r/autorepair

Independent shop owners on tech pay, labor rate, and difficult customers.

• Posted by u/indy_shop_owner

  Independent shop, what labor rate should I be charging?

  Been at $110/hr for 4 years. Dealer down the street is $180. Am I too cheap?

• Posted by u/shop_owner_pay

  How should I pay my techs? Hourly, flat rate, or hybrid?

  3 techs, currently all hourly. Two are fast, one is slow. Hourly is punishing my best guys.

• Posted by u/sub_out_alignments

  Is buying an alignment machine worth it?

  Currently sub out about 4 alignments a week. Machine is $30k. Math?

• Posted by u/tire_debate

  Independent shop, should I get into tires?

  Low margin, big footprint, but it brings people in the door. Worth it?

• Posted by u/shop_owner_dilemma

  Flat rate or hourly for techs, which builds a better shop?

  Tired of flat-rate drama. Considering going all hourly. Bad idea?

• Posted by u/one_star_shop

  Just got a scathing Yelp review, how do I respond?

  Customer misdiagnosed themselves, wanted us to install a part that would not have fixed anything, we said no. Now a 1-star. What do I do?

• Posted by u/no_tires_yet

  Should my repair shop start selling tires?

  Repair shop, no tires. Losing customers to Discount Tire. Add it?

• Posted by u/measuring_productivity

  How many ROs per tech per day should I be running?

  How do you measure tech productivity in a healthy general repair shop?

• Posted by u/no_thanks_probably

  Customer wants to bring their own parts, do I do the job?

  Guy called wanting me to install parts he bought on Amazon. Instinct says no. Correct?