Hi all I just opened a mechanic shop and had a question for all you mechanics out there. I’m young with 5 years in the business working as a mechanic also certified and graduated in this field. I just opened a mechanic shop and don’t really know what my pricing should be per hour. How do you generally quote your jobs? Is it by hour? By job? If I get a quart of oil for $2 what should I sell it for? 30% markup? 40%?
Any advice will help. Also I know it depends on the area, if it helps, ’m located in the north east.
Pricing should be competitive.
Assume local Chevy dealer is charging $140 and pays employees $40 or $50 whereas Porsche dealer is charging $300 and pays employees $75.
You need to find sweet spot for the market.
You need to charge a lot more than what mechanics make but less than dealership rate so you can capture the market segment(s) you are trying to target.
As for price, your value proposition to customers as mechanic is the ability to deliver services whereas parts can be necessity.
So, instead of marking up the price of oil, charge a disposal fee instead (i.e. $15). Same for brake parts, muffler, CAT, etc. You have dumpster to fill up but not all of your waste can go in there.
As for how to quote, I would secret shop to determine how the local competition is quoting such as Jiffy Lube, Meineke, and local car dealership service departments.
I would mirror what they are doing so consumers can compare apples to apples.