im working on an older couples two cars one is a 1984 Porsche that I replaced a fuel pump, fuel filter, cleaned all the fuel lines out, new spark plugs, new airfilter, changed oil, changed coolant, cleaned injectors, and got the throttle cable unstuck. the other ,a 1990 Porsche, I haven’t done anything too but I plan on doing everything I did to the other except the fuel pump, unless something else is messed up. just wondering what I should charge for each one as a fair price and also how much would this cost to get done at an auto shop prices separately? the people I did it for are people that ive worked for in the past and I don’t want to cheat them out but they’re not strapped for cash either. they are both doctors.
Shops here are at 65 bucks an hour plus min 33% parts markup.
well ive worked about 9 hours so far and $585 seems pretty steep to me for just one car what would you think a fair price would be. he payed for all the parts too so Im not out anything there either.
Well the European Specialist around here that has factory tooling and training charges $119/hour, and that is if you bring the car to the shop. I’d charge a little more for having to do service on-site. $65?hr? That’s crazy. The local discount muffler shop charges $85. I’m $90, most other independent shops are in the $90-$100 range, Chevy dealer at $109, Cadillac dealer $129, Mercedes $150.
There is no way you can follow any published labor guide for stuff as old as you’re working on. You’re selling yourself short. Charge by the clock hour and charge a high price. Who else is going to do this work? Do you think it’s cheap and easy for them to find someone to do this and do it right? Don’t devalue your work. Be proud of it.
The price sounds very fair to me or even a bit on the cheap side. Those same services priced out at a Porsche dealer or Porsche independent will run way, way more than 585 dollars.
It might help to know what model Porsches you’re talking about if you wanted to factor in flat rate time instead of straight time. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a Porsche flat rate book in my stash although a few of those things you mention won’t be found.
In short, you should charge what the market will bear. Also factoring in your desire to retain their business. If you charge the same or more than a formal shop, there may be less incentive to use your services.
Speaking of which, what is the actual situation? Are you doing this in a driveway or your shop? Do you have overhead expenses or is this a side job? Having lower costs than the competition allows you to offer a more attractive price. Don’t be fooled by the profession or appearance of money. A lot of professional people or people with lavish property are some of the biggest tightwads you’ll ever meet…
$585 is a bargain for all you did, compared to what a Porsche shop would charge…
BUT:
It sounds like you didn’t get anything agreed in advance. Therefore, you’ll need to fully describe everything you did, and show them information on what mechanics doing this type of work usually get paid. Don’t be afraid to negotiate, you’ll want to have them and you happy in the end.
Also, as an amateur mechanic, with no overhead (I assume), you don’t really get to charge what a shop would, so a discount off a pro mechanic’s rates would be in order. So $119/2 = about $60/hr, so say $500 for the labor, plus parts at cost.
That’s where ‘‘FLAT RATE’’ comes in to play.
– a price paid for a job done –
If you choose to take longer than that you get the same money as you would if you took less time than flat rate.
Look up the flat rate times for those jobs to see where your guess lies in comparison.
Shop rates where I am are typically just north of $100/hr. Track your hours (include all time spent including diagnostic and time ordering parts etc.), multiply by you shop rate, add the parts costs, and provide a detailed itemized bill. Nobody can object that level of detail and honesty.
Shop rates where I am are typically just north of $100/hr.
The Toyota dealer closest to me charges $145/hr. IRA Lexus (where we bought my wifes ES-350) charges $155/hr.
The independent I use for inspections and alignments…and such…$110/hr.
BTW… Nashua Tire Warehouse is now doing mechanical work.
additional info: I brought my tools to their house and didi it under a carport, im not a professioanal mechanic and the Porsche ive worked on already is a 944 the other is a 944 s2.
Do you have liability insurance?
Just something to consider- you state you are not a professional but once you accept payment for services rendered, you are considered a professional in the eyes of the law. This also means that you can be held liable in the event that something you did (or should have but didn’t), leads to some type of loss (material or personal injury). In my experience, the more money people have, the more likely they are to lawyer up…
It would be a good idea in the future to establish a price estimate prior to doing the work. Then you won’t have this dilemma.
Under the circumstances you describe, you don’t have the overhead to amortize. Perhaps the owner would consider $50/hour reasonable.
Mike, that’s good to know about NTW. I have to admit, it’s been some years since I’ve used a shop. Apparently they’ve gone up.
Ok, it seems to me that mechanics doing side work or non-pros doing auto service charge about half of the going rate at retail shops. So find out what the local independent euro shop is charging and adjust accordingly.
The cost to the customer for paying half price is that it is paid in cash, no warranty express or implied, and customers provide materials. If you need to supply parts mark them up accordingly. To not do so would be loaning out money for free. No one does that.
My system for charging is: Hood open for anything besides tune-up is $950. A few years ago that would have been a bad joke. Shop prices would have to be at least $2,000 for what you did plus price of parts and supplies.
Location matters. From what I saw in Los Angeles, they might charge $3,500 for that work on a Porsche or just go out of business. It might even be more money in some cases.
In your own case I would want $700 plus parts, but my price is based on complete ignorance of the difficulty of the work.
L.A. The service station was packed with vehicles waiting for a mechanic. I could barely get in and out.
If your local public library has the AllData database service, you can look up what the estimated time is for all of these repairs. For the estimate, use the time for how long it should take, no matter how long it took you to actually do it. Most shops charge 80-100 dollars an hour, plus the cost of parts.
I think an independent mechanic the charges $65 an hour would be tickled pink to get $40 if he didn’t have to pay for a shop, business license and insurance plus utilities. Also do you think it would take a pro as long as you? That is why some have suggested using a flat rate book to compute the hours.