2017 motor dealer labour rate report

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Mongezi Mtati

Lightstone Consumer has conducted an independent study among the dealerships of all major automotive manufacturers in South Africa to determine the current labour rates charged at dealership level.

It conducted telephonic interviews with service managers at 897 passenger and LCV dealerships across 37 brands in South Africa recording the labour rates, excluding VAT. Covered by the survey were:

the retail labour rate,
the warranty labour rate and, where relevant,
the maintenance/service plan labour rate

Many new car brands sold today have maintenance plans and in most cases, owners rarely get to see the maintenance/service plan or the warranty labour rate; these being the rates that the dealers are reimbursed at for maintenance/service plan or warranty work.

The survey findings revealed that there can be a wide range of labour rates charged; ranging from R300 to R1,000 per hour, depending on vehicle brand or dealer location.

The survey has revealed that most expensive brands to service and maintain, (once no longer covered by their maintenance/service plans), are Land Rover, Mini, BMW, Jaguar and Audi while the cheapest are GWM, Cherry, TATA, Foton and Mahindra.

The chart (below) shows the lowest, highest and average retail labour rate for each of the passenger and LCV brands in South Africa in 2017.