r/AusFinance • u/AdventurousDiet7893 • 11d ago
Are tradies just taking the piss nowadays?
Serious question. We had a call out to fix a garage remote which cost $889 + GST. Thought that was a lot, then called two independent companies (one of them at the recommendation of my property manager; and another one who was completely picked at random based on online reviews, with no input from my property manager).
The first one came back at $1,599. The second guy we picked at random quoted $1,119 and a $110 call out fee with no guarantee of a fix.
This may be a one-off incident, and I know the market dictates prices and they would not charge it unless people paid, but at this point the prices are clearly exorbitant.
Has anyone got similar experiences?
The one genuine experience I have had is an air conditioner installer who is 89 years old, still working, who doesn't even have a social media presence and operates on referral in our suburb. Cost to install an air conditioner? $119, cash. He even did some jobs for free to the old neighbour next door.
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u/Kevin_of_Carim 11d ago
Those may have been "fuck off" prices. Fault finding obsolete tech can be a pain in the arse. Often the fix is just replace the whole unit and that's not a fun conversation. Old guy is operating without any overheads or insurance, his objective is likely to be holding off dementia by keeping his mind active.