Are high labor rates the norm now?

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89LSC@reddit

Yeah, mechanics like to have enough money to live too. That money goes towards the building, the equipment, everyone's payroll, the health insurance, dental, vision, 401k, shop software, etc. All that stuff also recently got more expensive

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sotheary71@reddit

Well, it's the also the reason more people are fixing their own cars these days. Labor charges are out of control.

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89LSC@reddit

Costs more to botch a repair and have to bring it in anyways

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sotheary71@reddit

I was just quoted $2100 to replace a water pump, thermostat and serpentine belt. The labor alone was $1300. Does that seem reasonable?

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89LSC@reddit

Year/make/model?

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sotheary71@reddit

2006 Toyota rav4 V6.

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89LSC@reddit

7ish hours @ 185 an hour. I can believe it. I wouldn't be much cheaper. Not counting a coolant flush or checkout of the car, etc.

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sotheary71@reddit

I don't know. Seems excessive on the labor. Especially when getting to the thermostat and water pump involved removing some of the same parts. I feel like the quote is double dipping on labor. The labor on the pump was quoted as $765 and labor on the thermostat was quoted at $526. I find it hard to believe that the labor on those two parts would be around $1300. I don't know, but maybe it's just me.

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89LSC@reddit

Feel free to shop around

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sotheary71@reddit

I did. I bought the parts and hired a mobile mechanic for half the price. Did a good job. And he didn't charge too much extra labor to replace the thermostat since he had to replace the water pump anyway. People are starting to wise up to the mechanics who take advantage of people who don't know anything about cars.

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89LSC@reddit

Okay

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Moonbeams_@reddit

You forgot the dealers profit

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MightyPenguin@reddit

The AVERAGE profit of most independent repair shops in the US is 5-8% at the end of the year. Very well run successful operations may see as high as 20% but that is not the norm. I own a shop, we did $1.1 Million in sales last year and I only took home $70k because I still am buying equipment and growing the business, but there always is more equipment and tools to buy.

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AKJangly@reddit

I dream of being in your spot. I'm 26.

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MightyPenguin@reddit

Seeing your post question 2 months ago about anti seize on your brakes though....you have a LONG way to go. If you dream to be in this position then understand I am still not in a comfortable position and likely never will be, comfort is a fleeting state that doesn't exist and if it is attained is usually unfulfilling. Also realize that even before starting the business 3 years ago it was another 5-6 years of working my ass off and educating myself as much as possible to the point of being the lead technician, shop foreman, filling in service writing and eventually helping manage at other shops. I didn't just jump in and start and make it happen without a lot of preparation ahead of time.

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MightyPenguin@reddit

Also, it has been over 3 years since I started. If I add up every dollar I have taken home so far vs every hour I have worked in this business filling all the roles, on the business and building it etc I have taken home like $5/hr and only now am starting to see things swing upward where I can start collecting regularly. The first year I was in business I worked 80-100hrs a week. I work 55-60 now and actually make some money but it is a long and hard road.

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MightyPenguin@reddit

I am 31, started the business when I was 29. It is possible, but it takes a ton of work and effort. For what its worth, I was a good technician, but the moment you start a business being a good tech is only 20% of what it takes to operate properly and be successful. Be honest with yourself and be smart and you can make it happen.

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AudiTechGuy@reddit

But you used profit to improve and buy stuff. So technically you made more than $70k. You just chose to re-invest some of it.

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MightyPenguin@reddit

Yes I did, but if you don't want to go out of business then buying, maintaining and improving things is a constant requirement which is why it should not and is not considered part of the profit. No matter what I will always be required to buy newer tools and equipment and pay for what I have. One way or another, me only being able to take home $70k making less than my techs when I have all the risk and headache of managing and running the business is not enough. People think shops are too expensive run by greedy jerks but have no concept of what it takes.

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89LSC@reddit

It's a business, profit is a given lol

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Foolfoever@reddit

DIY is the new norm, not high prices 💪

I took my car (2011 Sienna minivan) to a shop for an alignment and they said I needed both control arms, $875+tax parts and labor. I looked at their labor charge $475 and $400 for the control arms and immediately declined the service and went home. I bought the control arms and a decent impact wrench and some sockets, I spent $94 on the parts and about $180 on tools. No, I did not enjoy doing the work but the satisfaction to have saved a chunk of cash and learning something new is so worth it

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Commercial_League572@reddit

Last dealership I worked for charged $199 per labor hour.

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Plenty-Industries@reddit

I havent seen labor rates below $100/hr for almost 15 years now.

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Horror-Literature-19@reddit

100 per hour is cheap if your taking to a shop, dealers charge anywhere from 140-225 an hour here in Florida. Pep boys near me is 165 an hour our muffler shop charges 150 think it’s a midas?

Side note I left the mom and pop shops because they didn’t want To pay employees what they are worth. I can’t justify owning thousands of dollars of tools and buying all this stuff only to make 22 an hour. Keep in mind the techs don’t make as much as everyone thinks they do and the ones who do have probably already leveraged there position. I ended up going to the forklift world and made 30.00an hour but still wasn’t enough to live comfortably. Went out on my own and I charge 100 an hour to work on vehicles, i do mobile service, charge 150 an hour for fleet service and commercial equipment and none of my customers have complained about my prices. I’m able to afford my business insurance, cost of operating and can pay my bills. Ultimately I would want a shop but it’s not in the cards just yet.

