New Rates for 2024

For more, please go to Terms, Services and Prices

Since I re-opened my business as a Classic Car mechanic 7 years ago I have endeavoured to keep my prices as low as possible. I’m happy to have been able to provide a budget service for those on a budget. Some of you who subscribe to my personal blog on Wordpress will have read about my health issues here: Wordpress Health

Hourly Rates

From January 1st 2024 my rate goes up to £45.00 an hour for all new projects. Existing customer projects will be charged at £40.00 an hour. The increases in prices for everything, particularly energy, have raised all my costs considerably and I have to pass that on to customers if I am to continue to provide a service.

Late Payments

The new rates are still below the vast majority of garage services. To make such low prices possible, and to help my cashflow, and that of my customers, I invoice customers regularly on a weekly basis or sometimes more frequently towards the end of the month. To keep my hourly rate low, I must be paid very promptly. Most of my customers understand that necessity but occasionally payments are several days, or sometimes over a week, late. That means that my life grinds to a halt. One of the problems of having health issues is that poverty is always only hours away when payment for work is late. At my age, that is becoming less and less tolerable. For more see my personal blog here

Parts

I have in the past charged customers what I pay (including P&P, taxes etc) plus 20%, for all parts and outside services I obtain on behalf of the customer. This increased to 25% in 2023. Previously, I have been happy for customers to provide their own parts so that they don’t have to pay my mark-up. I am happy for that to continue but customers must do all the research for the parts themselves and take responsibility for obtaining correct and serviceable parts on time that fit and are of correct quality. In the past, some customers have wanted to avoid the mark-up but want me to do all the research and suggest suppliers - often that is hours and hours of unpaid work every month. From January 1st 2023 customers supplying parts for their projects must take full responsibility for researching and supplying their parts or allow me to supply parts at cost plus 25% as above.

Times are tough but I hope we can all work together to make 2024 a little less horrible than it might otherwise be. My very best wishes to all my current and future customers.

Nick