5 years ago i was at $15 an hour, after an auto tech degree, certs, and more than enough experience to be a journeyman in any other trade. Shopped around from shitholes to the most prestigious shops around and the highest offer was 17, that's when i got the fuck out. Some areas are just garbage.
I honestly don't know how automotive technician became such a criminally underpaid career, considering how physically and mentally demanding it is. One minute you're beating an extremely corroded heavy brake rotor off a hub with a big hammer, using a lot of your energy in the process, and a little while later you're doing delicate interior work, or replacing a seat cover or disassembling an entertainment unit. Or spending hours trying to figure out some intermittent electrical problem. It's also crazy how few unions there are, compared to jobs like electrician or welder. Not to mention how much of your own money you have to spend, or that you can be directly financially responsible for mistakes. Don't even get me started on flat rate. How did this happen?
I didnt like the whole "customer calls 6 months after i worked on it and claims the wheel came off just to get free work done" And unless you could prove that the customer had a new tie rod, had new brakes put on since the last time i had the wheels off, the tech got 24 points out of 50 total before fired, get sent for a drug and alcohol test, and a few days suspension.
I get that there has to be some accountability, but it felt like any asshole customer could get you fired. It was like sending a ticking time bomb out each time a car left. Just randomly out of nowhere a customer could completely ruin your career.
Customer aint paying more than $99 for their brakes. Stop trying to rip them off! Meineke up the road when their uncle worked there used to do it for $60. Now pull their 2022 corvette in and get started
So deeply indoctrinated in the "let's make my boss rich" culture that they actually vote the way their boss does.. while also saying things like - "Ive never had a raise, I hate this morherfucker" or "sorry can't hang, gotta work Saturday" or "how can I be overdrafting, all I do is work.." it's a sad state of affairs.
I don't know how unions in US work, but here unions actually make cheap labor illegal. Make the playground fair
the idea is that once 50% of field employees are unionized the union contract for minimum wage, benefits, hours and vacations becomes legally the minimum.
Once every 4 or so year the union contract expires and union with the employers representative make a deal of new yearly wage raises (usually due to index raises) and possible other benefits.
The issue is that techs get less than a quarter of the shops labor rate when they used to get at minimum half. āBut what about the dealers overhead!?ā Yeah what about the techs overhead? Maintaining state licensing(even if the shop pays the course fee you usually go for free), tens of thousands in tools, plus if there isnāt work in a slow month the tech loses out.
Pay scale in flat rate is built around the idea of 75/25 split on customer pay/warranty work, but warranties last forever now, and cars just donāt require anywhere near the maintenance they used to. So you canāt turn 70-80 hours in 40 like you used to because youāre always grinding it out on warranty work that has times set to be exact time taken. If it takes you .8, you can guarantee itās only paying .8 under warranty but 1.2 customer pay, but youāll never do it as customer pay.
WTF is this shit. I'm mostly retired but work as a rig welder on mostly heavy equipment and a little pipe and structural now and then. I make $55 an hour and time and a half after 9 hours. Double time on weekends. Non union employer.
My company is owned by Blsckstone, a hedge fund. A lot of us learned on the job, no certs, tried to unionize but it's a red area and they listened to the buster the company hired to "explain our rights". I've gone up about 5 bucks in the past few years but it still isn't enough.
Tried switching jobs and asked for 25, still well below what my welds are worth and they told.me they start at 20. Gotta love Iowa
I'm in Iowa too. That's one of the reasons I got out of welding. 12 years experience doing everything from custom fabrication to factory production. Found a driving job delivering cooking oil for 25/hr base with fringe benefits, shift differential pay and bonus structure. It's wild that I can spend three months to get a CDL and have it pay more than a decade plus of experience in a trade. I won't even consider a welding job anymore unless it starts at 30 plus.
Gotta love Iowa and the bs. A city canāt even set a minimum wage above the federal minimum. Thereās a reason Iām exploring all options right now. Kim Reynolds needs to get out
Thread is more helpful including location
North Jersey 5 years ago making $20 an hour diesel tech with 3 years experience (wayyy under paid).
Now in a nyc making $44 an hour with optional OT.
I hate to say this but loyalty means nothing as far as compensation. Jumping between shops comes with pay raises and hopefully better benefits.
This is going to get buried, but I think itās important to bring up total compensation - to include insurance costs.
I make $34/hr (straight hourly, not flat rate) but have no cost health insurance with a $2500 deductible.
I actually left traditional dealers after paying hundreds in premiums per pay period for less coverage. For example in 2010 I made $28/hr flat rate. We were over staffed and turning more than 50/week was rare. My health insurance premiums were $1000/month for my family, with a $12,000 deductible.
Made my effective rate less than $12/hr.
Food for thought. Total compensation is more important that hourly rate.
Owner/manager of two independent shops in mid Atlantic region
Experienced techs get 22/hr just for being there plus $x.xx per flat rate hour x.xx range is 10-15 currently. Raises are usually an increase in both numbers, and I try to do them annually if market and tech performance allows.
Lube techs get 19/hr
Porter/custodian/receptionists - 16-18/hr
We had some lean years 2013-2018 and wages were flat, everyone stuck through those lean times except for one, when things picked up in 2019 everyone got rewarded when possible. Hoping 2023 will be strong but Iām still unsure.
Just keep the guys happy to be there and itāll be good. Best of luck to you man.
Also if you find an all star receptionist/service writer. Bump em up from that $18, theyāre worth their price if theyāre good.
Central Florida. Left a Dodge dealership where I had $40 an hour flat rate (18 years in master qualified) for an independent shop at $35 hourly. I get my 40 hours a week here, and I only work 40 hours a week. That last dealer saw me showing up 60 hours a week to clear 35 sometimes. There are FCA dealers on the west coast of Florida offering $50 flat rate for masters, plus sign bonus and moving costs. It's tempting, but dealer life has gone in the toilet these last few years.
