Haven't spoken with my uncle in over a month but heard he had a police car by his house so i called over to see if all is okay. Yes had some trouble with their ADT motion sensor. Now onto the topic. Told me he had his 2012 Accord EX in the shop for brake work and a Mobil 1 oil change, the bill broke just under a G-Note WOW! I wanted to shake him by the neck for not coming to me I gladly would have done this work for him, so he says the shop used NAPA pads and rotors unsure of the tier I will see him in the next week to go over his invoice hopefully there is part numbers for reference. I sure hope they installed top tier pads with rotors and performed a full flush he told me he was feeling anxious and didn't ask questions he did just go through a spout with cancer and a bunch of treatments so I know he is not quite up for stress and aggravation he just wanted to pay his bill and get home.
What are shops getting for hourly rates these days?
- Thread starter DCDG
- Start date
The shop I'm at charges $230 per hour for most mercedes and BMW. They get more for some other brands.
Shop rates are regional, I charge $175 per hour specializing in domestic powertrain in DFW.
In my experience, NAPA is expensive, even on a wholesale level, and I've never had to file a warranty claim for anything in years. Their parts quality is generally better than Kim's Auto Parts and their warranty is second to none: I always ask when pricing jobs. Our NAPA uses a tiered discount program based on monthly sales/volume, the more you buy the greater the discount. YMMV.
I wouldn't box myself in with any vendor, I like to use OE parts when possible/in budget, I have no set percentage.....Usually suggested retail.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2026
My dealership is $150 an hour diagnostic fee and $160 an hour regular. I always found it odd we charge more for repair hours than diagnostic hours because I think usually it’s the opposite.
Thanks all for the replies. I will know further once I see this invoice. Like GW. says if $150 is the average going rate I would think they got at least 1.5 hr per axle so for 3 hrs labor on the brake job @ $450 rounding this job to an even $1000 that leaves $550 on the table for front and rear pads/rotors, Mobil 1 oil change and I would take an educated guess there was no flush performed on the brake fluid. I actually wouldn't be a bit surprised if he was took, they either machined his rotors or he didn't get all four corners done. NAPA prices plus the mark up doesn't leave any headroom for the shop to profit.
I am DFW as well and at $135 getting ready to raise to 150 in July. I have been fully booked out 4 weeks for over 10 years so I can stand to lose a few over an increase and still be a little lower than average. I own all my equipment and building etc so I don't have any large bills to worry about.
Wild Indy shops catching up to the dealership shop rates/prices.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2026
$200 at the Toyota dealer, $280 at the BMW dealer. I believe the Ferrari dealer is around $320 or $340.
Ford and Mazda dealer and we are now $250/hr which is on the low end compared to other dealers and independents in our area.
It's only gonna get worse out there as leadership needs more "free" money to give out and the tax base flees the state.
Anyway, as noted, it's regional.
And for the OP: if most shops can't make at least ~$400 per axle on a brake job it's not worth keeping the lights on. I understand the parts need not be expensive and it's usually not a difficult job to DIY -- in which case people should just DIY. People don't because they're either too busy, too lazy, don't have space and tools, or know that it may not be quite as simple as others say....no different than that "simple" plumbing project you complete after six trips to Home Depot.
And then you have the DIY'er that gets fed up with shop pricing wants to tackle the job themselves over the weekend to find out they have a seized caliper or EPB with a vehicle that doesn't allow the consumer to put the vehicle into brake service mode. But yeah I get it. My cousin Vinny had a good line when he met Stan Rothenstein played by Mitchell Whitfield in the jail cell. LoL this is a family site we'll keep it @ the G rating.
I always thought the DIY reality channels (99.9% home renovation) had to be a boon for contractors. People think, "I can tackle that remodel" and two months later the bathroom is still in shambles and they wind up calling a pro.
There was a show called Renovation Realities that actually captured this pretty well. 95% of the homeowners got in over their heads and eventually gave up. It was good entertainment that also seemed like it wasn't staged or glossed over (much)
Many automotive jobs are no different. The lack of a windback tool or slider pin grease or ability to bleed brakes properly can turn a two-hour driveway repair into a full weeked.
To be clear, I'm not anti-DIY at all. It's just that the "little things" are difficult to plan for if you don't have a fully equipped shop. I still encourage people to roll up their sleeves and save money -- but sometimes they learn they'd rather just pay to have it done.
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