What labour rate were you charged?

unkel

Please state year / make / model of your car and anything else you want to add. Also please state if it was main dealer or independent. This is not a poll

I'll get the ball rolling:

'96 BMW 735i V8 auto. My trusted indy (BMW specialist, but they'll do any car) charges €65 per hour. I've been with them for 6 or 7 years now

crosstownk

All makes/models (focus size and up).

I've been charged any thing from €45/hr to €110/hr. And the €45 is in Dublin.............

littlejukka

zilch per hour. family business and i do a lot of it myself.

toyota, BMW and lexus are a speciality but, as above, any car will be serviced.

JHMEG

A Honda dealer down the country: 50 per hour (timing belt, 3 hour job)
An independent down the country: 25 euro per hour
An independent near Dublin: 60 euro per hour
Myself: priceless

E92

Johnson&Perott(Volvo, Honda, Land Rover and Opel dealer, Mitsubishi Commericals, and Mercedes-Benz Van dealer and they do fleet sales as well) in Cork were charging €60 per hour for Labour 3 years ago(for Volvos). Not sure what they charge now.
I remember reading in Autocar a few years ago(when they had a Volvo S60 as a long term test car) that they can charge as much as €180 per hour for Labour in London:eek: for Volvos, because there is such a shortage of technicians in the UK(well at least there was).

bonham23

any BMW dealer currently charges €150/hr.strangegly the least amount of time they seem to spend on any job seems to be an hour:rolleyes:

Andrewf20

bonham23 wrote:

any BMW dealer currently charges €150/hr.strangegly the least amount of time they seem to spend on any job seems to be an hour:rolleyes:

Its shockingly expensive, so I never use them for this, and Ive never had problems with the other specialists I used.

Owen

People seem to forget that the reason main dealers charge so much for service is the cost of workshop equipment. Last year, we had to buy well over 100 grand's worth of tools, diagnostic equipment, wheel alignment, and tyre fitting machines. That, along with sending mechanics on regular training courses and exams, it's not cheap ... so when you see a labour rate of 120 per hour, probably about 70 quid of that is actually labour, the other 50 is going back to paying for all those things.

Having said that, worst I've paid is 150 per hour, best is when I do the work myself naturally!

dubtom

06' SSangyong. €55 per hour. Needed front pads replaced recently.Pads €80, how much to fit I asked.€150, they say. So 3 hours or so to fit one set of pads.
I got them done myself in twenty minutes.FREE.
Last time I got the service done they said I was being given a 10% discount on parts and labour, unfortunatly the service took an hour more than usual to do.
So I actually paid more than usual.:(

mike65

1996 Audi A6 (and 1990 Merc 190e before) at indy garages for €50 an hour.

Mike.

Volvoboy

Some of those prices would make baby J.C cry! never really had any problems with my cars every thing was just maintaince work that i did myself so much better to do this yourself gives ya a better idea of whats going on under the 'hood. What kinda work would this entail, service or repairs? Dont mean to go OT.




-VB-

Rowley Birkin QC

'98 Vectra, do all the labour between myself and the lads for about 2 pints an hour.

bazz26

My trusted indy charged me €80 for a regular service when my 2003 Avensis was going for it's first NCT. Before that he only charged €120 for new brake pads. Don't know how much the labour was as it wasn't on the receipts. I have no complaints though as he looks after my baby and I have no trouble from either him or my car and it has almost 160k miles on the clock.

Volvoboy

bazz26 wrote:

My trusted indy charged me €80 for a regular service

Thats nixer money! i know a few in the trade they charge €100 for a service as a nixer!:eek:




-VB-

bazz26

Volvoboy wrote:

Thats nixer money! i know a few in the trade they charge €100 for a service as a nixer!:eek:




-VB-

Indeed, my indy mechanic has a workshop/garage at the back of his house. He is a well seasoned mechanic and fixes everything from cars to tractors and forklifts. He has a fondness for rebuilding Alfa Romeo engines too. He currently drives a 156 that he bought for a couple of hundred euros. The engine was goosed due to the previous owner not getting the belt changed when he was supposed to. The indy rebuilt the engine in his spare time and now drives a nice high spec 156 for buttons.

