My car dealer charges more per hour for labor than I do

[Anonymous]

Well the mechanic guarantees his work unlike the doctor

[Anonymous]

Why are you taking you car to the dealer? They are always the highest cost option.

[Anonymous]

Why are you going to a dealership for routine service?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you taking you car to the dealer? They are always the highest cost option.

That, and they will tamper with your car if they want to sell you a new one. It happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kicker is that they go by "the book". Your car may need work that "the book" says takes 1.5 hours but it really only takes them 1 hour. You get charged the 1.5 hour.

To be sure, medical billing works like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you going to a dealership for routine service?

After that quote I didn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:…and I’m a doctor.

So? Only a physician would be this arrogant.

This isn’t about IQ. It’s not arrogant to think that a grueling and highly selective admission process, 8+ years of post secondary education, another 3-7 years of training, and a post college education that costs $400K, requiring sacrifices most won’t make and doing something few can do, would earn a higher hourly wage than a high school graduate with on the job training.

Maybe next time you or your child is seriously ill, ask a mechanic?

You're not really doing a whole lot to dispel the charge of arrogance.

[Anonymous]

Take it to small shops. Dealers are always charging high and still lose money sometimes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:…and I’m a doctor.

So? Only a physician would be this arrogant.

This isn’t about IQ. It’s not arrogant to think that a grueling and highly selective admission process, 8+ years of post secondary education, another 3-7 years of training, and a post college education that costs $400K, requiring sacrifices most won’t make and doing something few can do, would earn a higher hourly wage than a high school graduate with on the job training.

Maybe next time you or your child is seriously ill, ask a mechanic?

Mechanics actually have a fair bit of sophisticated training these days...to diagnose and work with troubleshooting the issues with complex electrical components, to diagnose programming code related issues, and to work with the high voltage electricity of EVs. In some cases, surgeon-like dexterity is needed to repair components without causing additional damage (assembly and reassembly).

In any case, the service fees are not just compensating the technician. The dealerships make most of their money on service rather than on new car sales. Therefore the service business really has to fund the entire glittering showroom world where you select your choice of vehicles. This distorts the price of service from the cost to provide it. One thing you are definitely paying for in your service fees is the high cost of real estate and the showroom facility (or more broadly the cost of operating a full-service dealership near your expensive home).

It always seems to me that at the end, white collar people don't like when blue collar people earn more than them (or "more" than they think is appropriate). Even though we could have chosen that path. Isn't it rational to exploit labor market imperfections? Why is anyone owed or why does anyone deserve a certain hourly rate?

Mechanics are more useful than most of the management consultants I've been exposed to lately, LOL.

Labor market imperfections usually tend to correct with time if they are truly imperfections. e.g. the jobs with easy entry point, no need for expensive education or good connections or rare abilities/skills all of a sudden pay more than those requiring all of the above. This can happen due to shortage, but market is efficient, and this gap tends to close quickly if it's easy enough for many to do the job and getting skilled. I am not entirely convinced if this is an imperfection and is due to shortage, I think hourly rate for skilled labor had always been on a high side. People in education requiring fields are often oblivious to this and some look down upon these occupations and don't care to find out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:…and I’m a doctor.

So? Only a physician would be this arrogant.

This isn’t about IQ. It’s not arrogant to think that a grueling and highly selective admission process, 8+ years of post secondary education, another 3-7 years of training, and a post college education that costs $400K, requiring sacrifices most won’t make and doing something few can do, would earn a higher hourly wage than a high school graduate with on the job training.

Maybe next time you or your child is seriously ill, ask a mechanic?

Mechanics actually have a fair bit of sophisticated training these days...to diagnose and work with troubleshooting the issues with complex electrical components, to diagnose programming code related issues, and to work with the high voltage electricity of EVs. In some cases, surgeon-like dexterity is needed to repair components without causing additional damage (assembly and reassembly).

In any case, the service fees are not just compensating the technician. The dealerships make most of their money on service rather than on new car sales. Therefore the service business really has to fund the entire glittering showroom world where you select your choice of vehicles. This distorts the price of service from the cost to provide it. One thing you are definitely paying for in your service fees is the high cost of real estate and the showroom facility (or more broadly the cost of operating a full-service dealership near your expensive home).

It always seems to me that at the end, white collar people don't like when blue collar people earn more than them (or "more" than they think is appropriate). Even though we could have chosen that path. Isn't it rational to exploit labor market imperfections? Why is anyone owed or why does anyone deserve a certain hourly rate?

Mechanics are more useful than most of the management consultants I've been exposed to lately, LOL.

+1

I'm always happy to pay for services of highly skilled technicians. If my kid(s) were interested in working a trade job I would actually push them towards it (while also encouraging them to at least get an AA in business, because when you are 45/50 you might not want to be in the field daily and would rather own the business). We need more highly skilled workers

[Anonymous]

I bet I charge more per hour than you and your mechanic do for management consulting. Talk to the insurance companies if you are upset with the reimbursements, it's not your mechanics fault.

[Anonymous]

So? Do you feel you deserve a higher rate? If so, why?