Meeting people as a mechanic.

[TexasT]

Now that's a good story! My business partner used to be the shop manager of the JB in Waco and has told me a little of that story but only said it was one of the Dallas locations.

JB was just bought by another company and will soon be selling tires and crap too. They do AC, batteries, suspension, BRAKES etc etc and only have $7.50 an hour employees yet charge over $100 per hour. Wish I had those kind of profit margins. LOL

You could , just hire a bunch of 7.5 an hour labor and charge 100 an hour. Just don't thnk of it to be a long term thing. Unless you have an oratory gift of bs.

I befuddles me to think people take their vehicles to places like that but then you realize they only have one criteria, lowest price. Quality really never enters their mind and they couldn't tell any way.

[32vfromhell]

You could , just hire a bunch of 7.5 an hour labor and charge 100 an hour. Just don't thnk of it to be a long term thing. Unless you have an oratory gift of bs.

I befuddles me to think people take their vehicles to places like that but then you realize they only have one criteria, lowest price. Quality really never enters their mind and they couldn't tell any way.

Part of it is misplaced trust.

They trust that the work they are getting done is A) necessary and B) competitively priced and fair market value for what they get in return and C) really good marketing that brings people into the shop in the first place

[Nash B.]

Because at Just Brakes, they really do care!

[inline 6]

None of these stories compare to the cheap assed guys that fly planes. I looked into doing some free lance aviation work on small planes and quickly decided the liability was not worth it.

[Grape]

ASE = ask somebody else

[Cooter]

I don't get things like this.

I've told three different people at school that their EGR coolers in their 6.0l diesels were going to break, leave them stranded, and possibly damage the engine.

I've recently had three EGR delete jobs in 6.0l diesels.

They were convinced that it wasn't common, they could do it later, and it was only a "hotrod" thing to do. Even the Ford DEALERSHIPS do EGR deletes as the fix now.

Sounds like they were able to do it later, no?

[2011GT]

None of these stories compare to the cheap assed guys that fly planes. I looked into doing some free lance aviation work on small planes and quickly decided the liability was not worth it.

It's funny how their BMW dealer charges 200 a shop hour but when their airplane is getting charged 75 a shop hour they loose their minds.

[LaserSVT]

I changed a headlight in a Prius today. Wasn't sure what to charge the lady until she said "Its $400 at the dealer!". I looked it up and holy hell she was right! $300 per bulb and $400 to install. That's a cool G for a pair of headlights! Yeah I had to take the bumper off but still took maybe 20 minutes. I just charged her a half hour labor. $400 is insane.

[Frank]

I changed a headlight in a Prius today. Wasn't sure what to charge the lady until she said "Its $400 at the dealer!". I looked it up and holy hell she was right! $300 per bulb and $400 to install. That's a cool G for a pair of headlights! Yeah I had to take the bumper off but still took maybe 20 minutes. I just charged her a half hour labor. $400 is insane.

If it had an Obama sticker, shoulda charged her $500. When she balks just explain to her the distribution of wealth.

[LaserSVT]

If it had an Obama sticker, shoulda charged her $500. When she balks just explain to her the distribution of wealth.

Her daughter bought it for her. She complained about Obama non stop while I pulled her bumper off.

[Cooter]

I changed a headlight in a Prius today. Wasn't sure what to charge the lady until she said "Its $400 at the dealer!". I looked it up and holy hell she was right! $300 per bulb and $400 to install. That's a cool G for a pair of headlights! Yeah I had to take the bumper off but still took maybe 20 minutes. I just charged her a half hour labor. $400 is insane.

piss on that... make your money or she's going to send all her broke-ass friends/family looking for handouts too! LOL

[crapstang]

None of these stories compare to the cheap assed guys that fly planes. I looked into doing some free lance aviation work on small planes and quickly decided the liability was not worth it.

I've heard that from some of the Cessna mechanics next door. Nobody can really cheap out on Falcon jets, luckily. You can, however, see the results of poor previous mechanic work. Also, you find lots weird stuff while disassembling the interior.

Sounds like they were able to do it later, no?

Yup lol. IDK how strong their head gaskets are now though. I won't go that deep into a 6.0.

[talisman]

None of these stories compare to the cheap assed guys that fly planes. I looked into doing some free lance aviation work on small planes and quickly decided the liability was not worth it.

lol. I posted this in another thread awhile back:

One more. Early 2003 it was about 8pm, me and 1 other guy working and we were pretty slammed, which was unusual. I've got all these people waiting and get the next customer

"What can I help you with."

"Well, I need a gas cap."

"Okay, what's it for" hitting the keys to bring up my look up screen.

"It's for an airplane."

".....................do you have the old one?"

"No."

"Do you have some dimensions on it, type of threads, anything to go on?"

He pulls out a piece of paper and unfolds it. It has a drawing.... Of a fucking CIRCLE on it. He says "It's about that size."

I looked at him point blank and said "You want me to find you a gas cap, in my auto parts store, for your airplane, with a drawing of a circle?"

I dismissed him and moved on to the next customer. Coincidentally, earlier that day I had been offered a promotion at another store to the commercial department, and had asked if I could have a day to think about it. I came in the next day and took it, due to many reasons, but that was what tipped it over the edge.

[inline 6]

They do that because the real one he needed is probably at least $300

[GhostTX]

I changed a headlight in a Prius today. Wasn't sure what to charge the lady until she said "Its $400 at the dealer!". I looked it up and holy hell she was right! $300 per bulb and $400 to install. That's a cool G for a pair of headlights! Yeah I had to take the bumper off but still took maybe 20 minutes. I just charged her a half hour labor. $400 is insane.

Well, durrrr.. Toyota loses money on every one sold, so they gotta make the money back somehow.