Is my local garage taking the piss!

Surely you realise that it's not all going to the mechanic- you do realise that in any business there are costs involved?

There's rental costs for the garage, equipment that needs constantly updating, ramps, supplies, insurance, etc

The garage may get paid £60 per hour but that's not what they earn from it, as in profit.
Decent technician, £20-24ph, rent, rates, insurance, tools etc have to come out of the £60.
If the garage are lucky they will be 'making' £15 per hour

The mechanic won't be earning £60 an hour.

Dd is an apprentice technician for vauxhall. Diag is £150 there.
Dh is self taught and has rebuilt several cars. He's saved thousands doing things himself. Dd is amazed at the prices the garages charge because she's used to her and dh buying parts online and doing the labour themselves. Somethings are an easy fix with a bit of a Google and a haynes manual. I'm not a mechanic and even I could source the 'bastard' O2 sensor dh has so many problems with, and probably fit it with the help of the Internet.
You are at the end of the day paying for their expertise. Snap the hand off the mechanic who's quoted you that price! Its good.

I wish i got paid 60 pounds per hour

The alternative is that you

Take it 2 or 3 other garages for a quote

Find a "friend" who can do it for mates rates

Do it yourself

Personally, it seems like a reasonable price

I’ll tell you what @Sam9769. Park your car up. Go to college and learn car mechanics. Get the right tools, diagnostic instruments etc to do the work. Then do it yourself. Or pay someone who has!

So bloody what? that piece of kit cost my husband about £5000. Why shouldn't he charge to use it?- it's a diagnostic tool that gives precision and accuracy.

Also, do you realise that subscriptions for manufacturer information have to be updated every single YEAR to even use it- so you have to pay out every single year for the information from the manufacturers so its not even like its a one off cost for the diagnostic computer and then that's it,- it has ongoing expensive costs.

Its ridiculous to think you can get the same quality info from an £8 amazon seller 🤣

Absolutely this.

Pay for the years, not the hours.

Yep, all for the cost of a Haynes manual 😂

I have no issue paying for labour. This garage doesn't even put it on the ramp for diagnostic computer, and as I said in reply to someone else, yes it's an expensive piece of kit, yes they need to recoup costs but they literally charge that each time it is used independently of labour and parts!

Bite their hand off.

I know that. And I never bemoan paying for labour costs. But I also know how much profit they make on the diagnostic scanner charge as I (used to unfortunately) know people in the business. And again, I appreciate the outlay is huge and they have to recoup but for literally a minute or two work, it does seem like a stupidly high charge!

Cracking price, my SIL is a mechanic and he charges £150 an hour

£90 for an hour and a half is £60 per hour.

What would you expect to pay a skilled mechanic? That price has to cover all their costs, so the mechanic won't get anything like that.

My guy cutting lawn charges 65 an hour. Usually done in less than an hour. No special training needed.
Mechanic , on the other hand needs a lot of training/ experience so looks like a fair price to me.

A lot depends on the car, nowadays speed sensors (probably to the ABS) not so easy to access, wheel arch linings etc to remove, even bumpers to remove sometimes, £90 is a good price 👍

That's a very fair price, id accept it.

Whilst most of us don't earn that per hour, the hourly rate you have been quoted is not expensive in.comparison to other hourly rates in the industry

If you drive out of a garage with a bill of under £200 you're quids in.

Its the standard going rate around here unless you go to one of the independent back street garages (which i do btw, more personal service)

I’ve no idea whether it’s a good price or not but YABU just on the basis that if you don’t like the price go elsewhere , nobody is forcing you to use this garage .

£60ph is insanely cheap for a garage.
Also they might be able to complete the job in less time than quoted if it's a new car and/or the bolts have all been greased recently and everything comes off easily...however this is rarely the case so they are probably adding some cushioning time to be more realistic. Seized bolts that need cut out and time sourcing replacement bolts for example could mean the job takes far longer than 1.5hrs. I don't think it's unreasonable of them at all.

I think you are getting a great deal especially if it’s a garage with a good reputation. You are free to gets quotes from other places if you aren’t happy with the price. Make sure you are comparing like with like though.

@Sam9769 what do you mean by speed sensor? The sensors in the tyres that sense the speed of the wheels and monitor tyre pressure? If so they are taking the piss, had one replaced at the dealership recently £54 total. Not sure how long it took I dropped it off, collected a loaner car left went about my day and collected mine at 5:30pm.