JetJock

I've always had good things to say about my local dealer in Lancaster, PA. (Yes, it's the same town the Amish girls were shot.) The other day I had some work done on my Honda, and I was blown away to find they now charge over $80/hr. to work on either Honda's or Acura's. I always have their best mechanic work on both of my cars, and they have always been fair with me in the past. Now, besides charging $80 for labor, they are using flat rate books for every job. I got charged $177 plus parts to adjust the valves on a 4cyl Honda engine, then $45 to change 4 spark plugs. I'm so pissed I'll never return to that shop unless it's warranty work because they actually have a great mechanic, but I just can't afford their prices anymore.

I work in the General Aviation Industry, flying as a pilot, and my local airport charges $75/hr to work on Gulfstream, Falcon, Challenger, and other corporate jets. These mechanics are trained for years, must pass several tests to obtain their license, have to submit to drug tests, then work on aircraft costing up to $35Million Dollars. Much more responsibility than working on a car. If you ask me...it says something about how Honda executives are screwing us for labor when you can get your Gulfstream serviced cheaper than a Honda.

geekybiker

That's pretty standard around here. Sad part is the tech is maybe getting $20/hr. Oh, and you get to pay full retail for parts at the dealer.

subinf

Havent checked, I assume its either 100 or 120/hr. Wouldnt suprise me if it was over 100, that seems to be the going rate in the area

Final

Ive seen 125 an hour :-\ Better hit those books and apprentice as a mechanic haha

NC Silver

Mercedes in our area is 125 an hour. Hopefully won't have to pay CP to Acura here for awhile so I haven't looked at their labor rate. BMW is 110, Jaguar 102, Volvo a paltry 94. (I had to do a customer pay comparison last month) Yes, the technician gets a small amount of that since there is all the behind-the-scenes stuff you have to pay for like computers, sending the technicians to school, special tools that you have to buy, equipment that has to be repaired or replaced, support, software updates, yada yada. It all adds up.

subinf

Or the shop owner. My boss billed my labor at 100/hr but I only got 20

vc123

HA usually it;s 90 buxs an hour they 'll find all the possible way to ripe u off

JetJock

WTF...more $$ to service a car...than a freaking JET AIRPLANE!!! Something is seriously wrong here.

subinf

It is much more than just that. The automotive industry in general is expensive when it comes to labor.

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Acura Dealer $125/hr and Sears Automotive $70/hr both come with a warranty. Guess where I go.

BoostedAWD

haha thats funny...but true. My dad owned some service stations and people bitched, cried, whined, etc at his $50/hr labor rate and he had top notch mechanics working for him.....this was only 4-5 years ago.

Jetjock, I'm from Harrisburg...I take my car to Bobby Rahal Acura....the CUSTOMER service is GREAT...however they had their "master tech" work on my car for 2 days and couldnt find the problem. Their labor rate was 80 bucks an hour....I work on Carlisle pike if you're familiar with that and my Nissan dealership is the absolute cheapest rate out there at $75.


Here is the thing that is what pisses me off the most. As I said previously my dad owned some service stations....mostly all manufactures stopped releasing the diagrams, diagnostic tools, etc to anyone but the dealer meaning that an average joe trying to make an honest buck with his corner shop impossible to fix a modern car. Thats the #1 reason why my dad sold all his businesses and now he's happily retired....The dealership has us by the balls.

ubnpast

The dealer by me charges $95/hr.

JetJock

BoostedAWD, yes I'm familiar with everything you mentioned in the HBG area. Since I live in Lancaster, driving there for routine service is just too much time out of my schedule. I wouldn't mind paying $70-80/hr for labor, IF....they were honest and only charged for actual time. That DAMM flat rate labor book they use is nothing but the biggest excuse for legal robbery going these days. Any competent mechanic can do a typical job in less than half the time the book says. Why should the customer have to pay for rookies learning the trade.....that's THEIR problem...not mine. For $80+/hr for labor....I WANT AND DEMAND experienced mechanics...not someone just out of school learning how to change oil. I expect nothing less for those prices. FLAT RATE LABOR RATES ARE THE BIGGEST RIPPOFF in the automobile industry...and it's time we speak out against the practice. Let the dealers absorb the cost of training new mechanics. I have a friend who just graduated from one of the top schools in the area.....and his starting salary was only $11.00/hr. Tell me we're not getting screwed with this practice. His parents paid over $25,000 for his education so he could make $11/bucks/hr. BULLSHIT!!! RANT OVER!!!!!

Final

Truth. My friend worked at BestBuy until he went off to school this year, he bought and hand one of those 600$ Viper alarms (or however much they cost, i know well over 500) for 130$. Now that 130$ is still giving BestBuy profit so just come to grip with the markup, theyre making 470$ off of the average consumer who buys a Viper alarm from them. Noone wants to be poor, and noone will ever turn down the opportunity to make the extra dollar, especially when its 100% legal. The sad part is that it will never change, and eventually well be having this talk on the same forum when the dealerships raise labor rates again.

JetJock

I'ts exactly like those ripoff payday loan outfits that charge outrageous interest rates to our servicemen who can't afford to pay their rent. Somehow this scheme is legal....but we all know the truth...it's just the rich fat cats taking advantage of people because of the way the laws are written. You name it......pay day loans, flat rate labor fees...it's just robbery and everyone knows it but nobody will speak up against it. Come on guys........it's time to revolt against this robbery by making your opinion known with your dealerships. I know they are not going to shut me up anytime soon. I am NOT GOING AWAY!!!

BoostedAWD

Body shops are the same way....charge you twice the time it actually takes. logical, but very unfair. IN a body shop for instance, it would penalize you for being good, and quick to by actual hours.

UglyPsycho

Yeah but you did that hour labor in about 10 mins didnt you lol. $20 in 10 mins .

subinf

shhhhh

SodaLuvr

$80/hr and you're complaining?

I know a guy who works at Continental Acura in Naperville and labor is $140/hr.

Around here, it's well over $100/hr. Even the Saturn dealership is $100/hr.

Dave_W

Elite Acura - Formerly Sussman Acura in Maple Shade NJ charges $95 an hour.

JetJock

Hey...at least we own Acura's...known for their reliability....imagine the poor SOB that ownes a BMW after the warranty expires. Mike...I actually knew someone who lived near Naperville, who owned an older BMW...and the shop actually had a "consultant", I think his name was "Hans" who would sit him down, then break the news slowly like they might do at the hospital for a terminally ill patient, concerning the upcoming service bill. I'll never forget the time he needed a simple exhaust repair....but because of the complex drive shaft joints that had to be removed to access the exhaust system....the bill was close to $3000.00. At that point...he paid the bill, sold the car to some yuppy sucker in the Chicago "burbs, then bought a new VW. He likes German cars.....sorry to say, his luck with VW's wasn't much better than the BMW he had before. I'll stick with my Honda/Acura cars....even with the rippoff labor rate, my cars just don't break that often. The Honda has 132,000 miles on the OD..and runs like a champ.

dave0935

$85 pr. hr. @ both acura dealers in Louisiana i've worked. $95 ,i think ,when i was working in FL during "katrina". to put this simple for you, cheap labor is exactly that, cheap labor. warranty or not. sears cannot warranty acura parts, plus even if i wasnt a tech @ an acura dealer, i definatley would not trust some sears mechanic just to save some money on a valve adjustment. this being something you would want a technician that works on these cars every day, and knows exactly how to work on the car.