (ok excluding autos here) a PITA for it as everyone wants the perfect fix in 10 minutes for free and you have to guarentee it for the better part of eternity....

Then when you get the leaky thermostat housing off that served as jesus's potty befor he played full back for jeruselum Its your fault because it was in one piece before you touched it...

The pleasure of a backyarder is directly proportional to the attitude of the owner.

The cost of my backyarders are inversly proportional to the pleasure.

[ACCO Andrew]

As a small business owner i've heard from a few different places that there are three components of a sale
- Good Service
- Good Workmanship
- Good Price...

The basics state you should pick any two... The customer can't have everything, so they have to pick what is most important to them... One of our local tv adds is great - shows a kid waiting in the rain after sports practice... waiting for mum who assumabley has broken down... If my mechanic raised his prices i'd stick with him. If i broke down on the side of the road i'd be .......... extremely unhappy. If my wife broke down on the side of the road i'd be dead...

[WhiteD3]

Some perspective...

My company charges out electricians (Special class) for $135 if you're on contract, $175 if you're not.

One of my blokes just got poached for an 80k base + car + super etc.

[HangOver]

you mechanics should learn how to fix laser printers, we get charged $200 an hour :eek:

[Blknight.aus]

actuall quad bikes is where the money is....

we got a bill at work that is now framed on the wall

$1400 to plug a leaking tyre... (that still leaks(

[460cixy]

actuall quad bikes is where the money is....

we got a bill at work that is now framed on the wall

$1400 to plug a leaking tyre... (that still leaks(

well they saw you comeing a mile off

[mittadisco]

How about $960 for an injector service and tune for 300tdi?

[Ralph1Malph]

My field is full of freelancers, (although I am salary - Defence - Soldier) and it goes like this:
To keep the math easy, 40 hr week for 45 weeks approx 1800 hrs per year. Most of my colleagues agree to aim for 100k per year income allowing fudge - this is not a tech on salary but individual freelancers. This amount does not include overhead etc incurred by business.
Just to achieve this, means $180 per hour. This is low end in the repair of medical equipment. Yes rates are flexible, I once got quizzed by a dentist that I was charging more to fix his chair than he got for using it after 5yrs at medical school! I quipped that I still didn't drive a Merc! I have charged $280.00 per hour for some work at some surgeries, because that is the going rate.

Ralph

[p38arover]

I have charged $280.00 per hour for some work at some surgeries, because that is the going rate.

...and I get $23 per hour :(

[barryj]

...and I get $23 per hour :(


Ron, with a shed the size of yours, I would demand more :D.

[p38arover]

Ron, with a shed the size of yours, I would demand more :D.

I could get more if I went to work with Dobbo!

You can see why I'm almost happy to be earning less! :o



:D

[Blknight.aus]

How about $960 for an injector service and tune for 300tdi?

depending on how much was involved I could believe that... new injectors, retime the pump, recalibrate the pump retime the cam belt and cams....

Thats assuming that was all done of course...

[HangOver]

I took my Ford to get a job done at a garage I have been to a couple of times anyhow replace two solenoids on the LPG system they quoted $400 inc parts and labour.

Just to check the price I took it to a Ford dealer they quoted a maximum of $250 and prob. less if they could manage it in half an hour.

I asked about the parts only incase I wanted to change them, (which I don't) retail $110 for the two. So the local garage wanted $290 for a one hour job.

[460cixy]

I took my Ford to get a job done at a garage I have been to a couple of times anyhow replace two solenoids on the LPG system they quoted $400 inc parts and labour.

Just to check the price I took it to a Ford dealer they quoted a maximum of $250 and prob. less if they could manage it in half an hour.

I asked about the parts only incase I wanted to change them, (which I don't) retail $110 for the two. So the local garage wanted $290 for a one hour job.


if its the ones on the converter that crack all the time there a 10min job but the dealer where i work charge a half hour just to make it worth it. some good customers ie buy alot of cars off us ect get that sort of thing labour free to keep them comeing back

[HangOver]

if its the ones on the converter that crack all the time there a 10min job but the dealer where i work charge a half hour just to make it worth it. some good customers ie buy alot of cars off us ect get that sort of thing labour free to keep them comeing back

yep those are the ones, is it any easy DIY job?
I was reluctant because it's part of the LPG system.
Does it need and LPG pipes disconnected?

