> 
> 
> What I would do if I didn't want to pay someone else to do the job if I
> thought I was going to get hosed over at the cash register, is go and
> lay down 30-40-50 grand on a good set of tools, and do all the work on
> your Van yourself.

Now you're talking! This is essentially what I've done. I'm only up to about 
$2K in tools, but I've easily done $10K worth of work with 'em. The work 
took me at least 160 hours all told, which means that $8K I "saved" sets the 
value of my time at $50/hr, which is less than 2/3 my "real world job" 
billable rate-- but I had all the serious "first timer" disadvantages. Plus, 
I now have $2K in tools and don't have to find a mechanic when I break down 
on the road.

The Happy Snappy man will love you for it, and you'll be making his bank
> account grow.

Behold the power of eBay! My local Snap-On rep has only made about $100 off 
me.

Then find a nice shop to do your work, pay the rent, electric, water,
> and gas bills.

Bah. Only real advantage to a shop is it has a lift. Ain't nuthin' a rear 
engine VW needs that a couple ramps, jack stands, and a good jack on a 
concrete floor can't handle. 

Then your friends can stop over and you can tinker with their stuff, and
> eventually charge them for the working on their rides, and then they can
> be mad at you for what they may think your gouging them on in time spent
> for labor.

Wait till my brother gets the bill for fixing his 86 Nissan 4x4....I feel a 
mechanic's lien coming on. 

You'll soon find out that the guy with the crazy labor rate a while back
> wasn't so unfair after all.
> 

Dang straight. Problem is, I think people confuse "billable rate" with 
"hourly wage". I bill at $75-95/hr at my "real job", and the only people who 
never say "wow, I'm in the wrong business" are lawyers (who easily bill 2-3x 
that). Strangely, these jokers don't seem to get that the shop, tools, 
insurance, and licensing aren't FREE, and that there's not always 8 hours of 
billable time in a day. Too many people are wage slaves (I myself am still 
technically one) and look at things through some weird 19th-century factory 
worker filter. I usually just shrug and tell 'em "work costs money. I don't 
even see half of that $95. You seen the price of gas?"

-- 
John Bange
'90 Vanagon
"Keine Bange, wir holen die Zange!"