How is this not robbery?

[J_J]

You get an estimate to do a job, and the labor is, say $45 per hour, and maybe the mechanic gets $18 per hour . They say that the time to install a wiper motor is three hours.

Now you watch them install the motor in one hour, and watch them work on others vehicles during your so called time.

The mechanic gets $18 per hour, and the business get the rest. Now, lets say that the mechanic installs 7 motors in an 8 hour day, one hr for lunch. 7 hours and charging 7 customers another 14 hours for work not done.

So, what that means is that the mechanic gets $18 per hour, times 7=$126 per day.and the business gets $117 per hour times 3 for the three hrs charged to do the job, and 7 times that for the day. .

Customer brings in his new motor.

So, for installing 7 wiper motors at 1 hr each, and charging customers 3 hr labor, the mechanic gets $126 per day, and the business gets $819.

I don't even want to hear about the mechanic that can beat the book time and therefore lie to the customer that he worked the full three hrs on his car. What else can it be called except theft by deception. He quoted you a time to do the job, but did not give you honest work time.

I never have liked those times to repair, they always seem to allow to much time.

If you hired someone to dig a ditch that should only take 1 hour, would you pay him for the 3 hours it took him to actually dig the ditch.

You have to consider this, or maybe not, was the book time for labor based on the dumbest low rent individual in the test group, or was it designed to take people hard earned money.

The time not worked on your machine is pure profit.

I also don't see where I should have to pay for all the little extras added to the cost either. Rags, lubricants, solvents, rubber gloves, safety shoes, etc. The labor per hour should cover everything. Business expense is just that. I will bet that they claim the expense on their income tax as an expense, although they have been compensated by the customer.

You don't even have to agree, it is a fact that has been proven.

 

[brin]

JJ - I agree with you ...it is theft by deception..no doubt about it. I cringe anytime I have to take one of our cars to a dealer...I have no faith any dealer will tell me the truth ..Remember the old days when the mechanic would give you the old part...notice they do not do that anymore...I always ask for my old part up front and if they object I go somewhere else.

 

[bcp]

And, having to buy new parts + labor that you didn't need because they misdiagnosed the problem.

Bruce

 

[massey990]

I never have liked those times to repair, they always seem to allow to much time.

I agree but even professional mechanics break off bolts etc. which can add time to the job that they can't itemize on the bill.

 

[Duffster]

You get an estimate to do a job, and the labor is, say $45 per hour, and maybe the mechanic gets $18 per hour . They say that the time to install a wiper motor is three hours.

Now you watch them install the motor in one hour, and watch them work on others vehicles during your so called time.

The mechanic gets $18 per hour, and the business get the rest. Now, lets say that the mechanic installs 7 motors in an 8 hour day, one hr for lunch. 7 hours and charging 7 customers another 14 hours for work not done.

So, what that means is that the mechanic gets $18 per hour, times 7=$126 per day.and the business gets $117 per hour times 3 for the three hrs charged to do the job, and 7 times that for the day. .

Customer brings in his new motor.

So, for installing 7 wiper motors at 1 hr each, and charging customers 3 hr labor, the mechanic gets $126 per day, and the business gets $819.

I don't even want to hear about the mechanic that can beat the book time and therefore lie to the customer that he worked the full three hrs on his car. What else can it be called except theft by deception. He quoted you a time to do the job, but did not give you honest work time.

I never have liked those times to repair, they always seem to allow to much time.

If you hired someone to dig a ditch that should only take 1 hour, would you pay him for the 3 hours it took him to actually dig the ditch.

You have to consider this, or maybe not, was the book time for labor based on the dumbest low rent individual in the test group, or was it designed to take people hard earned money.

The time not worked on your machine is pure profit.

I also don't see where I should have to pay for all the little extras added to the cost either. Rags, lubricants, solvents, rubber gloves, safety shoes, etc. The labor per hour should cover everything.

You don't even have to agree, it is a fact that has been proven.

Better question would be how one could figure it is "robbery"?

What the mechanic is getting paid is irrelevant. Besides maybe he is really good and can make three times flat rate. Nobodies lieing. No theft involved.

If it took him 4 hours you would still hold him to the 3 so where is the gripe?

You agreed to the rate before they started therefore it is fair.

 

[hosspuller]

If you get an estimate for a 2 hour job, but the job takes 2.5 hours. Who pays for the extra 1/2 hour ?

Just asking ...

Now ask me about the environmental charges shops add on. That's like the ADP line item on popular cars ... You ask what's ADP ?? (Additional Dealer Profit) lol

Or Document fees... I pay cash and only want a MSO with the car ... Won't pay hundreds of $$ for standing in line at the DMV

 

[Bird]

IF they quoted 3 hours at $45 an hour or $135 for the job and you agreed to that, then it's not robbery and you should have no complaint if they do the job quicker. On the other hand, if it's a new mechanic or he runs into something unexpected and the job takes 5 hours, I would only expect to pay the original or flat rate amount of $135.

It seems to me that, in your post, you want to penalize a mechanic for being too good at his job. Would you be happier if he slowed down so it actually takes him the 3 hours originally quoted? That way, he makes less and you wait longer for him to get your vehicle back to you.

I'd have to disagree with you. I've had it happen myself where they quote a time and price and then beat that time considerably. And when that happens, I just pay the bill and consider that to be good for both the mechanic and me.

 

[tcreeley]

When I take a vehicle to the dealership, they don't give me a quote for time. They give me an estimate. When it is all done then they add in the time by the book and more if they need to- never less. The parts are always their brand. If their mechanic needs extra time, he won't have his job for too long. A good portion of the money for labor doesn't go to the mechanic. It goes to the dealership for overhead.
The old way it was total hours worked plus parts. This way gives them extra money, like when they figured out how to use compound interest instead of simple interest on loans.

 

[om21braz]

The robbery part also applies when you have several mechanics at a dealership, let's say 6. Five of those six are'nt capable of doing much more than 30k or 60k services and the lone real mechanic gets all the tough jobs. He gets the jobs where maybe there is a wiring short somewhere in the harness that requires far more time to diagnose/find than it does to actually fix or the first attempt at repair on a transmission that nobody there has seen before. I see it as a double-edged blade - you can get cut on either side.

 

[orezok]

What the mechanic is paid is dependent upon the shop. Some pay hourly and some pay flat rate. When I owned my transmission shop, my builder was paid flat rate. That is if he was allotted 5 hours for a build, he got paid for 5 hours. If he built it in 3 he made money, if it took 6 he lost. Most of the time he made money cause he was a good builder. But occasionally on a comeback he had to completely rebuild it again on his own time.

Over the long run, he still did well. Now the pull and put mechanics, they were paid hourly.