Hammer Time: Repairs

$110 an hour. That’s what certain European dealerships will charge for their $15 an hour technicians. Now granted you’re paying for the nice marble floor and a waiting room filled with old magazines, cable news and pretzels. But still that’s an awful lot of money to part with. In fact, a lot of dealerships make an exceptional living out of highballing the repair cost and lowballing the trade-in value once the customer sees the repair estimate. One outfit in particular with nearly ten dealerships in my neck of the woods clears the two million dollar mark just on this homegrown recipe for consumer disaster. So how do you avoid it?

The pay is usually between $10 to $35 an hour at what can loosely be termed a ‘fitter’ level. All most folks do with these repairs is remove no more than a dozen or so bolts, take out the old, and put in the new. Speaking of new… here’s a really good parts guide to help navigate the new vs. used parts paradigm. Even a cheap bastard like me will buy a quality part because it always cost less in the long run.

But what if you have something that seems tricky or elusive? A lot of folks will go to a franchised tire or repair shop. These places have the worst combination of high overhead and cheap lower quality parts. For starters, cheap labor is often cheap for a reason and the ones who work at these places are usually inexperienced. I strongly prefer independent mechanics who have set up their own shops. Many of them are hobbyists who have evolved, grown, and experienced all the rigors of learning a craft. A distinct minority have more moderate wrenching experience but are very good at managing other people (and customers).

Virtually all of them will have a system called Autodata which can guide them through a particular type of repair. But the ‘doing’ is usually easy when it comes to tricky problems. I pay these guys for a diagnosis and consider the higher cost of repair as a reward for solving that riddle. In our business it’s actually a nice mutual circle of help. The independent dealer provides clients and cars at all seasons… and the independent repair shop does the same for me. Many of my best customers and trade-in’s have come from this source.

One other thing. Independent shops are very good at having specialists of varying sorts. Air conditioning, electrical, suspensions, many of the issues you will face in these areas require skills that end up interchangeable among a wide variety of cars. This time of year I end up with dozens of cars that need a/c work and one mechanic’s know how in this area can make all the difference.

Finally… you have the big job. An engine, transmission, or a comprehensive vehicle overhaul. For those I’ll usually either get a dealer mechanic on the side that specializes in that brand. Or I’ll get a few shadetrees in the more rural areas who have their own bay and equipment. In the less populated areas you tend to have folks who have more time and resources for their hobbies. You may have to wait a day or two to get your vehicle back. But 90+% of the time the repair pays off. Unlike many franchise dealers, these folks will keep on working on a job until it’s right.