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Meandtheworld@reddit

100 seems to be on the lower side to these independent shops.

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Jack_Bogul@reddit

Skilled labor be expensive

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jbauch357@reddit

Plumbers are $380/hr as the normal rate where I live

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Greifvogel1993@reddit

Best bet is to try and avoid mechanical problems and instead only get body problem. Body techs still at like $30/hour

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Tin_O_Nuts@reddit

70 shop rate in my market, ive seen estimates from down south at like 45 shop rate... its that low because insurance companies are actively fighting rate increases and a large enough portion is insurance work that shops have to play ball

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Greifvogel1993@reddit

Yeah after asking some guys at the shop here in TX they’re saying it’s actually $25/hr

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2Stroke728@reddit

$100/hr is on the low side of shop rates.

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lolwhatmufflers@reddit

Depends on the area. In metro NY, most independent shops are at least $150 an hour. Down south, that’s on the higher end for independents, but dealers are pushing $200 an hour or more.

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ukyman95@reddit

$160 at Gm dealer

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sshah528@reddit

Well, the cost of cars are the same as they were 5 years ago. The content in cars has not gone up. The technology has stayed the stayed the same. The entire transportation industry hasn't changed. Equipment (tools, etc) prices hasn't changed. Parts are still the same price as they were 5 years ago. So yeah, it's just labor that's increased.

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Tr0z3rSnak3@reddit

Only 100 an hour? It was 200 an hour the last time I went to a dealer

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lyzing@reddit

Once prices go up they don’t go back down

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ATL28-NE3@reddit

As we all know eggs are still extremely expensive and gas is 5 dollars a gallon on average in the US.

Oh wait. No they're not.

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oracleofnonsense@reddit

Try this version on for size --- Once *service* prices go up they don't go back down.

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Moonbeams_@reddit

As long as people continue to pay them, yes

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MightyPenguin@reddit

$100 is cheap. Most good shops are minimum $150/hr now going well past $200 in some areas.

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FuckMilk@reddit

Yes they will never come down meaningfully because the growth must continue.

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Furthur@reddit

150$/hr at a shop my car is at currently

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MarkVII88@reddit

$100/hour labor rate is perfectly normal and I'd consider it to be a very reasonable rate these days.

Additionally, as someone who likes to do as much of my own work as possible, but knows my limitations in terms of skills, tools, and time, I realize that taking my car to a shop is sometimes the best option.

That being said, I like to buy my own parts and give them to my mechanic for the job I'm paying them to do. My mechanic has no issue using the parts I buy myself, and there's no change in the labor rate. But some shops will either jack up the labor rate (30-50%) if you provide your own parts, or they will flat out refuse to do the work if they can't use their parts and charge the 200% markup.

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lucky2bthe1@reddit

The Volvo dealership I spoke to was $245 an hour. I laughed.

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SAVIOR_OMEGA@reddit

My company in an unrelated industry charges $200/hr for technician work.

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jawnlerdoe@reddit

Hell in chemistry where I work, my hourly rate is $350

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BackwerdsMan@reddit

I'm a commercial electrician. Think we're at $196.

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600whp_GT500@reddit

Goddamn sparkies charging 200 an hour to not sweep up. :D

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BackwerdsMan@reddit

We don't sweep because it costs $200/hr. :D

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squarebodynewb@reddit

When do you think labor rates werent high?

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OvercastHaze@reddit

As an employee at a Toyota dealership (porter), I can tell you that the dealer is not going to be any cheaper. We charge $160 per labor hour, and we have one of the lowest labor rates in the area. For a dealership, at least. It's sad to see because the technician is only making somewhere around $25-30 out of that $160. It's depressing just how much profit is being made off of desperate people.

If you can, try to find a local independent shop that you trust. In this industry, someone you know you can trust is worth their weight in gold.

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TheNewJasonBourne@reddit

Businesses typically charge at least 3x what they pay for the employee’s hourly wage who completed the work. This allows for all the overhead costs that a business incurs plus profit margin.

This is what things costs especially in the strong movement of paying people a living wage.

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Giveme6days@reddit

$100 and hour is good, I’d say $200 at a dealer is roughly average. It’s not gonna get any cheaper.

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TheDutchTexan@reddit

Yup, and in the last 3 years it has only exploded.

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juwyro@reddit

It's been $100/hr for a long time.

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78pimpala@reddit

glad ive never had to take a car to a mechanic, lord i dont know how people afford it.

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DR843@reddit

$100 is on the low end from what I’ve seen as a consumer. Recently had an independent shop quote me 3.5 hours of labor at $130 for a 4-wheel brake job, while the shop I ultimately went with charged me 2 hours at $90. Most recently my Toyota dealership was charging $120 an hour for labor.

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Stuntcock29@reddit

It’s been that way since i started in 2014.