I agree with what morris1100 said. It's much better to pay me 25 bucks or so an hour to do the same job i would do at work for 90bucks. The only issue with this is having the gear to do the job and stealing work from my boss

I`m on $75 per hour but i rarely ever actually charge that much out when it comes to bill time

dad reckons i should charge a flat rate of $90 per hour but i think that would probably scare a few customers off if i did

I think you just need to be careful of 2 things,,,

One--> understand (or find out) how long they have worked with minis,,, basically gather as much info on what they`ve done, have they got the equipment?, Have they got the tools? how good are they really?, how long they`ve been doing it for etc etc,,, that`s the most important thing

2ndly--> be ready for the probability that it`s going to cost more money & take more time than you first thought,,, even if the person doing the work is confident that it won`t blow out,,, it generally always does (at least a bit more) but often lots more,,,,all it takes is a busted engine mount, a speedo cable broken, a frayed throttle cable, missing cabel retainers,,, a few stripped or cross threaded threadsetc etc etc & the time & money blows out the window

I do let "ALL:" my customers "KNOW" that before i even take any job on,,, & i always ring & get them over to show them (& teach them a few things) before i carry on any extra work that`s not been tabled at the start

Ask Jess (Swae) & Matt (NAV) how i work,,, Wombat & Dave Perkins (sitnlo62) etc etc etc,,,, the list goes on & on

if the mechanic isn`t up to speed with bricks,,, then just stay away

If the mechainc even smells of dishonesty or illusivness,,, then stay away

It`s a Passion to the old guys,,, just ther`s not many old guys left anymore,,, hey Kev

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Your selling yourself short then.

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

I need to put my prices up a bit then




Easy on this old stuff fella
Its a passion for some of us younger ones to Matt

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

It's more then twice what i get atm as an apprentice so i figure thats a fair enough price if i was to do some work. I havent really done much work at home, but im thinking of making myself known to people who might want jobs done.

I would like to know more about how much mobile / work from home people charge though. Because there is a big difference in what they need to get compared to the guy with a building and rent etc. It's all the same job but one guy needs to cover the cost of the building, hoists etc.

If you are going to do work after hours just make sure that it is only for selected people. And that those people will appreciate the work and not try to pull scams with not paying, or dob you in for having an unlicenced workshop or similar.

I think a good mechanic's worth what they want (be it $75, $90, $110 an hour), and a bad mechanic's not worth $60/hr. The problem is knowing a good mechanic! Thankfully, it's not as hard to get good recommendations for mechanics as it is to in other professions (like Builders, Doctors, etc). Especially given we're all on Ausmini.

Jabba, I hope you had a good read on here before your car went in... There are a few highly recommended Mini doctors on here in Brisbane, and some who, notably, don't have many recommendations... There might be reasons for that. I hope your bloke is one of the good ones. For your sake. Sure, every mechanic has problems - like the fact that there's only one of Matt! Even if he does have blokes go in with him, it's a problem that he hasn't figured out how to clone himself yet. So there can be a wait. But a good mechanic is certainly worth what he (i.e. the mechanic) asks. The only problem then is finding the money to pay him what he's worth. But that's not his problem.

Matt, I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. I've got a really good mechanic that is as trustworthy as the day is long, first started working on mini's in 1963 and used to own the local BMC / Leyland dealership. They even have a darlek there for pumping up BMC cars! They are reasonably priced and always hang onto the old parts to show me why they replaced it!

As anyone who had ever worked on thier mini would know, it's like a wool jumper, pull on a thread and the whole thing unravels....mini's are much the same. If you can find a good mechanic stick with them. They are worth their weight in gold.

What people tend to forget is the mechanic probably has house and car loans, kids etc - they have to make their money somehow, try to remember that people.

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

one thing i really hate is when i hear of a mechanic (or any trade)
that just goes ahead and does the extra work without notifing the owner
before they start

Tyre mobs are really good for this

good points tadhg & 1018cc,,, & it`s always a good thing to actually see the stuff that`s been replaced,,, i usually give the customer a box with all their old parts in it,,, mainly to show what crap we`ve replaced & teach them how it all works etc,,,, but secondly so my rubbish bin doesn`t fill up & overflow with other peoples sh!t,,, they can take it away fill their bin with it all

Oh yeah & Roundie,,, that spark plug replacement job we did for you today,,, i had to overhaul the entire engine & geabox,,, the job is already done, i didnt think you`d need to be told before we did it, figured you`d understand that it needed to be done so we just did it,,, hope you don`t mind,,, but that 1415cc stroker was so buggered that we ended up fitting a good 850 for you instead

don`t worry,,, it`s quite normal ,,, happenes all the time

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Is that Rodney??

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

just before i got my corolla roadworthied, i fitted new kyb shocks myself in 2hours in my driveway only for them to say that the kings low springs were shot and it was sitting on the bump stops. however true this was i dont know, but i just wanted it registered and i needed it done. i even brought them my old set of springs. they charged me 2.5hours labour for swapping the springs they had the equipment, lifts, the tools everything - yet it took them longer than myself. needless to say im very hesitant about bringing my car to anyone to do work on it.

Hourly rate really should not come into it at the end of a bill, if you didn't ask at the start then it can't have been too important to you.

Any additional work that was caried out without your consent does not need to be paid for, but a couple of people have rightly pointed out if they are looking out for you then you are now better off. I am a personal believer in paying for all parts and negotiating on the rest. Labour can be absorbed by a business more easily than parts

The main thing you should be asking is can they justify the 30 extra hours for the additional work carried out. When making up a bill they should only be charging "fair and reasonable" hours for the work completed. If they took longer than they should have for no justifiable reason (work ineffiencies) then that is their problem and should not be passed on, if they took an extra 10 hours because every bolt they touched broke off and had to be drilled out then that should be.

No, I'm talking about Vic at Humphrey Motors in Stephen St. Bruce (the other guy there) would be probably about the same. Humphrey's have always serviced the mini (since the 70's) so why change now? I use Rodney for parts mainly but wouldn't hesitate in taking my car there - he learn't everything he knows from TK

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina

Next time I'm after some work I might give them a call then. Been to use Rodney a few times, but it's always good to compare I suppose.

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"