I got out of all that bs. I do it on the side for $45 an hour flat rate. No rushing, get it fixed right the 1st time, build great repeat customer relationships by explaining things so they understand and being honest and fair. Key to it is to not be afraid to tackle new things. I will never work for another dealer or shop. My time and education is valuable.
I worked for the dodge dealer, i did nothing but install transmissions in dodge rams all day long. Which was sweet. they started me out flat rate. I would knock them out in about half of book time. They told me I had stay around the shop after the job was done cause technically I was still on the clock, then they told me I have to clean and do something productive but couldn't overlap hours. Then they moved me to hourly and I started milking the job, then they lowered my pay 7 dollars an hour. Then I quit. Fuck dealers trying to rob the mechanic and customer to pocket as much money for the CEOs
@@joelopez40oz23 if I did a flat rate job that called for 8 hours, but only took me 5, I'd have 3 hours left over, I couldn't start on another flat rate job. They wanted me to do shop chores, clean, sweep, mop, paper work.or training, or oil changes. But I wouldnt get paid anymore for any of these chores, but they also wouldnt allow me to leave the premises since it was a insurance issue cause I was technically on the clock, and they also would allow me to lounge around. Basically there was no advantage to flare rate because if you finished early they made you work for free.
@@joelopez40oz23 pretty much yea, they switched me over to houly then I would take my time and milk the job, so they reduced my hourly wage, and then by that time we couldnt stand eachother. So I went to ford, ford was alot better but they would pay you alot less for warranty work. Which happened alot cause of terrible designs.
Being in the automotive field my whole life and making a lot of money at it, I think the automotive field is broken. We can pick up most trades in under 3 months that pay more but good luck teaching a brick layer to diag and or repair anything in the same time. Now let’s talk about the cost of tools to make your living. Do any other trades involve this kind of cost? And let’s talk about the the under paid over worked techs that keep your buses, ambulances, cop cars, fire trucks, lawyers, doctors, and teachers going. And let’s talk about the level of respect you get from your girlfriends family when you tell them you are a mechanic. And let’s talk about how every cock sucker wants you to fix there shit for a beer or blow job. I GOT INTO THE FIELD FOR THE PASSION OF CARS AND I WISH I COULD TURN BACK THE CLOCK.
Vtec Banger yup.i say no even if a blowjob is offers and I have my own lift in my outbuilding and I won’t work on shit for people. As soon as you tell them $60 and hour (the flat rate at a shop or dealer here is $92hr )all of a sudden it’s “too expensive” or “why do you charge so much” I take great pleasure in telling people “go get three estimates one from a dealer and two from independent shops then come talk to me” sooner or later they come back and say “ok I’ll pay you what you want 😂😄
joedell71 exactly. I tell people to get there own dealer parts too, so I know they will fit right, have no comeback, and it softens the pay me impact. Meaning if you tell a person $600 to install pads and rotors they shit. But if you say go grab your own parts and I’ll charge you $50 an axle it makes it sound better. I’m taking side work btw.
One of the few tradesmen that can hold a candle to an experienced tech are machinists . . . And our pay is just about as bad. Don’t get me started on the all-brain/no-hands dipshits, however.
Back in the day a smart mechanic could do well at flat rate because they figured out a workaround now that the industry have learned to spot them they now dropped the hours that it takes to do the job
id rather be a plumber than a shitty auto tech tbh, nice retirement and easy work(repetitively speaking) plus if you do industrial work instead of regular homes its even better
I owned an independent shop here in Las Vegas and we were in business for 34 years and at the time we sold it our guys were making 35-45% labor rate. Our labor rate was $95.00/hr. This was based on flagged hours labor rate off of Alldata. We had 7 techs at a time. Doing this we didn’t have the weekly turn over of tow trucks dropping off or picking up boxes. We always valued our people. Miss my people sold in 2016 they made it possible they were the value
@John Brennan it costs red bull 10 cents to make a 12 ounce can they sell to stores for $1.25 a piece and you and I buy it for $3.50. Everyone's raping everyone out here.
@@uabum a little worse off financially, but not much, and I enjoy the work, the customers, and the atmosphere a lot more than the shops and dealerships I was working at in auto
I was an ASE Master Tech for about 9 years . I always knew I did not want to do this all my life but I finally saw the writing on the wall in 1993 and went back to college the following year. As an auto tech you get screwed 6 ways from Sunday, always have and always will. I worked at three different dealerships and finally figured out that I basically worked for a car salesman. I worked the independent shops for 3 years and it was still bad ... GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN...
time to move onto big boy shit (heavy diesel/industrial tech) automotive shit doesnt pay and isnt worth the effort unless you have a "passion for it" oilfield mechanics are getting payed about 85$ a hour lol, that 8$ is chicken shit lul, make more money flipping burgers @10hr xD
@@johndowe7003 You got that right, 25 years ago the avg. pay at the local dealers was $24 to $28/hr. Now the top guys there get $15 to $18.50 max, flat rate only, no guarantee and you have to pay for your benefits out of pocket. No vacation, and sick days are calculated by the month, and not cumulative. (up to 3 days per 6 mo. period). Worse yet, when a dealer closes, since your working flat rate, unemployment considers you a contract worker and you can't collect even though you pay into it. I walked away from the dealer mess years ago, I still turn wrenches but in my own place for my own money. With minimum wage going to $15/hr, flipping burgers will soon pay more than turning wrenches since flipping burgers doesn't require you spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy tools. Of course, flipping burgers will also soon be a thing of the past, the big three burger joints are all going automated to eliminate having to pay anyone $15/hr. Many are seeing that after the recent 'drive thru only' policies due to recent issues, that they can make just as much without the inside restaurant business, meaning that they only need someone to collect the cash, and someone to hand over the food.
This is spot on, I’ve been a mechanic for 20 years, and I’ve done a bit of everything, and functioned on both hourly and flat rate, but where I’m at now we get paid hourly, with 5-8 hours ot, and can make monthly bonuses as a team of 6 techs at an independent shop, so far it works.
Man this topic is hitting home! I am a shop owner in Houston, Tx I am currently dealing with all of this! I bought the shop I spent the last 19 years working for. I started as a technician, but could see that I was headed down the path that all of you are talking about. I kept trying to get into management because I did not want to be in the shop after 50, and pay was so up and down, but there was more money in the shop at that time so I kept going back to it. I eventually sold my tools, and that forced me to stay inside. By this time the decline of pay in the shop was starting to equal what I could make as a service manager. Fast forward to 2020 shop owner, and totally on the other side of the fence. I have two techs, and one lube tech. My techs have a 30 hour guarantee, and get 35 and hour flag/flat rate, and we are a 5 day a week shop. I am dealing with burn out, and techs wanting out of the industry just like all of you are describing. My lead tech is so hard to work with because he is so burned out from what this industry has become (can't blame him) My other tech is always on his phone, or youtube trying to break into the real estate industry (can't blame him). There are becoming fewer techs to replace these guys now days, and forget about most of the newer generation!!!! I am on number 7 lube tech in two years after my older guy retired. I have been trying to find someone I can start out like I did, and mentor to become a quality technician, but I am about to give up and find me another older guy! My lead tech came to me at the first of the year about wanting to go to a salary to help level out his pay through out the year, and or he wanted a raise. He has been with me now for 9 years, and is one of the smartest guys I have known, but since he is so burned out on the industry he sucks to work with, and brings the mood down in the shop, comes in at 8:15/8:30 leaves at 4:00 and his work area looks horrible. The industry changes has created a perfect storm IMO! What do I do???? I can't work with this guy, and I can't replace this guy! Also I will tell you that the overhead in this business is killer! I have a 10 bay shop in West Houston, and my cash flow is not what some of you may think. This is not a get rich business by any stretch of the imagination! My wife is totally stressed out all of the time! I want to help my lead tech, but at the same time there has to be a balance. Can he recover from burn out if I stabilize his pay??????? I need to grow the business, but can not do it with one burned out tech, and one with one foot out the door! Man the more I write this the more I see all the problems brewing from both sides employees/owners! I welcome any feedback from techs/owners reading this. Wishing all of you the best in 2020!
TheCloudpuncher i own 2 shops with 3 techs each, very frustrating, and I lost my most technical guy who could do anything about a year ago at one shop. The guy however was a true pain in my ass, (late,always sick,started trouble with others) but since he left I can now breath again. At first I panicked, but Just started hiring by attitude. I actually feel better about babysitting a young guy with a great attitude but less skills. The guy that knows he is good but has a bad attitude has to go!
Hey man you need to downsize. 10 bay shops are no fucking good too much stress and overhead. 1 bad month you're $50 fucking K in the hole. Well at least in my area where rent is $15-20k a month rent for a 10 bay. 2-3 bays is a happy life and same money. What's your situation now that was interesting.
They won’t pay flat rate mechanics what jobs call for, but they will bill the customer $100 am hour for every hour that the job calls for, that’s BS to both parties. My uncle worked flat rate for a Cadillac dealership, and he was smart and damn good mechanic and it reflected in how much he made, he cleared 100k multiple times in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. It sucks the industry changed so much to where it no longer benefits you to be fast and work hard when your busting your knuckles because the stealer ships have cheapened out so much.
Seems like every trade has gone down the shitter. No one takes their job serious and are lazy and the bad thing is a lot of companies don't have a problem with it.
@@davidthecardcollector we'll said the newer generation is lazy and doesn't want to work or even work late why you may ask well when the we will give to you for free what's the motivation anymore when they don't have to worry about starving
man $100/ hr is cheap in my area, when i left in '13 the dealer i was at charged $130/ hr repair. when the bumped the rates up it really killed our business that was already hurting from the recession but corporate wanted the profit margin so they got it.
Flat rate for harley is based on a master tech doing the job 9 times in a row, they time the 10th time and set flat rate to that time. Biggest killer for me is the dealerships not maintaining a good parts dept, they dont want to pay taxes on inventory so they keep it low, pushing bikes off the lift all day long because of this. This does not only kill scheduling, but puts the tech 20 minutes down every time a bike is awaiting parts, I gave up trying to educate the dealer principal and management, my ex military was too much for them to handle and too professional for their likeing. My career was a disappointment, feel sorry for the youg kids.
@@DirtyMechanicG35 Thornton Cadillac, if you're GM certified its $35 an hour plus $5 an hour for trans or diesel work with an extra $2 for total over 60 hours.
@@4rcowboy nope. fuck that. Flat rate is bullshit. Once i hit overtime I smash all those numbers. Automotive industry needs to change and Colorado is FUCKEN expensive, thats why I moved.
Car mechanic is the worst payed skilled trade in the uk. Long hours, unrealistic time pressure, poor conditions, spending wage on tools.... the pay is insulting considering the knowledge and responsibility. Im jumping ship
i do well as a mobile mechanic in the uk, no overheads apart from motortrade insurance, fuel and tools, garages charge £55 an hour i charge £40 without the overheads its good money
I gtfo after 2 weeks from hourly to flat rate. Nope. Fuck working on other people's shitboxes. I'll work on my cars for a hobby, not other people's for peanuts.