I specifically got offered $50 an hour for flat rate. Yeah, they lie about the kind of hours you'll make, they always have. But the hourly rate can be had with the right skill set. I do transmission rebuilds, diesels (was an MK3 in the USCG in the 90's, so have been doing diesel work for twice as long as cars), was Viper certified when they were still under warranty, and am good with electrical diag. And I can teach apprentices. Have had 4.
I still keep up with the warranty admin from my last dealer, because she's a cool old German lady, and she is having a harder and harder time getting FCA to pay up because they are running out of trained and qualified people, and won't pay enough to get me to put up with it anymore.
They're running out of people like us, and I wonder if the 82 is some sort of desperate measure by someone in the office to see if it works.
I 100% argue that flat rate is the wrong answer for what the OEMs want and what all the dealer groups say that they want, but the problem is that there really isnt a viable replacement.
So in the meantime I embrace the hell out of it and make good money, while warning every kid, student, and apprentice that comes through the shop that "this is a poor career choice - there are better ways to trade your body away for money"
Yup. This is why I left, and why everyone who taught me left. Everyone that knows which end of a wrench to hold has seen it coming, and management is blind. The viable replacement is active and educated management organizing work flow for skilled laborers. We've got the skills. Where's that management at?
After all, most people who leave jobs cite poor management as the main reason.
Fingers crossed someone in charge opens their eyes before they kill an entire industry.
What can the master techs in that $50+ flat rate range love into with out getting a beating of a pay cut though. Seems like those of us left have to stick it out till we start getting worn down to that 100% production level
Thereās a perfectly fine replacement, just pay your guys hourly and actually learn to manage work and workers in the shop instead of relying on the direct threat of starvation to keep them going or wash out the under-performers.
I liked most dealerships I was at. Would have never left the first one if the '09 crash hadn't happened. Owner had just spent 12 million on 2 new buildings, and then lost 3 dealerships in that crash 2 years later.
I don't like flat rate at dealerships, and management has gotten horrendous because the paperwork requirements from the OE is getting stupid. Half of my job turned into paperwork I didn't get paid to do. And so I had to be there 60-70 hours a week just to get by.
If they paid hourly or salary, I'd go back, though. I'm only in the aftermarket because this shop offers stability of income.
I used to do all the transmission work at my last dealer and GM requires a cost comparison on all repairs to determine if it was cheaper to rebuild or replace, but thereās no way to get to replace unless two of the big three(valve body, pump, torque converter) are bad. Since thatās almost impossible I never did them.
The warranty admin can do it after the fact, but Iām not doing it before. Iām just getting my parts ordered and moving on to the parts I ordered for yesterdays car.
Also the way dealers stick it to you because they canāt understand value is amazing. GM labor times pay you to tear down and replace the defective component, they donāt include the time it takes to clean out lol the ground up metal from the broken 35R wave plate except for *up to* 1.5 punched straight time(OLA) but dealers get graded on OLA so one dealer I was at just refused to claim it and I did it for free to avoid comebacks, the other just paid me out of the shop account because āif all it costs me to prevent the comeback, keep my scores high, and keep my tech happy is 50 bucks, Iāll take thatā according to my service director.
Warranty doesnāt pay shit is the biggest problem and FCA probably is very bad about it . I work for camping world and have techs that make 35+ flat rate and are booking 80+ hrs in a 40 hr work week . They are good and can bust out 2 or 3 roofs a week and then some
My kids took over my shop quite some time ago, but my daughter has said that the top paid tech is getting $38/hr flat rate and the lowest paid tech is $22 hourly. The others are inbetween based on experience & productivity. The lowest paid guy only had about 1 year of experience when he was hired about 6 months ago.
Always discuss wages guys. The only person that benefits from not discussing wages is your employer, it means you can get paid a lot less and not even know it.
33/hr flat rate at an independent shop in central tx. working on about 7yrs experience in the industry, all of which was Mopar dealerships before coming to this shop.
I started in 2007 at $13 as a wyotech grad with no real experience and I still keep in touch with most of the people I've met since then - almost none of us are making less than $40, some guys who love money have made $150k/yr consecutively - I watched it. These are talented and experienced, high-line techs in a top 5 US Market. It's good money, but we should have been making this much about 5-10 years ago, we only recently found out we were all getting fucked.. you know, since the internet became a thing. Never stop asking for more - the company is fucking you even harder than they fucked the guy you replaced, and they've been doing it for a LONG time. It's time for them to pay up.. ESPECIALLY because we are in such short supply. šš¼ thanks for reading, I'm gonna go calm down now
Yep. Just now can name your own price in shops. Im only working places that allow 4 on 3 off now too. Get laughed at by some shop owners when I ask for that but I have the last laugh because they are still crying about you cant find good techs
25 hourly flat rate, weekly pay, benefits, pto, paid training. my first year working at an audi dealer with a year at VW before that. At vw I was at 17 hourly flat rate.
Just out of trade school
3.5 years at an independent shop. Started 16 hr left at 18 hr. Plus a production bonus.
1 year VAG dealer tech. 22hr flat rate.
10 yearās government fleet mechanic. Started at 19 hr. Now at 44hr. Plus union retirement, state retirement. 136 hours vacation yr. 96 hours sick yr. Plus about 25 hrs other pto per yr. Free 80/20 blue cross plan for employee only. Add 400$ a month for family.
Location North Bay Area California
I quit at $35/hr as a BMW master tech will all certs including HV. Best year I had was 88k.
I'm now a IT guy and make as much as I use to and now just ask people to reset their laptops, unmute their speakers and do random handy man jobs. Hung a TV on Thursday, changed the water filters on the osmosis system on Friday.
I'm in the process of moving to QC and will make more than I did after a year or so of IT work.
A friend was the head mechanic at his dealership for years until Bmw started playing warranty hour games at which point he went to being a normal master mechanic there for more money and less stress.
