Someone made me think of this on another board. A friend of mine did this with his Jag mechanic:

Make a deal in writing. If job is done by date "x", you pay a 10 % premium. If it is done by date "x+2 weeks", you pay regular price.

Here is where it gets interesting... If job is not finished until after "x+4weeks", you get a 10 % discount. If it is after "x+6 weeks", 30% discount, and so on.

Any mechanics wanna take a deal like this???

I would do that, only problem is if your parts suppliers screw you you'r even farther behind the eight ball.

what, don't wanna changes the cams on the washing machine again

They do this with state construction projects here in jersey from time to time. Contractor gets paid more if they finish early.

Same hear in michigan the land of endless summer road construction projects.

I would work boat's that way. No problem
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Roby

I would worry about the kind of work you are getting when time = money in this situation. Imagine the parts scenario that Just Once pointed out. 5 days to get the parts and 2 days to slam the job together. Because... Time = Money

Yeah, Quality would suffer. Parts backorder, shipping problems, too many variables. How about this, we'll call you when were done with the job. If it's this summer you can pay! If not, storage is 1/2 price.

But time already equals money. The more jobs a guy finishes, the more money he makes. (Ex: 1 rebuild per week = x dollars. 2 rebuilds = 2x dollars)

A mechanic should know how long it will take to get his parts. If everything goes right, Mr. Mechanic gets a 10% bonus. If a supplier is too unpredictable or always behind schedule, Mr. Mechanic needs another supplier.

Just my.02.

If I was still a mechanic I don't think I would do it that way.

I would build a 10% cushion into my price. If I finish late I would give a 10% discount.

Why do you think dominos stopped the whole pizza dilevery guarantee in 30 min...