Hourly Rate

[knockmacool]

Curious what members pay for MB or non MB mechanic. Have tentatively agreed a date for some work to be done with a non-franchise MB mechanic here and was wondering what the going rate is.  I am talking maintenance work, not rebuild/resto/paint... FWIW it seems smaller countries are always more expensive, but Ireland takes the biscuit!

[w113dude]

In the US I would say MB dealerships charge upward of $100.00 and more local mechanics who work on European cars would start from $60.00 and higher depending on location.
It's becoming more difficult to find mechanics who have actually worked on these cars with years of experience, (including MB dealerships)  I would look for a none MB shops where you might have a bit more flexibility and in most cases are less expensive.

[thelews]

About $110 here.  Not the rate that's so important, but how long it takes to diagnose and fix and whether it's done correctly.

[Bernd]

Ok..take this as a tongue in cheek. I am an anesthesiologist. 4 years college, 4 years med school, an internship plus another  3 years in anesthesia residency, plus an extra year for good measure of subspecialty training. Now, that much training means that Medicare now pays me a whopping $84 per hour for taking care of the elderly, which often translates into the sickest patients also. Can't afford to get it wrong, or my patient is screwed, which means I will be as well 

Contrast that with $100+ /hour for a MB trained mechanic. Thinking I should get better with these old SL's and then it makes sense to stop taking Medicare patients and just play with cars instead? hmmmmm go figure.

[Garry]

Bernd,

We would all  like to have a good MB mechanic and due to this we end up paying a premium to get one if the outcome is going to be good.  On the other hand, nobody wants to have to use an anesthesiologist, especially as the outcomes can be deadly thus demand by necessity only must = <$$

[Richard Madison]

If we are honest, if all jobs paid the same, very few of us would do what we do now.
 
Richard M, NYC

[Tonys113]

I took my SL to t eh local MB Dealer and inquired about service.
The service manager told me $135.00/hr. and we really don't have anyone here who really knows the old cars.
I looked at this guy in total amazement. So you don't want to work on my car, I asked.
He replied that surely they would as long I understood that is $135.00/hr. and it might take some time to diagnose your problem.
I thanked him for his time and sped out of there as fast as I could.

The shop that works on my company fleet charges $65.00/hr. and I TRUST them, which is really what is all about. I could and would and have asked them to work on everything from my former race car to my SL.

Tony

[bossanov]

Moderator:  How about a Sticky on recommended local SL mechanics listed by zip codes?

Thanks,

[knockmacool]

Tony
 
I was about to take it into a "****** car specialist" . The words "We will have to keep it for a few days" filled me with fear...

[Fiams]

In every locale there is a mechanic who'd work outside their shop.  The trick is to identify that individual, befriend him and have him work at your house. Trust me on this one, I picked this from the 190sl forum a while ago and have had my cars including restoring a complete 190sl at home (granted - you must have a place at home for this), but for tune up and maintenance work you have this "friend" work at your home. You end up paying them less and they are happy with that.

Remember that $65 - $110 you guys are paying is mostly overhead + margin and the meager amt. being paid this mechanic.
Typically, the "real" mechanic is being paid $15 - $25 max wherever you guys are taking the car to.  The trick is to pay the 'mechanic" a margin over what he is real wage is and you'd have a "best friend" I have had this guy show up on weekends or sometimes his "sick days" etc.. to work on my cars for the past 8 years.

 Shaun  - W113 Dude, I think you met him once 3 years ago when you came down to my place - we should get together this spring/sumer with our 113s)

I urge you guys to seriously consider finding a "mechanic" around you and you'd be so happy and with a piece of mind.  I know of at least 6 friends of mine around the country including 190sl folks who went this route and are happy.  All you need to do is get the parts requested by the mechanic ready for the next visit get some lunch/dinner ready and you'd be happy with change in your pocket.

[Desertpagoda]

Is that the way you do it Fiams? Wait until something goes wrong and you need a warranty or worse ask for his insurance!

[Tom Colitt]

Ok..take this as a tongue in cheek. I am an anesthesiologist. 4 years college, 4 years med school, an internship plus another  3 years in anesthesia residency, plus an extra year for good measure of subspecialty training. Now, that much training means that Medicare now pays me a whopping $84 per hour for taking care of the elderly, which often translates into the sickest patients also. Can't afford to get it wrong, or my patient is screwed, which means I will be as well 

Contrast that with $100+ /hour for a MB trained mechanic. Thinking I should get better with these old SL's and then it makes sense to stop taking Medicare patients and just play with cars instead? hmmmmm go figure.

