What are acceptable charges from a diesel mechanic?

[mikfin]

I had a mechanic come to my boat to work on the engines and generator. The guy did a really good job and was very personable. When I got the bill though, I was not pleased. It seems he charged $85/hr to drive to and from my house, and also to eat lunch on my patio. in addition, he charged $2/mile to drive to/from my house twice, which came out to $300 bucks. Is this for real? I don't know of anyone who gets paid their mechanic rate to drive to provide a service, AND charge a stiff mileage fee. Am I behind the times on this?

Cheers

[krush]

When I was fixing boats: If it was a long haul, I would tell the customer I'd have to charge him travel time. However, I was upfront with the cost and made sure this was ok with him.

[Boatsb]

We charge either or not both.

[Glory]

Have an auto mechanic, plumber, or any other trade come to the house, see if they have free time to drive over. If you don't think their travel time is fare, that means you likely expect them so spend time traveling to tour location at no charge. That isn't a good busines plan.

As for the $85 an hour, that's a good deal for a quality mechanic.

JM

[jim rosenthal]

I think charging for driving time AND mileage is not fair. It ought to be one or the other- not both. And I believe that is how it is done most of the time, at least in my experience.

[rmatt]

I think charging for driving time AND mileage is not fair. It ought to be one or the other- not both. And I believe that is how it is done most of the time, at least in my experience.

I worked for a major diesel engine dealer. The hourly charge is for the mechanic. If he was not driving to a job he would be pulling wrenches in the shop, thus making revenue. The mileage is for the vehicle expenses,purchase, fuel, maintenance and insurance. There is no money made for the company in the mileage charge.
Bob

[rsmith]

$2/mi is not unreasonable for a service truck. Now if the guy pulled up in a Yugo and had to go back to the shop everytime he needed a wrench then I'd bitch.

[magnawake]

This is a sore subject for me as well. I used to own a carpet cleaning service. I couldnt charge people mileage, they would laugh me out their house. I had a big heavy van W/ alot of equipment. Gas prices ate me up. Carpet cleaners, lawn maint, carpenters, roofers, bug sprayers all do not charge extra. I cant figure why a diesel mech with a small bag of tools think they can charge for the trip. The only reason is because people are willing to pay up. Same goes with tipping. The above meantioned dont get tipped. I got very few tips, and thats doing extra work for the customer (like a door mat) for free. But a hair beautitian, you need to tip. She didnt even do anything extra. I guy thats a dock hand, ties your boat up and we tip him. Well, heck thats his job. The Marina pays him well. But, if he helps you pump out, flush your waste tank, helps you hook up cable, electric, water, thats going above and beyond. He deserves a tip. I'll get off my soap box now. Oh yeah, another thing. The diesel Mech I have now came 25 miles one way and didnt charge me anything extra. He is a very popular Mech and stays booked up with work.

[saltshaker]

Interesting thread. I have a hard time paying for travel time or mileage unless the distance is significant. None of my clients pay me travel time unless it's over 50 miles each way. If I have to fly to a location then they pay my day rate. My mechanic is less than 15 minutes from my regular slip so I don't pay for travel. I don't think there should be a mileage charge either unless they are making parts runs or travel other than the normal to and from the job. I had a great AC guy that spent summers on his boat not too far from me. He moved an hour further south and then asked for a $300 travel fee. I understand this when you want him for a 2 or 3 hour service but not major work. The last time he was on my boat I spent over $5000. I had a dock neighbor who was billed $1100 for travel for 2 mechanics. The first time they showed up they pulled out the laptop, diagnosed the problem and then left. They were on the boat for less than 1/2 hour. Every time they come to the boat they never have the parts they need so another service call gets added to the bill. I think that's BS. When I had work done on my boat in Fl, the only travel pay I paid was for parts runs that were about an hour away. That's seems pretty reasonable to me.

[Bugsy]

I am hourly paid. My confreres and I charge 50% of the agreed hourly rate for travel time plus the actual cost incurred for transportation.