Best way to get paid more. find a different career. office workers make about as much as techs, and the office even supplies you with a computer! no point in being in the bottom end of the automotive field were you have to have at least 5 different trade skills, get dirty everyday, supply your own tools with.for a job where you risk your life/ health everyday. its just not worth it anymore.
Then who fixes your car when it quits? Everyone wants the easy office job but few actually do the real work. This is my opinion not an assualt at your comment.
How do you start out on a 19% credit that you pay twuce for the item for so you can make the same money as a office worker....so that $8k tool box at $25 a weeks ends up costing you 16k after interest...go to you local banker ask for a $15k tool loan hahahahaha
You for damn sure will not be pulling harbor freight lowes homo depo tools out if you want to make it 90 days....be laughed right out the shop dealer or mom and pop
I've know guys with name brand tools 20yrs ago and still paying for the bill lol 😂 News flash good tools won't help any inferior mechanic. Decent tools to get you started will be just fine. If your talented you will eventually get yours case and point.
Dealer pay is going up where I live. There's a shortage of qualified techs. I went up $9 an hour in the last year. Actually making decent money now. Dealers are having to change the way they treat techs, you can't fire one and expect to find a quality replacement, the guys just aren't there. I've recently had the "think of a number that would make you comfortable working here" offer.
I owned my own independent and holy fuckkk are you correct about there are no good techs coming up through the ranks. Some very very very smart people but cant work on cars.
Im the youngest guy in my out of everyone in the shop (i'm 23): the 2 senior techs are 50+, the managers are 50-40+, theres only 1 tech in their 30s, one tech in my age range of 20s, one lube in their 30s, & everyone else connected to my shop were definitely not any younger than i was!
Flat rate pay perpetuates greed and encourages corner-cutting to MAYBE beat the clock. You have better odds plopping down your entire life savings at the roulette table in Vegas.
I’m a retired GM and ASE master tech and shop Foreman. Been out about 24yrs. Back then being a flat rate tech sucked because there wasn’t a lot of gravy work mostly warrantee , heavy repair, shit jobs. I can only imagine how bad it is now even though the dealer rakes in the bucks.when I started out 13 yrs earlier guys were turning 100 hours in 40hr time so it was good money. I changed careers couldn’t take the bs .
Some of the old guys at the shop said that that when they started the older people that taught them made 60% of the shop’s hourly rate. Then they brought in flat rate to bump up productivity. Now with all the dealers being able to watch flagged time and their breakdown of common issues they can screw us out of diag time and repair time. I’m at Chevy and the last ECM I diagnosed and replaced I got paid 0.6. Like wtf. 0.3 for diag and 0.3 for replace and program. Program alone takes at least 45. I’m over it.
The best way to make money in the dealer, is get every body shop vehicle, tow in, trouble car that no one wants to work on. That is where flat rate will make you money. There is no warranty or Michell guide to charge or screw you over to diagnose. I’ve worked on 3 body shop cars, 6 tow ins and recalls and I’ve made over 180 hours in a pay period and you work on less cars and make the most per repair order. I didn’t touch a single service and made more money than the gravy sucking primadonna techs. Work smart not hard.
I have full ASE certifications up to date, BMW master technician for 3 years before moving to being a shop foreman at Audi. The dealership closed down and Lexus tried to pick me up but offered $19 per hour flat rate. The dealership charged $200 per hour labor... I had to take it at the time and I ended up being the main diagnostic technician and wasn't making money as they would give the work to other technicians. I ended up doing 3 engine swaps in a day for my last week and still only had 55 hours that week. I ended up just opening a used car dealership and flip cars and work on some of them myself. It's crazy how much more I make now but the cost to operate is a bit higher. At least I don't owe the Snap-On guy $32k
Take it from me. A 30 year + Master . Find another Trade ! Keep your wrenches rust free by doing your own, your family and friends. The shops today pay starvation wages now with no benefits. I watched wages get slaughtered while the Hourly Rates for Labor have shot through the roof. Everyone else, the Insurance Guys, Landlords, Utilities and Permitting People all have seen major increases in scale. The Guy with the busted knuckles and greasy Laptop....ZIPPO !
Looking for a tech with 10+ experience. Must be able to diagnose vehicles. Must be able to do heavy line. Must have ASE certs. Must have own tools. Pay is $15hr. 😆😆😆😆
And the distribution warehouses near me start forklift operators out at $18hr and they top out at $23. No tools to buy, when things go wrong that is out of your control it isn't your problem, and they don't even get dirty running electric forklifts, none over 2 years old
I was lucky to get a 21 an hour offer and help with snap on credit. They'll help me start out with employees pitching in. Former mechanic in army. So I had experience.
Usually the slow and dumb parts hangers are the ones who complain about flat rate, or your shop is overstaffed. I routlinely make over 200% efficiency. Anything less, I am on to the next shop. This is a technician's job market, at least for those who can diagnose.
heh would like to see you in action.not sure but you might be one of those speedy ones with the 89% of come backs.this profession went down the drain due to the greed on both sides;business owners and mechanics.first group will hire anyone who accept lower wages no matter what experience that person have and second group will do anything to squeeze shit out of customer (stupid flushes,blinker fluids,etc) and when they face with the real challenges start to crying like bitches or load the parts cannon.seen so much of bs in this business and no wonder that people call us crooks or what not
We'll I worked flat rate for along time and I got out of it as most dealers are overwhelmed with warranty and over staffed so not Alot of money work like pdi used car preps and bg services to go around and as I've seen the quick guys who make tons of hours most of the work they perform is substandard and the quality of work is poor I generally floated around 44-52 hours a week working 40 without comebacks but beat yourself up as I stated I got out went to big truck equipment and diesel engine work pays better and I'm guaranteed my pay so if I'm rebuilding an engine or diagnosis I'm covered for pay
40+ years doing this and I just could never work long working for someone else. Been working for myself for 19 years now and still haven't killed the boss so I think I'll stick around awhile longer.
Great commentary. I appreciate the videos to get the conversation moving forward. I am flat rate in an independent shop and love it but I negotiated my employment based on my skill level, the owner lets me make my hours (realistically), not the bs that Mitchell or alldata put out, I also get extra hours for rust, the vehicle being very dirty or poor condition, I don't believe that flat rate needs to change completely but needs to evolve with the times and the complexity of new vehicles. The shop also charges higher rates for diag and electrical work. The owners need to evolve as much as the pay system.
I'm in the mining industry working underground.. I get paid $12/hr more than the municipal mechanic job I left . In a 10 hour shift I usually wrench for 7 due to travel time and shift line up etc. I can also work extra shifts to make overtime. My take home pay is sometimes double of the municipal job.
Quality techs are so underpaid it’s insane. All techs really, I did it for long enough I knew to move on but I’m super grateful for the skills and experience I gained.
@nobodys home Around where I live in cleveland they are. The most a guy will make working a typical 40hr week is about where I started after graduating.
@nobodys home It wasn't a tiny place but it was privately owned. And most of us including myself were morons. I think the top dude was at like $25 an hour or something. Cleveland money. Ok just looked and google says for Senior Diesel Techs the range is 53k-63k. Good money yes but not anything shocking.
@@christophergalla316 I'm at ghetto ass First Student which is a school bus division of First Transit. I don't do anything but PMs and not allowed to do any kind of heavy repair not even brakes. No manpower or equipment to do it Got a 3-5hr window to get my assigned PMs done before buses go back out to pick up the kids. Other than that I f*ck off for the rest of the day.
It really depends. I went to school for motorcycles. I worked in a regular automotive shop for 6 months which made me realize I don't know as much as I thought, and the flat rate system is terrible in the car industry. My boss was only charging $800 for a motor swap and I was getting diddly squat to do it. I would charge that much to do it at my house. I had a PS pump that was a total pain in the ass and only paid me .7 hours. Between pulling the car in, inspection, and test drive, there is no way I'm doing it in .7 hours. I have since opened my own shop working on motorcycles. I still use flat rate, but if sometime calls for. 3 hours, I charge half and hour. If something calls for .7 hours, I charge an hour. My pricing is totally fair and I'm not going to kill myself physically to make .7 hours. Plus how many things get missed because you're under the gun to make time. I know many guys kill it and rake in the hours, but they also spend their lives at work to achieve that. Working 12 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week to support their family. No thanks. Additionally, hey your entire front end is seized up and we have to cut everything off to complete the job. The boss charges a whopping extra .5 hours to complete. Gee thanks, all this extra work to get the job done and I get paid an extra $8? Meanwhile all of my tools require money to be purchased. I realized pretty quickly that there is no way I could continue doing that and live a happy life. I enjoy fixing things, but I need to be able to make a real living. Mechanics is a skilled trade, I should be making substantially more than the cashier at Burger King, and unfortunately that's not what is happening.
I know I've only been in the auto repair 2 years now. Only 28 years old. I am at a lube place that has expanded into auto repair in the last 3 years. And I started 45hours for 560 a week salary with 5% total ticket commission not just labor total ticket. That was a year ago. Now I'm at $975 for 45 hours salary and now 10% total ticket commission. So I put it at when I started I averaged $15-22 a hour. Now $25-$35
After over 20 years, I went back to tech school and became a cnc machinist. Same or better pay (local conditions vary widely) and a tiny fraction of wear and tear on the body.
Flat rate is also dependent on if the shop your at has the consistent work where I'm at I made 100k last year on flat rate yes you have to be efficient with jobs but if your efficient and the shop doesnt have the work then of course your hours will be up and down
To me, being flat rate in a GOod shop is the way to go, I was a A tech at Firestone for 30 years, after 20 years I capped out on pay 26.50 FRH 75 to 80 hours a week great check been retired 2 years now great retirement program, (they dont have the one I fell under 30 years ago), work smart not stupid, you too can do very well, also a good manager helps a lot
I worked at a Firestone. Although I was qualified to be the master tech, I was just a standard tech. Oil changes were.3 hours. Plus that stupid vehicle inspection that took 30 minutes. I lost money every week.
Same here I got out of the flat rate bs system most dealers are to crowded and getting gravy work as a a tech you don't get much but nightmares switched to heavy truck equipment and diesel engine work I love building engines in frame I even get bonuses on top of my base hourly for getting stuff out the door quickly on top of over time so ya I'm with ya
I'll never go back to the dealership cause of that flatrate bs. Fleet maintainence is the best thing that happend to me working on public transit buses and recently switch to working on school buses. Anything over 40hrs or 8hrs is OT.
Best financial move I ever made was to work on trucks. Most shops pay a good hourly rate (25-35/hr), and if you work OT you can make decent money. Plus you know exactly how much your paycheck will be.
