I need to open a shop. Labor rates and parts mark up is crazy.

silver95taurus said:
try being the parts store getting beat up on prices. shop bitching its too expensive and, selling at 40% to make a sale. just to have the shop mark it up 100% to sell to their customer.
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Your company started the war... All big chains started that war... Everything was nice and good till some dumbass in corporate decieded to try to drag in more customer by offering stupid warranties that had no business being in their to begin with...
 
braxx said:
One of my concerns is if he goes with an independant shop, I don't want them putting in some crap brand. I've seen some pump assemblies for $50 (Herko brand)
$(KGrHqNHJCUE9rDJQrfhBPhH5Sf(Y!~~60_12.JPG
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Hate to bust it to you... A LOT of fuel pumpes are coming out of China now... Airtex... Carter... Delphi... A/C Delco... A lot...
 
igotaneed4speed said:
Same here, for along time I've helped people out and done shit dirt cheap, mostly for friends and people friends introduced me to. This is all done with some expectation that if i needed help on something that these people would offer up without me needing to ask or beg them to do so. Ya know the old school saying I scratch your back you scratch mine, well people always seem to forget, be busy, have something come up or some other excuse when you need some help. Earlier this year I decided fuck it and I'm not giving hand outs anymore. My college auto instructor told me to never be a nice guy when it comes to cars because it will bite you in the ass every time. He preached to always charge $50 bucks a hour for advice $100.00 bucks a hour if you get dirt on your hands.

People seem to forget that you doing a side job for them and only charging $100 bucks to do brakes on all four corners and change a oil pan is cutting them a f'in deal. A shop would charge thousands for similar work, then when you ask them to come help ya move some rocks in your yard they're not feeling well or busy...

I do a lil wiring stuff on the side, small jobs here an there. I considered wiring cars for people but quoted a couple guys prices and got replies saying its too expensive. The quotes I gave these guys is a third to a quarter what a wiring shop charges, i don't get it shit wire is not cheap and to do a nice clean job wiring something is time consuming an tedious as all hell.


blah rant off.
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Yeah I hear ya. If a shop charges $500 for something and you do it for $100 you're a nice guy. IF you do it for $200 you're an asshole, even tho you saved them $300. :lol:

There are very few people I'll do favors for. And they know who they are...and I know they'll do the same and more for me. One of them posted in this thread...
 
WhiteHawk said:
That is why I lease my daily driver then have the play car to work on when I want. Never lease outside the factory warranty either!

-Geoff
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That's funny. Figure you may spend $1500/year for auto repairs and maintenence, plus you OWN the car after, this figure is having a shop do the work, not someone you know or have to beg to help you. That's a hell of a lot cheaper than a lease payment, plus the car can be sold afterwards and more cash can be had. Just my opinion of course, to each his own.
 
I seem to get a new used car every 2 - 3 years as is, so I constantly have a payment towards something. Yeah, I'm paying towards my own property, but if it's depreciating as fast as I'm paying it off, and I know I'll get something newer within a few years, leasing makes more sense to avoid the costs of maintenance. My only concern with leasing has always been the mileage. My wife and I drive my car everywhere...I just don't enjoy driving hers. If I do that with a lease, at $.25 per mile for anything over I'd be in a world of hurt.
 
I used to fix cars on the side years ago and I would always get the sob stories how they just didn't have the money to fix it etc. Sometimes I even did jobs for nearly free just buy me lunch etc. But, whenever I needed something they couldn't help. A friend of my mothers once asked me to change a valve cover gasket on a high mileage(23x,xxx) cavelier. The thing leaked from just about every seal on the engine already, the front seal was flinging oil all over the accessories and the belt squeled like hell everytime she accelerated. I did it for free. A few days later she came over and said it was leaking again. I told her the thing leaks everywhere how can you be certain that it is leaking from there. She threatened to sue me and said I sabotaged her car. I never heard from her lawyer so I assume she had no legs to stand on to pursue some kind of legal action.

I now believe it is best that I just tend to my own vehicles and avoid the frustration of trying to fix someone else's. I will try to give my close freinds an idea of what I think may be wrong and sometimes help get them the parts at the best price.
 
I only do work on my own and family cars. Friends I will help and expect help when needed.
Other than that forget it.
 
TopElimn8r said:
I used to fix cars on the side years ago and I would always get the sob stories how they just didn't have the money to fix it etc. Sometimes I even did jobs for nearly free just buy me lunch etc. But, whenever I needed something they couldn't help. A friend of my mothers once asked me to change a valve cover gasket on a high mileage(23x,xxx) cavelier. The thing leaked from just about every seal on the engine already, the front seal was flinging oil all over the accessories and the belt squeled like hell everytime she accelerated. I did it for free. A few days later she came over and said it was leaking again. I told her the thing leaks everywhere how can you be certain that it is leaking from there. She threatened to sue me and said I sabotaged her car. I never heard from her lawyer so I assume she had no legs to stand on to pursue some kind of legal action.

