Most liked posts in thread: A terrible experience with German Master Tech in Bend, OR

I agree. As the manager of a small computer repair shop I get that kind of complaint all the time. The difference is that if you're coming to me for help, you're paying for not just the part (that I have to buy and get shipped), but my time, my rent, my salary, and most of all, my expertise. If you could have done the job yourself, you shouldn't have come to me.

And yes, big companies that make millions of dollars can easily afford to sell things for less than us little guys that don't. No surprise there. We don't get to buy in bulk, or have our own brands or warehouses full of stuff ready to ship to 100 different branches.

Sorry, slightly unrelated rant, but that bugged me when I read the OP as well.

 

It costs rent for the building, it costs to get the filter shipped, it costs to pay the mechanic's salary, it costs to pay insurance, it costs to keep the lights on, it costs to have water for the bathroom.

$40 seems a rational price to pay an expert in a small shop to do a cheap repair.

Could it be cheaper? Sure. But consider that the price of that filter is $9 to the shop, plus probably another $7 to have it shipped to that shop. So the filter is already $16. Now add a 25% markup on the original $9 to cover the time it cost to order the part, and to make a reasonable profit and it's $18.75. Now pay a technician $20 an hour $5 to move the car in, pop your hood and swap the filter (I'm assuming 10 minutes work for math's sake and to include the check-in time) and you're at $23.75

Now that's assuming that you're paying a reasonably salaried person to do that, not a master mechanic or a newbie. It also doesn't account for how long it took someone to check in your car into the garage, or the check out time, or the cost of the overhead of running the shop.

Most of those latter charges get tacked on above the hourly rates that are paid to the technician (hence the $70-$100 per hour). So while the Tech gets $5 from the company to install that filter on their behalf, the company will tack on another hypothetical $7~10 to that to cover the overhead.

So now it's at $28.75 ~ $38.75 to reasonably expect to pay an expert for a $9 air filter swap. There's a lot of other factors that can drive that price up as well, especially for a small place.

Now a big place like Jiffy Lube is going to pay the techs less, and is going to buy the filters in bulk so shipping will cost less as will the per-part cost. So if you're paying $28.75 to Jiffy Lube, that means that more of what you're paying is profit to the company.

Small shops make less profit than big ones, and do less volume, so to offset their income loss they often charge more.

I'm not saying that that the shop you went to might have been overpriced. I'm saying that it's a delicate balance for us little guys.

 

Zapski next time my confuser needs new rings or a walnut blasting I'll look you up. I like doing business with the little local guys.

 

Bummer, sorry you picked the wrong guy for PPI, lesson learned.

What bothers me is when people pick apart mechanics pricing. You can not compare DIY cost to having a professional shop do work. If you could find a shop to sell and install an air filter for 9 bucks, I wouldn't use them. Not saying his prices were good but you can't expect a professional to do work at what it would cost you.

 

You always pay for what you get...you don't always get what you pay for. I always like to pay the guy that does the work, a.k.a. family shops. I don't like dealing with big corporations. For small shops, SERVICE and standing behind their work are qualities I look for...not necessarily price. Very cheap work is rarely good and good work is rarely cheap.

 

Yeah... I most generally do a quick internet search on any company I consider doing business with..... looking at reviews and such..... I also use the court system to search for public records on civil cases... This is probably my best information tool....

The old idiom "Buyer Beware" and "A fool and his money are soon parted".....

Combine the two for a new idiom.... "Need some parts? Find a fool and use his money"

Sorry you went through this.... Hopefully things will turn around for you with your MINI...

 

Time for a bit of comic relief: I was in mom and pop retail for 25 years. One young fellow placed a special order for an 80+ dollar item. My margin on it was about 25%. I called him to report it's arrival and as he walked away with his new toy and I closed the cash register he turned and with a smile told me I'd just made 80 bucks. Ignorance is thriving beyond all estimates.

 

As for apparently missing some items, I wonder if the dealer that had it had done some serious steam cleaning of the engine and the coolant and power steering "leaks" were cleaned up and only showed up after an extended drive?

 

What I was saying is that the person/dealer who was selling the car may have steam cleaned the engine bay......who was selling the car?

 

Earl's Frozen Yogurt, Used Minis, and Video Tape Rental,LLC.

 

I am very sorry to hear this about a shop I have been doing business with for years. This is unlike any experience I have ever had and I have not heard from anyone having this kind of bad experience either.

I can't offer any rebuttal for your experience, but I can say with all confidence that they will continue to get my business.

Sorry your visit to Bend couldn't have had a better outcome.

 

^^^ I totally agree...

 

I think I've been there.