My Local Dealer's Shop Rate - WOW!

[Hockeyjock]

I work at the Lexus dealer in Fremont and our rate is $199.00/hr and we are one of the lower rates in the auto mall. You would be surprised how little of that actually works out to profit. Recent law changes in how flat rate techs get paid has forced the labor rates up. It’s unfortunate but everyone working in a dealer has to be able to afford to live in the area which translates to high labor rates.

 

[loafer]

$160 an hour here in western ny

 

[thennen]

I go to my local Toyota Dealer fairly often to pick up parts I don't want to wait on by ordering online. I know most of the parts department employees and we shoot the shit about whatever when I'm there. One of them told me the other day that their shop rate is now $200/hour. I thought it was bad when they were charging $150/hour. If rates like this aren't a good reason to avoid the dealer for your maintenance and repair needs, I don't know what is. I don't know the going rate for good independent shops in my area, but a few years ago, it was in the neighborhood of $120/hour.

I realize since I'm in one of the most expensive areas to live in the United States and maybe the World, I guess it shouldn't shock me. I'm curious though, what kind of shop rates are you guys seeing where you live?

I'm glad I decided to start turning wrenches more because all the work I've done to my rigs would have cost me a small fortune.

Sadly, that's probably about the same here in Ohio. Just yesterday I emailed a local Toyota dealership that I've frequented in the past, for a quote on a timing belt, water pump, and idlers. With tax it's right at $1750. I was hoping to not have to do this myself a second time, but I think this is gonna force me into doing that, plus a few other repairs.

 

[Taylor20]

$90/hr here at my local dealership.

 

[mtbtim]

Sadly, that's probably about the same here in Ohio. Just yesterday I emailed a local Toyota dealership that I've frequented in the past, for a quote on a timing belt, water pump, and idlers. With tax it's right at $1750. I was hoping to not have to do this myself a second time, but I think this is gonna force me into doing that, plus a few other repairs.

That really is an insane amount of money to spend especially when I know the job isn't that hard with the right tools. I wonder if that price includes replacing the cam and crank seals. I bet it doesn't. Even with buying some of the special tools for this job, like the crankshaft pulley holder, instead of making a homemade version, you'd still be saving over 1k by doing it yourself.

 

[mtbtim]

$200 is really high but doesn’t surprise me in your area. Most dealership labor rates are high for warranty purposes. They get paid what their posted labor rate is from Toyota for warranty and recall jobs. Also, most dealership customers are getting scheduled maintenance done which is either covered or is usually pretty reasonably priced, and not done at the posted labor rate, if they aren’t there for warranty work. There is also a lot of expense that goes with having a Toyota sign on the side of your building. You can’t really compare prices between dealerships, independent shops, and shade tree mechanics. A huge facility, Required special tools, required training, increased insurance, shuttle drivers, additional service writers, porters, receptionists, complimentary car washes, etc, etc .... it starts adding up quickly. Indies only have a fraction of those expenses and shadetree guys have almost no expenses. Also keep in mind, you have a guy come to your house and he gets hurt, you might be in trouble. Or you get in a wreck because of something he did, good luck.

I probably sound pretty corporate but that’s because I ran a service department at a major motorcycle dealership which isn’t much different from the car industry. CYA cost a lot in California

What you say makes a lot of sense. I guess when you see that huge bill when you pick up your vehicle at the service department, you can smile knowing that the money is going towards keeping all those people employed. But, I also know how business works and while the employees are making a livable or almost livable wage, the Fat Cats much further up the food chain are probably lining their pockets with lots and lots of money.

Like most people probably on this forum, I make nowhere near $200/hour. So, it makes sense to me to avoid the dealership for my automotive repair and maintenance needs and do my own work. If I had no interest in turning wrenches, I'd then certainly search long and hard for a good independent mechanic with more reasonable rates.

 

[thennen]

That really is an insane amount of money to spend especially when I know the job isn't that hard with the right tools. I wonder if that price includes replacing the cam and crank seals. I bet it doesn't. Even with buying some of the special tools for this job, like the crankshaft pulley holder, instead of making a homemade version, you'd still be saving over 1k by doing it yourself.

I agree, Tim. You're right, the quote didn't include seals. Perhaps that was going to be one of those 'we're gonna need to replace these, too' items. The vehicle also needs ball joints, power steering lines, perhaps some other items. I may be able to do these things at my leisure and save a bunch in the process.

 

[4x3Lander]

Finally got around to getting my guy’s shop rate. He charges $89.96 an hour.

 

[IBallEngineer]

Well, for the rates they are charging, I really hope they are paying their mechanics well. That dealership is making a killing. Every time I go there, there's a line of cars waiting to get into the service department to get bent over. The California Bay Area has ridiculous housing prices and people are still buying. People have good jobs and make lots of money so they pay these crazy shop rates.

A make a decent living as a firefighter but there's no way I could afford to buy a house or rent one in San Jose at the current prices. The only reason why i can afford to live there is I bought my house in 99.

