XPost: alt.home.repair   
   From: NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com   
      
   Are my business assumptions correct?   
      
   I'm trying to get rid of some engine trouble codes, and I need to   
   install 2 or 4 oxygen sensors.   I know I can install one of them, and   
   if I find a place where I can jack up the car and work underneath, I can   
   probably do the remaining 2 or 3. I'd prefer to do it myself mostly for   
   the satisfaction and bragging rights, but also to save money.   
      
   However if I fail with 2 or 3 of them, I would take them to a shop to be   
   installed.   
      
   For no special reason except that I think I know how the world works,   
   I've always felt that if I buy parts and bring them to a shop to be   
   installed, the owner will make up the loss in profits on selling the   
   parts with an increased charge for labor, or something, on the theory   
   that the job takes the same amount of time minus 10 minutes to order the   
   parts, and he shouldn't be deprived of the normal income.   
      
   Is this true?   
      
   Is there a difference if the shop's owner has a reputation for being   
   honest?   
      
   Or do honest shops just charge the flat rate for the job and skip the   
   profit they would have made on the parts?   
      
   If I were in their shoes and I felt obliged to do that, I would be irked   
   by a customer like I might turn out to be, and I might even, I would be   
   tempted to rush the job, potentially making a mistake.  Or to skip   
   almost optional things like cleaning up great afterwards, or putting the   
   paper floor mat in front of the driver's seat.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)