What should I charge a 'friend' for working on his e39?

[turbohugh]

So I did a crap load of work on a fellow martial artists 528. Since I own a 328 with the same motor, and have done the same repairs to my car I figured, why not make a few extra $$, but I'm not a mechanic and am not sure what is a fair price. The work that has been done :

1-Replace Radiator
2-Replace Fan
3-Bleed and refill cooling system
4-Replace Radiator Hoses
5-Replace Cam Sensor A
6-Replace Front Brakes
7-Replace Rear Brakes
8-Flush and bleed brake system
9-Troubleshoot and fix O2sensor issue (disconnected wiring)

We now have the CEL codes clear and I am driving it on the ODBII loop to get all the sensors 'ready for testing' so he can get through inspection.

So what is a fair price for a 'friend' (not extremely close) that is big enough to kick my butt ? (LOL).

Thanks in advance.

[HoodPin]

IMHO, use can try calculating a rate backwards from what a good, reputable shop would charge.

Consider the going rate now is $100/hour. But that includes shop overhead. So figure about $40-50 for the mechanic. But a reputable shop works based upon book hours, which means they should have special tools & experience to get the job done quickly. Figure us non-professionals might take twice as long to do the same job, so around $20/hour seems fair to me. Of course if he's really big, and is known to have a bad temper, something closer to $15/hr could be considered. ;)

Plus parts at cost.....of course!

[turbohugh]

IMHO, use can try calculating a rate backwards from what a good, reputable shop would charge.

Consider the going rate now is $100/hour. But that includes shop overhead. So figure about $40-50 for the mechanic. But a reputable shop works based upon book hours, which means they should have special tools & experience to get the job done quickly. Figure us non-professionals might take twice as long to do the same job, so around $20/hour seems fair to me. Of course if he's really big, and is known to have a bad temper, something closer to $15/hr could be considered. ;)

LOL
Ya he's big, and can break many boards with one strike. I don't think he has a bad temper, and is more of a 'fashionista' than a fighter. I work slow, so I'm not good at calculating my 'rate', and I spend a lot of time cleaning (And there was much underhood smegma to clean). I also use the 'back to black' stuff on things like the fan shroud and other plastic to make it look less aged. Not that he asked, but I like to have cars that I work on leave looking factory (with correct routing of hoses, orientation of clamps, etc..).. Slight OCD with that stuff I guess. IN any case I was thinking 300-400 range but I have no idea since I think the last time I had any work done at a shop was in the 90s (and I still have that damn bill from R&S springwork!)

Does 400 sound outrageous it seems like I spent the entire day Sunday but its not overheating (staying at 92C so far) and seems to be a lot smoother ..

[cmartin]

I used to spec similar jobs on a new tool or part I needed. If that doesnt work, pick a rate and add up the hours. If you are efficient $20-50/hr seems reasonable. If it took 15min to find the socket, then 10 min to get a wrench... maybe $12/hr. :)

[magnetic1]

Call up a place like RRT, then charge him half.

[John Clay]

I'd say half of retail on labor, parts at cost.

[Vicegrip]

Charge by the hour. Charge only for real time spent working and the time cleaning up after real work. Don't charge while learning to do something. Don't drink and charge but if you do take at least $10 per hour off for each beer consumed. Keep the price good so you can look him in the eye when saying the amount and sleep well knowing you did good work for the money. Undercharging is almost as bad as overcharging. Both are insulting to people of good character.

[William Miller]

Ditto
But should have had the discussion before.
I know it doesn't always work that way.
Remember that your (hopefully) doing the best you can for him and ne must have some trust in you. Your also probably providing him a huge convienance which = value.
Good luck!

[Dr K]

I agree with Bill. But too late for that now. I'd present it such:

"Tell me if this sounds fair to you: RRT would charge $700 for the work I did. I spent [10] actual hours working on your car, and thought that should be worth $30/hour, which comes to [$300], plus the parts, which cost me [$??]. That's about half of what RRT would have charged."

[turbohugh]

I figured the experience is worth it to me.>We agreed on 300 bucks. Not a lot to either of us and I always have fun working on cars so win/win for both of us.

Thanks guys (much nicer here than renn$$)

[bordin34]

I charge in lunches and food.

[steve911T]

He got a heck of deal. Been to the BMW dealer lately? Unfortunately, my wife was there but I stopped the dealer from doing too much damage. Finished up with a local guy who is very good but half of the Dealer cost. Steve

[86911TLCAB]

for reference, my son had radiator swapped with hoses on a 98 328i at a dealership in florida and it was about a grand...might have had oil changed at the same time..