Labor Rates

[SAMIAM]

Always serviced at Cantins but starting to wonder about labor rates
Went in friday for lower ball joints on my Avalanche
Dropped it off at 1pm and they called my to pick up at 4:30....total of 3.5 hours
Parts $176.86
Labor $910.44
Shop supplies $99.65
Total $1,186.95
Included alignment but still seems excessive....that's almost $300 hourly rate
Am I missing something?....maybe had two techs doing the job?
Was expecting $400 bill $500 tops

[fatlazyless]

Out of curiosity ..... what's the year and mileage on your Chevy Avalanche?

Sometime, last October, 2022, I had a front right wheel bearing on a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek with about 140-k miles replaced at Mike's Car Care in Laconia because it was a very noisy bearing and was told it needed replacing for about $550-total. Mike's did a very good job.

Then, in March 2023, had the other front wheel bearing, also very noisy grinding noise, replaced at Latchkey Auto in Meredith for about $450-total. Latchkey did a very good job.

Two years ago, September 2021, it cost $525 to get a trailer hitch and trailer electric wire hook-up installed at New World Auto in Plymouth. New World did a very good job.

You know where is a good place to get a car repair problem diagnosed, fast, when you are not sure what's exactly wrong is Forrest Howe's Car Repair in Campton. While there can be a three week wait to actually get the repair work done, Forrest Howe's will look at the car, diagnose the problem, do a test ride, and charge you about $25/15-minutes diagnosis time to give you a written estimate and you know what needs to get fixed, and can then take it somewhere else who can fix it at an earlier time.

In May 2023 I traded the 2014 Crosstrek in for a 2017 Crosstrek with just 80k miles cause it was looking like it would always be needing repairs, so that seems like it was a smart move ....... duh! .....

You is beating a dead horse when it comes to car repairs ...... is best to just get it fixed and /or get rid of it, or something! Is a lose-lose-lose situation.

[TheProfessor]

There are many quality independent automotive repair shops all around the Lakes Region.

Find one. And get all of your oil changnes done there to work up a relationship.

Use resources to find. Such as barber shop/hair salon. Local place of worship.

Scotty Kilmer. LINK

Scotty has over one billion views.

[ITD]

Sounds like you got hosed or they made a mistake, give them a call.

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Always serviced at Cantins but starting to wonder about labor rates
Went in friday for lower ball joints on my Avalanche
Dropped it off at 1pm and they called my to pick up at 4:30....total of 3.5 hours
Parts $176.86
Labor $910.44
Shop supplies $99.65
Total $1,186.95
Included alignment but still seems excessive....that's almost $300 hourly rate
Am I missing something?....maybe had two techs doing the job?
Was expecting $400 bill $500 tops

Sounds excessive but $400 to $500 sounds excessively low!
When I closed my independent shop 3 years ago, before Covid, I was getting $100 an hour and most dealers were charging $150.
I would think they are at least $200 by now, but $300 sounds excessive.

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by Biggd

Sounds excessive but $400 to $500 sounds excessively low!
When I closed my independent shop 3 years ago, before Covid, I was getting $100 an hour and most dealers were charging $150.
I would think they are at least $200 by now, but $300 sounds excessive.

What's your opinion on Sam's specific question--so you think it's a 3 hour job or a 6 hour job? Thanks

[WinnisquamZ]

Originally Posted by Biggd

Sounds excessive but $400 to $500 sounds excessively low!
When I closed my independent shop 3 years ago, before Covid, I was getting $100 an hour and most dealers were charging $150.
I would think they are at least $200 by now, but $300 sounds excessive.

Not Cantins as of last month. Now owned by Irwin motors


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[John Mercier]

Generally, they will charge book and pay the mechanic based on book.
That type of ''flat rate'' allows a mechanic to make more when they are able to complete the service faster.

You can always get an estimate before having a service done.
But I find that Irwin's has been a bit lax in detailing basic service rates of late.

[tummyman]

They may be a flat rate shop. I would call and ask to talk to Service Manager and express your concerns. If they are smart, i assume they will make an adjustment.

[SAMIAM]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Out of curiosity ..... what's the year and mileage on your Chevy Avalanche?

Sometime, last October, 2022, I had a front right wheel bearing on a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek with about 140-k miles replaced at Mike's Car Care in Laconia because it was a very noisy bearing and was told it needed replacing for about $550-total. Mike's did a very good job.

Then, in March 2023, had the other front wheel bearing, also very noisy grinding noise, replaced at Latchkey Auto in Meredith for about $450-total. Latchkey did a very good job.

Two years ago, September 2021, it cost $525 to get a trailer hitch and trailer electric wire hook-up installed at New World Auto in Plymouth. New World did a very good job.

You know where is a good place to get a car repair problem diagnosed, fast, when you are not sure what's exactly wrong is Forrest Howe's Car Repair in Campton. While there can be a three week wait to actually get the repair work done, Forrest Howe's will look at the car, diagnose the problem, do a test ride, and charge you about $25/15-minutes diagnosis time to give you a written estimate and you know what needs to get fixed, and can then take it somewhere else who can fix it at an earlier time.

In May 2023 I traded the 2014 Crosstrek in for a 2017 Crosstrek with just 80k miles cause it was looking like it would always be needing repairs, so that seems like it was a smart move ....... duh! .....

You is beating a dead horse when it comes to car repairs ...... is best to just get it fixed and /or get rid of it, or something! Is a lose-lose-lose situation.

