Shop Labor Rates
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,012
Likes: 23
From: Anaheim CA
Shop Labor Rates
Another thread got me wondering: what do you guys consider "normal" shop rates in your area?
I'm in Orange County, California.
The Corvette specialist I go to is $98/hour. Sound high? Considering that most of the generic auto service places in the area charge $100-$110, I keep expecting his rate to go up, but so far so good.
(The Porsche guy I used to go to charged $145 two years ago...not sure I want to know what he's up to now.)
I'm in Orange County, California.
The Corvette specialist I go to is $98/hour. Sound high? Considering that most of the generic auto service places in the area charge $100-$110, I keep expecting his rate to go up, but so far so good.
(The Porsche guy I used to go to charged $145 two years ago...not sure I want to know what he's up to now.)
Pro
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 579
Likes: 50
From: Chambersburg Pa
Man am i lucky.The shop i go to is a small 2 man operation ,father and son.The Dad used to be a certified GM tech at the local dealership before starting his own shop.Rates are 48 per hour and he is fair and honest.He knows his stuff too.Hard to find those type of guys today.
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Around here, the local dealership cost is $95-100/hr. The dealership I go to (about twenty miles from me), charges around $63/hr and does excellent work.
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Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 332
Likes: 22
From: Georgia
Not sure what the dealer charges, I do most of my own labor. When I do require more than my skill or time can provide, I trust a high end shop to do what's needed at $140/hr. Better to pay actual labor time at $140 rather than "book time" at the dealer which likely runs at least $110/hr around here. This is, however, one of the most expensive areas of the county to live. A "starter" home in my town runs around a million bucks, so labor rates on most things are somewhat inflated. By comparison to housing, shop labor rates are cheap.
8th Gear
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Another thread got me wondering: what do you guys consider "normal" shop rates in your area?
I'm in Orange County, California.
The Corvette specialist I go to is $98/hour. Sound high? Considering that most of the generic auto service places in the area charge $100-$110, I keep expecting his rate to go up, but so far so good.
(The Porsche guy I used to go to charged $145 two years ago...not sure I want to know what he's up to now.)
I'm in Orange County, California.
The Corvette specialist I go to is $98/hour. Sound high? Considering that most of the generic auto service places in the area charge $100-$110, I keep expecting his rate to go up, but so far so good.
(The Porsche guy I used to go to charged $145 two years ago...not sure I want to know what he's up to now.)
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 3,311
Likes: 386
From: Toronto Ontario
They say its X-amount of dollars per hour but it never is.
A master mechanic can swap out your brakes in 15 minutes, but he will charge you for 1-2 hours, they can swap a clutch in an hour but will charge you for 4 hours, you get the point.
This is just the way it is.
A master mechanic can swap out your brakes in 15 minutes, but he will charge you for 1-2 hours, they can swap a clutch in an hour but will charge you for 4 hours, you get the point.
This is just the way it is.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,148
Likes: 22
From: Portland OR
here is a story for you,I just bought this boat about a 150 miles from where I live.After checking it out I found that the tail lights were out.So 50 miles down the road"without a single car behind me", I am now going to hit the freeway and I can't be without lights any further.I pull into a RV Dealership and they told me they don't have any lights and for me to go up the street and buy some lights at NAPA and they would install them for me.Like an IDIOT I left my toolbox at home.Bought the lights for $31.50 and here is the best part,they charged me $137.50 for the 25 minutes it took them to install the lights.You want to talk about a stealership screwing,well I certainly got one.Just a little comparison here.
Fred
Fred
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,938
Likes: 62
From: Columbia SC
Funny you mention shop rates. My kid is a certified Harley Mechanic and with every job their is a code for how many hours by the book it should take to get the job done. If the book says 3 hours you will get charged for 3 hours even if the job is finished in 2. The dealerships give the mechanics a bonus to finish early. But lets say on a 3 hour job it takes 4 hours you can be sure that the dealership will charge you the extra hour. What a racket. 
