Entrepreneur Auto Mechanics set up discount repair shop in retail parts store parking lot

General Discussion
41

There is a big problem discerning the honest and qualified man struggling to get by from the rip-off artist. And those who are struggling financially and jump at low ball prices for repairs are least able to handle being ripped off and likely the least able to recognize a phony mechanic.

As for minimum wage, I worked all through high school when minimum wage ranged from $1.25 to about $2. And during those years I could have supported myself working 40 hours and there were plenty of full time jobs available to me if I had chosen to drop out and go to work. Inflation has made the current minimum wage a joke. And the logic that raising the minimum will cause inflation is ludicrous. The poor canā€™t pick themselves up by their boot straps if they canā€™t afford the boots or pay the rent and light bill if they drop off the ā€˜entitlementā€™ treadmill. Or so it seems to me, here in Mayberry II. But apparently opinions vary.

42

I would be stunned beyond belief if that parking lot income shows up on any state of Federal income tax forms.

43

I dunno @ā€œRod Knoxā€ when the beginning wage for mopping the floor at McDonalds is over $30,000 per year prices are bound to rise one way or another, donā€™t you think?

I donā€™t have a problem with the programs I mentioned above. I donā€™t have an issue helping those who are less fortunate than I am, because when I think about it Iā€™m one lucky SOB. Iā€™m not ashamed to say that there are members of my family who at one point were eating ā€œgovernment cheese.ā€

I do have a problem with someone who thinks that working at McDonalds for minimum wage is a career choice and that they should be able to support themselves on that.

I daresay this thread has become a bit political.

44

There are probably well-equipped teaching auto shops in local public schools in Oakland or vicinity, shops that sit vacant and unused during the evening. Itā€™s a shame these entrepreneur mechanics canā€™t use those, instead of the parking lot. I imagine there are a thousand reasons why that isnā€™t possible, liability etc, but it is still a shame those fellow think their best choice to make a living is the parts store parking lot. It seems like a little creative thinking could come up with a solution that works better than the current one.

45

ā€œI do have a problem with someone who thinks that working at McDonalds for minimum wage is a career choice and that they should be able to support themselves on that.ā€

Thatā€™s my exact same sentiment @asemaster since I have worked 2 minimum wage jobs in the past in order to earn a living. Thatā€™s the problem here in a nutshell. Those people working a minimum wage job need to go out and get another minimum wage job if they are serious about making $15 an hour. If they get 2 jobs making $8.50 an hour then their pay would be $17 an hour. If you canā€™t get by on $17 an hour then you really need to lower your standard of living. Thatā€™s roughly $36K a year not including the spouseā€™s salary or wage.

46
Another way is to say that they are hurting the economy. The people that pay these guys to fix their cars are depriving the local independent shops of much needed business.

I seriously doubt thereā€™s much lost business. These arenā€™t people who can afford a licensed mechanic. If no joy at AZ, theyā€™ll either fix it themselves, have a friend/family member do it, or place/answer a Craiglist ad.

47

When the powers that be have allowed inflation to eat away the buying power of working families so that the middle class worker feels they would be cheated if the minimum wage were raised to approach their current wage we are in serious trouble. Begrudging the working poor a livable wage doesnā€™t diminish the worth of those who currently earn less than CEO pay. Increasing the minimum will quickly elevate all pay scales upward. Thatā€™s what worries the CEOs. They want to be the big fish in a pond full of little fish. And I honestly donā€™t think that they are worth 1,000 times more than those who actually get the work done. But they think they are. And they think they are the smartest people in the worldā€¦ I have my doubts.

48

So, whatā€™s the result? No result. A lot of political argument, but there are still some guys in the Autozone lot in East Oakland fixing other peopleā€™s cars for cash, certainly off the books, no guarantees, and thatā€™s all right up front. At some point there has to be a choice; either we criticize people for being on welfare or disability, or we criticize people trying to make a buck doing some kind of work. If these guys were knocking on your door offering to mow your yard, would that be OK? If they (or their girlfriends) were making money baby sitting would that be OK? How about painting a fence? Digging up the ground for your garden? Every single one of those businesses technically requires a business license and certainly filing tax returns.

