thats how we are at our shop. we charge $98/hr regardless of what we do. figure an oil change takes 1/2 hour to do, (by the time it gets on the lift, everything gets done, and the car is brought out, its about 30 min. do the math, oil changes run $50+parts) expensive when it comes to oil changes, not when we are fabricating you a racecar.

 

sure the mechanics may not get that much but the dealership doesn't really keep all the money. They have to pay for overhead charges. Imagine if one of the mechanics forgot to tighten the lug nuts.

 

Or you can get a mechanic to work for you off the job, he will do it. ANd just throw him 70% of what you were going to pay and pay it to the mechanic to do it on the side.

 

My thing is not really what the avg cost per hour is or what they book each hour at. I would just like an approx listing from a vendor like AMS, Buschur, TT, etc. so I can reasonably come up with a labor estimate when buying parts. I know these guys are crazy busy and whenever I've called I've always gotten top notch service, I just don't want to bother them with lame questions about labor all day.

 

Well of course. Is the mechanic or the shop paying for overhead? In my line of work, an employee is billed out at a rate 3 (or a little more) times what he or she is payed.

I've always tried to do most of my own work or have a racing buddy do it. Like my last short block. Now, this may change once I get an Evo, but if I were paying someone to do all the work I have doen in the past I would have just bought a 500+hp car to begin with. Would be cheaper. Oh, and the olderet the less time I have for the garage. When I do get time I don't always feel like it. So I might actually farm more stuff out in the future.

 

When I said my comment I was responding to this. People see the hourly rate and think the mechanic is walking away with most of the money. I understand overhead cost such as facility, insurance, etc. are rising and acconts for the high hourly wages. Sorry I did not explain the better in my first comment.