Flat rate
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Other Topics
Forum Name: Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks
Forum Description: anything you want to talk about except politics
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=207962
Printed Date: 28 Aug 2025 at 3:17am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Flat rate
Posted By: ACinSC
Subject: Flat rate
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 8:59am
| Just wondering how the guys on here that work on customer tractors figure a estimate? Is there a flat rate book for old tractors? Never had my D 15 in a shop mostly thanks to good help from you fellas. Thanks |
Replies:
Posted By: Michael V (NM)
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 10:50am
| I've seen the I-T flat rate manuals show up on ebay sometimes,, ya might check there. |
Posted By: jaybmiller
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 10:51am
|
FYI... The local tractor place near me are close to $150 per hour + 13% taxes on top !!! ------------- 3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112 Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor) Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water |
Posted By: ACinSC
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 12:11pm
| Thanks guys I don't need to know, just curious. Heard some car dealerships pay their guys half of the flat rate? I'd rather someone working on my vehicle wasn't in a big hurry. Just saying |
Posted By: im4racin
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 12:16pm
| Ac had flat rate manuals. I have a few but never used them. Just a nostalgic thing to look through. Not really interested in running a shop at this time! |
Posted By: LouSWPA
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 3:18pm
|
Just my humble opinion, but to the best of my knowledge, flat rate is based on averages. So, some mechanics will be above FR, and some will be below. I believe it would be a bell curve. But, in no, or very vary rare cases will a man be consistently performing at half FR. If he does, there would be something horribly wrong. and, if a dealer is demanding half FR from his crew, he is encouraging shoddy workmanship, again, in my ever so humble opinion. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. ------------- I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Ps 27 |
Posted By: DiyDave
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 4:05pm
You forget, I bet they also charge for "supplies" like shop rags, cotter pins, 1 use items...  ------------- Source: Babylon Bee. Sponsored by BRAWNDO, its got what you need! |
jaybmiller wrote:Posted By: DMiller
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 5:40pm
|
Flat Rate or what was basically Warranty Dealer Times placed into a manual for Small outside shops and mechanics. Operation was performed from 5 to 10 times depending of the intensity of the repair, then the times averaged, that was for "Warranty Time" for Dealers by the manufacturer. Add five MORE Years to a vehicles lifetime beyond warranty, add in Salt, Road Detritus, Basic Outdoors Rusting with Dirt, Mud, Organics coating EVERYTHING and these times have ZERO Validity, HOWEVER, this is how repair shops attempt to keep good mechanics, and routinely Fail. It is also why Shop Rates are now in excess of 150-250 bucks PER HOUR to recover some expenses that cannot be charged for. An EX Boss called it "Production Rate".
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Posted By: PaulB
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 7:27pm
If anyone would be looking for the I&T flat rate manual for Allis Chalmers tractors, I have one I'd sell. it covers everything from the B,RC, WC era to the D21. ------------- If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere. Real pullers don't have speed limits. If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY |
Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2025 at 9:15pm
| time and materials |
Posted By: DMiller
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2025 at 1:56am
|
What is horribly sad as to Flat Rate is mechanics as myself left or are leaving the trade as are unable to make ends meet at even $45/hour wages, mainly due to the “Adjusted Hours” being far less than what it takes to repair the average machine on the road. As I began as a HD Truck and Equipment mechanic(NOT Ever Technician) we had Flat Rates that paid the men and a few women Good Money over a week’s time, if a warranty occurred “Due to negligence of the mechanic” we repaired the machine for free. HOWEVER as materials bought failed we were still expected to work Free to repair a parts problem not our quality of work issue. A 1976 Freightliner COE clutch replacement was over 6 hours that as time wore on was ‘adjusted’ to less than 2 hours. Whining of excessive cost to truck owner or fleet company revenue drove this in my old industry. We were often shorted on time to diagnose problems, or as found additional issues during a repair were expected to take a lesser value of repairs time payments as ‘Already had it partially disassembled’, was not ever any such notations in Flat Rate guidelines, just personal judgement by the shop owners. Currently, diagnosis time is often decreased to a shop figure of a few tenths of hours as determined by the owner/manager to lessen the severity of visible charges to a client, regardless the cause of the failures. Is/Was not the mechanics fault yet falls on that poor souls income capability as a fault. What is worse is “Technicians” as mechanics are now termed, are more required to purchase and have a available all the high tech computer based diagnosis machines as well keep the databases in those updated at cost to themselves. Some computer analytic mechanisms are in the several thousand dollar range, updates and software changes are as bad averaging in the hundreds to thousands of dollars each and every occurrence. Buddy of mine that I traded the KW from has a Diesel Laptop, cost $7500 base unit, added data stream applications for more machines and added $3200 to that in a year. Updates his first year were over $5000 in total and he has to recover those dollars before ever makes a profit. Shops NO LONGER buy these devices and gripe as their employees demand more payroll. I still have several pre OBDII DIAGNOSTICS handheld units. Are junk these days as cannot be updated, cannot even connect to OBDII autos. Had to buy to see the processes in the autos of that time to see bad sensors or wiring to those and were worthless in less than 5 years. I not ever recovered the expense for those. |