It's a 2013 with 150 K miles......I love it and don't want to trade

[fatlazyless]

Just for the hell of it ...... go to Craigslist-NH ......do a search for 2013 Chevy Avalanche ...... just to see what type of mileage these 'for sale' Avalanches have?

[tis]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

It's a 2013 with 150 K miles......I love it and don't want to trade

We had one and two escalades and hated to get rid of them. Cadillac stopped making them.

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by tis

We had one and two escalades and hated to get rid of them. Cadillac stopped making them.

www.chevycarusa.com/2023-chevy-avalanche/ .... starting at $30,000 .... the new Chevy Avalanche at Cantin Chevrolet, Laconia NH on Halloween ..... trick or treat! .....

[tis]

FLL, too bad, it would be nice

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

What's your opinion on Sam's specific question--so you think it's a 3 hour job or a 6 hour job? Thanks

Dealers charge flat rate, so whatever the book labor says is what they charge.
If the mechanic finishes the job in less time he can make more money because he's ready to take on another job.
A good flat rate mechanic can double his shop time.
Sometimes two mechanics will share one big job and split the labor.
I know when Toyota was replacing all those rotted frames they were paying mechanics 22 hours labor so two guys would get it done much quicker and split the job.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Always serviced at Cantins but starting to wonder about labor rates
Went in friday for lower ball joints on my Avalanche
Dropped it off at 1pm and they called my to pick up at 4:30....total of 3.5 hours
Parts $176.86
Labor $910.44
Shop supplies $99.65
Total $1,186.95
Included alignment but still seems excessive....that's almost $300 hourly rate
Am I missing something?....maybe had two techs doing the job?
Was expecting $400 bill $500 tops

If this were for both lower ball joints and alignment, it doesn't seem that far off...if there were two people working on one side each?

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

If this were for both lower ball joints and alignment, it doesn't seem that far off...if there were two people working on one side each?

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

Even if they had two techs doing the job, they only charge book labor so the techs would split the 3.5 hours. They don't charge more for two techs.

[SAB1]

Car repair costs have skyrocketed. A simple front brake job that used to be $450 now pushes $600-650. Rediculous. I’ve seen work done at dealer ships for less than independent shops now.

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by SAB1

Car repair costs have skyrocketed. A simple front brake job that used to be $450 now pushes $600-650. Rediculous. I’ve seen work done at dealer ships for less than independent shops now.

Parts have skyrocketed. As I said, I retired from the business 3 1/2 years ago and prices have gone up considerably.

[SAB1]

Originally Posted by Biggd

Parts have skyrocketed. As I said, I retired from the business 3 1/2 years ago and prices have gone up considerably.

Somewhat but not that much. I bought front rotors and pads for my Tundra for $280 from the dealer on Rt11 in Rochester. I installed them in my driveway and was done in under 2hrs. The shop estimate was $650.

[TheProfessor]

Originally Posted by SAB1

Somewhat but not that much. I bought front rotors and pads for my Tundra for $280 from the dealer on Rt11 in Rochester. I installed them in my driveway and was done in under 2hrs. The shop estimate was $650.

No rotors are made in USA anymore. Except specialty cars - such as race cars.
All are manufactured in China, Mexico, or Taiwan. Taiwan having the best quality of the bunch.

Always purchase a name brand for such. The box should state a brand name. As many boxes that rotors come in have no writing whatsoever.

Only one company makes brake pads for passenger cars in the USA. The rest again, come from China, Mexico, or Taiwan.

LINK
Japan company with factory iin USA.

But someone with automotive knowledge may find more Made in USA. For ordinary/passenger cars and trucks.

Many of the brand names are USA companies - but the actual product comes from foreign sources.

[SAMIAM]

Originally Posted by Biggd

Parts have skyrocketed. As I said, I retired from the business 3 1/2 years ago and prices have gone up considerably.

Just for the hell of it I Googled up "Average dealer price to install lower ball joints" and "average time to install lower ball joints"
Answer was $400/$500 and 1 hour each

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Just for the hell of it I Googled up "Average dealer price to install lower ball joints" and "average time to install lower ball joints"
Answer was $400/$500 and 1 hour each

They will charge book time no matter what, because that's how flat rate works and most dealers pay flat rate. Independent shops can do whatever they want. I wouldn't trust everything you read on google.
I once had job that was under an independent extended warrantee, and I quoted the company $400. My shop was in Woburn Ma, they told me that they had a shop in Lawrence that would do it for $200.
I told them to make sure the customer had a gun with him when he dropped it off in Lawrence. I never took another job that was under an independent warrantee again.

[The Real BigGuy]

Originally Posted by Biggd

They will charge book time no matter what, because that's how flat rate works and most dealers pay flat rate. Independent shops can do whatever they want. I wouldn't trust everything you read on google.
I once had job that was under an independent extended warrantee, and I quoted the company $400. My shop was in Woburn Ma, they told me that they had a shop in Lawrence that would do it for $200.
I told them to make sure the customer had a gun with him when he dropped it off in Lawrence. I never took another job that was under an independent warrantee again.

Once had a boss who got a call from someone asking us to replace a vendor who wasn’t showing up. We quoted a price and the caller responded that his former vendor would do the work for $750 less. My bosses response, “we’ll do it for $1000 less than the price I quoted and we won’t show up either.”


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