But Bernd. We mechanics have a much tougher job... We can't ask out patients what's the matter with them. Does it hurt here or there or when did the trouble start? Of course, for that, we don't have to put our patients under, in order to work on them. Their owners on the other hand....Sometimes, it might actually be a good idea to put them under before working on their cars :-))

[w113dude]

In every locale there is a mechanic who'd work outside their shop.  The trick is to identify that individual, befriend him and have him work at your house. Trust me on this one, I picked this from the 190sl forum a while ago and have had my cars including restoring a complete 190sl at home (granted - you must have a place at home for this), but for tune up and maintenance work you have this "friend" work at your home. You end up paying them less and they are happy with that.

Remember that $65 - $110 you guys are paying is mostly overhead + margin and the meager amt. being paid this mechanic.
Typically, the "real" mechanic is being paid $15 - $25 max wherever you guys are taking the car to.  The trick is to pay the 'mechanic" a margin over what he is real wage is and you'd have a "best friend" I have had this guy show up on weekends or sometimes his "sick days" etc.. to work on my cars for the past 8 years.

 Shaun  - W113 Dude, I think you met him once 3 years ago when you came down to my place - we should get together this spring/sumer with our 113s)

I urge you guys to seriously consider finding a "mechanic" around you and you'd be so happy and with a piece of mind.  I know of at least 6 friends of mine around the country including 190sl folks who went this route and are happy.  All you need to do is get the parts requested by the mechanic ready for the next visit get some lunI used to lunch/dinner ready and you'd be happy with change in your pocket.

That's a good trick Ben,

[stickandrudderman]

In London we charge £70 ph whereas the main dealers who know nothing will charge £115 ph. (Both plus taxes)
Believe me when I say I don't get rich charging these prices!
The other difference is that Independents don't tend to be "managed" as closely and so you don't get charged for every 0.1 hour that is spent on your car; this is what really racks the bill up.
The questions of insurance and liability should not be over-looked when making "friends" with a local mechanic and paying him cash.
Not just his insurance either, but perhaps your own household insurance.

[Bernd]

Hi Tom

not actually quite true...since I specialize in complex surgeries lasting up to 14 hours long, there is LOTS of time when the proverbial "s..t hits the fan", the patient is asleep and can't talk to me, hopefully I am awake, and I have to figure out what the heck is going wrong. LOL. Anyhow, I love what I do, just wish at times it wasn't regarded as an entitlement by some.
Coming from my profession, I have no problems recognizing someones else's worth by paying a fair salary for their expertise.
 

[Garry]

Just had some work done on my car at $88 an hour.  Great repair garage in Melbourne, owner has a few Pagodas himself and just about all his work is on pre 70's Mercs

Its not the price per hour you need to worry too much about, its the capability of the person to know what to do, the correct way to fix and to take the minimum time.

[Benz Dr.]

My hourly rate is $60.00. There are a lot of hours I don't get paid for: talking on the phone, looking up part numbers, talking to suppliers or customers, running to town for supplies, picking up or delivering cars, ( if it's close ) reading manuals to figure out problems, doing paper work, pulling parts from parts cars or spending time looking for things. In short, I don't pay myself for a lot of things I do.

I have two guys working for me. One is a younger guy who is good at some things and I have an older guy who is good at other things. I have the most expirience so I have to be good at everything but I know when to stay away from some jobs. I don't do body work, interiors, wood restoration, auto trans, AC systems, radios and a few other things. I have places that can do these jobs for me or I don't do them at all.

The place ( MB dealer ) that said they really didn't want the job was being honest. I don't understand why anyone would have a problem with that. There are times where I tell someone I can fix everything except for one thing and he would need to take it to a place that can fix that item. Why would I want to get into something that I don't understand or could be a can of worms?

If I train someone and they are working for me I would be very pissed to find out they were stealing work from me. If they called in sick and took work away from my shop they aren't being honest and I think I would let them go if it happened again. My place is fully insured - you get what you pay for. Imagine if the car my guy was moon lighting on quit running and it came to my place and now I have to pay my guy to fix his mistakes? I don't don't think so.  I don't have to worry about any of those things because my guys are honest. I also give them a bonus for work they find or bring in so there's no incentive for them to go behind my back.

I used to go and work at the owners house. I don't any more. I always forgot something or ended up needing a certain wrench or tools. The whole idea of crawling around under some greasy car on a cement floor also doesn't apeal to me - I'm too old for that. I equiped my shop so that it would be user friendly for me; you come to me, that's the way it works.

