How much would you be willing to pay?

OK futher to this thread I thought it would be interesting to see how much people were willing to spend an hour if they were confident that the work being done was to the highest standard.

if bein done to the highest standard, as much as it cost really. i can hardly do anythin myself due to a lack of space, i'll do a 60 mile drive to Envy because they are of the highest standard (and also why i sing their praises so much, i don't get commission, or free parts )

seriously though, for the supra, up to £100 and hour for a top top job. otherwise i wouldn't mod it if i werent confident it was gonna work

Really as much as that? Perhaps I need to up the ranges....

lol upto that yeah, i've just seen you made it a poll so i clicked on £60 or more. BUT saw you put up a option for complexity - i wouldnt pay more than i already do for oil changes (which is feck all to be honest )etc

Well, we have a very good jap specialist garage round here that charge under 30 (Triton), so I'd have to say that. If I didn't know about them it might be more.

lol upto that yeah, i've just seen you made it a poll so i clicked on £60 or more. BUT saw you put up a option for complexity - i wouldnt pay more than i already do for oil changes (which is feck all to be honest )etc

OK so if the garage had an excellent reputation, and you had had say complexed work done there by the lead mechanic for a certain cost, and were really happy with that work, would you be willing to pay less for say something easy like an oil change, with the previso that a junior mechanic would be doing the work?

OK so if the garage had an excellent reputation, and you had had say complexed work done there by the lead mechanic for a certain cost, and were really happy with that work, would you be willing to pay less for say something easy like an oil change, with the previso that a junior mechanic would be doing the work?

for oil changes etc, then i wouldn't mind i don't think no, unless the juniour one's an idiot that is! i'd wanna watch them do it though. i wouldn't be thrillede as you always want the best person doin it. Like at Envy, for the more complex jobs, Robert the supra whizz, does all of them. he didn't do my last oil change though but i know all their lads are competent so i had no cause to worry (unless Gaz get's under the car, then i'd worry - kiddin)

P.S. Envy don't charge anywhere near £100 for labour! just clarifyin that lol.

People just want things to WORK... I dont think you can put a price on that, even the more expensive things in life let you down.

personally i think £30 an hour is ample

My main worry isn't the bad work, it's being ripped off with advice and stuff. I don't trust ANYONE in the car trade any more, even people I thought were OK, there are some I trust more than others but generally I don't take any 1 person at their word anymore - it seems it's impossible to be in the auto trade and not be out to get all you can get from customers!!

Don't Thor charge £120 an hour or something? I pay that coz they seem to be the electronics gurus.

Good post Tony. I was thinking myself about opening a MOT station/Service garage when my contract ends next year.

I believe that has a lot to do with the resale value of the car.

If it is in the £5K-10K region (be honest now!) I can't think of many people willing to pay over £50/hour, especially if they don't know for sure how many hours it will take, lol...

I've been thinking along the lines of James, if anyone would seriously consider taking the plunge, I'd like to chat. Performance cars won't disappear overnight, it's not a bad business go into if you know what you're doing.

Good post Tony. I was thinking myself about opening a MOT station/Service garage when my contract ends next year.

and you need someone to help give me a shout..

LOL perhaps we could all go into business together.

People who love what they do and the cars they work on are the best. I still go to Paul cos he works so many hours and mostly works on Supras, it's clear he loves what he does - so is less likely to just bodge something through.

A lot of people probably go into business thinking I'll only do work I can fit in and always do the best job possible and therefore keep the customers coming back and recommendations etc. But eventually they get bored or big headed or whatever and over time become like everyone else.

The charging should really reflect the local economy IMO...Sorry Londoners but you get paid more so I expect your rates to be higher...but all jobs should be adjusted for their complexity/completion time.

Round this way I'd say it should be about £30 an hour for you average 2hr job, changing bits an pieces.

This is a really hard question to answer!

Some engineers are SOOOOO slow, they do VERY good work but its like watching paint dry..

I do lots of the work on my own car and I DONT skimp out on parts or take shortcuts...

I can do my plugs in 20 minutes... I would be willing to pay 30-40 ph... BUT only for an engineer who was GOOD and quick.

I made the recent mistake of being lazy and getting a tuner to fit my Wideband innovate kit... They spent 4 HOURS!!! @ £50 ph..

I was not thrilled with the bill for something I know I could have done myself ...

disagree with that alex.... were getting screwed on house prices, local taxes, even petrol prices... i was actually saving more when i was working up in leeds then compared to where i am now in the southeast....

This is a really hard question to answer!

 

Some engineers are SOOOOO slow, they do VERY good work but its like watching paint dry..

 

I was not thrilled with the bill for something I know I could have done myself ...

..... And thats how they make their money..... ... secondly, yes totally agree... if i could do something myself, no matter how challenging, i would much rather spend the money i would give some grease monkey buying better parts or tools for the job

My main worry isn't the bad work, it's being ripped off with advice and stuff. I don't trust ANYONE in the car trade any more, even people I thought were OK, there are some I trust more than others but generally I don't take any 1 person at their word anymore - it seems it's impossible to be in the auto trade and not be out to get all you can get from customers!!

You might not like what they tell you - or agree with an opinion (which is always your perogative - and lord knows there are enough opinions around!) but I think your response here may not be balanced

Not everyone is out to get you!

Yeah I know and you and Paul are the people I trust most I think, but for example I still would rather get other peoples opinions before acting on something you or Paul said to me. I work with quite a few people and my dad used to do repairs and stuff but a lot of it is out of date or not relevant to turbo cars etc. It's still helpful. I'm just saying that a hell of a lot of the auto world just seem obsessed with getting cash out of your pockets.