In  my experience, almost all shops will go by book time for any job.  The
shop usually pays technicians on a piece work basis, not simply by the on
duty clock hour.  So, a technician will get a set fraction of any job.  If
book time is 2 hours for a job and the shop rate is $120/hr, the technician
may be paid 25% of the book value of $240, or $60.  I don't know any of
these numbers, these are just hypotheticals, though the shop rate is one
that would be common in many parts of the country.  Beyond that, the shop
also makes a profit on parts, and so most shops will not install parts that
the customer sources, or if they will, will not warranty them or the
associated labor.  But this system encourages technicians to work quickly
and get jobs out within or more quickly than the book time.  If a job turns
out to require extra time, too bad for the shop and the technician if the
shop guarantees a quote.

If I am able to use a shop I trust, rather than in a traveling situation
where I don't know the shop, I have no problem with this system.  Asking a
shop to do a job for less than the book time is asking the shop owner and
the technician to work for less pay than is the going rate in a region.

Yeah, vehicle ownership is not free or even inexpensive, especially old
vehicles like ours.

mcneely

On Mon, Sep 6, 2021 at 5:45 AM John Rodgers <jrodgers113@gmail.com> wrote:

> I had so many things happen to me this year - broken ribs, collapsed lung,
> spinal surgery, major bout with gout, that I find I have a serious case of
> decrepitude. I can't get under my van to work on it. I'm going to have to
> hire out the power steering work. Was wondering what a reasonable time
> would be to get the job done for  the rack and two rod ends.  Around here
> everyone seems to want to go by book values for time. What is a reasonable
> time? I  know rates vary, but times for a job shouldn't.
>