[BigJon]

We're $88/ hr incl.


JC

Same here.

[George130]

I don't know prices but I do know that to have the injector harness replace in Canberra works out at $440:eek:. I removed mine on Saturday night cleaned it and put it back in an hour! If it was a strait change over I would think 30 mins tops.

[460cixy]

yep those are the ones, is it any easy DIY job?
I was reluctant because it's part of the LPG system.
Does it need and LPG pipes disconnected?


nahh easy as mate just un plug the wire un do the i think its a 7 or 8 mil bolt and pull it off its only the electrical part that cracks and fails so you dont have to open the system

[460cixy]

I don't know prices but I do know that to have the injector harness replace in Canberra works out at $440:eek:. I removed mine on Saturday night cleaned it and put it back in an hour! If it was a strait change over I would think 30 mins tops.

ohh yeah ray knows how to CHARGE

[HangOver]

nahh easy as mate just un plug the wire un do the i think its a 7 or 8 mil bolt and pull it off its only the electrical part that cracks and fails so you dont have to open the system

Thanks mate, I'll give it a crack and see how it goes.

[460cixy]

one solinoid is has a diffrant plug to the rest. but otherwise there all the same. im asumeing its ford factory gas?

[HangOver]

one solinoid is has a diffrant plug to the rest. but otherwise there all the same. im asumeing its ford factory gas?

yes it's the green engine BA falcon.

It's the two top most solenoids on the convertor.
Even the ford bloke said they crack all the time.

Might be worth putting some sort of shield in between the solenoids and the maifold?

[landyfromanuthaland]

You get what you pay for with mechanics around the place, working on some old Ford or Holden with a carby is fine and cheap enough to satisfy anyone, change the scene with a nifty EFI thingy with a computor and all sorts of other hi tech do dads and thats where the dollars are but by geez they earn it, the equipement and training alone dictates a fee comensurate with the work and vehicle, everytime our AU has to go for work on the EFI or electric the first thing I say is "be gentle" can be scary at times but I couldnt do it in a million years, so you have to look at the big picture, how much did the that new tuning machine cost the company and how many hours to train the mechanic to use it properly, it is big dollars these days, the further technology advance the dearer things become. Bring back the HQ holden.

[HangOver]

I like everyone else like to get stuff cheaply but I don't mind paying the going rate to get a reasonable job done when needed. But, when a garage, (autotune) charges nearly twice as much as a dealer there's something wrong.

Like 460cixysaid it's a 10 min job anyway so both garages were charging for one hour.

I suppose it can happen in any field of work I do computer stuff and a friend told me that a shop charged them $700 to refomat a computer and copy over existing data, ( my documents, .pst file, faves, etc) afterwards. :eek:

[JohnE]

Well after reading the bits and pieces, I sometimes wonder,
how can you justify an hourly rate over $100 for a spanner swirler, i don;t care about the workshops etc, I certainly don;t want to pay for that, just the expertise of the expert. The infrastructure is at their cost not mine.( yes I know its slightly built in)
Is there any comparison for other trades, the only thing i can get that is close, is an invoice from a plumber for an eel job that cost $120, and that included the dubious country rate, ( ie travelling)

Wood butchers, ( my old trade) certainly don;t charge anything like that.

then my old profession, where I have had guns pointed at me, been chased by knife wielding fools, been fired at by middle eastern youths. and **** on by politicians, the hourly rate is not more that 40 dollars.

so you mechanicing types have tickets on yourself if you think you can properly justify anything over $100 an hour for labour only. Your not that good.



john

[BigJon]

Well after reading the bits and pieces, I sometimes wonder,
how can you justify an hourly rate over $100 for a spanner swirler, i don;t care about the workshops etc, I certainly don;t want to pay for that, just the expertise of the expert. The infrastructure is at their cost not mine.( yes I know its slightly built in)
Is there any comparison for other trades, the only thing i can get that is close, is an invoice from a plumber for an eel job that cost $120, and that included the dubious country rate, ( ie travelling)

Wood butchers, ( my old trade) certainly don;t charge anything like that.

then my old profession, where I have had guns pointed at me, been chased by knife wielding fools, been fired at by middle eastern youths. and **** on by politicians, the hourly rate is not more that 40 dollars.

so you mechanicing types have tickets on yourself if you think you can properly justify anything over $100 an hour for labour only. Your not that good.



john

Mechanics don't get paid $100 an hour!! The award rate for a mechanic is somewhere under $20 per hour, I believe. I know I don't get much more than that, and I do a hell of a lot more than just swinging spanners!
Workshops have to charge it to cover costs.

I am sure you don't want to pay infrastructure costs, but someone has to, clearly it is the customer. That is how any business operates.

All costs involved have to be covered. These will include labour costs, insurance, rent on premises, government charges, non productive staff costs, etc, etc. Profit is also an important consideration.

Parts pricing will help cover these costs, but the only other avenue is labour costs. Hence why labour rates seem high to the uninitiated.

[EchiDna]

yeah but at the end of the day, the hourly rate deosn't drop as the business gets busier or more efficient does it?

basic back of the envelope calculation goes like this:

hours of manpower available to sell (365 days - 104 weekend days - 20 (or more) annual leave days - 15 sick leave days - 10? days for training) = 216 days x 9 hours = 1944 sellable hours per mechanic annually (2000 for the sake of arguement).

costs= rent + utilities + equipment overheads depreciated over 5 years (typically) + cost of credit (minimal if you are lucky!) + marketing (if any) + back office staff + parts inventory = approx $20k/month for a small, well equipt operation if you employ and pay a wage to someone in the back office and have your own engine diagnostic equipment.

so we know costs drop once things are depreciated to nothing and if you own your premises even better... but I'm assuming a small workshop with good diagnostics capability etc..

anyway, 20k x 12 / 2000 hours = $120... add a second mechanic and the formula should change to something like 28k x 12 / 4000 = $80, add an apprentice for pitiful wages and you can get it down to $65, but then you have added costs for space, equipment etc etc BUT we know the prices will never drop with added efficiency right as this is where the profit lies - that and working longer hours on a similar cost base!

so It's very much horses for courses... if your costs are low, you should pass it on to your customers and get in more business - more business will make you more efficient (same cost, more money in the door) - and all this assumes no double charging, accurate times, guesstimated pricing of equipment and rent - I tells ya they are making very nice margins on $100 an hour if the shop has more than 2 employees :)

[BigJon]

- I tells ya they are making very nice margins on $100 an hour if the shop has more than 2 employees :)

Lots of nice calculations and assumptions that don't actually mean anything at all...

Who is this "they" of which you speak?

[EchiDna]

Lots of nice calculations and assumptions that don't actually mean anything at all...

Who is this "they" of which you speak?


the owner...

I did say it was back of an envelope stuff :o but it is ok for a first look - in no way am I denegrating the wages a mechanic earns - they deserve what they earn...

The above calcs are IMHO pretty accurate for a small workshop, the bigger you get the more efficiencies can be found and hence in effect the lower your prices should be on an hourly rate (or the higher your margins will be - this being the more common practice).

oh and this is also a large part of my job so I'm paid well for creating nice calculations and making assumptions based on rough estimates...

[460cixy]

Well after reading the bits and pieces, I sometimes wonder,
how can you justify an hourly rate over $100 for a spanner swirler, i don;t care about the workshops etc, I certainly don;t want to pay for that, just the expertise of the expert. The infrastructure is at their cost not mine.( yes I know its slightly built in)
Is there any comparison for other trades, the only thing i can get that is close, is an invoice from a plumber for an eel job that cost $120, and that included the dubious country rate, ( ie travelling)

Wood butchers, ( my old trade) certainly don;t charge anything like that.

then my old profession, where I have had guns pointed at me, been chased by knife wielding fools, been fired at by middle eastern youths. and **** on by politicians, the hourly rate is not more that 40 dollars.

so you mechanicing types have tickets on yourself if you think you can properly justify anything over $100 an hour for labour only. Your not that good.



john


mate how about you stick it fair up your clacker. i only see 17 bucks out of that 100 bucks an hour come and spend 38 hours in my boots and tell me we are not worth our poxy 17 bucks an hour

[JohnE]

mate how about you stick it fair up your clacker. i only see 17 bucks out of that 100 bucks an hour come and spend 38 hours in my boots and tell me we are not worth our poxy 17 bucks an hour



Nice one, I said over $100, but then nobody wants to fight you, stab you, shoot you or spit on you.
Then maybe they do when they see the bill!