The minimum wage is $10.50/hour in California. So, I reckon McDonald's employees are making around that.

Tim, back in 80's when the body shop I was managing charged $34 per hour we were paying techs $16 per hour(in southern California). But the bay area shop rate was around $65 per hour and techs didn't earn $32. In the modern world $150 hourly rate is fairly common. I was in a Cadillac dealer in Pasadena a few years ago and their rate was like $170 or something.

Since I now teach High School, this is something we cover, as part of damage analysis. Explaining that although it sounds very high, it is necessary to stay profitable. And that is what it is all about. Here is a AAA article about it.

https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/auto-repair-labor-rates-explained

 

[96RedRunner]

Since this thread started I got curious how my area compared.
Indi shops $75/hr +, Corp shops like Big 10 Discount Tire Firestone $106/hr,
Dealerships $116/hr., Import shops/dealer Porsche Audi Jag etc $140/hr.
A $200/hr labor rate is not that high in comparison of MS. to CA.
Cost of doing business in CA is way higher than MS.
Dealer quoted me $350 for TB only, not a TB kit price. Have to stay profitable.

 

[mtbtim]

Tim, back in 80's when the body shop I was managing charged $34 per hour we were paying techs $16 per hour(in southern California). But the bay area shop rate was around $65 per hour and techs didn't earn $32. In the modern world $150 hourly rate is fairly common. I was in a Cadillac dealer in Pasadena a few years ago and their rate was like $170 or something.

Since I now teach High School, this is something we cover, as part of damage analysis. Explaining that although it sounds very high, it is necessary to stay profitable. And that is what it is all about. Here is a AAA article about it.

https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/auto-repair-labor-rates-explained

Well, I guess the problem I'm seeing is their cost of doing business isn't in line with how much my personal income has increased over the years. If I had to actually pay for all the labor I've done to my 1998 and 2000 3rd Gens, I'd have WAYYYY less money in the bank. With the labor rates so high, I could see why people just say screw it when they are faced with an expensive repair and put that money towards a new vehicle.

As our 3rd Gens get older and ownership changes hands, it's my belief that the videos [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I are making will become used by more people. The reason why I think this is the type of person buying a high mileage older vehicle is more likely going to be the type to turn a wrench. There's still a lot of people driving these rigs that are the 1st and 2nd owners and they just take their rigs to a shop when it needs maintenance or repairs. Toyota sold around 700k of these 3rd Gens so we're going to see them on the road for a long long time, especially in the states that don't salt the roads.

 

[Mark_BC]

Well, I guess the problem I'm seeing is their cost of doing business isn't in line with how much my personal income has increased over the years. If I had to actually pay for all the labor I've done to my 1998 and 2000 3rd Gens, I'd have WAYYYY less money in the bank. With the labor rates so high, I could see why people just say screw it when they are faced with an expensive repair and put that money towards a new vehicle.

To let my conspiracy theorist personality out of the bag, that is the way the banking elites want it. Inflation is theft from the middle class. With inflation, everything rises in price. Except that workers' wages are the last thing to go up (and gold as well, because a rising gold price reveals inflation, which is why the banks artificially cap gold price, but that's another story). Inflation comes from the central banks printing up trillions of dollars out of nothing since 2008 and basically giving it to the commercial banks to prevent them from going bankrupt, which is what they should have been left to do in 2008. That money works its way out into the general economy and causes prices to rise.

The only way that inflation can help the average middle class person is if you go into debt to buy something that doesn't depreciate -- your house. Then your asset (house title) goes way up in value nominally but your liability (mortgage) stays the same. So your net worth (asset minus liability) goes up. However, you only realise this increase in net worth if you sell your house and move to a different region with cheaper house prices, presumably somewhere less desirable. Furthermore, the only way your mortgage will become easier to pay off is if your take-home pay goes up. Which isn't really happening much on average unless you work for Google, since worker wages are the last things to go up with inflation, especially in this day and age when robots and automation are making so many jobs obsolete and decreasing demand for labour. Plus the cost of everything else you need to buy (food, gas) is going up so your leftover take-home pay is actually going down, yet you still have the same mortgage payments. Plus your property taxes go up with the increased value of your home.

Officially they say inflation is like 2%. But I understand they remove "volatile" components like the cost of energy and housing from the inflation calculation. Really. Being from central California, do you agree that your personal experienced inflation rate over the last few years has been 2%

They also want everyone buying new cars, not maintaining their old ones. A big part of their economic analysis and reporting is new car sales. Most people need to go into debt to buy a new car -- which is what the banks want. They don't have a way of tracking if you fix your rear axles seals to keep your existing car on the road. We are in a consumptive, throw away economy. Luckily we have these old Toyotas we can keep on the road. But take a 2018 vehicle 20 years from now, and good luck trying to keep that on the road.

