How high can you go

I think the freightliner dealer in Salina,Ks "only" charges 90.00 an hour, BUT since you HAVE to take everything back at least twice to get it fixed I just figure I'm paying about 180.00 per hour!

 

70 MPH truck @ $2 per mile = $140 an hour! WOW truck drivers are RICH!

Before you consider plucking that $100 gravy for just turning wrenches, consider how profitable you will be when deducting:
Rent
Insurance (public liability)
Insurance (workman's comp)
Insurance (med/dental benefits)
Tools
Corp tax
Personal income tax
labor
payroll tax
Social security tax
Environmental impact fees
Electricity

You're left with $20 an hour, but you dont get paid for 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM while you're in your office paying bills and doing billing/estimates/collecting from deadbeats...

What if you (or your employee) forget to tighten one bolt on a rod cap? YOU buy the $20,000 engine.


$140.00 an hour sounds like half of what I would do it for.

 

So if your a talented, good at what you do mechanic. And place your business across the street from a TA or Petro etc. You actually believe that all you could make is $20/hr after expenses. So from the pessimism, their would be no chance in expanding. The up front costs would never be recovered. lol...every mechanic that ever opened a business has been living on foodstamps and working a night job at the waffle house. Don't let the overalls and grease fool ya...lol

 

well, this is why you're a wanna be, and not an o/o... I've got $75,000 tied up in my equipment.. Lets say I need a water pump replaced. It's gonna run me around $1,000 at the TA, but you will do it across the street for $800... You may be a fully competent mechanic, but TA will warranty their work nationwide. To me, I'll pay that extra $200 as insurance just in case. You can forget about fleet vehicles too. The only small shop mechanic I will let touch my truck is one near my house that I've gotten to know over the years and have built trust with. In your scenario, the only thing I would let you do, is mount my spare tire.

 

It really depends where your from that will effect overhead greatly. Most guys I know use independent guys with shops in their back yards but if your out on the road I would have a hard time trusting Joe blow on the corner over a Pete dealer even though their nothing but part changers for the most part now.

 

Think I will buy me a Yugo and do road service I can buy tools at the dollar store (pipe wrench cresent wrench pliers and screwdrivers oh and a hammer) I will only charge $20 a hour to fix your truck. PS dont plan on going anywhere for a while

Oh by the way do anyone know where the spark plugs go

 

Right next to the carburetor.

 

just behind the blinker fluid tank.

 

Let's say your local mechanic changes your water pump. He does great work, but the water pump goes out 2 weeks after it's replaced. Or you get the water pump changed out at TA. It goes out 2 weeks later and your no where near a TA. Now your out another $1000 and time. They might reimburse you for the water pump. I doubt they will reimburse you for your time. So why not give the guy across the street your business. If he can stay in business with TA across the street he must be doing something right. I understand though when on the road you have to choose the namebrand mechanic shop. These days though you can hardly trust any of them.

 

You'd let him mount your spare tire after reading that? I wouldn't let him within 10ft of my tractor. I take my tractor to a small shop $65/hour labor cheap and they warranty their work nationwide. The shop fixes trucks on the side they own a fleet of gravel trucks and lease/rent/and sell hopper bottoms. They're a pretty good place to get work done and I'd recommend them to anybody that needed some work done the guy's honest he won't screw with my motor unless it's something minor because he doesn't know enough about it. I appricate the honesty and he does great work and I'd pay him $100/hour if I had too. Hell he even knocked an hour off my last bill because he beat the book. I know he'll make it up somewhere else sometime down the line when my truck goes in there but it's little things like that that I appricate. But when I'm on the road and something goes wrong it goes to a T/A or a place with a nationwide warranty no small shops no independents! Unless it's motor work then it goes to cat. I'm like you kind sir have over 130k in equipment and it don't make money in the shop getting things fixed that other people didn't fix right the first time and aren't going to warranty. Saving a buck or 2 here may cost you everthing there.