boat mechanic overcharging?

[BobT]

There are times when one feels he gets really burned by the estimate book. Case in point. A few years ago my wife had an early 90s Ford Explorer. The front brake pads needed to be replaced so I took it to a local mechanic who told me it was a two-hour job and so the bill would be $X plus parts. Note that this estimate did not include replacing or turning the rotors.

I got home and decided to take a look at it myself. The rotors appeared to be in good shape and so I decided I could do the work myself.

The next Saturday morning after a cup of coffee I went out and started work on the brakes. I have no special tools. I had to use a screw jack, block the vehicle, and no air impact wrench.

I am not exaggerating this. When I walked out of my kitchen I left a half full cup of coffee on the kitchen table. The tools I needed were my jack, tire iron, hammer, and punch. Twenty minutes later I walked into my kitchen and finished the second half of my cup of coffee, which was still very warm. It took me longer to remove the front wheels than it did to replace the pads.

Now, I don't know where their two-hour estimate comes from for that book but I would have been totally ripped off had I hired this mechanic. Needless to say, I have never given that mechanic any work since.

I can understand that those estimates try to cover the occasional DIYer that strips bolts or hammers the [PoorWordUsage] out of some part and then brings it in to get done. Some vehicles are old and rust can add time but this too is probably considered in the estimate book. There are situations though where the unwary customer is taken advantage of.

Bob

[overdalimit]

Bob, The "Book" is written by a company that researches the the time it takes to replace a part on an average condition vehicle by a skilled technician with the proper tools and training. Many shops will vary from the book as greed dictates. (some charge more than they should in hopes of making a larger profit while others charge less than they should in hopes of just getting the job or perhaps doing volume business. Beware of the low price and the high price for one may produce substandard work while the other just rips you off. This is where the three estimate thing came from. Hopefully you find a middle price mechanic that does what he says he will at a fair price. Reputation is a big thing. A mechanic that is worth his salt is going to have a good one and he is going to do everything in his power to protect it (i.e. quality work at a fair price). Also there is a difference between an estimate and diagnostics. We never charge for an estimate but we do charge to diagnose a problem as that is usually the part of the job that requires the most expertise.

OVERDALIMIT

[BobT]

Quote:

we do charge to diagnose a problem as that is usually the part of the job that requires the most expertise.

I most certainly agree here. I may have already mentioned it in this thread but one of my pet peeves is hiring a mechanic to solve a problem with my vehicle and what he ends up doing is replacing parts until he figures it out. I have learned this happens way too often and now I won't bring any work to a mechanic without making it clear up front that I am paying him for his expertise and diagnosis and not paying top dollar do what I can do myself.

Bob