So I got tasked with the job of taking care of a small fleet of vehicles at work.My boss tells that one of our vehicles (an 09 Ford Explorer) was making a funny noise and wanted me to check it out. I took it for a test driver and sure enough, it was making a very strange almost like turbo noise. It almost sounded like a set of planetaries going out in the tranny.I take it to a local shop that a friend owns and he checks it out but he can't find out where the noise was coming from so my boss said take it to the dealer. So I make an appointment at the dealer and they can't reproduce the noise. Super nice tech. He took me for a ride to see if I could hear it again. Nope, gone. All well. Anyway I haven't been to a dealer in a long time and when I looked at their labor board I about had myself a heart attack! $158.00/ hour!! $158.00/ hour!!I'm out of touch!Is this what some of you outside of Kalifornia are seeing at your Ford dealer?Just wondered.

I just had some work done on my fishing boat. $130/hour. Your Ford dealer doesn’t seem out of line.

My independent mechanic labor rate is $95 a hour so $150 a hour sounds about right. Had a Mobil RV tech come from Wichita to help put on a new rubber membrane, he's charge was $1500. for 10 hours or $150 a hour.

Whats as bad as the hourly rate sometimes can be the diagnostic fee. Had a water pump making noise that eventually started to leak. Took it into the shop and told them I needed them to replace the pump. When I picked it up there was a $150.00 diagnostic fee. At least they did remove the charge when I pointed out I had specified what I wanted done.

Not the cheapest rate but dealerships have always been on the higher end of the spectrum.What a lot of people fail to realize is just because the mechanic get $30-40/hr, doesn't mean that is what it costs the owner to supply a mechanic for an hour. This is particularly so at dealerships where they have to be set up to handle any and all repairs (independent shops can simply decline some types of work). Dealers also have to have the latest training. They need expensive diagnostic systems and an array of parts in inventory.

I know two mech that work in a ford dealer ,one makes $17.54hr the other $18.65hr. never met a $40hr mech.

Sticker shock | Good Sam Community

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Nov 07, 2019
I know two mech that work in a ford dealer ,one makes $17.54hr the other $18.65hr. never met a $40hr mech.
valhalla360
Navigator
Nov 07, 2019
Not the cheapest rate but dealerships have always been on the higher end of the spectrum.

What a lot of people fail to realize is just because the mechanic get $30-40/hr, doesn't mean that is what it costs the owner to supply a mechanic for an hour. This is particularly so at dealerships where they have to be set up to handle any and all repairs (independent shops can simply decline some types of work). Dealers also have to have the latest training. They need expensive diagnostic systems and an array of parts in inventory.
Hondavalk
Explorer II
Nov 07, 2019
Whats as bad as the hourly rate sometimes can be the diagnostic fee. Had a water pump making noise that eventually started to leak. Took it into the shop and told them I needed them to replace the pump. When I picked it up there was a $150.00 diagnostic fee. At least they did remove the charge when I pointed out I had specified what I wanted done.
colliehauler
Explorer III
Nov 07, 2019
My independent mechanic labor rate is $95 a hour so $150 a hour sounds about right. Had a Mobil RV tech come from Wichita to help put on a new rubber membrane, he's charge was $1500. for 10 hours or $150 a hour.
Bionic_Man
Explorer
Nov 07, 2019
I just had some work done on my fishing boat. $130/hour. Your Ford dealer doesn’t seem out of line.

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