The mechanic will tell you, "Fine. Go to the average costing mechanic then." At that point it will be up to you to find him.
A busy mechanic will give higher quotes because he doesn't need your business. His worker utilization is high, and that is what drives his profits. Markup on parts is small, if not zero. Taking on the extra work means he has to bring a guy in on Saturday, usually his best and highest paid one, and pay overtime.
Now the idle mechanic knows the market rate and will quote that or lower, based on how much he needs the work. But there is a reason that he is idle.
I was parts manager at a six-bay auto shop for over a year and our parts markup was 30%. (Springfield, Missouri.)
The first and third paragraphs are right on, btw.
Internet research is grand and all, but if you don't want to get ripped by your mechanic try going to the same one for a few years and getting to know the guy. Go to a local shop and chat the guy up, do not go to a Jiffy Lube where s stoner fills out a questionnaire on a computer and reads back to what it says.
Very interesting. I am in Massachusetts. I worked in an auto body shop for several years growing up. Parts markup for auto body work is 0% in Massachusetts. The insurance companies have books that list cost of parts, and labor times to repair/replace. You don't get any more, and you might get less because of overlap. The labor rate paid by insurance companies is fixed here, too.
For mechanics or other non-insurance work, they can charge what they want, but their prices always end up below retail. If there is markup, it isn't much. It costs me less money to pay someone to change my oil than it would if I bought the oil and filter myself.
A busy mechanic will give higher quotes because he doesn't need your business. His worker utilization is high, and that is what drives his profits. Markup on parts is small, if not zero. Taking on the extra work means he has to bring a guy in on Saturday, usually his best and highest paid one, and pay overtime.
Now the idle mechanic knows the market rate and will quote that or lower, based on how much he needs the work. But there is a reason that he is idle.