Do auto shops not need work right now?

My 2006 GS300 developed a clunk in the suspension. I tried figuring out what was going on, but diagnosing isn't exactly my best skill. I thew on some new end links, but the noise is still there. I really don't have the spare time to get to this, so I took it to a shop to diagnose and replace. 

shop 1 - Heard the noise. diagnosed strut mount, ball joint, and end links. Odd, considering I just replaced the end links. 2500$ not 250. 2500$. for maybe 300 in parts, and a few hours in labor. With a quote like that, I'm going to take it as you don't need the work. 

I reconsidered, and ordered parts for my own rebuild. ball joint, struts, control arm. Then reconsidered again when I thought about how much I hate ball joints. 

Shop 2. Couldn't hear the noise. No diagnosis. The noise is super obvious, so I don't understand how you couldn't find it. how much to install the ball joint and control arm that's in the passenger seat? 550. for labor only.

So tomorrow, I get to pry ball joints apart. yay. 

I can't speak for all shops but my shop is near full throttle and most techs are putting up record numbers.We have more work than we can take and are short staffed due to people out with CoVID and other techs waiting for test results. 

I have received three job offers in the last week, all the offers are for well more than I make. 

FYI: most shops avoid NVH issues,  way to many compilations. 

YMMV based on region. 

Paul

I dropped my car off today for an inspection.  They said they wouldn't be able to get to it until next week and I couldn't find a parking spot.

Our shop is scheduling 2 weeks out. Also, not entirely sure on the GS300 suspension design, but we typically quote endlinks any time we have to remove struts, because often when you try and unbolt the nut off the end link stud, the stud spins in the socket and wipes out the clearances and then it starts making noise shortly afterwards.

When I took the van in for front brakes earlier this week he had them done within a day. It's a small(one man, I believe) shop, but he had a half-dozen other vehicles at least. He charged $454 for parts & labor(most of that was parts), but I gave him $480 cash for getting it done so quickly. 

Well, we are completely dead at work, I have had only seven cars all week and six of them were picked up with no work done (two left on flatbeds), just one of those weeks.  Dead everywhere in the area, not just us.  One of those weird lulls that hits like a rogue wave because the timing is all "perfect".

Three cars on the schedule for today.  Lovely...

I had to schedule a week out to have the overflow tank on the NC replaced and coolant flushed (all my tools are still 110 miles away in a locked garage, not to mention needing to properly dispose of coolant).

All cars must be dropped off as the only people they are allowing to stay in the waiting room are those there for a quick oil change. And they have the waiting room spaced out for those people. 

Dropped the car off on a Sunday afternoon, picked it up Monday after closing hours. Never had to interact with a single person....er, in person. Just the phone. It was great. 

A lot of the quotes are driven by flat book rate.  This was before covid but I got quoted $850 to R&R a front axle on my old GX470.  I bought a rebuilt axle for $250 and installed it myself in an hour.

The Porsche dealer wanted $1500 in labor to replace spark plugs on my 911.  I installed them myself in 3 hours, even tho I'd never done it before and had no clue.  A tech could probably do it in under 2 hours. 

Shops no longer charge how long it takes them to do the job, they're all charging book rate, which IMO, takes away one of the main reasons to go to an Indy shop vs the dealer...

docwyte said:

A lot of the quotes are driven by flat book rate.  This was before covid but I got quoted $850 to R&R a front axle on my old GX470.  I bought a rebuilt axle for $250 and installed it myself in an hour.

The Porsche dealer wanted $1500 in labor to replace spark plugs on my 911.  I installed them myself in 3 hours, even tho I'd never done it before and had no clue.  A tech could probably do it in under 2 hours. 

Shops no longer charge how long it takes them to do the job, they're all charging book rate, which IMO, takes away one of the main reasons to go to an Indy shop vs the dealer...

Most indy shops I've ever used still used book rates, just like the dealer. The advantage came in from labor rate being say $100/hr vs $175/hr, and not milking a 300% markup on parts. 

