I'm not going to argue the pros & cons of "flat rate".I thought that I'd just explain how the hours are figured out.
This is GMs system,the other automakers & Mitchell may well use a different one.
GM has a garage on site that closely mimics what you will find at an auto dealer.They have all the needed hoists & hand tools.All the jacks,lubricants,& service manuals(the service manuals might well be written by those overseeing the goings on in the shop).GM doesn't use Master Mechanics w/a lifetime of wrenching.Instead,they use young people just out of tech schools.They do have access to a MM but his job is advice-not hands on.IIRC,they average the time it takes to do a repair based on @ least three attempts from three different mechanics.These guys are the ones that figure out the need for "special"tools as well.It's likely that there is a little clip or retainer that hold the clutch hose to the slave cylinder assembly on Dasmi's truck that needs a "special" tool-fuel filters are good for that kind of tool as well.Between the Engineers & these guys in the tech cntr they determine what the correct tools needed to complete the job are.
The real bonus that these guys have-& what the techs in the field have to beat is that these guys have all brand new cars to work on.Here in Mi rust is huge.Crawl under a brand new truck & it is likely already crusty & rusty.So,if a guy in the tech center takes,say,2.1 hours to swap out a power steering pump then GM might publish a labor time of 2.3 hours in their manual.The extra covers wear & tear on the fasteners,corrosion,& unforseen stuff.The dealer mechanics do have another advantage that's a bit slower to reach the little shops.They usually are MMs & have the advantage of their own & fellow mechanics expierience.Also,if a dealer mech finds a significant way to both correctly complete the job & beat time then he can get $$$ &,if he shares it w/GM TAC(technical assistance center-GMs master mechanics on call to every dealership in the country).& if it can be verified,a bulletin w/the revised procedure is sent to the dealerships.
Now,before you cry foul about labor rates remember this.The people writing the manuals DO NOT WANT labor times to be any higher than the absolute reasonable minimum!When a vehicle is under warranty & GM has to pay to replace a starter they won't pay a minute over the minimum published time.They do,however,have to pay all those above mentioned people that you wouldn't even expect to exist.This is what kills me.Our dealership gets $75/hour to work on customer vehicles.The dealer mechanics get all the latest training & tools.They work in an eviroment that costs thousands of dollars to maintain every month(just the heat & light bills run into the thousands-let alone salaries,phone,CC machine,support personell(receptionist)& equipment repair).Funny thing is that the local Joe's Garage gets $68/hour,pays out hundreds in maintenence costs,has little(if any)training,has to borrow tools & doesn't have to pay for much of their on site inventory(usually done on consignment).Draw your own conclusions from that.
280plus' reference to the hole saw fix is true.IIRC we had something similar a few years ago to replace the A/C evaporator on a Jimmy.Another good one are the heater cores on a late Eighties Ford Taurus'(Tauri?
).When those came out they were hated!Book time was about 8.5 hours & a lot of guys were on them for twice that!I know a few guys that can do them in under two hours now & the labor time is now down to around 6.
Now my opinion.Dealer mechanics?I'll never let one of them touch my stuff (gracefully aged stuff,that is)again.Not because of a lack of qualification,I just don't like their attitude.Too much whining.Our svc advisor even has a cry bucket w/all their names on it.It gets handed out regularly.Over the last sixteen years of doing this I've never met a bigger group of primadonnas as those that work as dealership mechanics.If I had something out of warranty & needed a repair that I didn't/couldn't do I'd go right by word of mouth to a local guy.Hell & I work for a dealer.
