Hey Everyone, A neighbor asked me to do engine work on his Chevy 350. Basic small-block, 70's vintage with carb. He paid for the parts and machine work. I had to figure out what cam he should use, parts recommendations and assemble the whole thing for him. It's ready for him to pick up and he's been asking how much he owes me. I've always done engines for myself, but this is the first time getting paid for it. I probably have 10 hours in it, including dissably prep and assembly. I'm not a pro, but a pretty successfull do-it-yourself mechanic.
Hey Everyone, A neighbor asked me to do engine work on his Chevy 350. Basic small-block, 70's vintage with carb. He paid for the parts and machine work. I had to figure out what cam he should use, parts recommendations and assemble the whole thing for him. It's ready for him to pick up and he's been asking how much he owes me. I've always done engines for myself, but this is the first time getting paid for it. I probably have 10 hours in it, including dissably prep and assembly. I'm not a pro, but a pretty successfull do-it-yourself mechanic.
Whatever you think your time is worth. But for a neighbor you need to charge something reasonable but not the same as what you would do it for a living. I'd sort of think of it in tiers: Lowest level is just hard labor, ie moving rocks or laying sod at $7 an hour. Next level is some knowledge but some work, say painting a fence or garage or doing the taping on a sheet rock job at $12 to $15 an hour. Knowlege projects are those where it's your brains, talent, and experience that they are getting
When I do "knowledge" projects for my neighbors, I charge $25 an hour. Not cheap but I don't charge for the running off to get parts at Grainger. (or for the fact that I have an account at Grainger) Keeps the projects from multiplying, keeps the peace for those projects where the neighbor REALLY needs some help.
Another way to look at it is "how much did the parts and services cost?" If you charge 30% of that to help him buy it and assemble all that, sounds reasonable.
For your project try anything from $100 to $250, sounds like a fair price. All of these numbers are subject to local conditions. In some rural areas there would be way high. In some high cost urban spots, way low.
I have no idea how much the work is worth. However, a major factor is the relationship between you and your neighbor. You may want to ask only a nominal fee, if your neighbor is a good friend or you may want to ask a bit more if you don't want to encourage free sharing of your resources (skill and time). Often I won't even ask a fee for things I do for friends, but that is just my choice. If I'm offered some compensation, I don't haggle over it at all and just let the amount be what it is. Maybe ask your neighbor to cover the cost of taking your wife to a fancy restaurant :-).
Sounds like you want to charge him close to the local garage rates or you woudn't be asking :-) Me, if he was a decent sort, I'd charge him a bottle of whisky, and know I can ask for help when I need it.
That sounds more like my kind of pricing. Over the years, I've had the favors come back from the third or fourth party down the line as often as from the guy I helped directly.
If the guy is enough of a jerk that I feel like I want to charge him I just don't do the work. If he wants to make an offer, I let him feel good abouit himself.
I've never done that kind of work for someone, but I've done simple things (starters, alternators, batteries, tune ups, oil changes, etc.). I've never asked for a penny. Sometimes they've forced a $20 on me. I gracefully accept. Otherwise I just say they can buy me lunch/dinner sometime or invite me over for a BBQ. That's about all I've ever asked for when they say "so how much do I owe you...".
That said, I had an acquataince rebuild the carbs and forks on an old motorcycle of mine. Didn't ask for money for parts or labor. I hardly knew the guy! He saw I was having a hard time getting it running (we were a part of the same Yahoo group) and lived only a few miles from my house. Told me to drop it off. Three days or so later I had a bike that ran like new! I gave him $40 and apologized as that's all I could afford at the time (SSgt with a baby on the way...). He gracefully accepted and later told me he uses money from projects like that to improve his garage so he can do more projects for people. Great guy. We became pretty good friends before I had to move. Again.
I still remember a vet that looked after my cat really well in '88 ; he must have guessed that I was young with no money, and he only charged £20 quid for the operation and all the jabs she needed, and pretended that was the normal rate. It was my first job in a new city, so I knew nobody and life was tough. I had found the cat abandoned and figured we were both in the same boat, so I kept it. I tried to find that guy a few years later to say thanks again, but he had moved on. Made me realize that I could repay the favour by following his example..
IANALawyer but I very much doubt that the lack of an exchange of cash or of a formal place of regular business will effectively keep one out of USofA civil courts over an allegation of loss or injury.
Consider: You are a Good Guy, you help me out by doing over my brakes in your driveway, I pay you nothing. A month later a rusty brake line pops during an attempted panic stop. I survive and haul you into court because you knew or ought to have known that a dangerous condition existed (and because I'm a jerk, am under insured and need the cash). "Why," my tinhorn from the firm of Dewey, Cheetham and Howe screeches to the judge, "Mr. Honea might just as well have put a ticking timebomb under my client's driver's seat! Honea was under the car, did the brakes and _let_ my client drive away in a lethal deathtrap." I might not be able to convince a jury that you had a duty to guard my safety but it will cost you at least $10,000 in lawyer fees to defend yourself against my suit.
Wanna settle right now for, oh, $6K, before my tinhorn finds out that you hold a $1M umbrella policy on your house?
You get some truly bizarre judgemnts your side of the pond ; like the case 2 months back of some teenage girls who baked some cookies and left them on their neighbour's front door step - neighbour sued the girls successfully for $1000 as she had a panic attack on seeing the cookies.
Fortunately here there is a deterrent in suing people ; if you can't make it stick, you are responsible for ALL of the costs, including theirs. Plus if it is particularly stupid or petty, the lawyers get a bollocking for wasting the court's time.
which reminds me of a small limerick.
There once was a man named Rex Who had diminutive organs of sex As he flashed them about He let out a great shout "De minimis non curat lex" (the courts are not concerned with small things).
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