Itā€™s easy to criticize from somewhere else. Before you get too into this, look in Craigslist for the San Francisco Bay Area and check out typical apartment rents. Oakland is called the East Bay. One bedroom, $1600 or more, 2 bedrooms starts at $2100. Is that the same in your town? How do people pay those rents? Scramble, thatā€™s how.

Look at Craigslist in your area for automotive services under services offered. There they are, people trying to make a buck working. Are they all licensed, do they all pay taxes? What do you think?

49

oh I see it s as easy as working 16 hr daysā€¦

50

This may be the most complicated situation ever posted on this forum. But, in the end, if these guys do good and honest work, theyā€™re not cheating anybody. Theyā€™re just cutting the taxman and a few other crooks like the insurance companies out of the middle of the transaction. They may even end up with a prosperous legitimate garage in the end. These sound like the kind of guys that just might.

And if the citizens of San Diego arenā€™t unhappy and the property owner isnā€™t unhappy, than is it really anybody elseā€™s business?. Isnā€™t commerce unencumbered by overly burdensome taxes and regulation what we fought a war with King George III to obtain? And arenā€™t such activities, open commerce without overly burdensome taxes and regulation, one of the things out founders established the Bill of Rights to protect?

51

Where were you before you @wentwest? I lived in the Bay area for 2 years long ago and although the cost of living was relatively high I was able to pay my bills and actually get ahead.

In my lifetime I have seen the government attempt to moderate the ups and downs of markets and the overall economy with some success. And I have seen the governmentā€™s efforts to cease their efforts at moderation. The cessation of regulation has resulted in a fantastic increase in the value of the markets and a similarly fantastic increase in the wealth of a few while the vast majority of working families in this country has declined and continues to decline. For those who have seen their position improve I congratulate you. I canā€™t complain myself. But it does seem unfair that those at the bottom today are at a much lower level than previous generations. Why must todayā€™s young people begin the climb in a pit far lower than where those of my generation began?

52

What was that answer to the question of which was correct? Yes, all are correct. You can find truth and examples of what everyone has said, so yes indeed it is a complicated issue. Not paying taxes means that you are not contributing to the state and nation as everyone should. Raising the minimum wage will surely raise all other wages accordingly and thus fuel inflation. You canā€™t make a living on minimum wage. Some folks havenā€™t had the breaks but others made choices that put them in the situation. I will say that I like to see the industriousness but think it could be directed a little more effectively.

53

Iā€™ll rant a bit . . .

Letā€™s be realistic . . . nobodyā€™s getting work done in the parking lot because these guys have an excellent reputation for first rate work. Itā€™s because they work cheap.

As for me . . .

Iā€™ve had a few minimum-wage jobs in my past, long ago. I knew it was supposed to be temporary.
Iā€™ve also been in a situation where I had to have 2 jobs, just to make ends meet and pay the bills.
I had to do a lot of driving, from one job to the next, and I didnā€™t get a lot of sleep. You do whatever it takes to survive.

In regards to my career as a professional mechanic. When I showed up at the dealership, I knew I had to buy my own tools. I didnā€™t complain. I bought the tools. I shopped around, bought used tools on ebay, bought stuff online, etc. I bought a used Snap on box from a guy who was leaving the field.

With more experience, my hourly rate got bumped up, and I was able to buy better tools and a bigger box. I moved up to a bigger box, and I got more for the old box than I paid for it. I gradually replaced my ā€œlesserā€ tools with Snap on, and the lesser tools went home, to my garage, where they are used for occasional side jobs, or when I work on my own car at home.

Years ago . . . decades ago, actually . . . my high school shop teacher told me that a career in the auto business wasnā€™t going to be easy. He told me it isnā€™t easy to earn money, and you have to buy your own tools. He told me straight out that he had the skills to teach the class, but not actually survive by turning wrenches. In spite of his advice, I pursued a career as a mechanic.

