Hello! It's been a number of months since i've been on but really enjoy this site and your guys input. Actually it's about time for the snowblower forum (Vermont.)

So there is a guy down the street "Big Al's Small Engine Repair Shop" who does it all and does really good work--he just seems expensive to me; so i was hoping to get a second opinion on that. I go to him because he's right down the street and i can literally push or drive my lawnmower, lawn tractor, snowblower or dighy engine to him to be worked on. However; he is "cash only" and though he does good work, it always winds up being more than i thought it might be. I think every small town has a shop/guy like this.

Here is a recent example. I brought over my Honda push mower for an Oil change and oil change only; thinking that should be $20-$30. I have used it for light edge work on my lawn for two summers with no maintenance done. He looks underneath it and goes "the blades need to be sharpened." Okay.....didn't think they would after two years of light grass cutting. So he calls me 3 days later and goes---I changed the oil, sharpened the blades, cleaned the carb (it needed it he claimed) added some gearbox/transmission oil, oiled the gears/wheels, and did "general maintenance." He then said it would be $70; and he was giving me $10 off his labor costs. Doesn't $70 seem high for a push mower, or is that par for the course?

I'm debating finding another shop but this guy is just so close/convenient and the work he does at the very least is solid; the machines always run like a top afterwards. Thanks for your opinions!

It seems a little high to me for the work done. But if you use this shop sign as a guide, good work is worth the money.

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Very true....guess i'll stick with him for now. Breaks down to $35 a year for the mower so i guess that isn't too bad.

I guess i'd pick good and cheap if i had a choice....I can wait haha

The local Toro dealer charges $80.00 an hour shop labor. If he did in fact do all what he said he did, it probably took him an hour so he is in line with the big dealers but not the bargain basement guys. If I were you, next time I need work done, I would tell him in no uncertain terms (politely) that you only want done what you ask to have done, nothing more, nothing less, without him contacting you and getting prior approval. While he may be well intentioned in making sure your equipment has the best of service while in his care, you are the one ultimately paying the bill and deserve to have a clear estimate ahead of time what your bill will be. Bill

Is it a matter of not wanting to do the maintenance or do you just not know how. If you don't know how, YOUTUBE will make you a DIY guy in ten minutes. Oil change, air filter change, spark plug change, even blade sharpening are all easily done by the average guy with a socket set and screwdriver. The blade sharpening would need accessibility to a bench grinder however. So, if you just don't want to do it yourself, then you put yourself at the mercy of the repair shop. I am not going to say anything bad about the guy you use. I don't know him, but there are a lot of shady guys out there. But, most of the time "carb cleaning" entails simply spraying some carb cleaner in the intake. Even at $60 and hour, that is a $1 job. And I never mess with the carb on my small engines unless they are causing issues. You can easily do all the maintenance yourself in one hour. If not ask the kid down the street to do it for $20.

I bought a USED $30 Craftsman push mower to trim with after mowing with the rider. That was ten years ago. I have changed the oil every other year, the air filter once and I don't think I ever changed the spark plug. I replaced the starter rope this spring. It starts first pull every time, even first pull after the winter. I sharpened the blades once about 4 or 5 years ago. I have a total of less than $100 invested in that mower aside from gas and it still runs beautifully. I have never touched the carb. If it dies, I will buy another $50 or less used mower, change the oil, plug and sharpen the blade and all for less than paying for some other guy to one years maintenance.

If you just change the oil every 1-2 years and use premium (no Ethanol) gas, you should never need to change the plug or mess with the carb.

Just got a call that he was done with my snowblower.....total was $120.

Said 2 1/2 hours later (knocked off 1/2 hours) and oil, transmission oil, greased bearings, tightened a cable or two.

Still just feel like its a touch on the pricey side.....Oh well..

Well....called the local shop that sold me my snowblower. They want $150 for an oil change and winter tune up. Guess this guy isn't so expensive after all....lol