Biggest bill in 5 years

Coming up to my 5 year anniversary with the 996 in a couple of weeks. Just had my biggest bill to date that's just wiped the floor with my clutch change & IMS leak/bearing seal removal bill of £666. Pass me the smelling salts......I feel a tad faint. For: Replace Bank 1 variocam solenoid Fit new Bank 1 exhaust manifold gasket Remove O/S back box and adjust bracket to resolve wonky tailpipes Fit new cat/back box sleeves & clamps Fit new coffin arms & eccentric bolts Fit new rear ARBs. £961 ........and I've collected the car this afternoon after having: New water pump New O/S window regulator New belt New coolant New rear toe arms and eccentric bolts so another large bill on the way too Might have to go back on the game at this rate :nooo:

If thats includeing parts .. well even if not .. then can i sugest you never move to the Deep south !!! :floor: I think the london OPC ,s are something like £200 or more per hour these days

That's inclusive of parts and VAT. I supplied the following parts: Bank 1 solenoid - £320 Coffin Arms - £100 Eccentric Bolts - £35 ARBs - £20 Total - £475 Labour (12.5 hours @£30/hr) & exhaust sleeves+gasket - £486 Mechanic supplied any other bits

£30/hour sounds very good value (cheap in fact!). Is that mates rates?

I charge myself more than £30 per hour! I think you have it good! If I could get that rate in Dublin, I wouldn't be bothered rolling around the drive doing my own work! Now I know why you balked when I told you how much my air con service cost!

£30/hr is his standard rate (+VAT)

He used to be £25/hr but put it up a year or so ago due to customer demand. There's a lot of folk around that are in that price bracket, you've just got to sniff 'em down and assess their capability. As the late Albert Finney said in A Good Year: A blue suit is the most versatile of accoutrements. More important than the suit itself, is the man who fits it for you. Once you find a good tailor, you must never give his name away - not even under the threat of bodily harm. :grin:

Crikey. I always say I think £1000 a year is about the cheapest you will run any car for. If I bought a new Skoda Fabia it will lose that in depreciation. So running a 911 for that is a treat. My car has a lower cost of ownership than any of my colleagues (who have humdrum cars / bangers / Land Rover), but only because I have this forum and a socket set.

That's only for those jobs, not my yearly cost. I'll post that on my 5 year anniversary post in a couple of weeks........but I'll tell you know, the running costs have past the cost of the car

£30 an hour for labour!!! I pay £70 at my indie and think that is good value.

I can count the number of days I got paid £70 an hour on my left hand, and I spent 7 years at University. Why anyone thinks thats a reasonable rate for a mechanic is beyond me.

30/hour?! what!?!? where?!?!

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You need to account for cost of overheads, machinery, professional knowledge and experience. £70 an hour is very reasonable.

I pay £70/hr and also think I'm getting good value. Maybe we're not quite talking about the same thing with these rates. Paying an individual for his/her time is one thing, but paying a business a labour rate that accounts for their overheads as well as a margin for profit is another and perhaps is where regional differences and market conditions come into it. EDIT: beat me to it benbuhagiar, took to long to post my reply, must focus on what Im doing :wink: