Am I so out of touch???

[LBRodders]

@LBRodders laugh all you like it's still a helluva lot less than you

Possibly / probably

We hope that we'd get a good part of it back in resale, the rest is enjoyed in reliability and not getting my hands dirty.
Plus time is precious atm, particularly as No1 has a just moved into a do'er upper.

 

[LBRodders]

Sadly, when you're self employed it rarely seems to work out quite as neatly as that...

Out of the 40hr week, 1/3 is probably spent 'looking at jobs' and seeing people 'wincing'

 

[oldgit]

Sadly, when you're self employed it rarely seems to work out quite as neatly as that...

+1.
Learnt long ago that when you run your own a business you need to make your mind up very early on what you think your time is worth.
Started my company in 1980 , all the " cheap" competitors all eventually fell by the wayside. They simply were not charging enough.
Unlike the employed who simply turn up and expect to be paid for 40 hours wether there is work or not, you self employed man might be as busy as hell on Monday to Wednesday after all the weekend breakdowns but got fanny adams all to do for the rest of the week.
Would always be polite when customers whinged about our prices and helpfully point out the names of our competitors, in the hope they would take their business elsewhere.

 

[BruceK]

Possibly / probably

We hope that we'd get a good part of it back in resale, the rest is enjoyed in reliability and not getting my hands dirty.
Plus time is precious atm, particularly as No1 has a just moved into a do'er upper.

I'd be bored all winter if I didnt work on the boat. Just look at what lockdown did. Crawled the walls. Half the stuff I do is simply pre-emptive. The other half is grudge work

 

[LBRodders]

I'd be bored all winter if I didnt work on the boat. Just look at what lockdown did. Crawled the walls. Half the stuff I do is simply pre-emptive. The other half is grudge work

Its a good way of reducing costs and keeping yourself busy. The boat is handy for you, seems the routine works

 

[KINGFISHER 9]

I once employed a plumber like that ... he made so much money on Mondays and Tuesdays he used to play golf the rest of the week!

 

[Flynnbarr]

Sounds like a pretty good living to me (£100k + a year) if he can manage 40 hours a week at that rate.

That’s not how it works......you’re obviously paye!

 

[rafiki_]

Do you want to know the hourly rate, or the price for the job? 1 hour at £200/hr or 5 hours at £50/ hour. Of course I exaggerate but it is value you want, not price.

 

[Portland Billy]

When practical I always ask for a quote for the entire job.
This usually puts the value into perspective.

 

[lynallbel]

People who can work with their hands in a skilled occupation, and are good at what they do are getting thin on the ground.

I visit quite a few different forums, and it seems everyone is getting picky who they willl do work for, and as they do not have to take every job that comes through their door, so the slightest hint of trouble they bale as previous experience has taught them to avoid.

It even happens with low paid workers where I work, same at the wifes works, they turn up they start work, they do not like the job so up sticks and walk, agency and paye.

 

[Never Grumble]

£55 per hour, from what I have seen that sounds about right, it's why I do as much as possible myself.

 

[volvopaul]

£55/hr for mobile marine services - is that the going rate these days ??

It surprised me as did the contractor getting very upset when I simply said in an acceptance email that the rate had made me "wince" slightly - to the point that he has now said he doesn't want to do the job in question - I didn't realise the industry could afford to be so choosy - shame for me as he was a really nice guy inspired confidence and I had already said I was going to give him the job!

Anyone know any other good Marine Electricians servicing the Severn region.

That’s cheap , go take your BMW , Audi , Merc to a dealer £100 per hour plus and you have to go to them , a mobile engineer comes to you which incurs overheads straight away . Welcome to the real world , if someone gives good service value it .

 

[lynallbel]

That’s cheap , go take your BMW , Audi , Merc to a dealer £100 per hour plus and you have to go to them , a mobile engineer comes to you which incurs overheads straight away . Welcome to the real world , if someone gives good service value it .

I think some dealershisp are twice that nowadays!

 

[Greg2]

I guess a lot of comments must be south coast because £55 per hour is about what the going rate is for engineers with workshops/facilities i.e. fixed costs to cover locally to us. Wouldn’t expect to pay that for a guy operating independently from the back of a van.

Take the point about car dealerships but seeing all those people and marble floors that have to be paid for means that I avoid them like the plague

 

[volvopaul]

I guess a lot of comments must be south coast because £55 per hour is about what the going rate is for engineers with workshops/facilities i.e. fixed costs to cover locally to us. Wouldn’t expect to pay that for a guy operating independently from the back of a van.

Take the point about car dealerships but seeing all those people and marble floors that have to be paid for means that I avoid them like the plague

£55 per hour is the going rate For services on the south coast from independent mobile companies , the dealers are nearly £100 per hour inclusive of vat .
where it all goes wrong is leaving your boat in the hands of some dealers , only this week I was asked to look at a simple edc fault to read recent invoices from a well known dealer to the tune of 54 hours for a job that would have been stretched to 16 hours should it not have gone well .
Took me a morning to diagnose the fault , the same fault the dealer spent the time on for it to re occur just prior to the morning of the sea trial.

 

[volvopaul]

I think some dealershisp are twice that nowadays!

I was quoted 330 for a 45 minute job on my VW transporter , now that’s proper main dealer culture .

 

[Ian h]

IF they charge £55 per hour what is that really in the pocket so to speak after their deductions?

You are also paying for their years of experience,, I bet he also has a workshop somewhere as well.

I would not complain at £55 per hour. as others have said go to any car main dealership and see what their hourly rate is,

 

[Halsey]

Do you want to know the hourly rate, or the price for the job? 1 hour at £200/hr or 5 hours at £50/ hour. Of course I exaggerate but it is value you want, not price.

I never had the chance to find out as his pride got firmly in the way - I spent 30 years being a self employed consultant and I don't think I ever had a client who didn't query pricing or look for a better deal but I wouldn't have made much money if I had run away with hurt feelings every time it happened.

 

[Halsey]

That’s cheap , go take your BMW , Audi , Merc to a dealer £100 per hour plus and you have to go to them , a mobile engineer comes to you which incurs overheads straight away . Welcome to the real world , if someone gives good service value it .

If I could afford to run a BMW, Merc or Audi I would expect that .................and BTW I do but in this instance sadly I didn't have the chance to find out

 

[longjohnsilver]

Sounds like a pretty good living to me (£100k + a year) if he can manage 40 hours a week at that rate.

Except he won’t work 40hrs a week. More than likely half his time is spent travelling from job to job.