.3 hr for lof you have to grab the car , lift, remove under cover with tons of screw, get your oil , reset the light put sticker check tire pressure return to parking lot, that’s too much for .3 it sucks
At the shop I’m at the average technician doesn’t to do used cars or PDI. They give them to hourly flat rate lube techs cause they have a hellofa lot lower hourly rate than the other techs. Can’t boost my hours that way.
I’ve been a starter tech for over a year now and I’m the only tech out of 7 that get hybrid pay. $500 a week but if I flag over 72 hrs I get paid $14.00/hr . Since our dealer is so small and over tech crowed. Everyone flags around 57-70 hrs. I’ve hit past 72 hrs multiple time but since I’m still “hourly” I get stuck with all the bullshit warranty or the trying to find a noise for 1-2 hrs and hear nothing even though the advisors are suppose to verify before they write the ticket. I’m going to end this week as my worst week ever with 15 hrs do to warranty that takes 3 days of work and pays 8.9 hrs. Shop foreman has even told me multiple times after I worked on a car that fucked me over in time “I’m glad you got this one”.
I worked on only electric cars and get paid hourly, loved having all those NVH vehicles but 14 an hour??? That seems very low maybe because I’m in California I make double that, then again it’s soo expensive to live here
Dealership is usually warranty repair and good luck meeting those hours with time to spare. Flat rate dealership work disenfranchised me from mechanic work, well that and I’m 6’5” and my back was giving out at 25. I can remember it now that I was getting my balls busted by the manager because a warranty o2 sensor cam back because I rushed trying to make hours and earlier that day an engine harness I diagnosed which would of made my week was given to the house mouse and was really sour and the manager was goin in on my attitude and how it won’t work out if it doesn’t change and I said it isn’t kicked my chair out and had my box on a flat bed in an hour. I then signed up to school in short order and sold my tools to help pay for it and didn’t turn a wrench for another 5 years. I now do it as a hobby and have several projects. Anyway kudos to those who can put up with the bs politics in mechanic work because I couldn’t. Getting paid 12$ an hour and busting my ass for 40 hours is not enjoyable in the slightest
I’ve been hourly + commission for 4 years on class 6 and above trucks/trailers and the odd equipment repair. Coming from flat rate it’s been a life changer! Was flat rate at a chain Indy shop and when it was good it was good but when it’s bad it will make you homeless.
I have been hourly my whole time as a mechanic . I am ready to retire in about 3 years. They pay me very well $26.00 an hour , pay full medical and vacation. This was my first mechanic job at the same shop. Small garage, family owned. I have seen them come and go. after i leave, there is a guy like me ready to retire also . they will be in trouble to find a decent tech.
I believe it. 6 years ago I was called to repair a lock on a exterior door at a Toyota dealership. Their shop was the most impressive I've seen. The techs looked like content pros.
Used car at a dealership is good because your customer is the dealer. They have to spend money so they can sell the car. Much different than working on a customer car.
A salary for all techs will ensure quality a bonus will ensure drive after thirty five years in the field from rust belt to the south I feel that this is the solution.
Great insight. This video covers so much more than pay structure. I only have experience with Indy shops and it's nice to see someone outline the issues we're faced with. Great job Justin.
I've been an alignment technician for about 15 years.. started out at 9:50 now I'm finally making $12 an hour... companies changed hands from STS to Mavis tire.. mechanics make only $3 more an hour.. and they're told not to do anything over 35 hours a week.. the manager had to take a pay cut a $500 because the end of the month really sucked.. $2,000 last week average is about 15,000... times have really changed and minimum wage in New Jersey is now $11 an hour.. 19 year olds after 3 weeks asking for a raise is a joke anymore... no more welcome to McDonalds do you have been replaced by a tablet where people can order food instead of dealing with a teenager placing your order... God bless this country and for sure kids through Vocational School let them learn a trade.... and a second trade if they don't succeed at the first one..
Any good auto mechanic has all the basic building blocks to get into many other trades. Might as well get into industrial service (chiller, boilers, power gen). Maybe not easy for the old timers, but I don’t know why a new mechanic wouldn’t just do commercial hvac.
Municipal fleets for me. Fire trucks, excavators, passenger vehicles, street sweepers. Damn decent money, real retirement, a schedule that benefits you and your family, and exposure to diverse equipment which grow your skills/value
Just turned 29 been working on cars since 18. Went to school for diesel worked 2 years on diesel went back to cars after back complications. Also did construction (siding, tile and carpentry and some plumbing) 6 months ago started at Mazda no ase certs so started as a lube tech 13 an hour just got a dollar raise last month. One of the mainshop techs moved so a lube tech that was getting 11 an hour and has been there longer than me moved up to mainshop getting flat rate at 17 a hour. Changing oil is easy but I'm not going MS unless it's at least $20 ah. I'm getting my ase certs this year andapply at Benz for more $$$
The hybrid system sounds good but the hourly I feel can be just as effective. I'm a heavy diesel mechanic and pull alot per hour due to several different things such as tooling,experience and speedeance. But everyone and every situation is different. As always great topic and video. CHEERS!!!
In in your same situation and I get my 40 hour pay every week but n The truck, diesel,and equipment field things are a bit different its hard to put flat rate time when rebuilding let's say a Cummins isx 550 engine not every engine will require all the same steps and issues encountered just putting in cylinder liners so you get my point
Become a body tech at a high end European body shop that is certified, I know at least a dozen techs that flag 300 hours or more per paycheck and pull in close to 160k a year. Flat rate is far from dead
Yeah auto body is way different. They do turn way more hours but usually make less per flat rate hour...in my experience. Still it’s more steady hours.
@@zeke_edits depends on the state, flagging rates here in California start at double minimum. In LA county, that's 20-24 an hour. Most good body shops pay a higher rate for frame/structural and mechanical
I’m a certified tech at dealership and we are union which I think every place should be we have the hourly plus commission system and I love it I would never go back to a straight flat rate shop.. your never loosing pay due to u not flagging enough hours and when u do flag over your hourly u can go home early at the end the pay period happy
By and large the only reason that flat rate exist is because it is the best way for employers to control labor cost. I have seen a dealer get down to the cashiers and lot attendants down to paid on per job basis or flat rate. it is simple at the dealership level they do not want to pay unless the customer is paying for it and that means flat rate. the only time they will concede to hourly is if the flat rate techs flat out refuse to do it for what the shop charges like oil changes and such, or if it is not being billed to a customer such as internal work or used car recon. flat rate exist for management and even than in my experience the dealership will change it to their benefit and not the techs. I worked in many dealerships over the years, from lot attendant to service manager with many years as a tech and many as service advisor. The thing i noticed the most was that y plans could change on a whim and that included techs as well. because not always do techs get paid book time it can come down to the management saying we pay an hour for a brake service including rotor resurface and thats it, regardless of what it calls for in the book, they called it menu pricing. I digress i am no longer in the automotive industry and am glad but do honestly miss it very much every day.
I’m a welder by trade ended up in an exhaust shop for several years things where good and I was happy at regular hourly. Boss made the decision as he was hiring on more people to change things up and go to flat rate. On that I did ok some weeks bad on others. Left because I started getting booked more and more but the hours started going down. Full dual exhaust that used to pay out 4 hours was needed down to 2, and that was just for the regular chop and weld systems, if we had to make flanges ect. That would go up, but takes substantially more time. So I left did some other stuff ended up going back to that shop this time I was hybrid. Fixed amount a week with incentivized flat rate pay, the problem was I only got the crap jobs for mechanic work and all of the good ones went to another tech, or I’d be half way through a job get sent out on a tow(I was also the only tow driver they would send during work hours) come back and the car I was half way through working on would either be finished by another tech or they pulled it out of the bay to work on something else and I have to try to find where my parts/bolts are now. So I got fed up and left there went to working in a BBQ kitchen working 50-60 hours a week. But I’m working on getting back into things! Got a full welding rig so I can go do that full time, or since I’ve got all the tools I could go back to mechanic work, or a combination of the two, do mobile welding and mobile mechanic work.
I agree with everything you said, but flat rate is not dead because it is to beneficial to the shop owners and dealers. I was a gm tech in a rural area for 12 years and on flat rate from day one. when it was busy it was great, but when it was slow it was hard to pay the bills. the owner didn't care that it was we were standing at our toolboxs when it was slow cause he wasn't paying us. as much as I wish it wasn't true flat rate is still very much alive
@@mctigmctiggy1475 you are absolutely correct favoritism is sucks when you are on the wrong side of it, and if your on the right side why would you complain. however I dont believe it is just a dealership issue. since leave my dealership I moved into the heavy equipment repair industry and am seeing some of the same issues, but the pay is much much better
Man... I love working on cars, and I’ve always worked on my own. But I sure as shit ain’t making it my job, and I’ve always said this. I’ll gladly take my $40k (starting salary) corporate job that I got through my degree/experience and keep my hobbies as my hobbies. Not risking my life/health for an under-appreciated, underpaid, and overworked position, as well as potentially losing my passion for the thing I love most. Not to mention the huge hit on your work/life balance. I’ve got quite a few friends who took the route of the mechanic, and a lot of them are just so miserable and hate what they once loved. It’s such a shame, too, but the opportunity cost of being a mechanic vs literally anything else is just too much.
@@johndowe7003 In what way does a 36-hour week for a 40k salary equate to $8 per hour xD? I think when you get down to it, my hourly rate is just under $25...
@@lJADU if you're making 25$ hr you're getting taxed to shit then if you're only pulling 40k . And I was just shooting in the dark I haven't made 40k a year since I left school .
100% agree. Great insight on the topic. I have about 3yrs in the trade and the hourly is def the best way to go at least until I'm further down my career.
I'm flat rate I'd never go back to hourly or salary me and the guy that taught me make more than the service manager and the general manger and both of them have 6 figure salarys
Glen Quagmire I’ve learned amongst techs, that comes when integrity is relative. Or a person has years and years (5 to 10+ years) of experience. A young honest tech ain’t gonna bill those kinds of hours...
I've been doing this since i was 16 (I'm 31 now) and no you won't make any (good)money for the first 5 years i never thought I'd make over 70k a year but I never went into it to make a bunch of money I just like problem solving, it's not for everyone though physical ability self motivation and knowledge of operation all in one person unfortunately you don't find those qualities in many young adults and if you do its a slim chance they want to enter the automotive field
I hope flat rate is dead. left the industry in '13 at $15/hr working 50-60 and making 20-30. when i started i was making 60-100 in the same time but the corporation got greedy and wanted to raise their rate and lower their times. the only way I would go back to the industry is to start my own business and that has it's own set of problems. I still have some customers I do work for occasionally because they know the value of good work and don't trust the idiots that the dealer can afford now. something needs to change in the car repair industry or there will be nothing left but idiots that send problems out the door because they don't know what they are doing.
