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Actual labor rates for AC VW repairs
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chicagovw
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 12:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Actual labor rates for AC VW repairs Reply with quote

The labor rate will be different depending on many things. Without knowing details of the actual business, it is just about impossible to determine whether or not a certain rate is a "rip off". For example, the cost of rent/mortgage on a professional shop where I live, Chicago, is going to be considerably less than one in New York City, but a lot higher than one in say Champaign, Illinois.

Having employees that are well trained and are well cared for by the shop will often cost more but should do a much better job. I own a plumbing service business and my employees enjoy paid vacation and other PTO, health/vision/dental/life insurance for themselves as well as their spouse and kids, 401K, paid holidays, company provided uniforms, and more. We charge more than a "chuck in a truck" or small time company that has employees that do not have benefits, but my employees love it here and that shows up in the pride in their work.

Are those employees properly trained? Do they get continuing education? Safety training?

Is the shop well organized, clean, and with good lighting and equipement?

Is there proper insurance for the business so if it burns down with a customer car inside, the customer is covered? Do they have workmans comp on the employee?

What about advertising?

Do they have enough employees to tackle the work load? Can't tell you how many VW shops I see that are booked up for months and months because the owner is not really a business person and does not charge appropriately to have an ample number of GOOD employees. So a car gets dropped off, only to end up covered in dust for years in the corner.

Sometimes the "rip off" shops turn out to be cheaper in the long run.
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 7:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Actual labor rates for AC VW repairs Reply with quote

chicagovw wrote:
Is the shop well organized, clean, and with good lighting and equipement?

What about advertising?

Do they have enough employees to tackle the work load? Can't tell you how many VW shops I see that are booked up for months and months because the owner is not really a business person and does not charge appropriately to have an ample number of GOOD employees. So a car gets dropped off, only to end up covered in dust for years in the corner.

Sometimes the "rip off" shops turn out to be cheaper in the long run.


While these are the case in most instances, I’ve often found them to be quite different.

Shop cleanliness is down on the list for me. Some of the most productive shops I know of aren’t necessarily dumps, but are in some sort of disarray. The cleanest shop I know of is that way because it doesn’t get dirty with much work. While it looks nice to have a spotless shop, I would rather have them working on my car, putting tools away when the job is complete, instead of wasting time getting the same tools in/out of the box day after day for a cleanliness appearance.

While they still do a little advertising, the best automotive shops I know of get most their business by word of mouth. The shop I used to work at got their main ad rates increased 400%, so they quit advertising altogether, and their business still increased.

I also know some shops that are booked 6-12 months because they DO have enough trained technicians, and are simply the best shop in the area that a lot of people are wanting to get their car into. An Aircooled VW shop in 2021 isn’t necessarily about finding good techs, it’s about finding any at all with the enthusiasm to work on 40+ year old classic cars.
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sjbartnik
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Actual labor rates for AC VW repairs Reply with quote

Labor is expensive these days. If you don’t want to pay market rate for labor, then learn to work on it yourself. If you don’t want to pay market rate for labor AND you don’t want to work on it yourself, sell it and lease a Honda.
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chicagovw
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:53 pm    Post subject: Re: Actual labor rates for AC VW repairs Reply with quote

I don't mind waiting 6-12 months. I agree that the best shops can be booked up for a long time. I waited almost 2 years to get my Super Beetle into the right shop, and it took about 2 more years to get it done. But it was being worked on regularly. I was referring to the shops that take one's car, and park it outside or in a corner-it basically goes to the shop to die. I should have been more clear in regards to the type of shop I was referring to.

Regarding cleanliness, I can agree that some of the better shops are not always the cleanest, but that this can reflect on the type of work one might expect. The shop I had my car at initially was the disorganized type. And it affected my car. I dropped my power coated pan and suspension parts off, and found parts from other cars stacked on the pan, and my suspension mixed up with greasy used parts from other cars. New parts boxes I dropped off were left open and parts went missing. I pulled my car out of there, and the shop that completed the work was clean and organized. So cleanliness and organization DO count. At least in my situation they did. I am done with the grease monkey shops.
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Tim Donahoe
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:52 pm    Post subject: Re: Actual labor rates for AC VW repairs Reply with quote

In the late seventies, I lived in a town that had a VW dealer that charged dealer shop rates, of course. Then, one of their dealer’s mechanics opened up his own shop, and within a few months, he had plenty of customers.

The shop itself was little more than an old commercial garage, and the rent was probably very low. He had a single employee, an apprentice, and when a divorce forced the sale of the shop, the apprentice—by then, an experienced VW mechanic—bought the shop.

That was back in the day, when VW’s were everywhere, and there was money to be made by offering good service, and undercutting the dealer’s rates, of course. There were plenty of customers.

Today, there are only a fraction of ACVW potential customers in most towns. Gone are those Muldoon-type VW shops still in existence, for the simple reason that there too few customers. That’s why the small shops disappeared.

In my city, there are enough ACVW’s to allow for three shops within a ten-mile radius of my house. Two of these shops also work on other German makes. But, I’m in California, and also in a town that simply loves old cars (Google Kool April Nights to see what I mean). However, unlike where I live, in the majority of towns across the nation, I doubt that a single VW shop could survive.

Besides, years ago, these cars were far easier to work on, which means less labor. In many cases, a lot less labor. Nowadays, you go to replace a part, and the part next to it needs replacement, and the next part over. And replacement parts? Good luck with that.

Still, if anyone thinks they will have a reasonable customer base, then give it a shot. Hopefully, the shop will be located in an area that still has many ACVW’s on the road. But be warned: most folks don’t daily drive their VW’s, and a lot of owners do the easy maintenance stuff on their own.

Tim
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Glenn Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2021 5:04 am    Post subject: Re: Actual labor rates for AC VW repairs Reply with quote

Yesterday I stopped at the local Subaru dealer to pick up air filter and was surprised that their labor rate is now $205/hr. My friend's shop that work on ACVWs is only $120/hr.
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Marinablau703
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PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2021 5:47 am    Post subject: Re: Actual labor rates for AC VW repairs Reply with quote

Glenn wrote:
Yesterday I stopped at the local Subaru dealer to pick up air filter and was surprised that their labor rate is now $205/hr. My friend's shop that work on ACVWs is only $120/hr.


Long Island dealer surcharge? I'm originally from the North Fork. Now in the Hudson Valley, the BMW dealer I bought my X3 from "only" charges $125/hr (or at least they did, I haven't had to stop in for a few years, and they've likely increased since then).

My friend runs an air cooled restoration shop in the small, podunk village in which I now reside. It's just him, and he owns the building. He drives a '56 or 57 oval, has a split window single cab whose cab is falling off the frame that he's going to drop onto an IRS chassis as a rolling billboard/shop truck, and has a line of 3-4 cars in the shop in the queue. I can't say what he charges, but it's not what I'd consider expensive today. Every time I stop in, I learn something new.
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