I remember a thread recently where I think it was you sharing the $400+ oil change from the Porsche dealer and I realized I'll never be able to afford to drive a used Cayman S.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

feast or fammine

FWIW, our estimate for two struts (we would not do just a mount), one lower ball joint, and links, is $1850.  $960 of that is labor, our labor rate is pretty low for the area.  Includes alignment.

I have been doing this since 1996, I have never worked anywhere that didn't go by book times for billing.

I guess it depends on the area?  The shop I go to for inspections has been slammed. Granted, they also have a decent rep for not trying to up-sell unneeded work. My area has also lost at least 25% of indy repair shops over the past decade or so.  On the downside, it means they haven't found the time to fix the blown brake line in the big van. On the plus-side, I still don't have any place to put it when it's finished, so it's easier for me to have it sitting in their lot right now.

Honestly, I don't know if the shop uses book rate. I used to sell parts to them and they've been my inspection shop for almost 30 years.  I think I get the "friends and family" treatment.

I have three shops around me that I trust.  All of them are completely swamped.

Shop A (closest one) is scheduling for about a month out and quoting super high.  Shop B (most trusted) was already scheduling for October back in July and quoting at a $125/hr labor rate up from his normal $80.  He had 27 cars there for work and only three techs.  Shop C isn't even accepting cars.

I had to go to the Ford Dealer to get an inspection.  They actually seem a bit hungrier, at least the one I went to was hungry.  Three service writers, each of them playing games on their computers and throwing a ball around the office.  only 4 or 5 cars in the service lot.  They took my truck straight in and did inspection, LOF, tire rotation, and washed it for $75.

z31maniac said:

docwyte said:

A lot of the quotes are driven by flat book rate.  This was before covid but I got quoted $850 to R&R a front axle on my old GX470.  I bought a rebuilt axle for $250 and installed it myself in an hour.

The Porsche dealer wanted $1500 in labor to replace spark plugs on my 911.  I installed them myself in 3 hours, even tho I'd never done it before and had no clue.  A tech could probably do it in under 2 hours. 

Shops no longer charge how long it takes them to do the job, they're all charging book rate, which IMO, takes away one of the main reasons to go to an Indy shop vs the dealer...

Most indy shops I've ever used still used book rates, just like the dealer. The advantage came in from labor rate being say $100/hr vs $175/hr, and not milking a 300% markup on parts. 

I remember a thread recently where I think it was you sharing the $400+ oil change from the Porsche dealer and I realized I'll never be able to afford to drive a used Cayman S.

I may have just been getting an F-U price, but with the Stupidmobile the dealer wanted $21,000 for a rebuilt engine from Mercedes and the labor to install it.  The local independent German auto specialist shop wanted $20,000 for the same rebuilt engine and their labor.  Frankly I can't see how it wouldn't have been worth the extra 5% especially considering that the dealer includes the loaner car for however long it takes them to get the work completed.  Assume that a full-size SUV rental would have run me about $800 for the two weeks they would have had the car, now the independent shop is only 1% cheaper.  Why in the world would I have done that?  I don't begrudge anyone trying to make a buck, but the perception is that the dealer's shop is the "premium" product which demands the premium price.

Shops have been beyond busy, in addition to dealing with other changes since November of last year. Expect it to stay the course as new vehicle sales will be nearly non-existent for the next nine to twelve months.

captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

Shops have been beyond busy, in addition to dealing with other changes since November of last year. Expect it to stay the course as new vehicle sales will be nearly non-existent for the next nine to twelve months.

We'd sell the cars, if we could get the damn things. Between the UAW strike and now Covid, the GM production line is beyond berkeleyed up. There was talk of the salesmen getting laid off again, just because they are running out of things to sell. If you are in a position where you feel comfortable spending the money on a new car, the deals were absurd, and there were people taking advantage of that.