My friend works at a dealership and has his own bidirectional scan tools not provided by the dealership. He also pays for the subscriptions out of his pocket to keep the scan tool current.
I understand what you are saying and agree with you. let me put this scenario out there... years ago I worked as an office manager/project manager for a sign company that decided that a weekly draw, plus commission, just wasn't working for the sales people. What did they do? they decided to give the sales people a lucrative salary PLUS commission. what happened? sales declined. within a year the business was OUT of business. Point is.. if they are lazy and you make the money good.. they are going to become even more lazier.
I work at a Mazda dealership, you’re not allowed to have your own tools and they supply you with shit tools so they don’t have to pay you double minimum. I have to hide all my tools in the box they give us and according to my service manager no one is allowed to have their own tools except the shop foreman lol. Dealerships are super scandalous, I hope independent shops are better though. ALSO all the old guys I work with tell me daily that there’s no future in dealership mechanics anymore. Pretty depressing being a fairly new tech of two years
I work at a dealership. I have a 22/h guarantee. Then have 31 at flat rate with a bonus at 200 hours. Have never used my guarantee and hours are about 160 slow months and 230 good months. I used to work at independent and a good hourly rate with bonus works best. Too much crap and garbage to deal with everyday
I always just quoted it by the job, never by the hour and I've always made a lot of money fixing cars- it's been an awesome career. And I don't try to be everybody's hero, if it's out of my wheel house, I just send them down the road. There are plenty of jobs that don't require a $4000 scan tool, I use one that cost under $200 and it does 90% of what I'd ever need. You don't have to go broke buying tools. However, you do (also) have to have a mind for business, just being a good mechanic isn't enough if you're going to make a lot of money in the business. Now I'll shut up.
Juztin L If a technician has a high comeback rate, no shop would be willing to pay them more than about $25 an hour, if even keeping them as an employee. In addition, if a technician has a lot of comebacks, they end up spending too much time fixing mistakes and not making money. So any technician who makes a lot of money has a very low comeback rate.
Ya flat rated is F-Ked big time..after 20 years of suffering I make good money now,I’m also a master of master baiting .As you were saying you have to be top of the crop to receive fair compensation
I work at a Peterbilt dealer on flat rate. The biggest problem is warranty work. It pays very poorly. And a lot of these new truck are coming with 6 year 600,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. Recent example of the poor pay cam inspection campaign. Pull unit into shop drain oil remove oil pan and pick up tube. Take pictures of all six cam lobes on the high side which requires at least 3 different positions of rolling engine over. Upload pictures to paccar. Wait for reply. If the cam is ok reinstall all and fill oil. All for the low price of 1.6 hrs. And pray they are not damaged. 2.3 for all that and taking the mains down and taking pictures reinstalling and torquing
Another thing to consider is the type of cars your working on. I.e. Saturn's when they were in business were super gravy. During that same time you would be lucky to make flat rate on a Pontiac. I started my own business after getting burnt out by the flat rate cuts. I even switched to semis and tripled my money in my first year in
I just got out of the flat rate system and its been great, I could discuss this topic for a while on why i left. If i could have gotten into then field earlier than I would have never left.
I think customers are killing it too. People are not willing to pay good money for good work. They just want bare minimum work and the lowest price. I would rather pay a good mechanic good money and have my car fixed right the first time.
AND this is why I learn everything I can that revolves around cars. Mechanics,Painting,Body work...cause id rather do my own shit and not get robbbbbbed.
i used to kill myself to average 80 hours a week. i stopped doing that and averaged about 65 hours a week, now i'm lucky if i can hit 45-50, i'm scheduled 50 hours a week. last year my yearly average was 42 hours, i recommended over 250k in repairs, they only could sell 70k. this is on top of me getting mostly warranty jobs, or we just sold it and its fucked. i changed jobs just because i hated that company, but its really no different, i knew that going into it. i work for a good company, but the flat rate system isn't for me. i get all the hard stuff, other peoples comebacks. as a dealership tech i waste so much time in parts, special tools are locked in the back of parts. half the tools aren't cataloged properly. I also get every off brand that comes in. we have a guy that works the system and comes in late, apparently allowed to pick through the rack and take what ever he wants, grabs every waiter he can. unless its shit it sits there. and management defends him because he works late every night, and comes in on Saturdays. but he doesn't work the line on Saturday he does side jobs, or finishes what ever gravy work that is stacked. I've asked for it for years to be salary, because of the piece of mind it would give me. my productivity wouldn't change. At this point i'm on the fence about just calling it quits on this career. I have A1-A9 L1, L2 and 100% GM trained almost GM world class.
One suggestion for mechanic is to simply go out on your own, you do that by getting some business cards and MAKE A NAME FOR YOURSELF by doing really good work where you currently work. You know as well as I do that good mechanics are all mixed in with the shitty ones giving the said business a bad name that you will be a part of. Forget all the rate crap, you know what you need to diagnose and repair a given problem and charge accordingly.
i did this as a mobile mechanic, do decent work , be friendly and transparent and next thing you know youve got a big customer base and making very good money
This is why i only use small shops to fix my junk. Last vehicle i put in a shop was an fzj80 i picked up for 900$. They put a head gasket and replaced a knock sensor and the oil cooler. 2700$ was the bill 800$ was for the machine shop that rebuilt the dohc head. 600$ for the oil cooler. I work on my old carburated junk and was happy to pay someone to work on that complicated fzj80.
I'm actually paid by the hybrid system. It's great because you still get rewarded for working hard with the bonus but if you have a bad/slow week then you're still covered pretty decent by the hourly.
I've worked that weird Sears payscale, I've worked hourly, normal hourly + commission, and flat rate. Least favorite is hourly + commission, followed by flat rate with no guarantee. H+c means, on a busy week, I'm busting my ass and doing a lot of work, but my check only goes up by half of what it should. At least with flat rate, a big week equals a big paycheck. But I'd really prefer to be hourly, as long as it was more than most flat rate rates are, and have flagged hours contribute to a monthly or yearly bonus.
Trouble with flat rate is that, for the most part, people who pay the labor bill directly (manufacturer, dealer, insurance company) don't actually do anything to repair the vehicle. So the pay for the tech is not necessarily based in reality and is more based on whether the manufacturer, dealer, or insurance company can make money. That is why the assigned number of hours for a particular job is a moving target and doesn't necessarily reflect the actual labor involved in doing the job.
Around 94-95 is where I saw the big down-turn. I remember going from 120-140 hrs every 2wk pay period to 60-80. Vendors would bring around techs that were trained on a specific job with all of their tools sitting right there beside them at the start. They don’t figure in straightening out your area between jobs or putting up your tools afterwards.
the good money in mechanics is in heavy equipment and agricultural. I want to say heavy duty mechanics where I live start at $30 and full mechanics make $60 if you are working for a mining company. Heavy equipment is easier to work on then cars. Far easier. Its all nuts bolts and iron., they have separate mechanics just for diesel motors. Separate technician for hydraulics etc. They do everything using overhead cranes. The only thing you lift with your arms are nuts and bolts and wrenches. They even have a separate shop just for caterpillar tracks. They have a certified crane operator who's only job is to run the overhead crane. lift old part away. hoist new part in place. Mechanics bolt it up. Heavy industry is so much better then residential, for virtually everything. I make double the pay driving a truck in the mining industry then I would if I was doing retail.
I got out of all that bs. I do it on the side for $45 an hour flat rate. No rushing, get it fixed right the 1st time, build great repeat customer relationships by explaining things so they understand and being honest and fair. Key to it is to not be afraid to tackle new things. I will never work for another dealer or shop. My time and education is valuable.
Goals! That's what I want to do.
I worked for the dodge dealer, i did nothing but install transmissions in dodge rams all day long. Which was sweet. they started me out flat rate. I would knock them out in about half of book time. They told me I had stay around the shop after the job was done cause technically I was still on the clock, then they told me I have to clean and do something productive but couldn't overlap hours. Then they moved me to hourly and I started milking the job, then they lowered my pay 7 dollars an hour. Then I quit. Fuck dealers trying to rob the mechanic and customer to pocket as much money for the CEOs
What do you mean by overlapping hours?
@@joelopez40oz23 if I did a flat rate job that called for 8 hours, but only took me 5, I'd have 3 hours left over, I couldn't start on another flat rate job. They wanted me to do shop chores, clean, sweep, mop, paper work.or training, or oil changes. But I wouldnt get paid anymore for any of these chores, but they also wouldnt allow me to leave the premises since it was a insurance issue cause I was technically on the clock, and they also would allow me to lounge around. Basically there was no advantage to flare rate because if you finished early they made you work for free.
@@townsendliving9750 That is terrible! Basically you were being penalized for being efficient.
@@joelopez40oz23 pretty much yea, they switched me over to houly then I would take my time and milk the job, so they reduced my hourly wage, and then by that time we couldnt stand eachother. So I went to ford, ford was alot better but they would pay you alot less for warranty work. Which happened alot cause of terrible designs.
@@townsendliving9750 GoldenStein auto repair has a policy somethin akin to that, lol. Wonder why?
Being in the automotive field my whole life and making a lot of money at it, I think the automotive field is broken. We can pick up most trades in under 3 months that pay more but good luck teaching a brick layer to diag and or repair anything in the same time. Now let’s talk about the cost of tools to make your living. Do any other trades involve this kind of cost? And let’s talk about the the under paid over worked techs that keep your buses, ambulances, cop cars, fire trucks, lawyers, doctors, and teachers going. And let’s talk about the level of respect you get from your girlfriends family when you tell them you are a mechanic. And let’s talk about how every cock sucker wants you to fix there shit for a beer or blow job.
I GOT INTO THE FIELD FOR THE PASSION OF CARS AND I WISH I COULD TURN BACK THE CLOCK.
I here you loud and clear i make more money now, working on heavy equipment for my self.
Vtec Banger yup.i say no even if a blowjob is offers and I have my own lift in my outbuilding and I won’t work on shit for people. As soon as you tell them $60 and hour (the flat rate at a shop or dealer here is $92hr )all of a sudden it’s “too expensive” or “why do you charge so much” I take great pleasure in telling people “go get three estimates one from a dealer and two from independent shops then come talk to me” sooner or later they come back and say “ok I’ll pay you what you want 😂😄
joedell71 exactly. I tell people to get there own dealer parts too, so I know they will fit right, have no comeback, and it softens the pay me impact. Meaning if you tell a person $600 to install pads and rotors they shit. But if you say go grab your own parts and I’ll charge you $50 an axle it makes it sound better. I’m taking side work btw.
One of the few tradesmen that can hold a candle to an experienced tech are machinists . . . And our pay is just about as bad. Don’t get me started on the all-brain/no-hands dipshits, however.
Jacob M should be a high paying union job to do mechanical repairs or body.
