radautoworks:
So I log on today and there a LOT of mud-slinging about pricing!! My question is a simple one.:

1) what percentage profit do you think it is fair for a mechanic/parts seller to make on parts?

2) how much do you think it is fair for a mechanic to make on labor?

I'll go one step further. Assume the part cost the seller and/or mechanic N1,000.

Aunty, my village people will soon come for you o!

radautoworks:
So I log on today and there a LOT of mud-slinging about pricing!! My question is a simple one.:

1) what percentage profit do you think it is fair for a mechanic/parts seller to make on parts?

2) how much do you think it is fair for a mechanic to make on labor?

I'll go one step further. Assume the part cost the seller and/or mechanic N1,000.

jarkbauer:
Negotiable percentage. But not more than 20%.

Aunty How much do you replace shocks. Based on your hourly basis .

Truth is we are used to kaseem whom we can negotiate and price down. We know dealership like elizade they are expensive so dont go there. All these in between dey cause confusion. You no be kazeem you nor be dealership, then who you be. Elizade go charge me 10k for scanning. Gazzuzz go charge me 10k for scanning too. Elizade get big scanner gazzuzz dem say he get small scanner. So we are confused. Where to categorise unna

Frankdamaxx:


The issue of billing and profit percentage is very dicey.

The capitalist are of the opinion of charge as much as you can get on the product.

The socialist cares about the consumer getting a better deal.

The moralist will want a win win situation for the consumer and seller.

The question is what is your philosophy on business?

When we complain about someone else's high price we forget that we are also charging a high price for what we sell.

But price should also be looked at in terms of product offering. Like someone said, why is Iya Gazzuzz chicken KFC chicken more expensive than Iya kazeema's chicken?

asamwababy:
The issue of pricing can be attributed to how cars are procured in Nigeria due to lack of car ownership schemes.

The truth is that so many Nigerians have no business owning cars.But you cant blame them for struggling to purchase one due to the ineffective transport system available.

After saving for years to buy a car,its obvious such individual will struggle to mainating vehicle after purchase.

The worst part is the African mans mentality of showing off which wont even allow them buy what they can afford.

radautoworks:
Follow up questions
1) how much do you think the average mechanic makes?
2) how many repairs do you think the average mechanic does a month?

jarkbauer:
Negotiable percentage. But not more than 20%.

Aunty How much do you replace shocks. Based on your hourly basis .

Truth is we are used to kaseem whom we can negotiate and price down. We know dealership like elizade they are expensive so dont go there. All these in between dey cause confusion. You no be kazeem you nor be dealership, then who you be. Elizade go charge me 10k for scanning. Gazzuzz go charge me 10k for scanning too. Elizade get big scanner gazzuzz dem say he get small scanner. So we are confused. Where to categorise unna

Frankdamaxx:


To answer this question, look at it from this angle.

The truth is that we are experiencing a shift from the traditional/Local mechanic structure to More modern structures.

Then, being a Mechanic was for never do wells and drop outs. Now, Even Masters Degree holders are Mechanics now with modern workshop and tools. For someone who has patronised local Mechanics for years paying 1k to service his car now having to pay the modern mechanic up to 10k for the same service takes some getting used to.

As people buy modern cars, they switch to the modern mechanics. The average year of production for most cars on the road are between 2000 to 2010.

As Cars become more advanced technologically edging out local mechanics, then people will be more comfortable adjusting to prices.

valarinz:
A scam is when a vehicle owner pays you 10k for a job and afterwards hears his friend did same job for 3k

radautoworks:


Only a scam if done by the same person or one of similar caliber.

valarinz:


I was using the logic from the op of the other thread

radautoworks:


I got it figured he would read this too hence the careful choice of title

radautoworks:


And to answer your question, we charge N2,500 (30mins) for "scanning" or diagnosis up to a maximum of 10k for a troublesome one. Or our hourly rate is N5,000. Most shocks book at about 1.5-2 hours so N7,500-N10,000. Most brakes are about an hour so N5,000.

radautoworks:
So I log on today and there a LOT of mud-slinging about pricing!! My question is a simple one.:

1) what percentage profit do you think it is fair for a mechanic/parts seller to make on parts?