E92

bazz26 wrote:

My trusted indy charged me €80 for a regular service when my 2003 Avensis was going for it's first NCT. Before that he only charged €120 for new brake pads. Don't know how much the labour was as it wasn't on the receipts. I have no complaints though as he looks after my baby and I have no trouble from either him or my car and it has almost 160k miles on the clock.

Brian Gearys(I'm sure Bazz26 you know who they are, for those not from/living in the Limerick area they are a Toyota dealer in West Limerick) AFAIK will service my dads 05 1.8 Avensis for just over €150 for a full service. Not bad considering Kerays charge €275 for a full service on a petrol Avensis.

bazz26

E92 wrote:

Brian Gearys(I'm sure Bazz26 you know who they are, for those not from/living in the Limerick area they are a Toyota dealer in West Limerick) AFAIK will service my dads 05 1.8 Avensis for just over €150 for a full service. Not bad considering Kerays charge €275 for a full service on a petrol Avensis.

O'Mara Motors used to charge me €180 for a basic service when my car was under warranty.

BostonB

ned78 wrote:

People seem to forget that the reason main dealers charge so much for service is the cost of workshop equipment. Last year, we had to buy well over 100 grand's worth of tools, diagnostic equipment, wheel alignment, and tyre fitting machines. ...

I would have thought a main dealer would have all that.

nialler

00 Mercedes S320L Petrol

€45 per hour - last job took 3 hours (seat sensor pad) which turned out to be faulty, replaced the following week.

Next job Airmatic compressor (€350 excl. labour very simple according to indie & Ball Joint).

Owen

BostonB wrote:

I would have thought a main dealer would have all that.

Hardly, it's too time consuming to be balancing wheels and fitting tyres. But times change, and now the stuff has to be done in-house. On top of that, as new cars come out, new 'special tools' must be purchased, new diagnostic leads, and everyone must be sent away on training courses. It's a chicken and egg scenario where you must spend a fortune every year. People really don't see the big picture when they see high labour costs, and then try to compare it to standalong independent dealer, who, while excellent, has your standard tools, and standard diagnostic equipment.

Mr.Diagnostic

ned78 wrote:

Hardly, it's too time consuming to be balancing wheels and fitting tyres. But times change, and now the stuff has to be done in-house. On top of that, as new cars come out, new 'special tools' must be purchased, new diagnostic leads, and everyone must be sent away on training courses. It's a chicken and egg scenario where you must spend a fortune every year. People really don't see the big picture when they see high labour costs, and then try to compare it to standalong independent dealer, who, while excellent, has your standard tools, and standard diagnostic equipment.

Hi Ned,

I am not so sure your comments show the full picture. The point that you are making is that dealers have higher overheads so have to charge higher labour rates. While the dealer has high overheads they also have income that the indy does not have to help support them. More and more Indy's are equiping themselves to a dealer level and even a higher level in some cases. Indy's also suffer overheads from training etc.
If you are correct and the overhead cost per billed hour is higher to to dealer than the Indy then surely that would suggest the Indy is the place to go for value?

The reason that BMW dealers spend so much on tools is not because they need them all to maintain a certain level of service. It is because BMW tell them they have to. Every BMW dealer has special tools that are never used and were never ordered in the first place. It is part of the franchise deal, the dealer has no choice in the matter.

Owen

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

I am not so sure your comments show the full picture.

Well, I'm certainly not sugar coating anything, or trying to put down indy's, if that's what you're suggesting. As previously mentioned by me in this Forum, I've used Indy's many times.

