What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

Yup but thats not too bad either! I bought it November 21st of 2017 with 11,000 miles on it. Senior owned practically brand new still! I couldn't pass up

 

Oh yeah, my mom is 89 and has a 2013 Sienna with 19,000 on it. Literally the old lady that just drives to church every Sunday.

 

Fuel pump I believe.

 

I used these: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...round-effect-light-kit-replacement/3042/6104/

Great mod. Especially when getting in a night with snow/muddy ground.

 

Yes you do.

 

Thanks.

 

I did the install myself. Getting this old exhaust off with floor jacks was a bit of a bitch. I checked to be sure the before and after bolt exposure was the same. Nice throaty rumble from the inside.

 

I wasnt talking about the mechanic... i was talking about the shop...

And this is what im talking about... Why did that customer get charged for 8 hours when it took you less than an hour? Did they keep the customers car for 8 hours also? If so that means the car said in the lot for 7 hours while the customer was probably worried about how they were going to get lunch or get home from work that day....

Why is there an hourly rate if they are not going to keep track of the time and charge how long it takes?

 

You guys think 30k is too soon to change spark plugs? Just picked up a new (to me) 2013 and she's due for her 30k mile service.

 

Based on what I know, if it is a 6 cylinder the plugs get changed at 30K with new copper plugs. If it's a 4 cylinder, the Iridium plugs don't need to be changed until much later. If I recall correctly it's somewhere around 60K miles.

 

Word word thanks man. Seems a bit soon but better safe than sorry.

 

well shit, guess i'm a bit late to the spark plug party. bought my truck with 35k and i highly doubt they were changed prior to that. now i am sitting at 50k.

 

Installed an MFC quick detach Extinguisher mount.

 

I think you should open your own shop.

 

Flat rate pay. If you did the job by the book it would take 8 hours, but there are shortcuts. Mechanic gets paid for 8 hours no matter how long it takes, sometimes it works out well and sometimes you'll spend 2x, 3x, 4x the time it should. Some mechanics hustle and some take their sweet time - regardless when the car is done the customer should be getting notified it's done.

There are many articles debating the advantages and disadvantages of hourly vs flat rate, and many opinions...

 

Waiting for a little more $$ to order my 35s...

 

Man that takes balls!

 

Just put a jacket on....
Only kidding. Please stay inside.

 

I'm sorry man but you wouldn't be a very profitable shop if you opened one and I'm sure you don't understand because you have never run such a business. No offense but it is fact.

I've had a family shop for 40+ years. Typically hourly rates are for diagnosis and flat rates are applied to insurance claims or a standard job that has a good baseline for a flat rate.

That being said I will get a lift kit done in the same day and charge a little cheaper to get reoccurring work from word of mouth.

With insurance claims I will actually pay out my customers a few hundred and sometimes a few thousand for bringing it to me.

Most shops will keep that money as profit but I believe in honest and good work. We are not as rich as we can be like stealerships but we have a few generations of families coming to us so our customer base is quite large.

I guess it really depends on the shop, if I had a job that was quoted 8 hours, I may knock off a few hours to make it a little cheaper especially if it's something ridiculous on paper vs actual work. Nothing is ever straight cut in this industry though, there are always hiccups, additional components and variables that attribute to the flat rate hours.