Body shop quote

[John Larson]

Labor rates at body shops are held artificially low by insurance companies.
They control both the hourly rate and the "book time" on most collision body
shops by sheer weight of their business volume.  In our area, and we're
kinda out in the sticks, mechanical oriented shops such as mine are 2 to 2.5
times the hourly rate of the body shops, and I can tell you that it's really
not enough.  I don't know how they can do it at that rate except by cutting
corners, paying their skilled employees the barest minimum to keep them on,
and having a lot of really underpaid helpers for the grunt work.  I don't
know what business you're in, but most technical occupations involve far
higher hourly charges.  Many, such as computer hardware techs, plumbers, and
the guy who just came to my house to grind the ridge out of my concrete
slab, get paid portal-to portal, meaning I paid him from the time he left
the yard until he returned.  150 bucks for about 40 minutes actual work
including setup and cleanup.  And I got a deal, 'cause he gets a lot more
than that when he works for Cal Trans.
The answer to your question is no, I don't think $36/hr. is out of line.
HTH, John