2) how much do you think it is fair for a mechanic to make on labor?

I'll go one step further. Assume the part cost the seller and/or mechanic N1,000.

asamwababy:
The issue of pricing can be attributed to how cars are procured in Nigeria due to lack of car ownership schemes.

The truth is that so many Nigerians have no business owning cars.But you cant blame them for struggling to purchase one due to the ineffective transport system available.

After saving for years to buy a car,its obvious such individual will struggle to mainating vehicle after purchase.

The worst part is the African mans mentality of showing off which wont even allow them buy what they can afford.

nonen:


People saving for years to buy a car, and subsequently struggle to maintain it shouldn’t be seen as a problem. What we’re looking at here is mechanics taking advantage of such ones, while charging them exorbitant charges. In Europe, people also work for years and invest their savings in exotic cars, which they ride for a short while.

Your African Mentality stereotype is uncalled for in 2019

nurey:
Scam in auto repairs is when I bring a Nissan GTR Nismo to your workshop for repairs and leave with a Volvo (very odd looking vehicular object)

Nah joke ooo

3kay945:


You charge 2500 for 30mins scanning?

I once paid 5k for not up to 10mins scan.

nonen:


I think it’s unethical and even fraudulent for a mechanic to charge a percentage for parts, which he’s going to use for his work. I’m saying this from the perspective that the mechanic is not a spare parts dealer, but simply calls for the parts, which he’s going to use for his job. What business does he have with charging a percentage on the spare parts. It’s just like our past governors who are currently serving as senators, they take their senate house pay and also keeps taking pay from the states they milkeddry. I believe we see that such actions is really very bad.

Charging for services to fix the car should be done with discretion, knowing fully well that there are professional competition all over, car owners are beginning to adopt DIY methods, there are also Kazeems around too willing and happy to do the same job for half the price.

mayor2013:
Some price scanning as low as 1000. When you have a professional scantool and you are charged 1350usd for yearly update subscription. What then should be the right fee to charge. As small as a ford fiesta is. I saw a quotation of close to 600k when I was training overseas .

connkg:
Enough information to draw up a business proposal in any field, not just automech!

Giving a mathematical figure like radauto suggests would be dependent on individual set-up, just like in a business proposal.
Going hypothetical, the 200th to 999th customers would get any item free of charge if the first 199 paid for troublesome scans; especially if PHCN was upbeat, you got low-rent location and few staff. Unfortunately, there will be unknown months ahead.
The moral stance brings conscience into business. Neither here nor there, really.

So, my final answer is, "how does one quality compare with the cheapest of same quality in terms of cost?"
_{... and that lasts until there's a Union or Association with capitalism in mind.}

radautoworks:


Very thoughtful answers. My point is that for a mechanic to price a job, they have to figure out their break even. E.g.

If a mechanic does jobs on average for 5k (which people are still loathe to pay), forget rent or any other expense, just to take home 100k in a month, he has to fix 20 cars. Now, add in rent, transportation, tools, supplies, you expect this same mechanic to fix at least 50 cars a month just to take home 100k. Is that reasonable? When does he eat? When does he sleep?

Now apply that to a mechanic shop and then you'll understand why mechanics charge what they do. Same with part sellers. If you expect a part seller to only Mark up 20% and he probably took out a loan to start the business (which he would be lucky to have gotten at 10%), add in diesel/phcn and rent. Exactly how many parts would he have to sell just to break even much less make it worthwhile?

For us, there is no black magic involved. We simply estimated all our expenses and worked backwards based on number of expected cars and average job size to arrive at our hourly rate. It's a basic formula that is used by all mechanic shops overseas. Could we have charged more like other shops at 6,500 -10,000 like other shops? Sure, but we didn't NEED to.

With these figures in mind, I ask my original question again. What do you think is a fair markup?