There seems to be a level of mistrust concerning mechanics and sometimes vendors around here. Anyone and everyone can probably relate some story about they got ripped off. To me, it's like a bad date - everyone has had a few.   Everyone has a different idea of what a good job is but I tend to relate it in this way since I also have to go to places to get things done in the same fashion as anyone around here:

As long as you meet or exceed my expectations or standards, I'll keep doing business with you.
Everyone makes mistakes. How do you fix them?
Do you make me look good? If your work screws me up I look bad.
Are you cost competitive? I'm not looking for cheap - I'm looking for consistant quality.
Is your invoicing and paper work up to date and am I getting my core refunds or credits back?

There are a lot of different factors that make things work or not work at all. It's a lot of hard work to keep a shop running. I'd challenge anyone to start one from scratch and try and make it work.

[johnshenry]

Ok..take this as a tongue in cheek. I am an anesthesiologist. 4 years college, 4 years med school, an internship plus another  3 years in anesthesia residency, plus an extra year for good measure of subspecialty training. Now, that much training means that Medicare now pays me a whopping $84 per hour for taking care of the elderly, which often translates into the sickest patients also. Can't afford to get it wrong, or my patient is screwed, which means I will be as well 

Contrast that with $100+ /hour for a MB trained mechanic. Thinking I should get better with these old SL's and then it makes sense to stop taking Medicare patients and just play with cars instead? hmmmmm go figure.

Yeah I didn't make that much either doing Neurosurgery, now I work on 113s.   

[stickandrudderman]

Ok..take this as a tongue in cheek. I am an anesthesiologist. 4 years college, 4 years med school, an internship plus another  3 years in anesthesia residency, plus an extra year for good measure of subspecialty training. Now, that much training means that Medicare now pays me a whopping $84 per hour for taking care of the elderly, which often translates into the sickest patients also. Can't afford to get it wrong, or my patient is screwed, which means I will be as well 

Contrast that with $100+ /hour for a MB trained mechanic. Thinking I should get better with these old SL's and then it makes sense to stop taking Medicare patients and just play with cars instead? hmmmmm go figure

I wonder how you'd feel if you had to take the cost of the ops theatre, medical equipment, support staff, insurance, building costs, utilities etc out of your $80 per hour?

[Bernd]

It really wasn't my intent to be confrontational, but I do need to respond. Actually, I do have to pay for many of the items you listed.. malpractice costs alone to the tune of 20,000 plus per year, staff membership dues, (required) continuing education costs, DEA license fees, medical license renewal, professional memberships, travel to and from work (not just once a day, but frequently also nights weekends and holidays with no time and a half adjustment for the PITA factor of working on off hours), medical billing, office staff..and many more! Guess the non-medical person really has no understanding of the expenses a medical practice has. Oh, and by the way, what line of business finds themselves having to wait 3 to 4 months ROUTINELY before they (MAY) get paid for their services? Not to mention really NOT being able to say no to taking care of patients that have no insurance and that I simply take care off for free.

And, last not least, I forgot. I didn't actually earn an income that allowed me to do more than barely feed myself and my family until I was about 33, and that during the many years prior to that I routinely put in 110 to 120 work weeks. I invite you to do the math.
Despite that, I still love what I do. It's just my personal perspective on the realities of the world we live in today. Everyone should get paid a fair compensation for what they deserve. What I don't like about the way that mechanics at dealerships often charge is that certain jobs have time values attached to them. If the mechanic can do it in half the time, he can still bill the full time value. Private mechanics often don't do it that way, and I appreciate that!

BTW. if there are any mechanics out there that would be willing to get up at 0330 in the morning to evaluate my coughing engine I would love to get their number. That way when I get home from my 2am appendectomy and can't sleep I can use that time productively.

 

[Benz Dr.]

Mechanics who work on flat rate nours get paid flat rate. If it taskes two hours to do a three hour job they come out ahead. If it takes five hours to do it they loose. In the end it probably comes out about even.
In a shop that has flat rate mechanics some of them may only get 3 - 5 hours a day. If it's slow they get nothing. They have to buy all of their own tools although the shop may own some of the special equipment and buy it from the company.

 I don't have to do this but I often wait several months before I sell any grain that I grow. Some of it has to do with cash accounting and some of it is marketing strategy. It can be nearly a year before I see any return on my investment. And in agriculture, you're a price taker, not a price maker. You can forward contract but that doesn't always work either.
It's one of the only occupations where you buy retail and sell wholesale.

 Everyone has there cross to carry......

[knockmacool]

FWIW, local mechanic charges EUR40- and specialist in town EUR60-, so if the specialist is good, that is a good rate. As for the crosses we bear... we all have them, and from what I can see here, we all manage them pretty well!