Auto Parts

I don’t know if all repair shops follow this same routine but lets talk about Parts markup! In a lot of shops, they call the parts store and get a price on the part they need for your car. For instance lets say, they need a price on a carburetor which sells for $300. Depending on the formula they use, most of them will take the $300 times 2 = $600. That is a pretty big markup! I never understood why they did that to the customers. Some may take that same $300 part and times it by 1.5 = $450. But if you walk in that same auto part store, you can purchase it for $300! That’s why a lot of auto repair shops will not let you bring in your own parts. If you find a shop that will let you bring in your own parts, consider your self lucky!



Now lets talk about the cost of Labor. What I would recommend before going to an auto repair shop, call around and ask what are your shop hourly rates. You will be surprised! I would say they vary from $25 per hour to $100 per hour! Lets say an automotive starter averages around 1 hour to remove and Install. Would you rather pay the $25 or the $100 to install your new starter. Now how they figure how long the job takes they look in a Automotive manual which determines how long an average job would take. If the book calls for 1.5 hours then they take their hourly rate and times it by 1.5 hours. That is how they figure how much labor to charge you. This information will save you thousands of dollars over a period of time.

If you really want to be conservative, ask the auto shop manager to see the amount of time in his manual showing you the labor guide to your specific job being done. Some auto shops will try and bump up the labor guide to 2 or 2.5 hours instead of the 1.5 to an unsuspecting customer. I hope you use this advice the next time you take your car in for repairs. And remember to check out these special links to keep this blog going. Thank you.