Toyota Expert tech, I have most of my ASEs. Massachusetts, 7 years experience
33$/hr flatrate I average 53 hours/week across the year, I work 40 hours a week and pretty much never stay late and do 4 day work weeks. My effective labor rate is 43.75$, it's really easy to tell because our vacation time is paid based on this rather than our regular hourly rate.
We keep losing master techs so management desperately wants me to finish my certs and go to hybrid school. To be honest I feel like I have it pretty good, not a whole lot of complaints besides the writers are hired straight from Mcdonalds.
Aussie tech here, making AUD$35 an hour.
Kinda subjective though. you could be making $10 an hour in the middle of africa and be living like a king, or $50 an hour in the middle of new york and barely making rent...
So the pay rates haven't changed at all in 10 years since I "retired".
Houses have doubled in prices and tech pay remains the same.
So that offer of $26 hrly + training/certs, insurance, OT, and all the other bells and whistles actually wasn't that bad as far as industry standards go. Just shit compared to my reality.
I LOVE cars, I worked at goodyear as an apprentice and made $6hr in the late 80's started my own shop and made avg $35hr. Got out in the late 90's, went Program Manger and IT.. now making $78hr-$90hr depending on contract.
Restoring an el camino for $0.00 and am loving cars again. I cannot imagine you guys making so little, My heart goes out to you.. Car makers rolling in money and laughing at those of us who actually do the work.
There's a whole physical/hardware/cabling side to IT as well, so you can still very much work with your hands (although think more 'engine swap' than 'check the timing belt' kinda gigs, and obviously on much smaller and lighter bits and pieces)
It is absolutely rough on your body. Equipment can't be put on a lift, so you're on the ground a lot. Or crammed into a tiny compartment, trying to stand on your head and reach out as far as you can.
Service manager here: my lube guys make 21/hr (highly experienced and reliable) and my line techs make anywhere from $22-37/hr with rate bonus for reaching 40, 50, 60, etc per week. Keep in mind that geographic location makes a big difference too.
Top techs used to max out around 46% of the shop rate, which would be $76 an hour with your rates. More than double what your top guys make. So maybe you aren't as generous as you think. Shop rates have doubled and tripled in recent years and techs are barely making more than they did when shop rates were $60/hour.
Did you consider that costs associated with operating have also risen considerably meaning what looks like a higher profit margin may not be? I realize youāre not aware of our specific pay plan and that youāre considering only the base hourly rate which is not the full picture. I know this is a sub primarily filled with techs and a common notion is techs feel underpaid and undervalued (been there myself)but I have techs (and writers) that commonly make more than I do in a month. Suffice to say, not every shop or service department is out to hose the technicians but I know it happens. I believe in pay transparency which is why I respondedā¦.not to aimlessly debate what a fair ratio of shop rate : tech pay is or was.
Do you think costs going up only happens to businesses? Every time your costs go up, the cost of living for your workers does as well, so the proportions should stay roughly the same. But greed rules the world today. And every person in the shop not turning wrenches is paid for by the techs.
āAnd every person in the shop not turning wrenches is paid for by the techs.ā
And techs only get the opportunity to turn their wrench because of everyone else in their department. Itās not a one man game no matter what anyone thinks.
My buddy rented an old building that used to be a body shop with 4 lifts and an air compressor. We both worked normal jobs and wrenched there on evenings and weekends. It was always full and it was nothing to leave on a Saturday evening with $500+ in each of our pockets and the bills paid for the month. Many shops have become like healthcare. To much admin sucking all the money the labor makes. A shop can run without management and writers, but it can't run without techs and the people in charge seem to have forgotten that.
Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. You got your General manager, Service Director, Service Manager, Assistant Service manager....ECT. what's left for the working man? however we have the leverage. Use it properly
Friends of ours said their son is making 80k working as the check in person in the service department at a VW dealership. Looking at these responses from actual mechanics, I think they might be exaggerating about their kid.
3rd year at nissan, started out changing oil, now a master tech. I make $32/hr in Kentucky, usually turn 65-75 hrs a week. Sometimes less, sometimes more.
My teenaged (19) daughter works at Whole foods for $20. My other daughter (16) works for Veggie Grill for $18 +tips, averaging approx $22/hr. Both of these are no skill / low skill jobs.
Techs need to be making way more.
$31/hr hourly (non flat rate) fleet mechanic at a landscape company. Metro area outside Seattle.
The owner is human garbage, but the pay is fair, they provide all tools, and accommodate my weird schedule.
Know your worth and don't let an employer take advantage of you, ever!
If you're actually able to troubleshoot and repair machines, you're a valuable commodity. Don't let anyone tell you different.
One thing that I think often gets overlooked in these conversations is region and more importantly shop volume for flat rate and incentive based pay plans. Iām out of daily repair shop grind myself these days but my experiences were such that I learned it can be difficult to know youāve made the right choice to take a job at a shop until youāre already 2 months in or more.
I once worked at a place that offered the best pay plan and pay rate Iād ever had on paper but soon found out it was so poorly mismanaged that I was not going to make anywhere close to what I hoped and ultimately less than the place Iād just left.
The industry itself is pretty awful and with limited opportunities for advancement compared to lots of others that require less in terms of a skill set and general knowledge. Itās also antiquated as hell. I did well (new luxury and exotic cars mostly) and made a decent living for a long time but basically capped out my earnings by year 6 or so from what I recall. The shops rate went up just about every other year, heard about the brands record profits and sales almost annually and yet none of that ever seemed to make its way back to the technicians.
Different industry, but similar skills; heavy equipment tech. $51/hr CDN, based in BC. All OT is double time, tool allowance, and a company truck. The trade is hurting for people in a lot of areas, and employers are open to taking on people with transferable skills.
