How do you find a reliable mechanic? Or do you have to get 3+ opinions?

[Duck]

I was looking at how much of my money actually goes to the technician who is doing the work. In a dealer that charges $105 to $120 an hour, the actual technician is really only getting maybe $20 an hour. So the rest is fluff, goes toward the company for operating expenses and profit.

I could make you a list of what's involved if you like. There's a reason lots of shops are closing down, and it's not for lack of trying. Often the mechanics take the biggest chunk out of it, far more than the shop takes at the end of it all. A good independent mechanic is excellent, so long as you're happy with the lack of warranty(which of course you aren't paying for anymore). Many of the people who used to have shops are going that way, it's a sign of the times I think.


As far as the what needs replacing, it's a matter of opinion. Even airplane maintenance has similar challenges and decisions to make.
It could be that your shocks are indeed due for replacement, and that you'd get a good improvement in handling by replacing them, but maybe not quite worn out yet, the second shop felt that what they found was more of a concern and likewise the third, and that you could probable eke out a bit more time out of the other systems, and based on your budget and time available, they each picked the things they were most concerned about, likely none of them . A complete list of everything that needs doing to make any vehicle perfect will usually send a customer running screaming for the hills, as the bill will be more than the vehicle unless it's very new.
Vehicle repair is a sort of triage, it's rarely ever a perfect and clear decision, just a lot of smaller decisions to to the best possible with the resources available.

 

[Zil]

In the '70 s I worked in a California shop. I had my own hand tools, the shop had speclty tools. The shop got the work, I was paid 50%.

 

[GotSmart]

In the '70 s I worked in a California shop. I had my own hand tools, the shop had speclty tools. The shop got the work, I was paid 50%.

That was the 70's. Labor laws have changed since then, and so have insurance rates. The shop has a basic cost per employee of 40%,(Taxes, uniforms, workmans comp,insurance, benefits) plus liability insurance. Then there is rent / upkeep, cost of new tools, training, supplies such as shop towels, mandated disposal fees on "toxic" parts~~~

I would not like to be a shop owner today. Anything over a 25% cut for the mechanic means little or no profit. That is why I work for myself.

 

[Zil]

I know of many 50/50 shops here on the east side.

 

[rustyfords]

My cure for this problem was to slowly learn how to fix just about everything on my vehicle.

I even recently performed the holy grail...pulled the engine, rebuilt it, then reinstalled it. Fortunately, I had another vehicle to drive in the meantime.

And yes, I do have a place to perform the major repairs, but I can also perform the smaller repairs and even some fairly significant repairs on the road if need be. I simply got determined to learn to repair my vehicle through manuals and YouTube videos. None of it is rocket science...it's all learnable and do-able.