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

The point that you are making is that dealers have higher overheads so have to charge higher labour rates. While the dealer has high overheads they also have income that the indy does not have to help support them. More and more Indy's are equiping themselves to a dealer level and even a higher level in some cases. Indy's also suffer overheads from training etc.

Indeed. But my point is still valid, labour rates are higher at main Dealers because main Dealers have vastly more expenses than an Indy.

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

If you are correct and the overhead cost per billed hour is higher to to dealer than the Indy then surely that would suggest the Indy is the place to go for value?

Did I say any differently?

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

The reason that BMW dealers spend so much on tools is not because they need them all to maintain a certain level of service. It is because BMW tell them they have to. Every BMW dealer has special tools that are never used and were never ordered in the first place. It is part of the franchise deal, the dealer has no choice in the matter.

Which brings us back to point one. Main Dealer has higher overheads, hence the higher service price. QED.

bonham23

Does anyone know of a good indy mechanic specialising in BMW's only,in the Dublin Area.

TychoCaine

bonham23 wrote:

specialising in BMW's only

Why? Is your Bimmer too posh to be seen in the same garage as the rest of us?

bonham23

very helpful

TychoCaine

bonham23 wrote:

very helpful

You're welcome

BostonB

ned78 wrote:

Hardly, it's too time consuming to be balancing wheels and fitting tyres. But times change, and now the stuff has to be done in-house. On top of that, as new cars come out, new 'special tools' must be purchased, new diagnostic leads, and everyone must be sent away on training courses. It's a chicken and egg scenario where you must spend a fortune every year. People really don't see the big picture when they see high labour costs, and then try to compare it to standalong independent dealer, who, while excellent, has your standard tools, and standard diagnostic equipment.

So you need to spend 100k a year every year on special tools, training and gear for balancing wheels and tyres? Overheads is one thing but reinventing the wheel every year?

I would have thought fitting wheels, and balancing (and I assume tracking) would be very important . That said most can't be bothered, (or simply can't) to do it right even after charging top dollar to do it.

Owen

BostonB wrote:

So you need to spend 100k a year every year on special tools, training and gear for balancing wheels and tyres? Overheads is one thing but reinventing the wheel every year? I would have thought fitting wheels, and balancing (and I assume tracking) would be very important . That said most can't be bothered, (or simply can't) to do it right even after charging top dollar to do it.

Where did I say every year? I said this year. And the whole wheel equipment example was just that, an example of how main dealers are being forced to do more work in house, which ties up more time, which means employing more people, and spending more money on equipment.

I'm not lying here people, so less of the witch hunt please. I'm just offering an alternative viewpoint.

BostonB

Because the dealers high costs are every year.

More work in house? Rebuild gearboxes ok. But sorting out the basics?

rebel.ranter

Sorry Ned I have to join in on this. High labour charges in Main Dealers pay for the fancy showrooms, nice coffee plasma screens in the waiting areas.
I have experienced this main dealer experience, have to say it was not cracked up to be.
Twice I have used a main dealer service department, once to get a convertible windscreen replaced, a white palstic tie was used in place of a black clip to secure zip, it looked cat, I just got a shrugged shoulders when I queried why this was done, the clip was ~€1. Second time got parking sensors changed in rear bumper & the rear wing was scraped, didn't bother waiting for the shrugged shoulders this time.
Rate was €120 per hour or there abouts. Will tackle these jobs now myself thanks to EBay. Still get my parts O.E.M. though. There is a definite difference in quality for some parts, not that much price difference for others.

Mr.Diagnostic

ned78 wrote:

I'm not lying here people, so less of the witch hunt please. I'm just offering an alternative viewpoint.

Hi ned,

I hope you didnt get me wrong, no witch hunt as far as I am concerned. On the contrary, I find it refreshing to see a dealer employee expressing honest opinions instead of the company line.
I too am expressing my opinion and while I doubt the validity of your claim re the level of overheads I still say that if you are right this is not much comfort to the average customer whose bills are being driven up these high overheads caused directly by BMW's franchise policies.