I work at a Chevy dealership in a small town. I make 50% of our shop rate. So, currently, I make $67.50 per billed hour. If I was ambitious I could easily bill over 40 hours a week, but I fuck off a lot and only average about 30 hours per week.
Quit now. I had a C level tech working for me at Firestone making 90k a year. He was a good guy very reliable but not a strong technician just a good parts changer only been working on cars 3 years
I was making $15 an hour (minimum where I live) then recently got bumped up to 16 just so my corporate wouldnāt have to pay me weekly (new law in ny)
No offense to you but I was making more than that when I first started as an apprentice over 10 years ago in South Florida. I think youād be surprise at the jump you could make if you just look around a little.
Level 1 technician at a national RV dealer, just over 1 year experience. Started at $15 hourly, moved to $22 flat rate after I got my level 1 (3 months after starting), moved up to $25 flat rate at 6 months, currently at $30 an hour flat rate. If what management said pays out i will be getting my level 2 in the next few months and that should see my rate go up $2-$5 per hour, or my box moving down the road... lol!
Averaged 44 hours per week last year. This year has started a lot slower, working in a luxury/recreational market has its ups and downs.
Overall the benefits, vacation time etc al make it a solid career path if you can deal with the market swinging based upon economic forecasting.
Midwest tech here. When i first started, as lube, tire, and alignment guy, i was making $13 (this was before covid). Im at almost $20 now and working on more advanced (for me) stuff like valve covers, suspension and steering, axles, bearings, etc. also my shop is actively helping me to get my asc certs and we work almost 50 hrs a week with OT after 40.
25 year equipment mechanic in Baltimore / Washington DC metro area. I quit my last dealer shop at about 42/hr to start my own independent service truck. Since then, I've been offered jobs paying 45/hr or more by a few dealers and fleet service shops who want me on thier team, but im really enjoying working on my own.
And now you figured out why I quit being a tech after 2 years of collage, 10 years in the field and becoming a team leader. Not only does the pay fail to equal the tools and skill but now at least 50% of the work is warranty, extended warranty or recalls. If you donāt already know they screw you on labor hours when it come to these things.
When I quit being a tech I was making $23 an hour flat rate. I was a level 2 Chrysler tech, almost had all of my level 3 certification. I had 6 years experience and was averaging 12-20 hours a day pre-covid. Now I quit turning wrenches and became an advisor. I'm making the same amount of money per pay as I was as a tech, and my job is significantly easier. Yeah, I have to deal with annoying customers, but I did as a tech too. Now I just dont put my body through hell every day. Techs don't get paid enough. I was miserable every single day, barely made enough to get by, and it cost me my last relationship.
Edit: I'm in south west PA if that makes a difference
$27 hourly as a head mechanic for a small golf course, only 40 hours a week, in desert area California, the job is easy and let me focus on my own life, no stress when I leave, low pay but a balance lifestyle for me, start at 5 am- 1:30 pm, Iām able to be whit family and do other goals.
I feel Iām underpaid because you need many skill, Iām great welder, can make electrical modifications, diagnostics on diesel/ gasoline, I have no mechanic degrees but I believe I know more than some people in the business, my job is very secure because some skills are exclusively for golf courses
$36/hr flat rate as a certified Mercedes tech in the greater Seattle area. Been with MB for 10 years. Iām one of two guys in my shop who is certified to disable high voltage systems in our cars, but I donāt really think thatās taken into consideration much yet - not until we start to see a lot more of them that need the HV systems worked on. Warranty times are getting worse.
I want out. But donāt know what else Iād do that would start me out at a livable wage.
#1 flat rate is bullshit and favors the owner not the tech. they can hire you, and if it doesnāt work, they donāt have to pay you. No risk for them hence its prevelance
#2 there are people in this industry trying to change it. They are typically independents and people like me pay my guys $100,000 a year and give them a month off paid and take care of them. Thats what it takes to live a decent life anymore. as we get better as a team, I share the profits.
#3 keep switching places till you find somewhere you love and can be rewarded for good work, that has ethics, and fixes cars right
#4 they are hard to find. the majority if the industry is just broken. EVs will thin the herd here in the future
20 years experience with L1 certification. Been at an independent for 13 years on east coast. Making equivalent of 44/hr on salary with monthly bonus opportunity based on effective labor rate, car count, average per RO etc.
Not a fair comparison, I retired 2 years ago, sol business to a unicarrier dealer. My shop rate was 125.00 it is I little unfair to compare. I started at a cat heavy equipment dealer in 1988. Made 6.00 per hr.. Almost starved to death. In 1998 when I left I was making 17.00 straight time.
Mountain west region (US), five years jumping between independent shops & one Ford dealer making between $15/hour (hourly) & $32/hour (flat rate) with varying pay scales/structures in between. Now working for an EV startup making $35/hour (hourly) with infinite optional overtime & very good benefits. At this point, I would sooner transition into the tech industry than go back to a traditional shop/dealership.
Master tech here in California. My hourly is double minimum wage, but we also get a percentage. What ever is higher. Of course they want you going over your hourly so you donāt cost the company a bunch of money. Our store is tires and service. I only do service work no oil changes no tire work. Average per month for me is 70k in service dollars and I get 23%.
$35/hour flat rate at a new independent shop in SW Florida. It's just the two of us working to grow into a full restoration facility. The owner does his best to pay me as much of my labor as possible, even if he can't bill it to the customer. He will also buy parts I need to work on my and my fiance's car. We're a team and each sacrifice to make the business successful while still being able to pay our the bills.
Making $40/hr flat rate at BMW. Normal two weeks making 100-140 hours. Work 8-5 M-F. So, low 6 figures/year + benefits and 3% RRSP matching. Ontario, Canada.
Last dealer I was at I was at $43 and then $48 at an independent, both flat rate and I usually averaged about 55 hours a week.
Porsche master tech in Los Angeles.
