Through 5 vans I have always done my own work but between being in my later
sunset years, with all that has happened to me in the first half of this
year I have about reached the end of the do-it-yourself stuff, especially
if it involves getting under the van.

On Mon, Sep 6, 2021 at 10:30 AM Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> To add to this, Mechanics get paid by some salary, not a straight
> percentage of work done. Larger shops will determine salaries by skill
> level, years of experience, of service with that shop, and certifications.
> It is not that unusual for the oil change or tire mounting person to be a C
> or even D at a lower wage while customer still billed at the full shop
> rate. For the most part book times are based on actual studies, using
> vehicles that are near new and the work environment set up to get the job
> done. Warranty rates have reduced times as "new" does make a difference and
> for repairs doing the job a 2nd time usually goes faster. For repair
> warranties it is also common that for a comeback the original tech does not
> perform the re-work and they get some penalty if it was their error. This
> becomes a production based environment.
>
> Dealing with older vehicles much does not go to plan. You get failures
> that are not easy to diagnose or don’t follow common patterns, parts are
> not readily available, and things don’t go to plan. Start with brake pads,
> find you need a caliper or hose, then you twist off the rusted end of the
> line, etc. Now the tech and the lift gets held up for the day or longer.
> Many shops just don’t want this type of work.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> On Behalf Of David
> McNeely
> Sent: Monday, September 6, 2021 10:57 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: R&R Power Steering Rack
>
> 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.
> >
>