Installing a passenger side mirror?

[Hootie]

some dipshit kicked/punched my side mirror off and I had to go to ebay to buy a replacement...

I am not savvy enough (I'm a dipshit) to install it myself and I am getting a little bit of work done tomorrow at an auto shop and I'm going to bring the mirror with me and ask them to install it for me...

how much should I be expecting them to charge me for that labor since I have already bought the part?

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Here is one piece of advice that everyone should learn: You never know what you can get unless you ask.

Say to the guy at the shop "hey man, my mirror got knocked off, and I bought the replacement. A friend told me I can replace it myself in about five minutes, but I'd rather not jack with it. Is this something you guys could do for like $20 bucks, or would you have to charge out a full hour of shop time and the whole bit? Either way is cool, but if it's an easy $20 for you and saves me from having to get out my tools, win/win."

What's the worst that's going to happen? I don't think he's going to go upside your head with a wrench or anything. Some people in this thread are WAY too far up their own asses.

This. For sure
Posted via Mobile Device

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

I would too for a repeat customer, I put tons of light bulbs in for free too. And even scan cars.


Surely ill get roasted for it though
Posted via Mobile Device

thats what a GOOD professional does, be it construction, auto repair, etc. But that's totally up to them. The customer shouldn't expect it.

Hell, I just spent over $7k on free extras for a customer on a building project, but he was one of the nicest owners I've ever dealt with, and we did well on the project. So he got some free sidewalk, sod, and some other things done.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

thats what a GOOD professional does, be it construction, auto repair, etc. But that's totally up to them. The customer shouldn't expect it.

Agreed.
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[Hootie]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

He's replacing the mirror on a car with 200,000+ miles on it, not doing electrical work on a Bugatti.

This is what I didn't get...

I started the thread just wondering what it would cost...

and then I was hoping since I already had an appointment I could just throw them an extra $20 and see if they could do something that simple for me (since I had the mirror)

not knowing this was a HUGE breach of etiquette because they can't triple mark up the price on the mirror I bought on ebay...

I then proceeded to get numerous life lessons and then called a piece of shit...

all because I researched pricing, bought the mirror when I luckily found an exact match on ebay, and then was told by a friend who manages our local junkyard that it is a 5 minute job

so I'm sorry I did my homework rather than going to a dealership/body shop and then getting raped in the asshole by crooks who want to buy the part for you so they can mark up the price 200% and then charge you for an hour of labor on a job that takes 5 minutes

MY FAULT EVERYONE...RAPE IS GOOOD

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

thats what a GOOD professional does, be it construction, auto repair, etc. But that's totally up to them. The customer shouldn't expect it.

Hell, I just spent over $7k on free extras for a customer on a building project, but he was one of the nicest owners I've ever dealt with, and we did well on the project. So he got some free sidewalk, sod, and some other things done.

can you show me one post where I said...

"I'm going to get some work done on my car tomorrow and I also have a side mirror sitting in my backseat and I expect them to replace my broken one with the new one I bought and I expect them to do it for $20."

please, show me this quote

[mikeyis4dcats.]

why should I tip my waiter 20%? he spent what, a total of 5 minutes serving me?

opcorn;

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by Peyton's Princess

can you show me one post where I said...

"I'm going to get some work done on my car tomorrow and I also have a side mirror sitting in my backseat and I expect them to replace my broken one with the new one I bought and I expect them to do it for $20."

please, show me this quote

I will, once you showed me where I said you did that, dumbass.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

I would too for a repeat customer, I put tons of light bulbs in for free too. And even scan cars.


Surely ill get roasted for it though
Posted via Mobile Device

Man, I have a lot of respect for people like you that work on customers' property. The only experience I have with it is when I installed car stereos while in college. I couldn't believe the number of people that would come back in and claim installing new speakers caused the engine to throw a rod or some such nonsense . I can imagine it's even worse as a mechanic.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Exoter175

Some people won't care, but what happens if this situations occurs to that one man who has had the car since the first day it rolled off the assembly line, and has babied it every minute of its existence? To that man, the car is worth a fortune and he's not going to just let you accidentally **** something up without you making amends for your fault. Those guys cost money, which is why we carry insurance.

