Garage Expenses

In this blog, I thought I would ask people to notice the expenses that go into repairs and work on cars in a garage and where their money is going. You have to remember that firstly, we’ve got rent, wages, bills, parts and materials to pay for.

The expense of tools is also an issue. I have been buying tools for about 16 years so I now have a collection of about £20,000 worth of tools. A lot of jobs you can’t do unless you have the specific tool needed.

For example, let’s take a repair job such as a wing and a door. After you have paid for paint, parts and materials, the labour money that we earn is not a lot. For example, for a £300 job, we may only earn around £80 from it.

A common thing people say after you give them a price on a job is: “I know a bloke down the road who will do that job cheaper”. This may be true but that bloke down the road is going to give you exactly what you pay for. It’s funny that there is always ‘this bloke’ down the road who is cheaper… who is this bloke anyway?

I get a lot of people asking me on the phone: “How much for a re-spray?” which is an impossible question to provide an answer to over the phone so I always tell them that it could be from anything from £1000-£5000 and that I need to see the car before I give an accurate quote. It is surprising how many people ask me for a quote on this every day.