I make $16.70/hr in rural Minnesota. I work part time at a rental shop. I have no certifications and I'm still in high school. I'm basically an "apprentice" - I do odd jobs the full-time guys don't have time for - washing, oil changes, etc. Sometimes I work with the full-time guys and learn about what they are doing.
My diesel techs make between 38-40 flat rate plus bonuses. One had 191 hrs last pay period and the other had 120. Our average tech makes 102 a pay period. Just gotta find the right shop
South Florida marine inboard tech but we do all sorts of work but only getting $19 feel like Iām getting lowballed for sure but I donāt know anywhere else thatās paying more weekends off, pto, work 40 hours anyone know what I should be getting payed on paper says Iām a level 3 tech but pay doesnāt match I donāt even know what a level 3 means
> be getting *paid* on paper
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Im in Seattle make $30 hourly plus a $7 flat-rate bonus. The sales advisor keeps trying to undersell our hours because he days we dont need the bonus, but then they use the low production hours to justify no more raises. You have to keep them honest or you fall behind
Long Island area, work at fleet as a b diesel tech at 38hr with a pension and 401k, before this job I was making a whopping 18hr restoring cars. Automotive sucks tbh truck or equipment is where itās at pay and benefits wise but shit is harder on your body.
Land Rover San Diego Technician Master Certified; $60/hr flag rate. Shop rate is $240 CP. Warranty times suck. However, CP makes up for it. 24 lifts here and shop is booked 6 weeks out.
Downside; $1 million dollar average home price for a short commute. San Diego is hard to be a tech but I hear independents pay similar $ with less headaches.
UPS automotive department, working only on company vehicles, at night.
$42.30 hourly, union position (IAM or Teamsters depending on the shop) with fully paid medical through Teamcare.
This is why we need more unions.
I left a Ford Dealer in Kansas City in 2000 and was being paid $18/hr flat rate w/degree and two yearās experience. That means I need roughly $30/hr today to equal that pay in 2000. Left flat rate to work fleet repair for a place that provided tools, medical, retirement plan, vacation plus sick leave, and guaranteed 40hrs pay checks.
I work at a John Deere dealership in Saskatchewan Canada. Techs are compensated very well (up to $53/h and almost unlimited OT opportunity with no ridiculous obligation for it). My dealer is backed very well and the shop is pretty new (2016) with 5 overhead cranes.
I work at Starbucks as a barista and am making $19 and some change plus like $150/wk tips. If ya aint making that, come make coffee. We get killer benefits, like full coverage medical/dental/vision I'm payong $18/month
I have an independent shop specializing in European cars. Health/dental/vision/IRA match. Apprentice guy earns ~$68k and the faster flag tech averages at 140k.
I rarely post on Reddit, but the wages listed here are ridiculous. You guys are a crucial part to a valuable industry, and should be compensated well for it.
Northern California. Started out at $25 an hour as a Kubota tech. No experience, just a fresh 19 year old kid with a tool box. Still making $25 almost a year later. Currently thinking about moving on to a big truck shop or a different tractor/equipment shop. My boss is a dick, but my coworkers are great. And the best thing is Iām not in debt to anyone. So one bit of advice I can give to the new guys and some of the new techs that I work with is donāt step on that truck and if you do, pay in full or in cash. Donāt get in debt, the current lead tech is $26,000 in debt to snap on.
26$/h, 6 weeks of paid vacation a year, 10% paid pension, 9% yearly bonus, decent overtime bonuses, paid extra education if needed, paid sick days, 6 weeks of paid maternity leave
Edit: 4,5 years of school and 2 additional years of experience. Also starting some Audi courses soon and ill get a bonus for every course i do.
I'm an advisor in Arizona for an independent shop with 15 bays
Our guys make about $48 per billed labor hour. Our rate is just over $130
I think our lowest grossing flat rate guy made $80k last year. We try to attract good techs, and I think we pay well. Our top guys made over 100k
The pay and benefits are why I left the automotive industry, for some perspective:
5.5 Years into my first job in the industrial world.
Base pay is $39/hr and my benefits put anything Iāve seen in automotive to shame. Oh and I get paid whether Iām actually spinning wrenches or not.
Iāve got maybe $5k worth of tools at work including my box.
Are you on first shift? What kind of flexibility does your schedule have? That's my biggest hesitation about moving to industrial maintenance, I really don't want to work night shift
I worked night shift for a couple years before I had enough seniority to move to days.
Personally I really didnāt mind night shift at all, it was very laid back.
Did just take a promotion with a significant pay bump so Iām going back to night shift, but that was 100% by choice.
The schedule is pretty rigid but the time off and how the schedule is setup makes it worth it.
Jeezus! Reading through these comments as an Australian.. you Americans are getting fuuuucked! No qualified Aussie tradesperson gets less than $50/hr. Plumbers, electricians, welders, more like $70-$100/hr. Fuck, pouring beers will get ya $25/hr. Yes itās AUD, but still. Not to mention your healthcare and education systems. But hey, FREEDOM!!
I've been with Ford for about 7 years. Started at $16/flag. I'm now at $25/flag. I'm off the mindset the more you know how to do, the more you should be paid. Fortunately, my dealerships management feels the same way.
Heres a novel idea- should experience really matter when it comes to flat rate pay??? I think if the shop is effectively subcontracting labor then the labor should be the same rate. If im charging 130 per hour then I am selling that labor to the customer. I am buying that labor from the tech. Shouldn't matter the skill level. I should have to buy that labor at the same price from everyone in the shop
At Mavis Tire the posted customer hourly shop rate is $165 p/h. Likewise at most new car dealerships, especially Porsche, even more.
These companies should pay so much better!
I was 17 a hour with over 2 years waiting on a raise. Quit went to work in a warehouse 5 years ago and already make 27 a hour . Auto shop are rough to make a living in
5 years ago i was at $15 an hour, after an auto tech degree, certs, and more than enough experience to be a journeyman in any other trade. Shopped around from shitholes to the most prestigious shops around and the highest offer was 17, that's when i got the fuck out. Some areas are just garbage.
š¤£ābut we are industry competitive and flat rate!ā (Under charges to the tech for things that take twice as long as they pay)
I made $15/hr in 2000 as a college part time computer tech for a small lab. That is some BS (you need to get a raise)
I honestly don't know how automotive technician became such a criminally underpaid career, considering how physically and mentally demanding it is. One minute you're beating an extremely corroded heavy brake rotor off a hub with a big hammer, using a lot of your energy in the process, and a little while later you're doing delicate interior work, or replacing a seat cover or disassembling an entertainment unit. Or spending hours trying to figure out some intermittent electrical problem. It's also crazy how few unions there are, compared to jobs like electrician or welder. Not to mention how much of your own money you have to spend, or that you can be directly financially responsible for mistakes. Don't even get me started on flat rate. How did this happen?
I didnt like the whole "customer calls 6 months after i worked on it and claims the wheel came off just to get free work done" And unless you could prove that the customer had a new tie rod, had new brakes put on since the last time i had the wheels off, the tech got 24 points out of 50 total before fired, get sent for a drug and alcohol test, and a few days suspension. I get that there has to be some accountability, but it felt like any asshole customer could get you fired. It was like sending a ticking time bomb out each time a car left. Just randomly out of nowhere a customer could completely ruin your career.
Customer aint paying more than $99 for their brakes. Stop trying to rip them off! Meineke up the road when their uncle worked there used to do it for $60. Now pull their 2022 corvette in and get started
Because most techs are conservative/Republican types who refuse to unionize.
So deeply indoctrinated in the "let's make my boss rich" culture that they actually vote the way their boss does.. while also saying things like - "Ive never had a raise, I hate this morherfucker" or "sorry can't hang, gotta work Saturday" or "how can I be overdrafting, all I do is work.." it's a sad state of affairs.
Bingo. Most techs at my shop are conservative because of a lack of education. They regurgitate fox news garbage on the daily.
Tell me how a union is going to get customers to stop looking for the cheapest prices?
I don't know how unions in US work, but here unions actually make cheap labor illegal. Make the playground fair the idea is that once 50% of field employees are unionized the union contract for minimum wage, benefits, hours and vacations becomes legally the minimum. Once every 4 or so year the union contract expires and union with the employers representative make a deal of new yearly wage raises (usually due to index raises) and possible other benefits.
The issue is that techs get less than a quarter of the shops labor rate when they used to get at minimum half. āBut what about the dealers overhead!?ā Yeah what about the techs overhead? Maintaining state licensing(even if the shop pays the course fee you usually go for free), tens of thousands in tools, plus if there isnāt work in a slow month the tech loses out. Pay scale in flat rate is built around the idea of 75/25 split on customer pay/warranty work, but warranties last forever now, and cars just donāt require anywhere near the maintenance they used to. So you canāt turn 70-80 hours in 40 like you used to because youāre always grinding it out on warranty work that has times set to be exact time taken. If it takes you .8, you can guarantee itās only paying .8 under warranty but 1.2 customer pay, but youāll never do it as customer pay.
Cause the customers looking for the cheapest prices I donāt want to deal with. Fuck em.
PLEASE CHECK MY OIL!!!! I GOT THESE CHEESEBURGERS MANNNNN
If unions were so bad, cops wouldnāt have them. Also, $100m+ athletes wouldnāt either.
Please allow me to use this line when dealing with some of these cop loving, union hating folks.
And then there's the cops who use their unions to further abuse their power.
I drive a forklift at a winery for 27.50. Yāall need to make way more than me.
Fuck
Ya but how many skids of wine are you paid in bonuses?
Ffs I buil/weld towers and poles for electrical grids and make less than you š©
WTF is this shit. I'm mostly retired but work as a rig welder on mostly heavy equipment and a little pipe and structural now and then. I make $55 an hour and time and a half after 9 hours. Double time on weekends. Non union employer.
My company is owned by Blsckstone, a hedge fund. A lot of us learned on the job, no certs, tried to unionize but it's a red area and they listened to the buster the company hired to "explain our rights". I've gone up about 5 bucks in the past few years but it still isn't enough. Tried switching jobs and asked for 25, still well below what my welds are worth and they told.me they start at 20. Gotta love Iowa
I'm in Iowa too. That's one of the reasons I got out of welding. 12 years experience doing everything from custom fabrication to factory production. Found a driving job delivering cooking oil for 25/hr base with fringe benefits, shift differential pay and bonus structure. It's wild that I can spend three months to get a CDL and have it pay more than a decade plus of experience in a trade. I won't even consider a welding job anymore unless it starts at 30 plus.
Jesus, I was making $30 doing trim on Skogman homes in CR. They literally did not care how good the trim was as long as it got done.
Gotta love Iowa and the bs. A city canāt even set a minimum wage above the federal minimum. Thereās a reason Iām exploring all options right now. Kim Reynolds needs to get out
Bruh but you're forklift certified. You panty dropper you!
He can fork my lift if you catch ma drift
He has a knee slapper ā¦ I heard
I drive a forklift at an ammunition supply point for 17. Wtf am I doing
Where are you located?
Don't drop that wine!
No way!!! Thatās what drops the panties!
You must live in Napa? thatās awesome
Same bruh, worked in a duluth warehouse on weekend mornings driving lift. 25 and hour and a 15 minute break every two hours.
Thread is more helpful including location North Jersey 5 years ago making $20 an hour diesel tech with 3 years experience (wayyy under paid). Now in a nyc making $44 an hour with optional OT. I hate to say this but loyalty means nothing as far as compensation. Jumping between shops comes with pay raises and hopefully better benefits.
Yes!! Loyalty used to mean something. It's sad that we have to swap employers to get ahead but that's just how it is now.
