I happen to work for merchants tire, read through some complaints for about an hour. It is true, merchants has some of the highest price markups out there. We mark up a $4 drainplug to $20 on a daily basis. A labor rate of $100.00 an hour is about average between dealerships and franchises. Just wanting to throw it out there that if you go to merchants tire to get an oil change done, make sure you bring a coupon printed offline from their website. If you go to get any mechanical work done, make sure you call around before you agree to let them do the work. I promise that they will mark up the parts as high as they possibly can, my manager for example, will go far beyond our standard price markup (which is too high to begin with) and scam customers whenever he possibly can. If you come to get tires installed and merchants, leave and your engine seizes due to lack of oil, merchants is liable for your engine. Every car is required to have the oil level verified and lugnuts tightened, even if you just come in for a battery.