I now believe it is best that I just tend to my own vehicles and avoid the frustration of trying to fix someone else's. I will try to give my close freinds an idea of what I think may be wrong and sometimes help get them the parts at the best price.
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Lmao I ran into some older lady at autozone who was having the tards that work there look at her car. It was a mid 90's escort with the 2.0 split port thing was missing terribly and they were trying to sell her plugs an wires to fix it cuz it had missfire codes. I pulled the plugs out in the parking lot and cylinders 3 & 4 had coolant on them. I asked her is she ever got it hot and she told me it over heated a few weeks back the started missing. long story short i offered to do a head gasket on it for $400 bucks all parts included unless the head was torched then she would have to fork out for a head as well.

Tore it down and sure as shit the entire head was missing between the cylinders looked like she had been driving it that for thousands of miles, I called her and told here about the head and she wasn't happy.She showed up at my house with her son's threatening to have them "teach me a lesson for trying to rip off a old lady" she demanded that i put it back together, i tried to explain that i couldn't without putting a head gasket and head bolts on it plus the fluid change. She flipped out saying i was an asshole and ripping her off etc... Shit escalated to the point cops were called, I called my buddy who work for the local tow yard, tossed all the parts in the hatch and sent the car off to her house with her.

Never have offered to help a stranger since, fuck that non sense.
 
Ponyryd said:
That's funny. Figure you may spend $1500/year for auto repairs and maintenence, plus you OWN the car after, this figure is having a shop do the work, not someone you know or have to beg to help you. That's a hell of a lot cheaper than a lease payment, plus the car can be sold afterwards and more cash can be had. Just my opinion of course, to each his own.
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Depends on what you want to drive. I drive a 2011 F-150 CrewCab 4x4. My truck payment is just over $400, to purchase it would have been at least $200 more a month, so in the 5 yrs it takes to pay off a vehicle, I'll have had 2 maybe 3 new ones. At the end of the 5yrs what do you have? Normal driving habits @ 15k a year you've got a 75,000 mile vehicle that you've already at least done brakes and tires on once, not to mention other things things you SHOULD do. I've changed the oil and rotated the tires for $200 less a month and get a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

For the higher mile driving folks (20k a year), think about what your vehicle is worth in 2-3 at that mileage. Try to sell it and get payoff, it's not gonna happen. A lease you say bye bye and start fresh. If you're the type of person that likes to drive a nice vehicle, leasing is the answer in most cases.

Just my .02 since I do this for a living.
 
Ponyryd said:
That's funny. Figure you may spend $1500/year for auto repairs and maintenence, plus you OWN the car after, this figure is having a shop do the work, not someone you know or have to beg to help you. That's a hell of a lot cheaper than a lease payment, plus the car can be sold afterwards and more cash can be had. Just my opinion of course, to each his own.
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I like having a truck, and leasing is way cheaper than buying, unless you get something 10+ years old. My $400 a month truck was $45,000 new, and even with incentives would be $700 or $800 a month for five years. I could have got it cheaper if I didn't want one all loaded up too.

Cars are always a losing proposition value wise, the only decision is how to take a hit and how much for.

-Geoff
 
Ya, it's all good, was just sayin'.
I'm cheap, perfectly happy with my 2003, my wife drives a '98, neither have ever left us stranded, both are in great shape and cost peanuts to operate, both are paid for an cost less than $1000/year combined to drive. Depreciation is a joke, since either can be sold for 70-80% of what we paid and we've had them both for several years. I'm a mechanic though, so that helps, lol.
Leasing makes sense if you want a new car every few years. I usually tell people to lease if they plan to buy and trade in after 2-3 years, it's just easier. I guess I don't care how old my car is, as long as it's safe, reliable and decent-looking I'm happy. Also, I can't afford a car payment or anything nice, lol.
 
I work at Advance as a commercial parts pro I deal directly with shops for there parts.GMs are huge fuel pump users sell one a day atleast.Either way stray away from AIRTEX never seen them last more than 1yr.SPECTRA good brand have not warrentied 1 yet so far.
 
holset35 said:
I work at Advance as a commercial parts pro I deal directly with shops for there parts.GMs are huge fuel pump users sell one a day atleast.Either way stray away from AIRTEX never seen them last more than 1yr.SPECTRA good brand have not warrentied 1 yet so far.
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Ponyryd said:
^I've done a couple Spectras under warranty but have put in a LOT of them, good pumps, great price.
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We can go back and forth all day about this... Every pump manufacturer is the same... They all have ups and downs and POS pumps... I'll give Airtex credit though... They were the first pump company to update GM harnesses...
 
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