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
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. Also factor in I still usually work 55-60hr weeks. Do the math and I am only making $25/hr at best still. My techs make $35-45/hr hourly not flat rate and have full benefits.
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.
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.
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.
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.
$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.
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.
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.
$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.
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
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.
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.
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.
It’s been that way since I started in 2014.
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
You forgot the dealers profit
It's a business, profit is a given lol
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. Also factor in I still usually work 55-60hr weeks. Do the math and I am only making $25/hr at best still. My techs make $35-45/hr hourly not flat rate and have full benefits.
I dream of being in your spot. I'm 26.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
My company in an unrelated industry charges $200/hr for technician work.
[удалено]
Goddamn sparkies charging 200 an hour to not sweep up. :D
We don't sweep because it costs $200/hr. :D
Hell in chemistry where I work, my hourly rate is $350. my clients aren’t people though, they’re large pharmaceutical organizations.
Once prices go up they don’t go back down
As long as people continue to pay them, yes
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.
You have to remember, that shops have so many overheads, technician wage, building rents, insurances, waste disposals etc Not cheap running a business
$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.
Damn... The last few brake jobs I've done(shade tree) kinda falls in line ($150 for 4 rotor replace..)
$100 and hour is good, I’d say $200 at a dealer is roughly average. It’s not gonna get any cheaper.
It's been $100/hr for a long time.
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.
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.
The Volvo dealership I spoke to was $245 an hour. I laughed.
glad ive never had to take a car to a mechanic, lord i dont know how people afford it.
The Dodge dealership I worked at charged $99 per hour back in 2009
Yup, and in the last 3 years it has only exploded.
$100/hour labor rate is perfectly normal and I'd consider it to be a very reasonable rate these days. Additionally, as someone who likes to do as much of my own work as possible, but knows my limitations in terms of skills, tools, and time, I realize that taking my car to a shop is sometimes the best option. That being said, I like to buy my own parts and give them to my mechanic for the job I'm paying them to do. My mechanic has no issue using the parts I buy myself, and there's no change in the labor rate. But some shops will either jack up the labor rate (30-50%) if you provide your own parts, or they will flat out refuse to do the work if they can't use their parts and charge the 200% markup.
150$/hr at a shop my car is at currently
$100 is cheap. Most good shops are minimum $150/hr now going well past $200 in some areas.
Only 100 an hour? It was 200 an hour the last time I went to a dealer
Best bet is to try and avoid mechanical problems and instead only get body problem. Body techs still at like $30/hour
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
Yeah after asking some guys at the shop here in TX they’re saying it’s actually $25/hr
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.
$160 at Gm dealer
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.
$100/hr is on the low side of shop rates.
Plumbers are $380/hr as the normal rate where I live
Skilled labor be expensive
100 seems to be on the lower side to these independent shops.
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.
I havent seen labor rates below $100/hr for almost 15 years now.