Back in the day a smart mechanic could do well at flat rate because they figured out a workaround now that the industry have learned to spot them they now dropped the hours that it takes to do the job
As a Certified Master Toilet Mechanic, (plumber), I suddenly feel better about my earnings.
Same.
id rather be a plumber than a shitty auto tech tbh, nice retirement and easy work(repetitively speaking) plus if you do industrial work instead of regular homes its even better
Oh kiss my a$$ next time you're at work 🚽🤣
I owned an independent shop here in Las Vegas and we were in business for 34 years and at the time we sold it our guys were making 35-45% labor rate. Our labor rate was $95.00/hr. This was based on flagged hours labor rate off of Alldata. We had 7 techs at a time. Doing this we didn’t have the weekly turn over of tow trucks dropping off or picking up boxes. We always valued our people. Miss my people sold in 2016 they made it possible they were the value
@John Brennan it costs red bull 10 cents to make a 12 ounce can they sell to stores for $1.25 a piece and you and I buy it for $3.50. Everyone's raping everyone out here.
Why did you sell
@@ibiro868 I am a Firefighter Engineer and was difficult to swing the schedules and have enough time with my customers and my Techs.
Automotive pay is the reason I switched to the Aviation industry.
uabum aviation is where it used to be at but honest having done both I’m getting to the point of dropping both all together
automotive pay is the reason I switched to the bicycle industry for crying out loud
Aiden Stefanson damn bro. Are you doing better in the bicycle industry?
Michael Carrillo well I don’t have a choice now as I’m in Army Aviation haha
@@uabum a little worse off financially, but not much, and I enjoy the work, the customers, and the atmosphere a lot more than the shops and dealerships I was working at in auto
I was an ASE Master Tech for about 9 years . I always knew I did not want to do this all my life but I finally saw the writing on the wall in 1993 and went back to college the following year. As an auto tech you get screwed 6 ways from Sunday, always have and always will. I worked at three different dealerships and finally figured out that I basically worked for a car salesman. I worked the independent shops for 3 years and it was still bad ... GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN...
And go where brother?
Im stuck with 30 grand in tools, earning less than McDonald's worker. What do I do?
Fk YEAH! Truth.
Being a mechanic doesn't pay shit... we need a mechanic union.
time to move onto big boy shit (heavy diesel/industrial tech) automotive shit doesnt pay and isnt worth the effort unless you have a "passion for it" oilfield mechanics are getting payed about 85$ a hour lol, that 8$ is chicken shit lul, make more money flipping burgers @10hr xD
@@johndowe7003 You got that right, 25 years ago the avg. pay at the local dealers was $24 to $28/hr. Now the top guys there get $15 to $18.50 max, flat rate only, no guarantee and you have to pay for your benefits out of pocket. No vacation, and sick days are calculated by the month, and not cumulative. (up to 3 days per 6 mo. period). Worse yet, when a dealer closes, since your working flat rate, unemployment considers you a contract worker and you can't collect even though you pay into it.
I walked away from the dealer mess years ago, I still turn wrenches but in my own place for my own money.
With minimum wage going to $15/hr, flipping burgers will soon pay more than turning wrenches since flipping burgers doesn't require you spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy tools.
Of course, flipping burgers will also soon be a thing of the past, the big three burger joints are all going automated to eliminate having to pay anyone $15/hr. Many are seeing that after the recent 'drive thru only' policies due to recent issues, that they can make just as much without the inside restaurant business, meaning that they only need someone to collect the cash, and someone to hand over the food.
@@johndowe7003 even Harbor Freight employees make more. $12/hr
@@andym1223 yup
@@johndowe7003 Truth!
This is spot on, I’ve been a mechanic for 20 years, and I’ve done a bit of everything, and functioned on both hourly and flat rate, but where I’m at now we get paid hourly, with 5-8 hours ot, and can make monthly bonuses as a team of 6 techs at an independent shop, so far it works.
Man this topic is hitting home! I am a shop owner in Houston, Tx I am currently dealing with all of this! I bought the shop I spent the last 19 years working for. I started as a technician, but could see that I was headed down the path that all of you are talking about. I kept trying to get into management because I did not want to be in the shop after 50, and pay was so up and down, but there was more money in the shop at that time so I kept going back to it. I eventually sold my tools, and that forced me to stay inside. By this time the decline of pay in the shop was starting to equal what I could make as a service manager. Fast forward to 2020 shop owner, and totally on the other side of the fence. I have two techs, and one lube tech. My techs have a 30 hour guarantee, and get 35 and hour flag/flat rate, and we are a 5 day a week shop. I am dealing with burn out, and techs wanting out of the industry just like all of you are describing. My lead tech is so hard to work with because he is so burned out from what this industry has become (can't blame him) My other tech is always on his phone, or youtube trying to break into the real estate industry (can't blame him). There are becoming fewer techs to replace these guys now days, and forget about most of the newer generation!!!! I am on number 7 lube tech in two years after my older guy retired. I have been trying to find someone I can start out like I did, and mentor to become a quality technician, but I am about to give up and find me another older guy! My lead tech came to me at the first of the year about wanting to go to a salary to help level out his pay through out the year, and or he wanted a raise. He has been with me now for 9 years, and is one of the smartest guys I have known, but since he is so burned out on the industry he sucks to work with, and brings the mood down in the shop, comes in at 8:15/8:30 leaves at 4:00 and his work area looks horrible. The industry changes has created a perfect storm IMO! What do I do???? I can't work with this guy, and I can't replace this guy! Also I will tell you that the overhead in this business is killer! I have a 10 bay shop in West Houston, and my cash flow is not what some of you may think. This is not a get rich business by any stretch of the imagination! My wife is totally stressed out all of the time! I want to help my lead tech, but at the same time there has to be a balance. Can he recover from burn out if I stabilize his pay??????? I need to grow the business, but can not do it with one burned out tech, and one with one foot out the door! Man the more I write this the more I see all the problems brewing from both sides employees/owners! I welcome any feedback from techs/owners reading this. Wishing all of you the best in 2020!
TheCloudpuncher i own 2 shops with 3 techs each, very frustrating, and I lost my most technical guy who could do anything about a year ago at one shop. The guy however was a true pain in my ass, (late,always sick,started trouble with others) but since he left I can now breath again. At first I panicked, but Just started hiring by attitude. I actually feel better about babysitting a young guy with a great attitude but less skills. The guy that knows he is good but has a bad attitude has to go!
Don salary. Im quite working flat rate
Hey man you need to downsize. 10 bay shops are no fucking good too much stress and overhead. 1 bad month you're $50 fucking K in the hole. Well at least in my area where rent is $15-20k a month rent for a 10 bay. 2-3 bays is a happy life and same money. What's your situation now that was interesting.
They won’t pay flat rate mechanics what jobs call for, but they will bill the customer $100 am hour for every hour that the job calls for, that’s BS to both parties. My uncle worked flat rate for a Cadillac dealership, and he was smart and damn good mechanic and it reflected in how much he made, he cleared 100k multiple times in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. It sucks the industry changed so much to where it no longer benefits you to be fast and work hard when your busting your knuckles because the stealer ships have cheapened out so much.
Seems like every trade has gone down the shitter. No one takes their job serious and are lazy and the bad thing is a lot of companies don't have a problem with it.
@@davidthecardcollector we'll said the newer generation is lazy and doesn't want to work or even work late why you may ask well when the we will give to you for free what's the motivation anymore when they don't have to worry about starving
man $100/ hr is cheap in my area, when i left in '13 the dealer i was at charged $130/ hr repair. when the bumped the rates up it really killed our business that was already hurting from the recession but corporate wanted the profit margin so they got it.
Shops charge to much and don't pay the guys enough!
james guralski *too much. I had too much to eat. I have two apples. I’m going to the store. Now don’t ever fuck this up again!
Flat rate for harley is based on a master tech doing the job 9 times in a row, they time the 10th time and set flat rate to that time. Biggest killer for me is the dealerships not maintaining a good parts dept, they dont want to pay taxes on inventory so they keep it low, pushing bikes off the lift all day long because of this. This does not only kill scheduling, but puts the tech 20 minutes down every time a bike is awaiting parts, I gave up trying to educate the dealer principal and management, my ex military was too much for them to handle and too professional for their likeing. My career was a disappointment, feel sorry for the youg kids.
Please young gunners pick a different trade
Elevator work is gravy train.
Hell no, we pay top dollar and can't find people. The young folks need to get in while they have the upper hand.
yo momma where is here? And for what?
@@DirtyMechanicG35 Thornton Cadillac, if you're GM certified its $35 an hour plus $5 an hour for trans or diesel work with an extra $2 for total over 60 hours.
@@4rcowboy nope. fuck that. Flat rate is bullshit. Once i hit overtime I smash all those numbers. Automotive industry needs to change and Colorado is FUCKEN expensive, thats why I moved.
Car mechanic is the worst payed skilled trade in the uk. Long hours, unrealistic time pressure, poor conditions, spending wage on tools.... the pay is insulting considering the knowledge and responsibility. Im jumping ship
i do well as a mobile mechanic in the uk, no overheads apart from motortrade insurance, fuel and tools, garages charge £55 an hour i charge £40 without the overheads its good money
I gtfo after 2 weeks from hourly to flat rate. Nope. Fuck working on other people's shitboxes. I'll work on my cars for a hobby, not other people's for peanuts.
Best way to get paid more. find a different career. office workers make about as much as techs, and the office even supplies you with a computer! no point in being in the bottom end of the automotive field were you have to have at least 5 different trade skills, get dirty everyday, supply your own tools with.for a job where you risk your life/ health everyday. its just not worth it anymore.
Then who fixes your car when it quits? Everyone wants the easy office job but few actually do the real work. This is my opinion not an assualt at your comment.
Easy job? I have to use someone else's crap? No thanks
How do you start out on a 19% credit that you pay twuce for the item for so you can make the same money as a office worker....so that $8k tool box at $25 a weeks ends up costing you 16k after interest...go to you local banker ask for a $15k tool loan hahahahaha
You for damn sure will not be pulling harbor freight lowes homo depo tools out if you want to make it 90 days....be laughed right out the shop dealer or mom and pop
I've know guys with name brand tools 20yrs ago and still paying for the bill lol 😂 News flash good tools won't help any inferior mechanic. Decent tools to get you started will be just fine. If your talented you will eventually get yours case and point.
Shops/dealers are going to need up the pay. Nobody wants to do this stuff any more. Boomers are retiring with a shortage of good techs coming
Dealer pay is going up where I live. There's a shortage of qualified techs. I went up $9 an hour in the last year. Actually making decent money now. Dealers are having to change the way they treat techs, you can't fire one and expect to find a quality replacement, the guys just aren't there. I've recently had the "think of a number that would make you comfortable working here" offer.
I owned my own independent and holy fuckkk are you correct about there are no good techs coming up through the ranks. Some very very very smart people but cant work on cars.
