Mechanic costs

[Sutage]

Shrug, all I know is that I don't wanna be in an office 10 hours a day.

[Waylander]

Dont

it may seem like a cool job , it isnt .....

become an engineer ...use your brain ...more money

Stephen

Unless you're planning the same thing I am and just using it as a step between now and designing and building bikes. All kinds of bikes not just choppers.

[John]

Unless you're planning the same thing I am and just using it as a step between now and designing and building bikes. All kinds of bikes not just choppers.

Dreams are free

I would love to be a mech car or bike, I might try get an aprentaship after I finish my stupid BAPIS (Bachelor of Applied information systems) oh yes it sucks the big fat one...

[Waylander]

[QUOTE=John]Dreams are free

I would love to be a mech car or bike, I might try get an aprentaship after I finish my stupid BAPIS (Bachelor of Applied information systems) oh yes it sucks Mate dreams are there to be worked for. I would rather try and fail then not try and never know. Why else would I be going back to taking courses in mechanical engineering next semester and also planning to take courses at a polytech to get more of the basics needed for an aprenticship at a bike shop. Peaple that mock are peaple with no aspirations of thier own. Anyway get back to studying.

[gav]

Maybe their service is just change engine oil and filter ? That would be about 1 hour plus parts . Wof at $35 in Christchurch (bit cheaper down there) is about the same as $38 in Auckland.

I imagine both of you are losing money at that (but make it back on the work generated , tyres etc)

Thats pretty much it, we allow an hour and its a set price, most cars seem to use around 3.5-4.5 litres of oil either 10/30 or 15/40, clean the air filter, check all fluid levels etc, radiator etc, up on a hoist, good look all round, usually the boys bowl them out in around 45 minutes, oh and the car gets washed, tyres cleaned etc and a couple of peppermints left as well Wait theres more, we have loaner cars available, or free pickup and delivery in a 15 km radius of the workshop. Yeah the 4wd's get a bargain we they use 7 litres of oil . We use to have a Premium and a Budget service but recently just gone to the one. Obviously a tune up is more, we dont have a set price for that. I've only been there as Workshop Supervisor for about 3 weeks now, seems pretty good, but gets pretty bust, for sure. Already had my share of err "dodgy" customers

[scracha]

Maybe their service is just change engine oil and filter ? That would be about 1 hour plus parts . Wof at $35 in Christchurch (bit cheaper down there) is about the same as $38 in Auckland.

1 hour to do engine oil and filter? She's no factory trained mechanic but my sister managed that in 30 minutes [1] with instructions from me over a telephone. This was including using an engine flush.

Depending on time/bank balance I normally do the simpler parts of a service myself (filters, oil change, chain, brakes, etc) and remove the fairing before taking it to a garage. Is this a common thing?

I remember a garage I used to go to in Scotland where the mechanic's garage had a large viewing area. He would even estimate when he would start working on your bike (usually 4 hours to let engine cool) so you could watch him do the work. I think all garages should do this. You also couldn't argue if he said it took him an extra half hour to drill out siezed bolts, etc.

[1] Excludes the "draining time" where she went for a cup of tea. Obviously a mechanic would do some other job/vehicle during this time.

[Ixion]

1 hour to do engine oil and filter? She's no factory trained mechanic but my sister managed that in 30 minutes [1] with instructions from me over a telephone. This was including using an engine flush.

Depending on time/bank balance I normally do the simpler parts of a service myself (filters, oil change, chain, brakes, etc) and remove the fairing before taking it to a garage. Is this a common thing?

I remember a garage I used to go to in Scotland where the mechanic's garage had a large viewing area. He would even estimate when he would start working on your bike (usually 4 hours to let engine cool) so you could watch him do the work. I think all garages should do this. You also couldn't argue if he said it took him an extra half hour to drill out siezed bolts, etc.

[1] Excludes the "draining time" where she went for a cup of tea. Obviously a mechanic would do some other job/vehicle during this time.

'Twas for a cage, but, not a bike.. Some of them are a pig to get at.

[limbimtimwim]

Sorry, I dont hold with that 'its more complex' so should cost more excuse - but it does depend on the way charging is done. Some outfits charge per job - changing a clutch is changing a clutch. Its fixed rate - the kind I like best
Other outfits charge by the hour. Thats where it gets sticky because then changing plugs on a GN250 is a bucket load easier than doing them on a vfr400. But the argument should be - the price really shouldnt change that much because any qualified mechanic should be treating it as a simple job.

Fixed cost could mean that those with easy to work on bikes could be subsidising those with pain in the buttocks machines...

Finally, if someone is charging $70/hour then I wouldnt touch them with a barge pole. There is a difference in charging parts and labour and charging me for the 40 bikes sitting out in the shop, a bunch of old spares taking up shelf space and two people standing at the til.

I think $70 is fair. I cost $120 an hour, but I don't think I possess something that makes me $50 more expensive than a skilled mechanic. They would have more training and more years of expericene doing their stuff than I do. Shiny bikes, shiny lights, unharried staff are what some punters want to see when they are buying a bike. It's just how much things cost.

On the funny side tho - it is a bit of an insult to bloke-ism if someone cant do at least the basic maintenance on a vehicle

Part of being an experienced mechanic is knowing what is bad and what is good. A casual look at the chain on my bike and say "What's wrong with that?" but I have been told several times it needs replacing. I looked at it closer today while cleaning it, and now I think I see what those more experienced eyes were seeing. Another example, I know what a stuffed 'plug looks like. Someone with more experience knows *why* the plug is stuffed (To rich/lean/something else). I don't feel too ashamed getting my bike serviced by a pro on a regular basis, they spot stuff that I don't.