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Old 02-16-21, 03:34 AM
  #48  
barnfind
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Originally Posted by kross57
I don't really have one. I would guess I make somewhere around $15-$20 an hour on these bikes. For such a low rate you have to enjoy it, or it's not worth it.
That won't happen around here. People flat out refuse to pay for labor and they want a lifetime warranty on everything they buy.

I was in a bike shop last week, the owner was changing two tubes on an old mountain bike for some guy who was waiting. When he got done, he tells the guy "That'll be $31 with tax and labor". ($8.50 ea. for the tubes, $12.50 labor, plus sales tax). The guy went ballistic and started saying he's not paying for the tubes AND paying for the labor to put them in.
There's a 4 foot sign on the wall right there that lists labor charges, $12.50 to change a tube or tire each, (he was cutting the guy a break as it was by only charging half the rate because the bike came from there 30 years prior). Shop labor rate is listed not by the hour but by the procedure. He's had that sign there unchanged for 20 years or so.

In the end, the guy stomped off without the bike, with two kids in tow, apparently he had no money on him. He got into a brand new diesel GMC pickup still with a temp tag on it.
I was there this morning and that bike was still sitting there in the corner. He didn't seem too confident that the guy will come back for it. He told me he cringes these days when it comes to doing any sort of repair because so many never come back for the bike. For big jobs he now requires payment up front but most flat out refuse to pay labor I've even seen some people come in there with parts they bought online in hand wanting them installed for free, then go crazy when he gives them the labor price.
I had a guy who was a pretty regular at a local shop a few years ago come to me wanting me to do a clean and relube on his 70's Raleigh Super Course. He told me the bike shop down the road sent him here. (I'm not a shop and don't advertise). I gave him a price that was no doubt double what ever the shop quoted him, and he unloads the bike out of the truck and leans against the wall in my garage. I didn't ask for anything up front figuring if he don't pay, I get a nice bike for my trouble......
I get a good look at the bike, a 1977 Super Course and its got no front brake cable, both tires are flat and dry rotted, and the rear wheel is a 1/2" out of true. I tell him my price doesn't count parts, and that he'll have to buy some cables and I'm going to charge him to fix the rear wheel, and he's going to have to buy some new tires and tubes. I ask him what kind of tires does he want, he says "What ever is cheap". My go too cheap tire is either something from Specialized or a low end Michelin. I tell him he's looking at another $75 or so. He says go ahead and fix it, but there's no hurry, he's going to be in FL for a few months. I get to the bike the next weekend, I basically do a complete tear down and rebuild, I straighten and true the back rim, adjust and tighten the front spokes as well. I mount up two new Michelin tires and tubes, clean and relube the headset, BB, and both hubs, I removed and cleaned the chain, flushed out the derailleur, and replaced the front shift cable and both brake cables. I even cleaned the rusty spots off the chrome bits and bolts here and there.
I shoot the guy an email telling him its all done. He replies and tells me he's moved to FL, and he wants me to ship the bike to him.
I tell him I don't ship bikes and he owed me for the repairs. I never heard from him again. That was in early 2017. I sold the bike last week after it sat for a year or more on CL.

Years ago, around 1999 or so, I was helping out at a local bike shop during the holiday rush while I was on vacation from my regular job, it was around closing time when a guy came in asking if his bike was done yet. No one could find or had any record of him leaving a bike for repairs. After grilling the guy about when or why he left his bike. He said he dropped it off "A while back" for new tires and tubes and a kickstand". After an hour searching, no one can find anything. He digs around and finally comes up with a claim tag from a repair order, dated 6 years prior, from a different bike shop, that was no longer in business. We were simply speechless. When the owner told him he had the wrong shop, and that the shop in question was long gone, he went nuts and demanded we give him his bike. The whole ordeal ended with the cops being called and him being removed. He continued to call the shop for a month insisting they were 'hiding' his bike.

I gave up on buying any bike with the sole intent to flip it for a profit after fixing it. People won't pay a dime more for a bike that's been all gone through and made perfect vs. any old rideable clunker. Around here used is used, it doesn't seem to matter whether it was high end, mid grade or entry level, they just want it cheap.
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