Im the youngest guy in my out of everyone in the shop (i'm 23):
the 2 senior techs are 50+, the managers are 50-40+, theres only 1 tech in their 30s, one tech in my age range of 20s, one lube in their 30s,
& everyone else connected to my shop were definitely not any younger than i was!
@Tyler Ghost In western PA
MainMite06 yeah when young guys with no mortgage and no family to support come into shop I seriously tell them to not walk but run from this business.
Flat rate pay perpetuates greed and encourages corner-cutting to MAYBE beat the clock. You have better odds plopping down your entire life savings at the roulette table in Vegas.
I’m a retired GM and ASE master tech and shop Foreman. Been out about 24yrs. Back then being a flat rate tech sucked because there wasn’t a lot of gravy work mostly warrantee , heavy repair, shit jobs. I can only imagine how bad it is now even though the dealer rakes in the bucks.when I started out 13 yrs earlier guys were turning 100 hours in 40hr time so it was good money. I changed careers couldn’t take the bs .
I cannot blame youngsters for not wanting to do this work any longer.
Some of the old guys at the shop said that that when they started the older people that taught them made 60% of the shop’s hourly rate. Then they brought in flat rate to bump up productivity. Now with all the dealers being able to watch flagged time and their breakdown of common issues they can screw us out of diag time and repair time. I’m at Chevy and the last ECM I diagnosed and replaced I got paid 0.6. Like wtf. 0.3 for diag and 0.3 for replace and program. Program alone takes at least 45. I’m over it.
Dealers rip off the mechanics especially with warranty time which is half labor time.
The best way to make money in the dealer, is get every body shop vehicle, tow in, trouble car that no one wants to work on. That is where flat rate will make you money. There is no warranty or Michell guide to charge or screw you over to diagnose. I’ve worked on 3 body shop cars, 6 tow ins and recalls and I’ve made over 180 hours in a pay period and you work on less cars and make the most per repair order. I didn’t touch a single service and made more money than the gravy sucking primadonna techs. Work smart not hard.
I have full ASE certifications up to date, BMW master technician for 3 years before moving to being a shop foreman at Audi. The dealership closed down and Lexus tried to pick me up but offered $19 per hour flat rate. The dealership charged $200 per hour labor... I had to take it at the time and I ended up being the main diagnostic technician and wasn't making money as they would give the work to other technicians. I ended up doing 3 engine swaps in a day for my last week and still only had 55 hours that week.
I ended up just opening a used car dealership and flip cars and work on some of them myself. It's crazy how much more I make now but the cost to operate is a bit higher. At least I don't owe the Snap-On guy $32k
Take it from me. A 30 year + Master . Find another Trade ! Keep your wrenches rust free by doing your own, your family and friends. The shops today pay starvation wages now with no benefits. I watched wages get slaughtered while the Hourly Rates for Labor have shot through the roof. Everyone else, the Insurance Guys, Landlords, Utilities and Permitting People all have seen major increases in scale. The Guy with the busted knuckles and greasy Laptop....ZIPPO !
as a retired tech you nailed it
Same here, I'm a retired mechanic and i would never go back to it. I would be a plumber or HVAC tech.
Warranty scale is the reason I left
a Buick dealership. I make triple
now I've been trucker for the last
13 years!
Mechanics/ tech's are greatly underpayed in general. Mechanics are classified as skilled labor and should be paid as such. Just like other tradesmen.
High speed low drag is a military term which you used completely incorrectly.
@B sorry.... Wrong
@B k
Cry about it
Looking for a tech with 10+ experience. Must be able to diagnose vehicles. Must be able to do heavy line. Must have ASE certs. Must have own tools. Pay is $15hr. 😆😆😆😆
And the distribution warehouses near me start forklift operators out at $18hr and they top out at $23. No tools to buy, when things go wrong that is out of your control it isn't your problem, and they don't even get dirty running electric forklifts, none over 2 years old
You are correct Fernando!
That's what pisses me off! Pay scale is so wacked. Security guard stand around $22hr hahaha
I was lucky to get a 21 an hour offer and help with snap on credit. They'll help me start out with employees pitching in. Former mechanic in army. So I had experience.
That ase cert is such a joke I’ll take guy that can actually know how to work on the car then someone who can pass a test
Usually the slow and dumb parts hangers are the ones who complain about flat rate, or your shop is overstaffed. I routlinely make over 200% efficiency. Anything less, I am on to the next shop. This is a technician's job market, at least for those who can diagnose.
Cause this guy knows every situation
heh would like to see you in action.not sure but you might be one of those speedy ones with the 89% of come backs.this profession went down the drain due to the greed on both sides;business owners and mechanics.first group will hire anyone who accept lower wages no matter what experience that person have and second group will do anything to squeeze shit out of customer (stupid flushes,blinker fluids,etc) and when they face with the real challenges start to crying like bitches or load the parts cannon.seen so much of bs in this business and no wonder that people call us crooks or what not
Agree with u only the people that can not hang are the ones complaining
We'll I worked flat rate for along time and I got out of it as most dealers are overwhelmed with warranty and over staffed so not Alot of money work like pdi used car preps and bg services to go around and as I've seen the quick guys who make tons of hours most of the work they perform is substandard and the quality of work is poor I generally floated around 44-52 hours a week working 40 without comebacks but beat yourself up as I stated I got out went to big truck equipment and diesel engine work pays better and I'm guaranteed my pay so if I'm rebuilding an engine or diagnosis I'm covered for pay
I love getting called a crook. I just tell them to fix it themselves!
40+ years doing this and I just could never work long working for someone else. Been working for myself for 19 years now and still haven't killed the boss so I think I'll stick around awhile longer.
Great commentary. I appreciate the videos to get the conversation moving forward. I am flat rate in an independent shop and love it but I negotiated my employment based on my skill level, the owner lets me make my hours (realistically), not the bs that Mitchell or alldata put out, I also get extra hours for rust, the vehicle being very dirty or poor condition, I don't believe that flat rate needs to change completely but needs to evolve with the times and the complexity of new vehicles. The shop also charges higher rates for diag and electrical work. The owners need to evolve as much as the pay system.
This profession just isn't worth it anymore.
Work on heavy equipment. Paid hourly and OT after 40. Get an efficiency bonus check every quarter
Same
right on point
I'm in the mining industry working underground.. I get paid $12/hr more than the municipal mechanic job I left . In a 10 hour shift I usually wrench for 7 due to travel time and shift line up etc. I can also work extra shifts to make overtime. My take home pay is sometimes double of the municipal job.
yup and sometimes you get a 4hr minimum lol so somedays you can make 12hrs in 6
The flat rate resulted in some pretty interesting tricks. Like the 30 minute cylinder head gasket change on the old Chrysler 2.2.
Quality techs are so underpaid it’s insane. All techs really, I did it for long enough I knew to move on but I’m super grateful for the skills and experience I gained.
Very true
@nobodys home Around where I live in cleveland they are. The most a guy will make working a typical 40hr week is about where I started after graduating.
@nobodys home It wasn't a tiny place but it was privately owned. And most of us including myself were morons. I think the top dude was at like $25 an hour or something. Cleveland money.
Ok just looked and google says for Senior Diesel Techs the range is 53k-63k. Good money yes but not anything shocking.
I miss working on regular cars or trucks but I found fleet work is more stable and very well paid hourly
Fleet maintainence is where its at for a stable 40hrs a week slow or busy
@@justindelcarmen8386 true cause in fleet work you can milk the clock if needed to get your 40 if not alittle OT
@@christophergalla316 I'm at ghetto ass First Student which is a school bus division of First Transit. I don't do anything but PMs and not allowed to do any kind of heavy repair not even brakes. No manpower or equipment to do it Got a 3-5hr window to get my assigned PMs done before buses go back out to pick up the kids. Other than that I f*ck off for the rest of the day.
It really depends. I went to school for motorcycles. I worked in a regular automotive shop for 6 months which made me realize I don't know as much as I thought, and the flat rate system is terrible in the car industry. My boss was only charging $800 for a motor swap and I was getting diddly squat to do it. I would charge that much to do it at my house.
I had a PS pump that was a total pain in the ass and only paid me .7 hours.
Between pulling the car in, inspection, and test drive, there is no way I'm doing it in .7 hours.
I have since opened my own shop working on motorcycles. I still use flat rate, but if sometime calls for. 3 hours, I charge half and hour. If something calls for .7 hours, I charge an hour. My pricing is totally fair and I'm not going to kill myself physically to make .7 hours. Plus how many things get missed because you're under the gun to make time.
I know many guys kill it and rake in the hours, but they also spend their lives at work to achieve that. Working 12 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week to support their family.
No thanks.
Additionally, hey your entire front end is seized up and we have to cut everything off to complete the job. The boss charges a whopping extra .5 hours to complete. Gee thanks, all this extra work to get the job done and I get paid an extra $8? Meanwhile all of my tools require money to be purchased. I realized pretty quickly that there is no way I could continue doing that and live a happy life. I enjoy fixing things, but I need to be able to make a real living.
Mechanics is a skilled trade, I should be making substantially more than the cashier at Burger King, and unfortunately that's not what is happening.
I know I've only been in the auto repair 2 years now. Only 28 years old.
I am at a lube place that has expanded into auto repair in the last 3 years. And I started 45hours for 560 a week salary with 5% total ticket commission not just labor total ticket. That was a year ago.
Now I'm at $975 for 45 hours salary and now 10% total ticket commission.
So I put it at when I started I averaged $15-22 a hour. Now $25-$35
Its all about where people live and what kind of work they want to put in.
After over 20 years, I went back to tech school and became a cnc machinist. Same or better pay (local conditions vary widely) and a tiny fraction of wear and tear on the body.
Bob Bobberson same
In and Out pays $13 and I don't have to mess with cam phasers.
Super Duty 455 lol
Super Duty 455
$13? A woman I know charges $100 for in and out!!!
@Chump Johnson I thought the going rate was 40?
slowpoke96z28
Hot pregnant redheads cost more
Id be interested in hosting a live stream with a couple dealer owners and chat about this. It’s a big topic in the industry.
NickPixelTV
Let us know when you do it!
Alan Matthews let me see what I can set up. Prob should do it along with Justin.
Yes. He has a ton of experience.
Would be amazing to get that going!
Chris cason i just put a feeler email see when a time would work for a few.
Flat rate is also dependent on if the shop your at has the consistent work where I'm at I made 100k last year on flat rate yes you have to be efficient with jobs but if your efficient and the shop doesnt have the work then of course your hours will be up and down
Yup 100k+ last year as well and it was my first year at a dealership
To me, being flat rate in a GOod shop is the way to go, I was a A tech at Firestone for 30 years, after 20 years I capped out on pay 26.50 FRH 75 to 80 hours a week great check been retired 2 years now great retirement program, (they dont have the one I fell under 30 years ago), work smart not stupid, you too can do very well, also a good manager helps a lot
I worked at a Firestone. Although I was qualified to be the master tech, I was just a standard tech. Oil changes were.3 hours. Plus that stupid vehicle inspection that took 30 minutes. I lost money every week.
Damn 75 hours a week?? 26 buks an hour??..firestone..way to go
heavy truck person here I will stay working 40hr and getting paid for 40hr and ot after said 40, but you are spot on.
Same here I got out of the flat rate bs system most dealers are to crowded and getting gravy work as a a tech you don't get much but nightmares switched to heavy truck equipment and diesel engine work I love building engines in frame I even get bonuses on top of my base hourly for getting stuff out the door quickly on top of over time so ya I'm with ya
I'll never go back to the dealership cause of that flatrate bs. Fleet maintainence is the best thing that happend to me working on public transit buses and recently switch to working on school buses. Anything over 40hrs or 8hrs is OT.
Best financial move I ever made was to work on trucks. Most shops pay a good hourly rate (25-35/hr), and if you work OT you can make decent money. Plus you know exactly how much your paycheck will be.
Thankfully, a lot of shops (mostly dealerships) seem to be switching to the hourly + commission style. I think its a good idea.
.3 hr for lof you have to grab the car , lift, remove under cover with tons of screw, get your oil , reset the light put sticker check tire pressure return to parking lot, that’s too much for .3 it sucks
At the shop I’m at the average technician doesn’t to do used cars or PDI. They give them to hourly flat rate lube techs cause they have a hellofa lot lower hourly rate than the other techs. Can’t boost my hours that way.
I’ve been a starter tech for over a year now and I’m the only tech out of 7 that get hybrid pay. $500 a week but if I flag over 72 hrs I get paid $14.00/hr . Since our dealer is so small and over tech crowed. Everyone flags around 57-70 hrs. I’ve hit past 72 hrs multiple time but since I’m still “hourly” I get stuck with all the bullshit warranty or the trying to find a noise for 1-2 hrs and hear nothing even though the advisors are suppose to verify before they write the ticket. I’m going to end this week as my worst week ever with 15 hrs do to warranty that takes 3 days of work and pays 8.9 hrs. Shop foreman has even told me multiple times after I worked on a car that fucked me over in time “I’m glad you got this one”.
What state are you from?
I worked on only electric cars and get paid hourly, loved having all those NVH vehicles but 14 an hour??? That seems very low maybe because I’m in California I make double that, then again it’s soo expensive to live here
What did you get, 14 Equinox blend door? Just got fucked on one, 9 hrs warranty.
Dealership is usually warranty repair and good luck meeting those hours with time to spare. Flat rate dealership work disenfranchised me from mechanic work, well that and I’m 6’5” and my back was giving out at 25. I can remember it now that I was getting my balls busted by the manager because a warranty o2 sensor cam back because I rushed trying to make hours and earlier that day an engine harness I diagnosed which would of made my week was given to the house mouse and was really sour and the manager was goin in on my attitude and how it won’t work out if it doesn’t change and I said it isn’t kicked my chair out and had my box on a flat bed in an hour. I then signed up to school in short order and sold my tools to help pay for it and didn’t turn a wrench for another 5 years. I now do it as a hobby and have several projects. Anyway kudos to those who can put up with the bs politics in mechanic work because I couldn’t. Getting paid 12$ an hour and busting my ass for 40 hours is not enjoyable in the slightest
I’ve been hourly + commission for 4 years on class 6 and above trucks/trailers and the odd equipment repair. Coming from flat rate it’s been a life changer! Was flat rate at a chain Indy shop and when it was good it was good but when it’s bad it will make you homeless.
I have been hourly my whole time as a mechanic . I am ready to retire in about 3 years. They pay me very well $26.00 an hour , pay full medical and vacation. This was my first mechanic job at the same shop. Small garage, family owned. I have seen them come and go. after i leave, there is a guy like me ready to retire also . they will be in trouble to find a decent tech.
Being a used car tech at a Toyota dealership is where the money is at. It wasn't uncommon to get 10 before 12. That's 10 flag hours before 12: 00 noon
I believe it. 6 years ago I was called to repair a lock on a exterior door at a Toyota dealership. Their shop was the most impressive I've seen. The techs looked like content pros.
Used car at a dealership is good because your customer is the dealer. They have to spend money so they can sell the car. Much different than working on a customer car.
A salary for all techs will ensure quality a bonus will ensure drive after thirty five years in the field from rust belt to the south I feel that this is the solution.
If you hate being an auto mechanic you can become a construction worker and try not to fall off the roof when you’re not crawling under houses.
Great insight. This video covers so much more than pay structure. I only have experience with Indy shops and it's nice to see someone outline the issues we're faced with. Great job Justin.
I'd be beyond excited to get on with a dealer who pays hourly plus commission!!
Most of them do lol
Jordan vasquez - where do most dealers pay hourly + commission? I’ve worked at 3 dealers in 2 different states and all pay flat rate.
Never heard of a dealer not paying flat rate. I worked as a lube tech and got hybrid scale but the service techs were flat rate.
Lots are starting to.
I've been an alignment technician for about 15 years.. started out at 9:50 now I'm finally making $12 an hour... companies changed hands from STS to Mavis tire.. mechanics make only $3 more an hour.. and they're told not to do anything over 35 hours a week.. the manager had to take a pay cut a $500 because the end of the month really sucked.. $2,000 last week average is about 15,000... times have really changed and minimum wage in New Jersey is now $11 an hour.. 19 year olds after 3 weeks asking for a raise is a joke anymore... no more welcome to McDonalds do you have been replaced by a tablet where people can order food instead of dealing with a teenager placing your order... God bless this country and for sure kids through Vocational School let them learn a trade.... and a second trade if they don't succeed at the first one..
The hybrid scale is a life saver especially when covid originally hit and we had 4 appointments for the week
Any good auto mechanic has all the basic building blocks to get into many other trades. Might as well get into industrial service (chiller, boilers, power gen). Maybe not easy for the old timers, but I don’t know why a new mechanic wouldn’t just do commercial hvac.
Municipal fleets for me. Fire trucks, excavators, passenger vehicles, street sweepers. Damn decent money, real retirement, a schedule that benefits you and your family, and exposure to diverse equipment which grow your skills/value
Just turned 29 been working on cars since 18. Went to school for diesel worked 2 years on diesel went back to cars after back complications. Also did construction (siding, tile and carpentry and some plumbing) 6 months ago started at Mazda no ase certs so started as a lube tech 13 an hour just got a dollar raise last month. One of the mainshop techs moved so a lube tech that was getting 11 an hour and has been there longer than me moved up to mainshop getting flat rate at 17 a hour. Changing oil is easy but I'm not going MS unless it's at least $20 ah. I'm getting my ase certs this year andapply at Benz for more $$$
The hybrid system sounds good but the hourly I feel can be just as effective. I'm a heavy diesel mechanic and pull alot per hour due to several different things such as tooling,experience and speedeance. But everyone and every situation is different. As always great topic and video. CHEERS!!!
In in your same situation and I get my 40 hour pay every week but n The truck, diesel,and equipment field things are a bit different its hard to put flat rate time when rebuilding let's say a Cummins isx 550 engine not every engine will require all the same steps and issues encountered just putting in cylinder liners so you get my point
Become a body tech at a high end European body shop that is certified, I know at least a dozen techs that flag 300 hours or more per paycheck and pull in close to 160k a year. Flat rate is far from dead
For auto repair. It’s dead. But for auto body, it’s thriving!
Yeah auto body is way different. They do turn way more hours but usually make less per flat rate hour...in my experience. Still it’s more steady hours.
@@zeke_edits depends on the state, flagging rates here in California start at double minimum. In LA county, that's 20-24 an hour. Most good body shops pay a higher rate for frame/structural and mechanical
I’m a certified tech at dealership and we are union which I think every place should be we have the hourly plus commission system and I love it I would never go back to a straight flat rate shop.. your never loosing pay due to u not flagging enough hours and when u do flag over your hourly u can go home early at the end the pay period happy
By and large the only reason that flat rate exist is because it is the best way for employers to control labor cost. I have seen a dealer get down to the cashiers and lot attendants down to paid on per job basis or flat rate. it is simple at the dealership level they do not want to pay unless the customer is paying for it and that means flat rate. the only time they will concede to hourly is if the flat rate techs flat out refuse to do it for what the shop charges like oil changes and such, or if it is not being billed to a customer such as internal work or used car recon. flat rate exist for management and even than in my experience the dealership will change it to their benefit and not the techs. I worked in many dealerships over the years, from lot attendant to service manager with many years as a tech and many as service advisor. The thing i noticed the most was that y plans could change on a whim and that included techs as well. because not always do techs get paid book time it can come down to the management saying we pay an hour for a brake service including rotor resurface and thats it, regardless of what it calls for in the book, they called it menu pricing. I digress i am no longer in the automotive industry and am glad but do honestly miss it very much every day.
I’m a welder by trade ended up in an exhaust shop for several years things where good and I was happy at regular hourly. Boss made the decision as he was hiring on more people to change things up and go to flat rate. On that I did ok some weeks bad on others. Left because I started getting booked more and more but the hours started going down. Full dual exhaust that used to pay out 4 hours was needed down to 2, and that was just for the regular chop and weld systems, if we had to make flanges ect. That would go up, but takes substantially more time. So I left did some other stuff ended up going back to that shop this time I was hybrid. Fixed amount a week with incentivized flat rate pay, the problem was I only got the crap jobs for mechanic work and all of the good ones went to another tech, or I’d be half way through a job get sent out on a tow(I was also the only tow driver they would send during work hours) come back and the car I was half way through working on would either be finished by another tech or they pulled it out of the bay to work on something else and I have to try to find where my parts/bolts are now. So I got fed up and left there went to working in a BBQ kitchen working 50-60 hours a week. But I’m working on getting back into things! Got a full welding rig so I can go do that full time, or since I’ve got all the tools I could go back to mechanic work, or a combination of the two, do mobile welding and mobile mechanic work.
I agree with everything you said, but flat rate is not dead because it is to beneficial to the shop owners and dealers. I was a gm tech in a rural area for 12 years and on flat rate from day one. when it was busy it was great, but when it was slow it was hard to pay the bills. the owner didn't care that it was we were standing at our toolboxs when it was slow cause he wasn't paying us. as much as I wish it wasn't true flat rate is still very much alive
@@mctigmctiggy1475 you are absolutely correct favoritism is sucks when you are on the wrong side of it, and if your on the right side why would you complain. however I dont believe it is just a dealership issue. since leave my dealership I moved into the heavy equipment repair industry and am seeing some of the same issues, but the pay is much much better
These shops are keeping real techs broke PERIOD!!!!!!
"Can you just look at it "real quick"?....
-Every service advisor ever.
