Why do other shops charge so much and how is Einar’s able to charge less?

Most shops charge anywhere from $130-300 for a single hour of labor. Mechanics being compensated for their skill, knowledge and time is important, however, employees of a shop rarely make above $50 per hour, even the master technicians with 20+ years of experience. The shop owner pockets the rest. Not to mention the tens of thousands of dollars spend by the mechanic on their own tools, not provided by the shop. They also use a pay system called “flat rate” where the time to complete a specific repair is set at what the shop data program considers to be “average repair time”. This does not account for things that can go wrong, out of a mechanics control such as previous work quality, environmental factors and such.

By charging $100 per hour, still utilizing the flat rate system with clearly communicated changes and approved by the customer when they occur, we are able to save customers anywhere from ¼ to ½ of the cost of another shop.

We also are different when it comes to parts pricing. We only use high quality OEM or OEM equivalent parts that we source through wholesale accounts at local auto parts stores and some dealerships.

A secret profit that most shops rely on is marking up part costs from wholesale to retail and pocketing the difference (sometimes 2 times or 3 times the cost). It costs shops nothing to have a wholesale account with manufacturers, so why are customers being sold wholesale parts at retail prices? At Einar’s, integrity is everything, we do not believe this is fair practice.

It is true that shops have a number of different overhead costs. Shop owners justify these shady practices by citing insurance, payroll, utilities, shop materials, etc. While this is certainly true and needs to be factored in by a business, this should be built in to the honest pricing of the repair. We charge a $5-$10 material fee when the repair necessitates (gloves, rags, solvents, and other bulk repair items). The cost to do business is reflected in our labor price.

We do our absolute best, stand by our work and have safety nets in place for us and our customers. Insurance, manufacturer’s warranty and labor warranties on parts that fail prematurely. Our best interest is to take care of you and your vehicle and help ease the burden of repairing a vehicle. Fairness, integrity and care come before anything.