Ever been ripped off by a car mechanic?

I hope not. . .my mechanic is my father in law

If I padded my timesheet I'd get fired. If a mechanic pads there timesheet they get a smile?

What other industries can do this fat rate thing and get away with it?

If I padded my timesheet I'd get fired. If a mechanic pads there timesheet they get a smile?

What other industries can do this fat rate thing and get away with it?

Wish I could put in an 8 hour day and be paid for fifteen. You're padding, you bill 5 hours if it took four. You're charging for a lot more hours than you worked.

What do you call it?

I caught a mechanic masturbating in my car once.

He said he was lubricating the hinges.

Piccaboo, I'd be very interested to hear from you any tips you'd care to share about how to spot a decent mechanic/shop vs. what to look out for/how to know you're being screwed. I take my car to the Ford dealership where my folks have purchased every vehicle they've owned over the last 12 years or so, and I don't really expect to be misled or lied to there. But I have felt that way in the past at other shops, and it's not always easy to tell when the smoke is being blown up your dress, if you know what I mean. Especially when I've been sitting in the shop's waiting room for 4 hours & I just want my car back & let me go home...

I'll never forget when I found out how much an air filter costs at AutoZone, and how easy it is to put in... JiffyLube charges like $30 for that service! Yes I'm a car n00b, give me your laptop & I'll fix it right up (and I won't even charge you for realigning the gigahertz!) but with auto stuff I'm still a padawan--but I'm trying to learn!

Wish I could put in an 8 hour day and be paid for fifteen. You're padding, you bill 5 hours if it took four. You're charging for a lot more hours than you worked.

What do you call it?

You don't have a clue and I don't think you have the capacity to understand anyway but what you don't get is that not all jobs come out in favor of the mechanic. The "flat rate" times are constantly being analyzed and change based on new procedures and technologies. What they generally are is average times to do a job under normal conditions. Of course someone who works on the same thing all the time will be able to do a job a little quicker than someone doing it for the first time.

Say a job has a flat rate time of 4 hours. Say you happen to get the new guy working on your car. He has little experience and has never done this particular repair before and he just started working at the shop so is unfamiliar with the equipment and where to find things. Instead of getting the job done in 3.5 hours like one of the other mechanics might have been able to he ends up spending all day on it.

Would you be satisfied paying the 8 hours labor that was put into the job? No, you would probably be whining like a little baby just like you have all the way through this thread.

This mechanic would get paid for 4 hours after putting in 8 on the job. Sometimes this happens because of inexperience or being new like in this example but even more often there are other factors that are not controllable. They might have to fight with rusty nuts and bolts, sometimes prior repairs were done incorrectly and add additional work to a job. Sometimes the flat rate times are just plain wrong and nobody could do the job in the specified time.

A lot of mechanics will buy more and more specialty tools to get jobs done quicker to make more money. Should a mechanic who has $75,000 worth of tools in his tool box make less money than one who has only spent $10,000?

No, parts are ordered from vendors, whether it be a Dealership that parts need to come from, or a "jobber" that the parts need to come from. Where we are there is a huge Auto Warehouse that stocks many parts for all makes and models for automobiles. But if it's a Lexus and you need brakes for it - you must get them from a Lexus Dealership, because that is the only place that will have them in stock that day you are changing the brakes - unless you want to call up the customer and tell them they need to wait one more day or two - until the brakes are delivered from the "jobber".

Rebuilt parts almost never - unless agreed upon between the customer and the owner - such as an engine or a transmission - which is a big ticket item. Then it comes down to whether or not depending on the vehicle whether you want a factory rebuilt engine/trans with a warranty - or one that comes without. There are too many variables with that scenario - but the customer is always advised as to what is what.

Who would ever put in a used timing belt, used brakes, used radiator, used power steering pump, etc. Just plain stupid, imho.

By rebuilt I meant a alternator/water pump etc. that you pick up from Autozone/Advance Auto. Its "new" but was rebuilt from a core. Do repair shops typically put these on cars? or just put a OEM factory part. Thanks for your comments I find them interesting.

You assume everyone's being paid the same amount. The experienced mechanic should be earning a lot more per hour than the new kid on the block who doesn't know where the whatchamacallit is. And the one who's experienced enough to justify having more overhead equiopment should be charging more per hour than the corner newbie with basic tools.

A junior mechanic should not be paid the same rate as a master mechanic, that's just nuts and it's what you're basing this fat rate payment system on. It doens't do the consumer any good.

Piccaboo, I'd be very interested to hear from you any tips you'd care to share about how to spot a decent mechanic/shop vs. what to look out for/how to know you're being screwed. I take my car to the Ford dealership where my folks have purchased every vehicle they've owned over the last 12 years or so, and I don't really expect to be misled or lied to there. But I have felt that way in the past at other shops, and it's not always easy to tell when the smoke is being blown up your dress, if you know what I mean. Especially when I've been sitting in the shop's waiting room for 4 hours & I just want my car back & let me go home...

I'll never forget when I found out how much an air filter costs at AutoZone, and how easy it is to put in... JiffyLube charges like $30 for that service! Yes I'm a car n00b, give me your laptop & I'll fix it right up (and I won't even charge you for realigning the gigahertz!) but with auto stuff I'm still a padawan--but I'm trying to learn!

By rebuilt I meant a alternator/water pump etc. that you pick up from Autozone/Advance Auto. Its "new" but was rebuilt from a core. Do repair shops typically put these on cars? or just put a OEM factory part. Thanks for your comments I find them interesting.

Why does it bother you so much?

Let me give you an example (though completely useless since you're having a hard time thinking outside the box)

You pay a flat rate fee for your car. The book says it takes 4 hours to do the job.

1. Scenario A. You get an average mechanic, who charges an average $100/hour and does the job in the designated 4 hours. You pay $400.
2. Scenario B. You get a master mechanic, he can do the job in 2 hours. He would charge you $200/hour. you pay $400.
3. Scenario C. You get a junior mechanic, he can do the job in 8 hours, he charges you $50/hour, you still pay $400.
4. Scenario D. You get a good mechanic, he does the job in 3 hours, but due to the flat rate system, he charges you for 4 hours at his average rate of $100, you STILL pay $400.

Which would would make you feel better? A, B and C? But not D, right? Why? You still end up paying the same amount of money