 

[mtbtim]

To let my conspiracy theorist personality out of the bag, that is the way the banking elites want it. Inflation is theft from the middle class. With inflation, everything rises in price. Except that workers' wages are the last thing to go up (and gold as well, because a rising gold price reveals inflation, which is why the banks artificially cap gold price, but that's another story). Inflation comes from the central banks printing up trillions of dollars out of nothing since 2008 and basically giving it to the commercial banks to prevent them from going bankrupt, which is what they should have been left to do in 2008. That money works its way out into the general economy and causes prices to rise.

The only way that inflation can help the average middle class person is if you go into debt to buy something that doesn't depreciate -- your house. Then your asset (house title) goes way up in value nominally but your liability (mortgage) stays the same. So your net worth (asset minus liability) goes up. However, you only realise this increase in net worth if you sell your house and move to a different region with cheaper house prices, presumably somewhere less desirable. Furthermore, the only way your mortgage will become easier to pay off is if your take-home pay goes up. Which isn't really happening much on average unless you work for Google, since worker wages are the last things to go up with inflation, especially in this day and age when robots and automation are making so many jobs obsolete and decreasing demand for labour. Plus the cost of everything else you need to buy (food, gas) is going up so your leftover take-home pay is actually going down, yet you still have the same mortgage payments. Plus your property taxes go up with the increased value of your home.

Officially they say inflation is like 2%. But I understand they remove "volatile" components like the cost of energy and housing from the inflation calculation. Really. Being from central California, do you agree that your personal experienced inflation rate over the last few years has been 2%

They also want everyone buying new cars, not maintaining their old ones. A big part of their economic analysis and reporting is new car sales. Most people need to go into debt to buy a new car -- which is what the banks want. They don't have a way of tracking if you fix your rear axles seals to keep your existing car on the road. We are in a consumptive, throw away economy. Luckily we have these old Toyotas we can keep on the road. But take a 2018 vehicle 20 years from now, and good luck trying to keep that on the road.

Inflation for my area has to be higher than 2%. It blows me away every time I go grocery shopping how little my money buys me now. My water bill has gone up by 50% over the last few years. As Californians, we have the highest fuel costs and it doesn't help our commie governor pushed through that gas tax. Vehicle registration fees also went up quite a bit. All the ones I mentioned aren't nearly the major issue with California. It's the housing costs. Home prices and rents are so unaffordable. Luckily I own my home, but for people who are trying to get into the housing market or renting, it's seriously hard on them financially. San Jose where I live has been ranked in the top 5 as the they least affordable housing markets in the world.

 

[pauldub]

You really can't afford to own old vehicles if you have to pay someone to fix them.

 

[LittleCaesar]

I read somewhere on the web years ago if people were forced to pay for car repairs not using credit, somewhere in the neighborhoods of 60% of car owners couldn’t have their cars repaired. Kind of scary. But it shows how much little disposable income people these days.

As Tim says, the cost of housing and everything tied to it has increased tenfold since his bought his house in the late 90s.

Btw, the local dealer for tb/h20 pump change is $1295.

 

[rwh963]

In MA/NH, independents are around $85, dealer around $110. i do a lot of my own work. takes time to research the problem, source proper parts and prices, then accomplish the job. i don't do many major jobs myself though. saving about $100/hr and learning/satisfaction is worth trying.

 

[nevada]

id have to call to verify, but I heard our local Toyota dealer is $135/hr.

my shop just bumped to $100/hr the first of this year. most independent shops are $95/100hr.

just staying in business is expensive.

 

[snivilous]

Wow O.O People ask me to work on their vehicle's and I always just flat out turn them down since I thought telling them like $30 or $40/hr would sound utterly retarded and that any other shop would be way cheaper than if I did it. Maybe it could actually pay if I worked on people's trucks for them...

 

[MarkamisPrime]

I read somewhere on the web years ago if people were forced to pay for car repairs not using credit, somewhere in the neighborhoods of 60% of car owners couldn’t have their cars repaired. Kind of scary. But it shows how much little disposable income people these days.

As Tim says, the cost of housing and everything tied to it has increased tenfold since his bought his house in the late 90s.

Btw, the local dealer for tb/h20 pump change is $1295.

I just read not to long ago something along the lines of what your talking about.
But they worded it differently saying that 70% of people today could not afford a $1000 problem.

 

[96RedRunner]

I just read not to long ago something along the lines of what your talking about.
But they worded it differently saying that 70% of people today could not afford a $1000 problem.

What both of you read about is nothing new been going on since the 70-80's and 70% is accurate number.
I call it the keeping up with the Jones's Personal Finance Plan. It started with folks coming of age in the 80's, financial institutions labeled it the instant gratification generation and nothing has changed since. Prior to, it was taught if you couldn't pay cash for it, wait save your money till you could. In the 80's Credit Card interest was tax deductible Fed and State. That set the hook in alot of folks mouths, financial institutions realized this and ran with it.
Glad I never lived that way, I always since I was 20 had a E(mergancy) Fund.
If this 70% pop would live within their means they wouldn't be having problems, though finacial institutions would hate it.