Man... I love working on cars, and I’ve always worked on my own. But I sure as shit ain’t making it my job, and I’ve always said this.
I’ll gladly take my $40k (starting salary) corporate job that I got through my degree/experience and keep my hobbies as my hobbies. Not risking my life/health for an under-appreciated, underpaid, and overworked position, as well as potentially losing my passion for the thing I love most.
Not to mention the huge hit on your work/life balance. I’ve got quite a few friends who took the route of the mechanic, and a lot of them are just so miserable and hate what they once loved.
It’s such a shame, too, but the opportunity cost of being a mechanic vs literally anything else is just too much.
go work in the oilfield or heavy industry youll be getting around 160k a year lol
john dowe Wouldn’t fit my lifestyle. I’d rather have time to spend with my wife, and once again, I very much value my health/safety 😅
@@lJADU no pain, no gain. enjoy your little clean uniform and 8$ rate lol
@@johndowe7003 In what way does a 36-hour week for a 40k salary equate to $8 per hour xD? I think when you get down to it, my hourly rate is just under $25...
@@lJADU if you're making 25$ hr you're getting taxed to shit then if you're only pulling 40k . And I was just shooting in the dark I haven't made 40k a year since I left school .
100% agree. Great insight on the topic. I have about 3yrs in the trade and the hourly is def the best way to go at least until I'm further down my career.
I thought flat rate was the end all "you made it" as a mechanic. Flat rate seems so much better if you work in a good shop
I'm flat rate I'd never go back to hourly or salary me and the guy that taught me make more than the service manager and the general manger and both of them have 6 figure salarys
Glen Quagmire I’ve learned amongst techs, that comes when integrity is relative. Or a person has years and years (5 to 10+ years) of experience. A young honest tech ain’t gonna bill those kinds of hours...
I've been doing this since i was 16 (I'm 31 now) and no you won't make any (good)money for the first 5 years i never thought I'd make over 70k a year but I never went into it to make a bunch of money I just like problem solving, it's not for everyone though physical ability self motivation and knowledge of operation all in one person unfortunately you don't find those qualities in many young adults and if you do its a slim chance they want to enter the automotive field
Ya ok sport
I hope flat rate is dead. left the industry in '13 at $15/hr working 50-60 and making 20-30. when i started i was making 60-100 in the same time but the corporation got greedy and wanted to raise their rate and lower their times. the only way I would go back to the industry is to start my own business and that has it's own set of problems. I still have some customers I do work for occasionally because they know the value of good work and don't trust the idiots that the dealer can afford now. something needs to change in the car repair industry or there will be nothing left but idiots that send problems out the door because they don't know what they are doing.
My friend works at a dealership and has his own bidirectional scan tools not provided by the dealership. He also pays for the subscriptions out of his pocket to keep the scan tool current.
joe r that’s heffed man. I’d quit I’m not spending my check to buy the shops tools.
I understand what you are saying and agree with you. let me put this scenario out there... years ago I worked as an office manager/project manager for a sign company that decided that a weekly draw, plus commission, just wasn't working for the sales people. What did they do? they decided to give the sales people a lucrative salary PLUS commission. what happened? sales declined. within a year the business was OUT of business. Point is.. if they are lazy and you make the money good.. they are going to become even more lazier.
I work at a Mazda dealership, you’re not allowed to have your own tools and they supply you with shit tools so they don’t have to pay you double minimum. I have to hide all my tools in the box they give us and according to my service manager no one is allowed to have their own tools except the shop foreman lol. Dealerships are super scandalous, I hope independent shops are better though. ALSO all the old guys I work with tell me daily that there’s no future in dealership mechanics anymore. Pretty depressing being a fairly new tech of two years
I work at a dealership. I have a 22/h guarantee. Then have 31 at flat rate with a bonus at 200 hours. Have never used my guarantee and hours are about 160 slow months and 230 good months. I used to work at independent and a good hourly rate with bonus works best. Too much crap and garbage to deal with everyday
I always just quoted it by the job, never by the hour and I've always made a lot of money fixing cars- it's been an awesome career. And I don't try to be everybody's hero, if it's out of my wheel house, I just send them down the road. There are plenty of jobs that don't require a $4000 scan tool, I use one that cost under $200 and it does 90% of what I'd ever need. You don't have to go broke buying tools. However, you do (also) have to have a mind for business, just being a good mechanic isn't enough if you're going to make a lot of money in the business. Now I'll shut up.
Love the channel !! Cheers from Canada 🤙
No wonder real estate costs so much in California. The minimum wage is like having a really good job here in Georgia
13.00 an hr is really good money? Lol most tradesmen here make 20+ an hr easy
If flat rate is dead, why am I making 90-100k a year at 37/hr at an independent shop?
Lol hows your comback rate? @kingofcoin
Juztin L If a technician has a high comeback rate, no shop would be willing to pay them more than about $25 an hour, if even keeping them as an employee. In addition, if a technician has a lot of comebacks, they end up spending too much time fixing mistakes and not making money. So any technician who makes a lot of money has a very low comeback rate.
Ya flat rated is F-Ked big time..after 20 years of suffering I make good money now,I’m also a master of master baiting .As you were saying you have to be top of the crop to receive fair compensation
Been flat rate for almost 30 years, I can fuck off a lot and still stay about 140%. Helps to know what you’re doing and have the tools.
I work at a Peterbilt dealer on flat rate. The biggest problem is warranty work. It pays very poorly. And a lot of these new truck are coming with 6 year 600,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. Recent example of the poor pay cam inspection campaign. Pull unit into shop drain oil remove oil pan and pick up tube. Take pictures of all six cam lobes on the high side which requires at least 3 different positions of rolling engine over. Upload pictures to paccar. Wait for reply. If the cam is ok reinstall all and fill oil. All for the low price of 1.6 hrs. And pray they are not damaged. 2.3 for all that and taking the mains down and taking pictures reinstalling and torquing
Another thing to consider is the type of cars your working on. I.e. Saturn's when they were in business were super gravy. During that same time you would be lucky to make flat rate on a Pontiac. I started my own business after getting burnt out by the flat rate cuts. I even switched to semis and tripled my money in my first year in
I just got out of the flat rate system and its been great, I could discuss this topic for a while on why i left. If i could have gotten into then field earlier than I would have never left.
I think customers are killing it too. People are not willing to pay good money for good work. They just want bare minimum work and the lowest price. I would rather pay a good mechanic good money and have my car fixed right the first time.
AND this is why I learn everything I can that revolves around cars. Mechanics,Painting,Body work...cause id rather do my own shit and not get robbbbbbed.
i used to kill myself to average 80 hours a week. i stopped doing that and averaged about 65 hours a week, now i'm lucky if i can hit 45-50, i'm scheduled 50 hours a week. last year my yearly average was 42 hours, i recommended over 250k in repairs, they only could sell 70k. this is on top of me getting mostly warranty jobs, or we just sold it and its fucked. i changed jobs just because i hated that company, but its really no different, i knew that going into it. i work for a good company, but the flat rate system isn't for me. i get all the hard stuff, other peoples comebacks. as a dealership tech i waste so much time in parts, special tools are locked in the back of parts. half the tools aren't cataloged properly. I also get every off brand that comes in. we have a guy that works the system and comes in late, apparently allowed to pick through the rack and take what ever he wants, grabs every waiter he can. unless its shit it sits there. and management defends him because he works late every night, and comes in on Saturdays. but he doesn't work the line on Saturday he does side jobs, or finishes what ever gravy work that is stacked. I've asked for it for years to be salary, because of the piece of mind it would give me. my productivity wouldn't change. At this point i'm on the fence about just calling it quits on this career. I have A1-A9 L1, L2 and 100% GM trained almost GM world class.
You need to get your own garage to work out of.
One suggestion for mechanic is to simply go out on your own, you do that by getting some business cards and MAKE A NAME FOR YOURSELF by doing really good work where you currently work. You know as well as I do that good mechanics are all mixed in with the shitty ones giving the said business a bad name that you will be a part of. Forget all the rate crap, you know what you need to diagnose and repair a given problem and charge accordingly.
i did this as a mobile mechanic, do decent work , be friendly and transparent and next thing you know youve got a big customer base and making very good money
This is why i only use small shops to fix my junk. Last vehicle i put in a shop was an fzj80 i picked up for 900$. They put a head gasket and replaced a knock sensor and the oil cooler. 2700$ was the bill 800$ was for the machine shop that rebuilt the dohc head. 600$ for the oil cooler. I work on my old carburated junk and was happy to pay someone to work on that complicated fzj80.
I'm actually paid by the hybrid system. It's great because you still get rewarded for working hard with the bonus but if you have a bad/slow week then you're still covered pretty decent by the hourly.
I've worked that weird Sears payscale, I've worked hourly, normal hourly + commission, and flat rate.
Least favorite is hourly + commission, followed by flat rate with no guarantee.
H+c means, on a busy week, I'm busting my ass and doing a lot of work, but my check only goes up by half of what it should.
At least with flat rate, a big week equals a big paycheck.
But I'd really prefer to be hourly, as long as it was more than most flat rate rates are, and have flagged hours contribute to a monthly or yearly bonus.
I don’t get out of bed for less than $35/hr
I heard that ... Thats why I'm up 65hrs a week i love that ot baby
Somebody gotta feed all them welfare babys lmao
Trouble with flat rate is that, for the most part, people who pay the labor bill directly (manufacturer, dealer, insurance company) don't actually do anything to repair the vehicle. So the pay for the tech is not necessarily based in reality and is more based on whether the manufacturer, dealer, or insurance company can make money. That is why the assigned number of hours for a particular job is a moving target and doesn't necessarily reflect the actual labor involved in doing the job.
A good number of the techs at the dealership sniffed up rails in the breakroom prior to hittin the bay! Thats flat rate heaven!
Jan 2020 it’s 12.00 per hour 24 or fewer employees per the posted labor law poster at my shop in SoCal
Around 94-95 is where I saw the big down-turn. I remember going from 120-140 hrs every 2wk pay period to 60-80. Vendors would bring around techs that were trained on a specific job with all of their tools sitting right there beside them at the start. They don’t figure in straightening out your area between jobs or putting up your tools afterwards.
the good money in mechanics is in heavy equipment and agricultural. I want to say heavy duty mechanics where I live start at $30 and full mechanics make $60 if you are working for a mining company. Heavy equipment is easier to work on then cars. Far easier. Its all nuts bolts and iron., they have separate mechanics just for diesel motors. Separate technician for hydraulics etc. They do everything using overhead cranes. The only thing you lift with your arms are nuts and bolts and wrenches. They even have a separate shop just for caterpillar tracks. They have a certified crane operator who's only job is to run the overhead crane. lift old part away. hoist new part in place. Mechanics bolt it up. Heavy industry is so much better then residential, for virtually everything. I make double the pay driving a truck in the mining industry then I would if I was doing retail.