Thanks Tom.

Even though I'm self employed, I can't imagine what it takes to run a
larger scale business. i.e. since the shop in question is in a
relatively new location, maybe they're just now getting a real world
idea of annual costs to run a business there. (it has a high ceiling.
Maybe the heating bills alone are a huge expense?)

Since I've done a lot or work on my own rigs, I know enough about them
to know if things haven't been done right. This makes it even harder
to trust a given mechanic. That said, I value what these guys do and
want to keep that door open. With that in mind, just wanted to get a
POV on all this. I can already see that this kind of thing may be very
"normal" given the circumstances.

Neil.

On Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 4:35 PM, Tom Hargrave <thargrav@hiwaay.net> wrote:
> My best guess is the original rates were way too low. I own my own business
> and I fell into the same trap.
>
> People not experienced with business or who like me, refused to believe
> their Accountant friend's "inflated rates" assume that their costs will be
> far lower than reality. This "assumption" killed my on-line www.kegkits.com
> business three years ago & I was only able to restart because I have other
> incomes to leverage.
>
> I've learned since then that if you want to make enough to make business
> worth the effort you need to charge 3X the hourly rate you want to keep. So,
> if you want to make 70K a year you have to figure out how to charge 210K a
> year. And then you'll meet your goals, only if you manage your costs down to
> the penny.
>
> Thanks, Tom Hargrave
> www.stir-plate.com
> www.towercooler.com
> www.kegkits.com
> www.grow-sun.com
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
> neil n
> Sent: Friday, December 21, 2012 5:10 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Automotive Shop Rate Question
>
> Hi all.
>
> I don't use a pro mechanic that often so could be totally off base on this.
> But.....
>
> My first visit to a new shop in Sept., hourly rate: $75. The rate then went
> up to $85 in Nov, and $90 in Dec.
>
> The shop location is relatively new, but the business has been around for at
> least 2 years. Likely it's been around longer than that.
>
> Initially the shop rate seemed a little low. Like too good to be true.
>
> Has anyone experienced a situation similar to this?
>
> I hope I'm wrong, as the shop has shown attention to detail, done good work
> AFAIK, and been good to work with, but I feel like they got me "in the door"
> with a lower rate then bumped it up hoping I wouldn't notice. In fact this
> worked to some degree as I didn't notice the increase to $85/hour.
>
> Yes it's the owners prerogative to raise shop rates, but this seems
> suspicious. Also, when I asked about the rate increase, the answer of "well,
> people were saying we were the lowest price in town" seemed like a load of
> horse pucky.
>
> Neil.
>
> --
> Neil n
>
> 65 kb image Myford Ready For Assembly  http://tinyurl.com/64sx4rp
>
> '88 Slate Blue Westy to be named.
>
> '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"  http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
> Vanagon VAG Gas I4/VR Swap Google Group:
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engine
> s
> -----
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--
Neil n

65 kb image Myford Ready For Assembly  http://tinyurl.com/64sx4rp

'88 Slate Blue Westy to be named.

'81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"  http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

Vanagon VAG Gas I4/VR Swap Google Group:

http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines