Originally Posted by clinebarger
Originally Posted by ZZman
How can a shop not make money on labor alone? They may charge 100.00 an hour for labor and the mechanics get 20-25. 00 an hour.
Not everyone that works at a shop is a mechanic, Even small outfits need 2 people in the office.....A service writer/manager & a receptionist. And I'm sure the owner of the business wants to get paid.
*Rent/Property Tax
*Utilities......You wouldn't believe the expense with a big compressor/Lifts/Welders!!!! No free nights & weekends on a commercial account!!
*Dumpster/Trash pick-up.
*Equipment up-keep & new purchases. Price out a Snap-on scanner update or re-calibrating an alignment machine!!....Then you have parts washing machines & that monthly expense.
*Insurance
*Taxes & fees for workmans comp & unemplyment
*Office supplies
*Toiletries
*Hazardous material disposal
*Linen service
*Here in Texas.....We have to pay a "Use Tax" on EVERYTHING in the shop
*Labor guides/Diagnostic information (Alldata/Mitchell/Idenifix)
*Consumables used in the shop....Razor blades, Cut off wheels, Argon/Co2, Welding wire, Acetylene/Oxygen, Floor dry, Brake clean, Carb cleaner, A/C flush, Air hoses & fittings, Chassis grease, Wheel bearing grease, Brake grease, Solder/Terminals, Butane, Nuts & bolts......The list goes on & on.
*Signage/Advertisement
*Fire extinguishes & their up keep.
Buy & run a automotive repair business......Your tone will change REAL fast! If you buy an established business.....You will have that payment as well!!
This. I work for a small 2 location Indy. We do good business, but we're small in the grand scheme of things. That list right there? Laminate that and post it. And then some.
Just this past weekend both my alignment rack AND one of my hoists went down. Luckily we were able to fix the rack on site, the hoist will be an easy $1k bill to replace some cables and pulleys. That's just an average Saturday, at that.
As for standing behind our work, we just replaced the cam phasers on a customers F150 Ecoboost at no charge for labor, even though we had just done the primary timing chain and offered to do the phasers at that time, due to Ford recommending it be done in a TSB. Because there was no "obvious" problem with the phasers, he didn't bite. 3 months later and he's back with timing codes and rattling in the heads. SHOCKER the phasers failed. We still took care of it. Yes, he paid for the parts with standard markup (somewhere around 2x), plus shop supplies and fluids, but he got 9+ hours of labor (@$120/hr) for free.
Small shops still try to earn their business, but it's a thin line between making a profit and keeping the lights on.