The echidna explained in more detail but i still think anything over $100 is too much.

business costs are business costs, I just don't like paying for them. AFAIAK I want to pay for labour not the mortgage,


john

[UncleHo]

G'day 460cixy

How about we keep the conversation civilised :mad: What John said was that he objected to paying $100+ Per Hour for mechanical work NOT what YOU get Paid

Uncle Ho

[BigJon]

business costs are business costs, I just don't like paying for them. AFAIAK I want to pay for labour not the mortgage,


john

I can understand that you don't like paying for what is done, but surely you realise that without the extra costs loaded onto the labour charge the business would not exist, then you couldn't get anything done at all.

What else is going to pay for the mortgage, etc? Maybe the invoice should be broken down even further?

Labour $x
Mortgage $x
Power / Water $x
Office Staff $x
Equipment Costs $x
Government Costs $x

Clearly that is completely unworkable.


I think your complaint isn't well thought through (no offence intended, despite your comments earlier about mechanic types having tickets on ourselves and not being that good, which was offensive).

[BigJon]

G'day 460cixy

How about we keep the conversation civilised :mad: What John said was that he objected to paying $100+ Per Hour for mechanical work NOT what YOU get Paid

Uncle Ho

He did make a comment about mechanic types having tickets on themselves and being not that good. I think 460cixy has a fair grievance.

[PhilipA]

This topic certainly gets heated doesn't it?
IMHO the big issue for workshops is unapplied time.
The normal ebb and flow of work means an owner can never bill all billable hours and unfortunately employed mechanics seem not to have the same incentive as the owner to work quickly .
I have a mate called Dennis unpronounceable, who owned a small shop in Mona vale specialising in Jaguar and Land Rover.
He employed mechanics from time to time , but always reverted to sole operator.
He had several problems
1 His wife worked part time, so he spent a lot of time on the phone, answering crap calls. He was between a rock and hard place as if he put them on a messagebank he may lose customers.
2 Because he was an old Jag and Rover specialist, he had an array of "codgers" hanging around wanting a chat about the glories. I suppose I was one of them from time to time.
3 Its hard to cost a job on old jags etc, and Dennis being a great guy was forever giving time away, when the old Jag turned out to be a heap of crap.

So Dennis ended up retiring at 40 something because he also had a crook heart. He was lucky/skilled in that he owned his workshop which he was able to sell for a lot of money.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Those are my observations from an interested customer point of view, and 20 years in the motor industry.
One of the reasons that dealers can be more profitable is that scale allows them to schedule work better, and that is why your car will often get what is called a "suntan" at a dealer. And the franchise allows them to charge outrageous prices, as many/most people a scared of losing warranty, which of course now goes for years .

[EchiDna]

I think john is getting at the rather unusual practice in mechanical circles (when compared to other trades/industries) of charging for 'labour' on an invoice for what is obviously not just 'labour' but includes business costs like rent, depreciation etc etc... why not itemise it properly?

[BigJon]

I think john is getting at the rather unusual practice in mechanical circles (when compared to other trades/industries) of charging for 'labour' on an invoice for what is obviously not just 'labour' but includes business costs like rent, depreciation etc etc... why not itemise it properly?

Because it is not practical to do that. I am sure that doing that would also push the prices up (more office time spent).

We have a consumables charge on our invoice and I am sometimes asked what it covers. I tell people it covers incidental costs that can't realistically be charged individually - hand cleaner, seat covers, paper and ink for invoices, waste oil removal, etc.

Can you show me an example of an invoice where all the things you mentioned are charged for individually? Rent, depreciation, etc? I have never seen an invoice like that from anyone.

[EchiDna]

BigJon,
I've got a 28 page invoice from when my son was in intensive care... we paid rent of his bed by the day, plus rent of every piece of medical equipment he used by the day, we even paid room cleaning, bed changing, cotton wool balls, gloves and hand cleaner by the item! overall it was over 1200 individual items used... confusing to read, but realistic...

the above is an over the top example, but if you are a big dealer/franchise, there must be a stock control IT system in use, so (in theory) every client will have to have every item checked out of the inventory for usage (eg parts) but it should also cover things like paper seat covers that every client will use. Oils and fluids will also have a price per litre for both buying new and disposal of old, so this can be done by the litre... so when they get checked out of the inventory for use, you can simply use this data on the invoice - otherwise how do you maintain an appropriate level of stock?
If it was my business, I'd probably want to know how many hours a day my hoist (for example) is being used, as this can help you to see where there is a bottleneck in the line and in turn helps to let you know when you need to add another hoist into the system to cater to the business needs. I can also use this info on a client's invoice - use of hoist @ $15/hour (or whatever)

Of course this only applies to the big guys...

[BigJon]

Of course this only applies to the big guys...

Doesn't apply here then...

How much time do you think it would have taken to produce the invoice you mentioned?

[scrambler]

About 30 seconds spat out of the printer ;) The system will simply have been told how long the stay was, what ward of the hospital, and it will have fabricated the rest, with the exception of items like bags of fluid (probably barcode scan stock control), which will have been entered for the stock control end and simply recycled for the invoice (As EchiDna suggests).

[BigJon]

About 30 seconds spat out of the printer ;) The system will simply have been told how long the stay was, what ward of the hospital, and it will have fabricated the rest, with the exception of items like bags of fluid (probably barcode scan stock control), which will have been entered for the stock control end and simply recycled for the invoice (As EchiDna suggests).

Which is all well and good if you have a system with all those quantities, etc already inputted. It is just not workable for most businesses, particularly a mechanical workshop, which was what the original discussion was about.

[EchiDna]

Which is all well and good if you have a system with all those quantities, etc already inputted. It is just not workable for most businesses, particularly a mechanical workshop, which was what the original discussion was about.

I would have thought stock control would be critical for a larger franchised car dealer workshop? especially if they are running 3 brands and say 20 models of vehicle per brand? how the heck would you keep track of which brand/model of oil filters are in stock (or not) for 60 car models without stock control software? this is afterall how most places identify where to find said part in the first place - (for example) look in the database to find that the part you want is in aisle C, shelf X, available units 3, 2 backordered for delivery on Oct 28th, unit price $4.23 plus GST... if the software is smart, it will even order replacement parts automatically from distribution HQ at the appropriate time based on past sales history... to add the info that you have taken 1 of the 3 available units for use in client ABC123's job (which later ends up on ABC123's invoice) is what I would think is normal?

or are landrover dealers really THAT far back in the dark ages?

[HangOver]

I don't want a flame war here but it did irritate me a bit last time I got a service and paid the quoted amount then GST, (which is unavoidable mostly) then I got charged for garage consumables. I mean WTF I don't care if the mechanic needs soap, towels, clean overalls, a babe calender etc I don't want to pay for that, (but I did).

I work with computers I wouldn't turn up to a business and say:
I'm charging you for cleaning/pressing of todays suit
a % charge for soap and shampoo I used this morning
% charge for wipes if I get dirty hands
wear on my car
wear on my screwdriver
paper & ink for your invoice
batteries for my PDA
wear on said PDA
wear on stylus to operate PDA
% charge for internet connection to download drivers
etc
etc
etc

See what I mean? I don't turn up and say It'll cost you X an hour then add on X % for this and that.

All the consumables/charges are set against tax bills, (as we all know) so why should I pay it? Next time I going to argue the point.

As for rates of pay, yes a mechanic should get paid more that $17 an hour if they are time served that's a bit of an insult.
A trade is a trade.

