What would you pay--mechanic

[nevergiveup]

What would you pay a mechanic per hour?

Would it make a difference if he were a friend?

Would it make a difference what he was fixing (mower versus tractor, for example)?

Would it make a difference if he were a kid (17)?

 

 

Thanks for your input.

[In The Great White North]

The difference would be whether or not he had overhead (ie. a building to heat, pay taxes on maintain, employees and his own tools.)

 

If he has all that, the going rate here is $70/hour.

[PiCO]

What would you pay a mechanic per hour?

I would get quotes from a handful of mechanics to see what the going rate was in my area.

 

Would it make a difference if he were a friend?

No. I would try to hire a friend vs. someone I didn't know, though. (As long as said friend has a good reputation.)

 

Would it make a difference what he was fixing (mower versus tractor, for example)?

Not really, if I couln't fix it myself. Or if the mechanic did not have experience with what he was fixing.

 

Would it make a difference if he were a kid (17)?

I would expect to pay less for a 17 yr old, because I would assume he had less experience. But it's really more about experience and ability than age.

[nevergiveup]

Thanks ladies!

I asked this question for my 17 year old who is doing some work for friends. He has done quite a lot of work in the past for us (as well as for himself on his old trucks and tractors) and thinks he wants to be a mechanic. He has split a John Deere 4020 tractor and replaced the clutch for a friend and is currently working on a backhoe for another friend. He thought he was charging too much at $15 per hour (since they are friends). We haven't had to pay a mechanic ourselves so did not have a clue how much was reasonable.

[Catwoman]

Well, we pay at least $125 per hour when we bring our cars in for service, but obviously, the service tech isn't getting anywhere near that much per hour in salary.

 

But $15 per hour sounds incredibly reasonable to me -- I think he's undercharging if he does a good job! :)

 

Cat

[Pam Wilhelm]

Thanks ladies!

I asked this question for my 17 year old who is doing some work for friends. He has done quite a lot of work in the past for us (as well as for himself on his old trucks and tractors) and thinks he wants to be a mechanic. He has split a John Deere 4020 tractor and replaced the clutch for a friend and is currently working on a backhoe for another friend. He thought he was charging too much at $15 per hour (since they are friends). We haven't had to pay a mechanic ourselves so did not have a clue how much was reasonable.

 

My husband is a John Deere mechanic.... of course, he has over 20 years as a mechanic and a two year degree for diesel mechanics...... and he gets paid a little over $18.00 per hour. Now the dealership that he works at (RDO Equipment) charges a whole bunch more ........ like any dealership....but he gets $18/hour.

 

When he has done work on his own...when he was working on cars, etc.... he used to charge something like $22/hour.

[nevergiveup]

Thanks, Pam, that is very helpful information. He was debating whether or not he wanted to go to a diesel mechanic's school--we know a couple of kids who graduated from schools like that, and neither one were very happy with their experience. They both said that the school was not very helpful when it came to finding a job after graduation and they said had they to do it over again, they would save the tuition ($30,000) and done an apprenticeship instead.

[Pam Wilhelm]

This is the first job my husband has had working on Farm Equipment.... he has worked on river boats, tugboats, BMW's, other cars, and now Ag. Equipment.

 

The pay range for a diesel mechanic for RDO Equipment is $18 - $25 per hour.

 

He has worked for some pretty crappy places and some very good places (like now). He loves what he does....but would probably recommend staying away from the Automobile industry..... those have been his worst jobs. Heavy Equipment and Ag Equipment have been the best. The more valuable a piece of equipment is... "it seems" the better treated the mechanics are. LOL

 

Mark works with the kids coming from the JD sponsored mechanic's school and really enjoys the work and the kids. He wishes the industry did more apprenticeship programs..... but few seem to value that idea anymore. :confused:

[nevergiveup]

Hey Pam,

My son sounds like your husband! He really likes farm equipment or diesel machines. He has done mechanical stuff since kindergarten when he built his own push mower. He has worked on pickup trucks, our suburban, old tractors, mowers, string trimmers, and now this backhoe. He also likes to weld. He worked for a mechanic for about a year (but did things other than strictly mechanics, too) and is friendly with a lot of ag mechanics near here (we live in Indiana). A lot of them let him back into the shop to see stuff being done, but I doubt that they knew he was so young since he looks older. Anyway, would your husband still recommend mechanic's school as the way to go--or should he just look for a job (a friend thinks he can get him in at a diesel place)?

[Catwoman]

Has he considered college? It sounds like he would make a great mechanical engineer.

 

Cat