adam, next time you call them stealerships Know what the hell your talking about first. Because you dont know what your talking about.Adam in NYC USA said:
All dealerships and independants use labor rate guides set up manufacturers and compiled by mitchell and a few others.
If one shop quotes you two hours. Its more then likely the others will charge you the same. Some might might charge more for older vehicles due to rust.
This labor rate is the only thing we can accurately use to control costs to our customers. OTherwise I could charge you five hours for a belt and ten minutes to your neighbor. It creates consistently and fairness.
Secondly, If the book is quoted two hours and the tech is really good and knows some shortcuts then so be it. But at the same time the stuff could be rusted on so bad the techs got to pull out a torch. A bolt might break or its so rusted he has to go slow to avoid breaking anymore stuff. Trust me I worked on enough older D1s to know your lucky to have all the bolts come out quickly. It might take three hours.
But guess what your charged two hours. Not three. Its fair to you. Its not dishonest. thats how this business is run. In fact many a technicians are paid flatrate. IF the job pays two hours, they get paid two hours, if they do it in three they still get paid two hours. They lose more then they win. especially with warrantee work.
Does 616 sound like a lot. Hard to say. I dont know LA prices. Sounds decent. Sounds fair.