When that man asks for advice, I will tell him not to go to a Mexican. Not really sure what your diatribe has to do with hootie's broken side mirror on a car he got for free. I feel fairly confident that some Mexican handyman can pop off a piece of plastic and turn three screws without accidentally wiping out a small African village.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

I will, once you showed me where I said you did that, dumbass.

I think he's referring to the other guy who is saying he's demanding something
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[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Man, I have a lot of respect for people like you that work on customers' property. The only experience I have with it is when I installed car stereos while in college. I couldn't believe the number of people that would come back in and claim installing new speakers caused the engine to throw a rod or some such nonsense . I can imagine it's even worse as a mechanic.

I just had a lady come in who I had put a motor in her car lady week. She just chewed my ass in front of three other customers because her right rear tire went flat last night.


You just gotta smile and go on.

Fixed her flat for free though lol
Posted via Mobile Device

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

why should I tip my waiter 20%? he spent what, a total of 5 minutes serving me?

opcorn;

agreed

I often laughed at how much money I'd make on certain large bill tables when they needed very little service; honestly...you're talking to the wrong guy. I never got mad at a bad tip, I usually would laugh at the MASSIVE AND FOR NO REASON tips etc...

I'm not the 'omg that guy didn't tip me I am going to find him and rape his family' guy. Everything always evened out and I have always said I think waitstaff is overpaid.

[Old Dog]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

When that man asks for advice, I will tell him not to go to a Mexican. Not really sure what your diatribe has to do with hootie's broken side mirror on a car he got for free. I feel fairly confident that some Mexican handyman can pop off a piece of plastic and turn three screws without accidentally wiping out a small African village.

I just damn near spit coffee on my keyboard reading this one. If I had, I guess I would have had to send you a bill for the repairs.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Peyton's Princess

Exoter:

This is the OP. Nowhere in this entire thread did I ever DEMAND someone to fix my mirror for $20. I made this thread to figure out what the etiquette was at a body shop.

As for hiring Mexican's to do cheap labor on my car...

It's a ****ing side mirror. It's not the god damn engine. The car is 10 years old with 211,000 miles on it...I was in Dallas last year and it hailed softball size hail and left, presumably, thousands of dollars in hail damage (liability only, wish I had full coverage so I could've cashed in on that insurance check when they inevitably would have totalled out my car)...

do you really think I give a god damn **** if a Mexican has a screw driver slip when he's installing the mirror?

I mean, you guys are acting like I need a new transmission. I'm getting a side mirror put on...my ****ing God. I didn't ask for any life lessons about how 'mom and pop' body shops have to jack up the prices to stay in business...I don't give a ****.

I really don't. When something goes wrong with the car that makes me think 'oh shit', I take it to the Audi dealership and pay 40 billion dollars to get everything fixed...it was a free car, but I knew it was going to cost me an arm and a leg every time something broke down since it's an Audi...

but a side mirror? Christ. I'm sorry that these Mexican side mirror installers who charge realistic amounts of $ for work take your jerbs...

it's not my fault they are reasonable and not ****ing crooks...

I am willing to pay $20 for this side mirror install...I'm not even going to bother asking this shop what they will charge for it after this thread. I will simply do it myself, get help from my roommate, take it to my friend's junkyard and have him do it like he said he would, or hire a damn mexican. $20 is the going rate for this simple job. I'll jab a screwdriver into the paint once the Mexican is done doing it to make everyone feel better as well.

You sit here and say you didn't expect it, but you call it unreasonable and call them crooks for not doing it for 20 dollars or less.

