Hey Guys,

I am getting some work done on my mini currently.

What do you think is fair hourly rate?

$100/hour, $90/hour, $80/hour?

I know my local Yamaha motorbike shop charges me about $65/hour so that is my current bench mark, does a mini specialist warrant a higher hourly rate?

Thanks

PS: My initial job was quoted at an overall price but the bill has doubled. The main reason for this in my opinion is the issue was not seen in the first instance and more work was added. Given this and the high hourly rate i am actually looking at the same cost as buying a road registered mini off eBay.....

I thought most car meccanics were now around $90 an hour ???

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$90/hr is the going rate for a mechanic.

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mechanics are getting like doctors ,lawyers over priced

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busier than a 0ne legged man in a butt kicking competion

At that rate I should start a Mini workshop.
But I'm too old and grouchy to crawl under other people's cars now.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

The trick is to find someone that is working for the bloke that owns the shop that charges $90 an hour. They are usually getting paid about $20 an hour.
So get him to work on your car at your place after hours, pay him $50 an hour and he is earning more, you are paying less and everyone is happy. Except the bloke that owns the shop.

Balance it off against having a go at it yourself.....

An hour of labor could be a nice set of spanners...

an hour and a half is a socket set...

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

We charge $95 per hour to work on Aircraft.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

whether the hourly rate is fair or not depends on the mechanic - if they do a great job, then whatever they charge is cheap



Getting a quote from a mechanic is a fruitless exercise - the mechanic can't be held to the quote, because there is no way to tell what other work they need to do once they get started.

Often what happens is the mechanic starts work, then finds something that is a safety risk on the car, and they're morally obliged to fix it without letting the car leave the workshop - this has happened to me a few times with my wife's car - and I am happy about it.

Without knowing actual circumstances, I think you should be happy that the mechanic is "looking out" for your safety.

If you say you can buy a registered car off ebay, what problems do you think you'll be buying that will need to be fixed anyway? getting the job done properly means there is no surprises later.

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

The age old question is "How do you know he's not squeezing you for money?"

I've always been a little (overly) suspicious, and have caught them out once or twice as well. I guess that's why I like to do the work...I can keep track of what's going on and learn a thing or two while I'm at it.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

$80 an hour used to be the average to get someone who knew what they were doing in victoria when I was working for a mini specialist but that was a couple of years ago now. Were you told more work was required than first thought? If they just went ahead with work not on the initial quote and now expect you to pay that is a bit unfair. We always rang the customer and got them to come and look at the additional work required and didn't do a thing until the go ahead was given. Fairer for the customer and we weren't stuck with as many finished jobs in the shop awaiting payment.

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Lindsay Palmer
06 Mazda SP23
80 Alfa GTV (weekend toy)
86 626 Turbo (daily drive, now stolen)
71 cooper s replica
69 cooper replica
76 clubman
62 english 850
68 Mini Auto

Thanks guys...

Yeah i was never holding my breath around the quote but to go from $2,000 to $4,000, i guess it has given me sticker shock....

Then when i asked for details it is about $800 worth of parts and about 30 hours worth labor @ $100/hour

Yeah i know you get what you pay for but as i said i have my motorbike regularly serviced by a dealer and it is around $70/hour so that is what i expected, as dealer service prices are normally higher.

I pretty much did all i could i spent about 2 or 3 weeks over a few months and got to the point where i couldn't do anymore.

Oh well the up side the car is done and will be registered tomorrow... if i didn't do this i would have had it sitting in my garage for the next year while slowly finished it.

The mini 'specialist' i bought my car off in the UK told me that he used to be all chummy and felt bad about charging any more than about 25 pounds per hour to fellow mini drivers.

He was run off his feet with work, 60 hrs a week with work lined up for months and making an OK living.

Then one year his accountant came along, looked at the books and suggested he double his rate. Even if he lost half the jobs, he'd still earn the same and have more time with his family.

He started charging 60 GBP ($130-150 depending on xchange) per hour and was still busy but not as bad as before and was much better off and had more spare time.

Whilst i applaud the business nous, i mourn the fact that accountants rule and we get stung along the lines of 'charge whatever you can get away with charging'

Saying that, I think main dealers of the premium brands are a complete rip off, my friend has an Audi in the UK and they get charged about 100 GBP per hour ($220) holy moly!

i'm a Forklift technician and we charge $110 for a hour of my time!

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New from the UK and wanting a NICE little British car!

I think you should really have a think about this comment..........
and yes i do take abit of offence to this comment.
From this comment you obviously didnt take into consideration alot of things that are required to keep your cars on the road wheather the car is for retail or warranty items.

There is a fair bit of equipment (special tools) required to work on all the different brands and models of each brand (not free). There also is alot of training involved for each new vehicle that is put on the road by each manufacturer (not free).

The service depts do charge from about $100 an hour and upward depending on the brand. Yes i do see how it can be seen as expensive but that is how technology is. Itsnot just about spinning spanners these days either!

lil-ute just incase you didnt know.....what the doctors work on or deal with hasn't change much in a few thousand years, what mechanics have to work on changes with each new model produced.



In regards to your question jabba, you probably shouldv'e made a few phone calls, sent a few emails or even gone and visited the the various mini specialists and had a chat to check the person out and find out a rough price for the work required.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU