Paying your mechanic up front?

[Vinces87]

I'll admit it's been a long time since I've had to take a car to a mechanic. I blew the head gasket on it and decided to have him do a valve job since I'm closing in on 109K miles.

He called to tell me that

1. The car would be with him 2-3 weeks. Seems a little long if I had to guess. He said the head gasket alone is a 15 hr job. At 3 weeks that puts someone on my car for about 8 minutes a day. yes my math skills stink
2. He "needs me to give him some cash (half of what he quoted me) so they can buy the parts because they're short on cash."


Anyone here ever heard of a mechanic asking for a 50% "deposit"? I know that is almost standard in the building profession, but auto mechanics now?

 

[LVMYVT76]

He probably has had finical problems and needs to pay for parts up front, this doen't make hima bad mechanic though.

 

[Fast Freddie]

find a new mechanic. if he can't cover the parts, ($200 est ) he is not the person to work on your vette...

http://www.oreillyauto.com/EW3/Prod...d=1188595838217&cycleCount=1821&currentPage=0

 

[Fast Freddie]

as a quick followup, my reason for the above statement is this... what if he messes something up? can he cover the repair. probably not... ( vette parts can be quite expensive )

 

[wallyknoch]

Sometimes it`s bad practice but a 50% deposit on parts and labor is not unreasonable. We practice this custom when the car requires more than a few hours and longer than just overnight and may require a few days or more. It`s to make the customer aware to pick the car up when finished. Many do not and we are not in the storage business. You attempt to charge storage and then the customer could get mad. But we don't need that one back anyway. Another problem is that those jobs of several hundred dollars s that we are financing the car and we cannot keep paying out without at least the deposit to keep the customers honest.

It really works two ways but we do not do insurance work. Sometimes we get one that pays in full and still leaves the car thinking free storage for the winter. If they cant pay a deposit then they should take up another hobby, as this one may be too rich for them, maybe stamp collecting would be more suitable to their appetite........:L................

 

[Fast Freddie]

Once your mechanic ( or anyone for that matter ) has your money, they are in control from that point forward. what recourse do you have? In Kentucky, we can file a mechanics lien against a vehicle for an unpaid bill. then we can proceed to aquire the vehicle title and sell the vehicle to recover the unpaid bill. I guess its just a matter of business procedure. Is you mechanic an individual working at home, or does he have an established automotive repair business? Its very hard to have recourse against an individual that already has your money. your total bill should not be much more than $700 to replace head gaskets, depending on the machine shop charges. Without doing anything to the heads, $500 should cover it. ( 10 hours at $45 hour + gaskets ). Of course thats the hillbilly rate here in Kentucky.

 

[David-F]

Head gaskets is a 15hr job not 10 hr and most shops now are between $75.00 and $100.00 an hour. The problem here is that there is a good chance the block is cracked I have found a lot of cracked blocks on 87 cars it's the first year for roller lifters and they did have a problem with too thin casting they would crack in the lifter valley just above the lifter cuide cut outs. It's also not that uncommon for independent shops to get a deposit up front before parts are ordered. Large shops and dealers as a rull will not do this unless there are some special parts that are needed or wanted which are no commly used.

David Fulcher

 

[Hib Halverson]

Find another shop.
The guy is either a crook, is just about bankrupt or just doesn't want the work.
A good tech can do head gaskets in a day, easy. No shop should as for 50% upfront for R&R head gaskets.

 

[geekinavette]

Find another shop.
The guy is either a crook, is just about bankrupt or just doesn't want the work.
A good tech can do head gaskets in a day, easy. No shop should as for 50% upfront for R&R head gaskets.

erd:

No freakin' way....

 

[minifridge1138]

2-3 weeks for a head gasket? Go some place else.
You can replace a head gasket in 1 day (it may be a long day).
It depends on what else you replace as you work your way to the head gasket. Personally, I'd do it myself and replace every hose and gasket i came across (they're 20 years old if they're original). You'll save several hundred dollars and have a very fun weekend or two.
A felpro head gasket is $13.99 from autozone.com.

The parts required for this job are not expensive. The car is a corvette, but the engine is a Chevy small block. Parts are not rare.

Good luck, and I hope you don't get too ripped off.

 

[G Winter]

No way would I pay anything upfront for a shop to do work for me.That goes for anything, appliances, cars, or home repair.Once you do that they have you.

Glenn

 

[Black Bart]

Find another shop.
The guy is either a crook, is just about bankrupt or just doesn't want the work.
A good tech can do head gaskets in a day, easy. No shop should as for 50% upfront for R&R head gaskets
.

I agree with HIB this guy don't know what he is doing if it takes him 15 hours to replace a head gasket.
NO REPUTABLE shop would requires 50% deposit and they would not keep your car three weeks. If he said he was busy and can't get to it for three Weeks that is different but if he Say's it will take three weeks take your car and get the hell out of their.
If this guy is reliable he would have a account with a local parts house and only have to pay once every 30 days and he should not need upfront money

 

[wallyknoch]

The optimal situation is to complete a job in a single day and the customer picks the car up when finished. This is not always the case. We have a parts warehouse and draw from our own inventory on at least 90% of the parts. For some reasons classic car owners are some of the worst customers and leave the car for several days after they are finished. Easy storage. . Your confronted with several of these situations and your get tired of this crap. Correct that a set of head gaskets can be done in a day for the most part. But I pay 50% labor to my service mechanics that can do everything and we do. If there isn`t a delivery or pickup when finished then it`s my resources that do the paying. If you were ever in this situation with several different jobs, you get tired of gratis jobs and free storage and start requesting a deposit too. At least most of the time the specialist is covered by the deposit.

A list of current deadbeats is;

73 El Camino, Complete show body finish and paint, Body done,ready for paint customer is out of money
33 Willis, fiberglass work on a back alley butchered body, 1/2 done. no money.
64 FI Vette, fiberglass work on nearly all 4 corners and in between, finished over a month ago.
69 BB roadster, complete interior , engine work, carpet. door panels and leather seats. finished. $1,000.00 deposit and still sets here
Also those DD`s that need to be fixed righ away and are picked up 2 weeks later.

Any one that cannot make a reasonable deposit should take up another hobby or do it themselves because the one there in is too rich for their pockets. Champaign tastes with a beer budget. I would suggest stamp collecting. ...

 

[Black Bart]

To prevent this you may try informing the customer what it will cost approximately before you start so they know what they are getting into.
I lot of people want to build things that they can not afford but their is one hell of a difference between a $30,000 restoration on a body than replacing a blown head gasket.
I'm glad I can do my own work just finished repainting a fender that got shot with air rifle. I do all my own mechanical work also and would really hate the thought of leaving my baby with someone else because I know they will not be as careful with it as I would but if I did leave it at a garage I would pick it up as soon as it was finished.
As to the stamp collecting comment that cuts both ways anyone who can not replace a head gasket without the money up front should take up stamp collecting because obviously he is operating a failing business.

 

[Fast Freddie]

Let's all agree to disagree....

 

[LT4man]

The optimal situation is to complete a job in a single day and the customer picks the car up when finished. This is not always the case. We have a parts warehouse and draw from our own inventory on at least 90% of the parts. For some reasons classic car owners are some of the worst customers and leave the car for several days after they are finished. Easy storage. . Your confronted with several of these situations and your get tired of this crap. Correct that a set of head gaskets can be done in a day for the most part. But I pay 50% labor to my service mechanics that can do everything and we do. If there isn`t a delivery or pickup when finished then it`s my resources that do the paying. If you were ever in this situation with several different jobs, you get tired of gratis jobs and free storage and start requesting a deposit too. At least most of the time the specialist is covered by the deposit.

A list of current deadbeats is;

73 El Camino, Complete show body finish and paint, Body done,ready for paint customer is out of money
33 Willis, fiberglass work on a back alley butchered body, 1/2 done. no money.
64 FI Vette, fiberglass work on nearly all 4 corners and in between, finished over a month ago.
69 BB roadster, complete interior , engine work, carpet. door panels and leather seats. finished. $1,000.00 deposit and still sets here
Also those DD`s that need to be fixed righ away and are picked up 2 weeks later.

Any one that cannot make a reasonable deposit should take up another hobby or do it themselves because the one there in is too rich for their pockets. Champaign tastes with a beer budget. I would suggest stamp collecting. ...

I agree wholeheartedly! From being in the business for over 20 years and still operating out of my home garage, you would not believe the horror stories I could tell you. 50% is a very reasonable deposit. Believe me, the profit in any job is the LAST 10-15%. NOT the first 50%. Heat bills, electric bills, building insurance, medical insurance for employees, real estate taxes, wages, uniform rental........all have to be paid on a daily, continuing basis.

As far as the job taking 2 weeks. Are not the heads being sent out to a machine shop to be reconditioned? If that is the case, the shop owner now has to work with the machine shop's schedule.

Good discussion!

SAVE THE

 

[IanBMW]

All depends on the shop. But typically in south texas we never require deposits on anything. 15 hours seems reasonable, but it should be max a 1 week job. If the problem is they are just busy, then they should schedule you to come in when they can dedicate a mechanic to it, not leave your car there. I was a mechanic for a while at several shops, and I find this odd. Call around for other shops.

 

[AdvancedAutoCC]

The optimal situation is to complete a job in a single day and the customer picks the car up when finished. This is not always the case. We have a parts warehouse and draw from our own inventory on at least 90% of the parts. For some reasons classic car owners are some of the worst customers and leave the car for several days after they are finished. Easy storage. . Your confronted with several of these situations and your get tired of this crap. Correct that a set of head gaskets can be done in a day for the most part. But I pay 50% labor to my service mechanics that can do everything and we do. If there isn`t a delivery or pickup when finished then it`s my resources that do the paying. If you were ever in this situation with several different jobs, you get tired of gratis jobs and free storage and start requesting a deposit too. At least most of the time the specialist is covered by the deposit.

A list of current deadbeats is;

73 El Camino, Complete show body finish and paint, Body done,ready for paint customer is out of money
33 Willis, fiberglass work on a back alley butchered body, 1/2 done. no money.
64 FI Vette, fiberglass work on nearly all 4 corners and in between, finished over a month ago.
69 BB roadster, complete interior , engine work, carpet. door panels and leather seats. finished. $1,000.00 deposit and still sets here
Also those DD`s that need to be fixed righ away and are picked up 2 weeks later.

Any one that cannot make a reasonable deposit should take up another hobby or do it themselves because the one there in is too rich for their pockets. Champaign tastes with a beer budget. I would suggest stamp collecting. ...

You're preachin' to the choir, brother... Got one in the shop now.. '01 T/A with engine problems (rod knocking).. the owner wants to do a stroker motor, blah blah blah... still waiting for the deposit to get started (6 months now... soon to have a title filing for the storage charges).

 

[Rudy's Stingray]

Re:

Greetings!

I snapped an intake bolt while removing it.
I had to remove the head. Including the valve cover
on one side, it took me a little over an hour and a half.

I still need to scape off the gasket and re-attach. So, at least
on a 70, with all the "putzing" around, being slow and careful, I would
plan 3 hours top. Of course, a barley break is included.

However, with an 87, a lot more work to take off all the emissions.
I would tack on another couple of hours per head. If the guy has a lot of
experience on these cars, the time would be less.

I would ask him the following:
Do you have a lot of experience on this type of motor/setup?
How long have you been a certified mechanic?

There are some mechanics out there that are not even certified.
Is that important to you?

 

[BruceBed]

Why would a seasoned mechanic expect a deposit up front- Either he doesn't have the funds or doesn't think you do? In either case, I would move on. I would never get involved with one that is suspect....Obviously, if your asking for advice you feel it.