You still do not UNDERSTAND the point everyone is driving across to you. This is a business, not a charity, kid. You might have a shitty car you don't appreciate, knowing that it'll cost a ton to fix later on, but in the eyes of a mechanic, your car is just like the next Mercedes that pulls up. Its going to cost you the same labor hour that it'll cost on the Mercedes. Why in the actual **** would you ever assume that the state of your car has anything to do with how much I'm going to charge you?

Which brings me to my second point.

Labor Hour. If you don't understand what Labor Hour is, or what it means, you shouldn't be dictating price.

Simply put, Labor Hour is what I'm going to charge you PER HOUR to fix your car. IT doesn't stop there though, because I'm probably going to pull up something like Mitchell or Alldata to find out how long it is going to take me to fix it, when you come in and ask for a quote, and I'm probably going to mark up the base labor hour by 10-25% on top of that.

Why? Because its going to cost me 400+ per day to have this building with these tools, with these employees, with the insurance to cover all of them, just to be in business. I have to make my money somewhere, and where I make it is labor hour, and parts.

Since you are bringing in a part I can't mark up, I ONLY make money on the labor hour, where I'm less likely to discount you on.

If you don't like the costs associated with running a business and having work done by professionals, use your mexicans, but understand there is nothing Constitutional or Patriotic about what you are doing, and you are only hurting the economy because you are a cheap ****.

Originally Posted by Peyton's Princess

house is the same thing as a passenger side mirror on a 2002 car

I'm lazy and refuse to do any sort of manual labor. My hands are far too nice to break a nail doing something like that...

Mexican labor is great for these instances...they charge fair price, they don't need entitlement money like 'the overworked' working American man!!!

"oh that 5 minute side mirror job!? That'll cost an hour of labor + shop time + you didn't buy the part here which is a 50% cost penalty plus a 1 time surcharge of $93.95"

!!!!

Kobe!

And this is why you're a moron. Entitled? No. Lawful and helpful to the economy? Yes.

You say reasonable to a Mexican for 20 bucks, I see liability, economic downturn, and a cheapskate.

You're all full of negativity but understand this, when they **** up something on your car, you have no ability to go after them for damages, and they won't be paying you back for their mistakes. If you did it at my shop, you'd be taken care of because you get what you pay for, and with a business, by law, I'm supposed to take care of you if I **** up.

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

we're speaking in general terms.

This. But, as I've said, labor hour is labor hour. It doesn't go up or down depending on the condition of the car being worked on.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

why should I tip my waiter 20%? he spent what, a total of 5 minutes serving me?

opcorn;

Right? I mean, the food costs like what? 3 dollars at the market? Why should I pay 20? I'll offer you 4 dollars for it since you spent 5 minutes to prepare it.

Originally Posted by Frosty

Man, I have a lot of respect for people like you that work on customers' property. The only experience I have with it is when I installed car stereos while in college. I couldn't believe the number of people that would come back in and claim installing new speakers caused the engine to throw a rod or some such nonsense . I can imagine it's even worse as a mechanic.

It is a nightmare is what it is. People with out common knowledge of how their vehicles work will blame you something completely unrelated.

The best, is when the cheapskates come in and you tell them that say, their right front wheel bearing is in need of immediate repair and when you quote them more than 20 bucks to replace it, they go off about the expense, then 3 weeks later you get a call with them bitching at you for the service they didn't pay for, and how their car broke down and cost them 158 dollars for a tow to a repair facility that is going to charge them 569 dollars to fix the problem.

Good god those are fun days.

Originally Posted by Saul Good

When that man asks for advice, I will tell him not to go to a Mexican. Not really sure what your diatribe has to do with hootie's broken side mirror on a car he got for free. I feel fairly confident that some Mexican handyman can pop off a piece of plastic and turn three screws without accidentally wiping out a small African village.

Its about the cost of business and the liability that comes with it, and uneducated, uninformed people causing a fuss about the service offered, because they don't understand the cost behind it all.