Up until last year I manned the commercial counter at large auto parts supply house. I still regularly talk to my old drivers/store manager and they are getting killed. In that area the shops are just getting hammered with even the worst shop being 2 week turn around. It sounds crazy in the current climate.

I only go to the mechanic for annual inspections (have a lift and spare cars), but even he was insanely booked. My guess is that all the work-from-home means you can finally afford the downtime of having the car in the shop for a few days whereas before that people were putting it off because they always needed their car, clunking noises, leaking fluids, and all. 

NickD said:

captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

Shops have been beyond busy, in addition to dealing with other changes since November of last year. Expect it to stay the course as new vehicle sales will be nearly non-existent for the next nine to twelve months.

We'd sell the cars, if we could get the damn things. Between the UAW strike and now Covid, the GM production line is beyond berkeleyed up. There was talk of the salesmen getting laid off again, just because they are running out of things to sell. If you are in a position where you feel comfortable spending the money on a new car, the deals were absurd, and there were people taking advantage of that.

We're having a hell of a time finding parts.  Common stuff is the worst.  We had an Acadia that we had to turn away because NOBODY had brake rotors.

Our service manager is ripping his hair out because he has to try four different suppliers and the dealer net for EVERYTHING.

NickD said:

Our shop is scheduling 2 weeks out. Also, not entirely sure on the GS300 suspension design, but we typically quote endlinks any time we have to remove struts, because often when you try and unbolt the nut off the end link stud, the stud spins in the socket and wipes out the clearances and then it starts making noise shortly afterwards.

That's a fancy way of saying it wallers out the hole.

cyow5 said:

I only go to the mechanic for annual inspections (have a lift and spare cars), but even he was insanely booked. My guess is that all the work-from-home means you can finally afford the downtime of having the car in the shop for a few days whereas before that people were putting it off because they always needed their car, clunking noises, leaking fluids, and all. 

That is why we figure everyone in this area is dead.  Nobody is driving anywhere, nobody is sending their kids back to school.  Computer sales and broadband upgrades are through the roof, I'm told.

A lot of other people are taking a wait and see approach.  "I have another car, I'll just park that one"

Totally opposite here. 

Toyota/Lexus/Honda dealers taking SAME day appointments. They all dropped prices. Bays are completely empty. Usually 1 week out minimum. Heck I had wife's RCF and our LX570 oil changed at dealer (which I never do) as prices are SO discounted. 

Our big independant famous places (that does hipster overlanding etc), like RPM Garage, and the famous old skool Toyota stores (that does the 71 Levin work etc), all are SUPER backed up. People are taking out HELOC money, buying cars, modifying them.  I know that all cars I sold on BAT this year, literally cash deals, and not all went to "serious collectors with 20 cars in garage."

Local houses here 1m-2M, lasting 7-8 days on market. I tried buying 3 rentals last few weeks, within first hour house on market, no contingency, no inspection (which are common here, due to Chinese/Korean cash money), getting 8-10 offers within 2 hours. Craziness . 

The danger with raising your rates during an unusual event is that people tend to lock prices in their brains. So if you go from $85 to $125 because you have all the work you need then when things get slow and you go back to $85 people have already locked $125 in their brains. Then they talk to someone else that is back at $85 first and you don't get the work since the people think you're still at $125.

NickD said:

captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

Shops have been beyond busy, in addition to dealing with other changes since November of last year. Expect it to stay the course as new vehicle sales will be nearly non-existent for the next nine to twelve months.

We'd sell the cars, if we could get the damn things. Between the UAW strike and now Covid, the GM production line is beyond berkeleyed up. There was talk of the salesmen getting laid off again, just because they are running out of things to sell. If you are in a position where you feel comfortable spending the money on a new car, the deals were absurd, and there were people taking advantage of that.

It would be nice if I was ready to buy at the moment, alas I'm waiting to see the next-Gen STi and the next-gen BRZ before I do anything.

In reply to Donebrokeit :

time to ask for a raise.