Shop rates

[Will Owen <nashwill912@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Brethren & Sisteren -

I'm not really sure what Alfa Only is charging as its hourly rate. I
never asked, and since the bills have always been very reasonable I
didn't bother to look until the subject came up on the Digest. Andrew's
mention of $80/hr at the place in Berkeley sounded awfully high to me,
so I dug out last year's repair invoices. Well, the labor charge is not
broken down by the hour on any of them, but there were two bills for
relatively simple procedures - a hose replacement and a fuel filter
diagnosis/replacement - for which the labor charge was $29 each. He has
quoted me $170-something in labor charges to replace the water pump as
well; seems to me this is a four to six hour job, or it was when Bob
McKeown and I did it last time. So while I still have only an
approximate notion of the shop rate, it appears to be a good deal less
than what Andrew is paying! 

It's also well under what I was paying in Nashville three years ago.
Granted, the Nashville shop used to give me rides back home or to work,
and sometimes come fetch me as well, but they had just one mechanic who
gave a hoot about Alfas, and by the time we left there they'd become
considerably less Alfa-friendly. Bill Werner and his guys don't do
anything much but fix your Alfa, but they do an excellent job of that.
Good enough for me - wish I could find a shop like that for the Citroen...

Will Owen
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