Shop rates at your preferred Mooney shop

[BobAustin]

Just got an invoice with a labor rate of $110/hr this is in Texas not in a high labor cost area.

 

Curious as to what your experiences have been lately at a known good shop.  As I recall my last invoice (1-2 yrs ago) was for about $85 or so for similar work.

 

Know about high insurance costs for shops BUT wtf ?

 

(Yes no results when searching for "labor rates" or "shop rates")

[aaronk25]

Yep you got screwed! Sorry. MN is about $65 per hour but at that rate they charge time for looking up parts ect. No free lunch.

I wouldn't mind paying $80 a hour if they didn't charge for the time to re-search and only charged when swinging a wrench.

$110 is a lot.....

[ryoder]

My mechanic charges 55 per hour but he is the owner and has assistants who are going to A&P school help him out. Not a MSC obviously.

[Sabremech]

$110/ hour is what we pay for maint for our Falcon 2000's at a Dassault service center. I think that's a little high for Mooney maint. Can't believe I'm posting this being a full time A&P! Ouch!

David

[RobertGary1]

That's amazing. Under $100/hr sounds like a deal. It's been years since I've had any type of shop work on my plane but I know that as of yesterday I paid $130/hr for an avionics shop.

-Robert

[BobAustin]

Please post your location with your reply.  This will help understanding state, city, small town vs big etc.

[Bob_Belville]

Not a MSC: $60. the owner of the shop is the A&P/IA. (His wife handles the office work but has a pink toolbox -- she does some of the grunt work.) He stays covered up but takes care of the regular customers. 

 

Our avionics shop (North Carolina) gets $80 for installations, $90 for bench repairs, $120 for "engineering". He uses flat rates for 91.411 & 91.413 certifications, e.g. $250 for basic IFR, $300 if mode S.

[PTK]

There are variables that come into play such as convenience, vicinity of other shops and quality and experience.

That doesn't sound like outrageously expensive if the quality and convenience are there.

Other shops may charge less but they may also do less which detracts from the value.

[Bob]

$70-$75 Chicago

[Seth]

Also depends on the airport - rent/lease for the shop space may be more at certain locations and necessitate a higher rate.

My mechanics at the MSC I use have slowly risen rates over the last 7 years which I cannot argue. I'll pull out some old bills and look up the rates.

-Seth

[N601RX]

I've been paying $35 hr for an IA to come to my hanger and work/inspect work. That includes avionics. I furnish all the tools, parts and lunch. No he doesn't have any insurance, but at that rate I don't expect him to. That's the going rate in this area for someone who comes to your hanger, one of the benefits to living close to an Army base that employees over 400 AP's and a AP school.

[bonal]

I'll have to check my invoice but I think Lake Aero is 105 per hour but even auto shops are close to a hundred around here. As one of the best Mooney shops there is its not unreasonable also they permit owner assist and that is worth way more than the money you save by doing much of the work yourself

[FBCK]

$105/hr for annual and $125/hr for avionics in Calgary, Alberta Canada, you have it good down there.

[M016576]

$105/hr for annual and $125/hr for avionics in Calgary, Alberta Canada, you have it good down there.

U.S. or canadian?

[M016576]

I'll have to check my invoice but I think Lake Aero is 105 per hour but even auto shops are close to a hundred around here. As one of the best Mooney shops there is its not unreasonable also they permit owner assist and that is worth way more than the money you save by doing much of the work yourself

LASAR and other MSC's tend to have over-the-top high rates IMO for the work you get. $105 an hour? These are push rods and tractor engines, not high bypass fadec controlled turbo fans. The skill set required to work on these planes ain't exactly "unique." I do chalk some of it up to California's ridiculously high taxes and cost of living. Some of it is due to the slow dying of GA, and some of it is due to the fact that the guys flying these planes will actually pay those rates.

Now that I'm in Oregon, I consider 75-80 dollars an hour normal, but I still feel like it's over priced.

You know what they say, though- the fairest deals have occurred when both parties leave the table feeling cheated.

[bonal]

There are 3 full service shops hear at home and I think they all charge the same as for the old tractor well I know they are simple but they definitely have some very unique issues that you better know your stuff. And when I bring my Mooney to get serviced I would rather pay twice as much and have it take half as long because they understand how to work on these old tractors and don't waist a lot of time and my money trying to figure out how to work on my plane. There are a lot more moving parts in a piston engine than in a turbine. Juuuusst sayin

Yes there are a lot of complex systems on turbine engines and you better know your stuff there too but a piston engine is literally trying to blow itself apart. Ask yourself how much you charge for your time I bet most that fly and own big fast airplanes bill out a lot more than a hundred bucks an hour.

[RobertGary1]

Wow. You guys do get a good deal. Under $100/hr for car repair is good in California. Someone mentioned tractor repair. I was helping a friend building a house and I was running his D8. Mechanics for equipment like that are about $100/hr as well.

Honestly if I couldn't work on my plane myself I'd probably sell it. I've seen some pretty scary stuff from shops. I want my hands to be the ones up in there. It's great to find an IA that you can pay to review your work and additionally do his own inspection. Besides two eyes are better than one.

-Robert

[Danb]

Sure it's not always the hourly rate, sometimes your paying them to learn on your airplane which is the reason I use a MSC I think the rate is about $85 per hour, considerably less than my hourly charge. it's worth it for me to work at my trade and them to work at theirs..

[MB65E]

Little high, but the quality of the work better be there. $110 is the shop rate at a major LA based Turbine helicopter maintenance facility. If there is any overhead, I would think high 90's would be good. I would charge 65/hr for side work when I had the time. Most had no problem paying. One Lancair guy was shocked when I told him what I charged. He argued with me about how high it was, no overhead, whatever...I then asked if he would like me to continue with the work, he said yes and wrote me a check. At 400-500/day is still an efficient way to get a large amount of work done. I find its a little more efficient on a daily rate than counting hours for both parties. Also depends on the location. I once drove 1000mi round trip to look an an airplane for a prebuy. I quoted $1000 thinking I could use the Mooney to get there, well the Mooney had an electrical gremlin that week so I drove. Well, the airplane was clean and new owner asked what he owed. I said $1000. I was thankful he tagged on a bit more...He was a very happy new owner.

I would look at the quality of work that was preformed, the detail of the inspection, the items that the shop preformed no charge. If anything was a miss, I'd be knocking on the door.

Another shop I worked in for example, let's say an oil change. The airplane would always leave with N2 checked on the tire pressure, battery level, and all fluids topped at no charge. Oh, and all the fingerprints and Bugs would be gone too!

Good luck!

-Matt

[TWinter]

Caruthersville, MO. None Mooney MSC, but has done my work for four years. Rates are $65 an hour for mechanical labor and $95 an hour for avionics,

[flyingvee201]

$50hr at Seymour, IN (KSER) Cherryhill aviation. Not MSC but he knows Mooneys.

[Guest]

Lets put rates in perspective to say a heart or brain surgeon. He/she makes hundreds of thousands or more per year and has the risk of killing one patient at a time.

The average maintainer even in the highest priced shop earns a fraction of what the surgeon makes, with the risk of killing several to dozens or hundreds for his/her errors.

Clarence

[jetdriven]

If only the guy actually doing the work made more that 15$ an hour. I know it is often more but at many it isn't.

[Bob - S50]

Last year, the MSC at TTD charged $95/hour.  I think the local mechanic we use charges about $65/hour at S50.

 

Bob

[carl]

I'm in Altoona Pa , just got my plane , so i am looking