Auto Mechanic’s – Flat rate Manual time VS Actual repair time.

Just curious if the auto Mechanic’s others here use base their labor rate off of Flat rate Manual times or Actual repair time. I guess I normally believed that most Mechanics charged labor off of actual repair time. Found out recently that more and more now charge based off of a flat rate manual repair time. A family member recently had problems with the air direction control on his Buick. The Buick dealer gave him a estimate at like 1200 to fix and replace. They said the Manual listed the job at like 8-10 hours and that is what would be charged even if his mechanic could do the job in 2-3 hours. He ended up finding a out of his house mechanic who did the job for under 300.00 including replacing both sides and not just one that the original buick Est. was for. If this manual time is now the Norm, what is the reasoning and when did this become norm?

Kinda how they make their money. Good ones do good work faster. If you had to pay 20k to have your roof shingled would you be upset if they did good work in 1 day or do you need them on your roof for a week to make it worth while.

They’re called “Stealerships” for a reason…

Theres an estimated time in labor based on handtools. Which is billing “by the book” some shops will charge you the full amount of time even if it really only takes half. Just depends on which shop you are at.

JEREMY wrote:

Kinda how they make their money. Good ones do good work faster. If you had to pay 20k to have your roof shingled would you be upset if they did good work in 1 day or do you need them on your roof for a week to make it worth while.

But what if your house needs a new roof immediately???

My 2018 diesel Ram has been in the shop ONCE SINCE NEW, for a whopping 2 hours grand total in it’s life (knock on wood)

(Where’s the guy that hates Rams??? )

My DEF pump went out in the middle of winter, just after warranty.

The Dealership where I bought the truck said they couldn’t even take a look at it for 4-6 weeks…

When you have a “house without a roof” you can’t wait that long. The local diesel guy fixed my truck the next day and charged me two hours labor.

The alternative was not having a truck for over a month, probably paying four-times that amount in labor, and likely more for the part itself.

Big shout out to REVIVED IRON in Stacy, MN!! The owner is top notch and a class act!!

Big shout out to REVIVED IRON in Stacy, MN!! The owner is top notch and a class act!!
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He is a awesome guy. We been buddies a long time. Smartest descion he did was go solo and build that shop. Great guy great shop.

B-man wrote:

(Where’s the guy that hates Rams??? jester )

I just bought a new one today and was thinking of him, it didn’t come with nearly as many stickers as I was promised

Reef now you have something to ask for from Santa for Christmas.

I thought most mechanics went on actual time but body shops went off the “book” times. At least that’s what my buddy who owns a body shop told me.

Just goes to show get more than one quote and shop around if you can.