amacman, you can't lump all mechanics together in one group... Sure there are some all over that inflate labor times for extra profit, but when that is caught at my work it is instant final notice if not termination depending on the situation. Book time in general is deemed as what the job should take an experienced mechanic to do the job properly with hand tools while not taking any shortcuts. I own LOTS of expensive tools to help me get the jobs done quicker, and have developed many time saving shortcuts that still allow the job to be done properly. (including one this thread is about) But there are still plenty of jobs that take full length as there simply aren't shortcuts that can be performed... especially when it comes to electrical diagnosis work where there is no book time. If you sell two hours diagnosis but it takes you 5 hours to track down the problem (which happens often on these complicated beasts we call modern BMWs, just look at an E65 wiring system/bus chart) Basically some you win, some you lose.

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