Hourly shop rates in the NJ/NY/PA area run in the $175>$200+ range between independent shops & dealer shops.
That's why it's important to learn to do as much DIY as possible....plus you've also got a helping hand from everyone here on the Forum.

 

$235 at one Richmond Chevy dealer.

 

Definitely expensive. But, some very funny responses!
Thanks for the laughs.

 

Not sure what the hourly rate in the Philly area is but I paid $570.00 for a coolant, brake fluid & rear differential change on my 2013 GS. This dealer has a special Vette tech that I used for the last 15 years.

 

That's what we are. "Special". At 79 and moving slower, I do less on my own. Brakes, oil change, shocks, sway bar end links. That kind of thing, I can do. The rest goes to town. $135/HR in West Central Indiana. Zoom! Zoom!

 

Not sure which of those 3 services require a special vette tech. My decrepit 62 yr old self can do all 3 of those, in my driveway, in a couple of hours and for 45 bucks.

 

At what I hope is the small risk that I’ll get laughed at for stating the obvious, mechanics don’t earn anywhere near the typical labor charge of $200 per hour. That would be about $400,000 per year. The inflated labor and parts charges are simply where the shops bury overheads. I’d prefer it if they listed three charges – true parts cost, true labor cost, and the various overheads. But nobody does that. I guess they figure they’d get more complaints if they listed what would be their high overhead charges than they currently do for listing inflated labor and parts charges.

You can of course debate whether the inflated parts and labor charges are more than needed to cover the legitimate overheads like parts inventory systems, cost of building and maintaining the shop, paying taxes, various support personnel like service advisors, accountants, parts counter people, and give the shop a legitimate profit. Maybe somebody is making an obscene profit at your expense. But it seems to me that doesn’t pass a basic reality check. If it were really true that dealers are making obscene profits on parts and repair service, wouldn’t independents come in, charge lower prices, and be able to make healthy profits in doing so? To a small extent that happens. Independent shops that have good reputations typically charge a bit less, but not a ton less. Those who charge a ton less typically go out of business very quickly, often leaving a lot of shoddy work behind.

Bottom line, while I often cringe a bit at paying $200/hr labor charges, or several hundred bucks for a part that I know perfectly well cost less than a hundred to make if it were being made and delivered in quantity for a production line, I find it hard to believe I’m being screwed. I think if I took the time to run down all the legitimate costs picked up along the parts inventory system and those associated with the service shop other than the labor of the actual mechanic working on the car, I’d conclude that little or no dishonesty is behind the charges.

 

Back in the day (1970) When I worked commission, at a chevy dealership, it was 50/50. Mechanic got 50% of the labor rate according to the flat rate manuel to do a job no matter how long it took to do the job. If you did it faster or slower than the flat rate that is what you were paid. I remember "flagging" up to 20 hours of work in a 8 hour shift. That was good money. Hourly rate then was , if I remember right $20 an hour. Correct me if I'm wrong but mechanics aren't paid commission anymore, Why are they salary now?
We used to call people that owned corvette's idiots. Because everything was more expensive to fix on a corvette. When I left the chevy dealership guess what I bought. You got it a 69 corvette. I guess I was an idiot but I loved it.