[BigJon]

I would have thought stock control would be critical for a larger franchised car dealer workshop? especially if they are running 3 brands and say 20 models of vehicle per brand? how the heck would you keep track of which brand/model of oil filters are in stock (or not) for 60 car models without stock control software? this is afterall how most places identify where to find said part in the first place - (for example) look in the database to find that the part you want is in aisle C, shelf X, available units 3, 2 backordered for delivery on Oct 28th, unit price $4.23 plus GST... if the software is smart, it will even order replacement parts automatically from distribution HQ at the appropriate time based on past sales history... to add the info that you have taken 1 of the 3 available units for use in client ABC123's job (which later ends up on ABC123's invoice) is what I would think is normal?

or are landrover dealers really THAT far back in the dark ages?

You really don't want to know how it all "works" here...

[Scouse]

nor here :(.

[Utemad]

What it really comes down to in regards to these added charges is that if mechanics/dealerships are going to remove them from their invoices, they will just increase their hourly rate.

You'll still end up paying whatever they feel like charging. Go somewhere else if you don't want to pay that much. I think the most I have ever paid in misc was under $10. Whether I pay that as a misc or higher labour doesn't make any difference to me.

I personally don't ever want to see an itemised bill to that extent from my mechanic. So long as I know what was done I am happy to accept that the hourly rate covers much more than just the guy's wages who worked on the car.

[EchiDna]

You really don't want to know how it all "works" here...
:eek:

I'm scared to ask...

[BigJon]

:eek:

I'm scared to ask...

I am scared to explain... :p:o:(:mad:

[Utemad]

Considering the original post I thought I would add that I have no idea what the hourly rate is for my mechanic. I've been going to him for about 6-7 years and I'm happy with what he charges overall and the work his workshop does.

Plus he is a nice guy and always remembers my name and car. Even if only my wife's corolla goes there these days.

He has told me his workshop is a Land Rover free zone. His son even owns a Td5 Defender and his son's inlaws have Land Rovers :)

[Relay]

Yeh, our flat rate is $75 an hour. For some particular vehicles the rate goes up. We service a few rolls and whatnot. I sometimes curse the fact that we cant charge more on some things...:twisted:

[JohnE]

so you mechanicing types have tickets on yourself if you think you can properly justify anything over $100 an hour for labour only. Your not that good.



john

talk about inflamming people with an opinion,
if you feel offended I apologise,
but the gist of what I said is in red.
Properly justify a labour charge covers a lot I know, salaried tradies make a lot less than that per hour.
I do not know of any comparable trades regardless of what they are, (but still would have gone through a similar technical background, apprenticeship/trades course) that charge in excess of that amount.


john

[justinc]

Well after reading the bits and pieces, I sometimes wonder,
how can you justify an hourly rate over $100 for a spanner swirler, i don;t care about the workshops etc, I certainly don;t want to pay for that, just the expertise of the expert. The infrastructure is at their cost not mine.( yes I know its slightly built in)
Is there any comparison for other trades, the only thing i can get that is close, is an invoice from a plumber for an eel job that cost $120, and that included the dubious country rate, ( ie travelling)

Wood butchers, ( my old trade) certainly don;t charge anything like that.

then my old profession, where I have had guns pointed at me, been chased by knife wielding fools, been fired at by middle eastern youths. and **** on by politicians, the hourly rate is not more that 40 dollars.

so you mechanicing types have tickets on yourself if you think you can properly justify anything over $100 an hour for labour only. Your not that good.


john


:D:D:D I AM.:D:D:D


JC

[Blknight.aus]

Im better, but since im a nice person and while im in the employ of the ADF Im not legally allowed to employ using the same skill set as my ECN I dont charge nearly as much.

you just wait till that changes... I'll have me an AULRO sponsored workshop.

[garryc]

That's why I don't go to the local LR dealers anymore. The last time I asked about 6months ago they quoted $96/hour PLUS GST and it has gone up since then:( and politicians say inflation is 2%

[460cixy]

our invoices are crystal clear and show labour workshop consumables that include **** like the odd hose clamp brake light globe cable ties ect that comes to about 5 bucks and an enviromental levi that we have to charge by law and to prove that oil and filters ect are disposed of and wast water recycled. theres only 40 Minutes of my day that are not clocked on to customer ro other wise known as repair order.

realy i dont give two hoots if you have been spat on sworn at or just treated badly mate we have customers like you as well!