> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I called a local independent mechanic and asked him how much
> labor he'd charge for working on the master brake cylinder and
> he told me it'd be $65 an hour.
>
> Is that a reasonable rate or is it too much?

You need to take your car to him and have it fix it because that one
response tells me that he knows what he's doing.

His response didn't tell you anything. He told you the shop rate but
not how many hours he would need to fix it - because he wisely
knows that since he doesen't have your car right there that he can
look at, he cannot estimate anything on it.

And this is the part that matters - why SHOULD he bother giving
your lazy ass an estimate when you haven't even got off your
lazy ass and taken the car down to him? Calls like yours are a
waste of his time - and he only gets his $65/hour when the hours
that he's getting paid for are being spent working on a customer car -
not answering your questions.

This is a mechanic that knows the importance of not wasting time
with you - someone who is not even a customer of his. After all
how would you like it if he is in the middle of pulling your brake cylinder
and he gets a phone call that distracts him from working on your
car?


Ted