It wasnā€™t glamorous, at first. A few years as an apprentice. After I graduated, I spent a few more years working as a civilian . . . known as a local hire . . . heavy duty guy in a US Army depot. It was physically demanding, but satisfying work. I wanted to work on cars, so I moved to the USA to find a job at a car dealership, which I did. The prospects at getting a job working in any kind of car dealership in Germany at the time were very poor.

After several years of doing that, I was able to secure a job as a civil service mechanic. The pay is fairly decent, and Iā€™ve got great benefits. Iā€™ve got decent sick time and vacation time. If all things go well, someday Iā€™ll even get a pension from that job. Plus Iā€™ll get modest social security, since I put in enough time at the dealership. I really canā€™t complain

If in the beginning, if I had said ā€œIā€™m not paying for tools, and Iā€™m not going to start out smallā€ . . . who knows what situation Iā€™d be in. It could better or worse.

I could have easily given up or gotten lazy or unmotivated at any step of the way, and Iā€™d still be stuck at some minimum wage job, or stuck at the dealership, or stuck at the US Army depot, etc. If you want to move on, youā€™ve got to suck it up, and do what it takes to achieve the next goal.

By the way, that $500 day that shirtless guy earns sounds pretty good. But how many days like that are there in the year? What if he gets hurt? What if heā€™s sick? What if ā€œthe whole operationā€ is shut down? No benefits, no sick time, no vacation, etc. If you factor all that in . . .

Iā€™m done ranting for now . . .

54

Why should this not be carried on out if parking lot auto repair is allowed?

Barbers, manicurists, massage therapists; they all can have at it.

A down on his luck chiropractor could set up shop right outside the hospitalā€¦

To heck with MAACO. Undercut them by hitting cars with the Scotch Brite and spraying them right there in the parking lotā€¦

Set up shop near the liquor store and offer mixed drinks or cold beer right out of the tubā€¦

55

in a truly free market all of the above options would be available

56

you surely won t see a chiropractor in a hospital.

57
A down on his luck chiropractor could set up shop right outside the hospital....

Any fan of the simpsons may remember homers miracle spine-o-cylinder.

It is essentially a trash can that Homer fell backwards onto after he and Bart share a high-five in the backyard.

He succeeds in fixing Lennyā€™s sciatica, pushing Professor Frink over the trash can even though he was only there because his car had broken down, and fixing Moeā€™s back. Moe says that now his back is fixed, he can "focus on all his crippling emotional pain.

Anywho, there are DIY chiropractors and Youtube and the have quite the technique.

58

thatā€™s the only good thing about sciatica and other back problems. they distract me from my crippling emotional pain. :slight_smile:

gotta laughā€¦

59
these guys are probably saving us tax money. at the income level that they achieve thru this type of work, they would likely get more back, from the feds at least, than they put in.

Hear, hear.

When I was a tax preparer this recent tax season, I encountered tax fraud where the filer (not naming names or identifying characteristics, mind you) lied and claimed W2 wages she never earned! Yes, the EITC with children can, in the right circumstances, return much more money than the TP paid, both in income tax and payroll tax (i.e. SS tax, etc).

Obviously, the company that filled out the W2 was in cahoots. In school, they warned us to be extra careful about making sure the dependents were legit; the concept of claiming too much money earned wasnā€™t really touched on. She only got caught because the EIN didnā€™t exist until after the tax year endedā€¦

60
When I was a tax preparer this recent tax season, I encountered tax fraud where the filer (not naming names or identifying characteristics, mind you) lied and claimed W2 wages she never earned!

Thatā€™s a lot more difficult to do these daysā€¦especially with E-filing. Last year when our accountant filed our taxes electronicallyā€¦they kicked back within minutes - saying that there was a discrepancy with one of our investments. Turns out we never got the 1099 so we didnā€™t include that in our taxes. But when you E-File the system does a cross reference to all wages and interest income reported to them. If they donā€™t all match upā€¦then you filing may not go through.