Articles on Automotive Repair Labor Pricing, car maintenance, repairs, engines, transmissions, drive trains, tires, wheels, exhaust, air conditioning, tune-ups, suspension and brakes. Actually there is quite a science behind it all. Here's how it works.
Most shops use a labor guide to ascribe value to a repair operation.
The labor guides outline the average times for repair operations. For instance, if the labor guide says that it takes 1.5 hours to do a water pump installation, then this is the figure used, multiplied by the shop's labor rate. In preparation for this article I spoke with a gentleman by the name of Greg Metzger. Greg is the factory rep for Mitchell Manuals, a well respected name in the auto repair industry for labor and repair guides. I asked Greg how they arrive at the time needed for each operation.