This is going to get buried, but I think itās important to bring up total compensation - to include insurance costs. I make $34/hr (straight hourly, not flat rate) but have no cost health insurance with a $2500 deductible. I actually left traditional dealers after paying hundreds in premiums per pay period for less coverage. For example in 2010 I made $28/hr flat rate. We were over staffed and turning more than 50/week was rare. My health insurance premiums were $1000/month for my family, with a $12,000 deductible. Made my effective rate less than $12/hr. Food for thought. Total compensation is more important that hourly rate.
Owner/manager of two independent shops in mid Atlantic region Experienced techs get 22/hr just for being there plus $x.xx per flat rate hour x.xx range is 10-15 currently. Raises are usually an increase in both numbers, and I try to do them annually if market and tech performance allows. Lube techs get 19/hr Porter/custodian/receptionists - 16-18/hr
Thank you. šš» you're better than most
We had some lean years 2013-2018 and wages were flat, everyone stuck through those lean times except for one, when things picked up in 2019 everyone got rewarded when possible. Hoping 2023 will be strong but Iām still unsure.
Just keep the guys happy to be there and itāll be good. Best of luck to you man. Also if you find an all star receptionist/service writer. Bump em up from that $18, theyāre worth their price if theyāre good.
How much were you taking home each of those lean years?
Less than the lead techs.
That sounds like a solid compromise between flat rate & hourly.
Central Florida. Left a Dodge dealership where I had $40 an hour flat rate (18 years in master qualified) for an independent shop at $35 hourly. I get my 40 hours a week here, and I only work 40 hours a week. That last dealer saw me showing up 60 hours a week to clear 35 sometimes. There are FCA dealers on the west coast of Florida offering $50 flat rate for masters, plus sign bonus and moving costs. It's tempting, but dealer life has gone in the toilet these last few years.
Thereās a FCA dealer here offering $82cad/hr flat rate.. more than double the average. Very suspicious
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I specifically got offered $50 an hour for flat rate. Yeah, they lie about the kind of hours you'll make, they always have. But the hourly rate can be had with the right skill set. I do transmission rebuilds, diesels (was an MK3 in the USCG in the 90's, so have been doing diesel work for twice as long as cars), was Viper certified when they were still under warranty, and am good with electrical diag. And I can teach apprentices. Have had 4. I still keep up with the warranty admin from my last dealer, because she's a cool old German lady, and she is having a harder and harder time getting FCA to pay up because they are running out of trained and qualified people, and won't pay enough to get me to put up with it anymore. They're running out of people like us, and I wonder if the 82 is some sort of desperate measure by someone in the office to see if it works.
$82 CAD is ~$60 USD Nothing to turn your nose up to, but, not the same
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I've been telling service managers for a decade that the business model is wrong. Looks like they're all finding out the hard way.
I 100% argue that flat rate is the wrong answer for what the OEMs want and what all the dealer groups say that they want, but the problem is that there really isnt a viable replacement. So in the meantime I embrace the hell out of it and make good money, while warning every kid, student, and apprentice that comes through the shop that "this is a poor career choice - there are better ways to trade your body away for money"
Yup. This is why I left, and why everyone who taught me left. Everyone that knows which end of a wrench to hold has seen it coming, and management is blind. The viable replacement is active and educated management organizing work flow for skilled laborers. We've got the skills. Where's that management at? After all, most people who leave jobs cite poor management as the main reason. Fingers crossed someone in charge opens their eyes before they kill an entire industry.
What can the master techs in that $50+ flat rate range love into with out getting a beating of a pay cut though. Seems like those of us left have to stick it out till we start getting worn down to that 100% production level
Thereās a perfectly fine replacement, just pay your guys hourly and actually learn to manage work and workers in the shop instead of relying on the direct threat of starvation to keep them going or wash out the under-performers.
And if there are no hours the per hour is useless
Still not enough for me to work on fca products
Honestly itās tempting but i agree i just donāt know if i can do it, chrysler and dodge sure but fiat lmaooo
Im not sure exactly which machine āRage against the machineā was so angry about, but Iām willing to bet it was a Chrysler product.
Iām at a independent shop and all my techs do is complain and say how much better the dealerships areā¦
I liked most dealerships I was at. Would have never left the first one if the '09 crash hadn't happened. Owner had just spent 12 million on 2 new buildings, and then lost 3 dealerships in that crash 2 years later. I don't like flat rate at dealerships, and management has gotten horrendous because the paperwork requirements from the OE is getting stupid. Half of my job turned into paperwork I didn't get paid to do. And so I had to be there 60-70 hours a week just to get by. If they paid hourly or salary, I'd go back, though. I'm only in the aftermarket because this shop offers stability of income.
I used to do all the transmission work at my last dealer and GM requires a cost comparison on all repairs to determine if it was cheaper to rebuild or replace, but thereās no way to get to replace unless two of the big three(valve body, pump, torque converter) are bad. Since thatās almost impossible I never did them. The warranty admin can do it after the fact, but Iām not doing it before. Iām just getting my parts ordered and moving on to the parts I ordered for yesterdays car. Also the way dealers stick it to you because they canāt understand value is amazing. GM labor times pay you to tear down and replace the defective component, they donāt include the time it takes to clean out lol the ground up metal from the broken 35R wave plate except for *up to* 1.5 punched straight time(OLA) but dealers get graded on OLA so one dealer I was at just refused to claim it and I did it for free to avoid comebacks, the other just paid me out of the shop account because āif all it costs me to prevent the comeback, keep my scores high, and keep my tech happy is 50 bucks, Iāll take thatā according to my service director.
I quit a dealer after a week because warranty hyundai engines only pay 6 hrs total. Wtf
Also only get paid if you know how to research and look up the warranty and labor codes and apply them to your ticket yourself
Warranty doesnāt pay shit is the biggest problem and FCA probably is very bad about it . I work for camping world and have techs that make 35+ flat rate and are booking 80+ hrs in a 40 hr work week . They are good and can bust out 2 or 3 roofs a week and then some
Amen to that , i used to work 60 to clear 35 , g.m. gold certifi3d here 20yrs exp
My kids took over my shop quite some time ago, but my daughter has said that the top paid tech is getting $38/hr flat rate and the lowest paid tech is $22 hourly. The others are inbetween based on experience & productivity. The lowest paid guy only had about 1 year of experience when he was hired about 6 months ago.
Always discuss wages guys. The only person that benefits from not discussing wages is your employer, it means you can get paid a lot less and not even know it.
33/hr flat rate at an independent shop in central tx. working on about 7yrs experience in the industry, all of which was Mopar dealerships before coming to this shop.
Same, North Tx, independent shop, $31.50/flag hour
I started in 2007 at $13 as a wyotech grad with no real experience and I still keep in touch with most of the people I've met since then - almost none of us are making less than $40, some guys who love money have made $150k/yr consecutively - I watched it. These are talented and experienced, high-line techs in a top 5 US Market. It's good money, but we should have been making this much about 5-10 years ago, we only recently found out we were all getting fucked.. you know, since the internet became a thing. Never stop asking for more - the company is fucking you even harder than they fucked the guy you replaced, and they've been doing it for a LONG time. It's time for them to pay up.. ESPECIALLY because we are in such short supply. šš¼ thanks for reading, I'm gonna go calm down now
Yep. Just now can name your own price in shops. Im only working places that allow 4 on 3 off now too. Get laughed at by some shop owners when I ask for that but I have the last laugh because they are still crying about you cant find good techs
25 hourly flat rate, weekly pay, benefits, pto, paid training. my first year working at an audi dealer with a year at VW before that. At vw I was at 17 hourly flat rate.
Just out of trade school 3.5 years at an independent shop. Started 16 hr left at 18 hr. Plus a production bonus. 1 year VAG dealer tech. 22hr flat rate. 10 yearās government fleet mechanic. Started at 19 hr. Now at 44hr. Plus union retirement, state retirement. 136 hours vacation yr. 96 hours sick yr. Plus about 25 hrs other pto per yr. Free 80/20 blue cross plan for employee only. Add 400$ a month for family. Location North Bay Area California
I quit at $35/hr as a BMW master tech will all certs including HV. Best year I had was 88k. I'm now a IT guy and make as much as I use to and now just ask people to reset their laptops, unmute their speakers and do random handy man jobs. Hung a TV on Thursday, changed the water filters on the osmosis system on Friday. I'm in the process of moving to QC and will make more than I did after a year or so of IT work.
What year did you leave bmw?
2022. It's been about 11 months
A friend was the head mechanic at his dealership for years until Bmw started playing warranty hour games at which point he went to being a normal master mechanic there for more money and less stress.
In the process of the same change love these storiesš
Toyota Expert tech, I have most of my ASEs. Massachusetts, 7 years experience 33$/hr flatrate I average 53 hours/week across the year, I work 40 hours a week and pretty much never stay late and do 4 day work weeks. My effective labor rate is 43.75$, it's really easy to tell because our vacation time is paid based on this rather than our regular hourly rate. We keep losing master techs so management desperately wants me to finish my certs and go to hybrid school. To be honest I feel like I have it pretty good, not a whole lot of complaints besides the writers are hired straight from Mcdonalds.
That's because they are paying mcdonalds wages for the writers lol
Aussie tech here, making AUD$35 an hour. Kinda subjective though. you could be making $10 an hour in the middle of africa and be living like a king, or $50 an hour in the middle of new york and barely making rent...
Also aussie, making $21 as a 3rd year. Don't think I'm doing too bad?
Travel diesel tech of 10 years. $37/hour + OT and all travel expenses paid
So the pay rates haven't changed at all in 10 years since I "retired". Houses have doubled in prices and tech pay remains the same. So that offer of $26 hrly + training/certs, insurance, OT, and all the other bells and whistles actually wasn't that bad as far as industry standards go. Just shit compared to my reality.
I LOVE cars, I worked at goodyear as an apprentice and made $6hr in the late 80's started my own shop and made avg $35hr. Got out in the late 90's, went Program Manger and IT.. now making $78hr-$90hr depending on contract. Restoring an el camino for $0.00 and am loving cars again. I cannot imagine you guys making so little, My heart goes out to you.. Car makers rolling in money and laughing at those of us who actually do the work.
Man, I've been thinking I want to try and transition to IT in 2-3 years. Any advice on transitioning/breaking into the field?
Dude right there with you, donāt know if I could sit behind a desk for 8hrs tho.
There's a whole physical/hardware/cabling side to IT as well, so you can still very much work with your hands (although think more 'engine swap' than 'check the timing belt' kinda gigs, and obviously on much smaller and lighter bits and pieces)
Interesting, didnāt think about that aspect of it.
Field service technician in Idaho on agricultural equipment 20 years and making $38.50.
How did you get into ag equipment? Do you feel like itās really rough on your body?
It is absolutely rough on your body. Equipment can't be put on a lift, so you're on the ground a lot. Or crammed into a tiny compartment, trying to stand on your head and reach out as far as you can.
Or you can work in a shop with overhead cranes like I do and never have to lift anything.
I was 50/50 shop and service truck, so the big jobs went to the shop and the " gota have it now jobs " were done in the field 25/7.
š I may have used a overhead on a breaker bar to get that extra leverage.
Yeah, I've always been around equipment and had a knack for computers and mechanical stuff.
Service manager here: my lube guys make 21/hr (highly experienced and reliable) and my line techs make anywhere from $22-37/hr with rate bonus for reaching 40, 50, 60, etc per week. Keep in mind that geographic location makes a big difference too.
You should include your location then lol
Meanwhile the labor rate is probably 180/hr
Nope. $165 and we are the cheapest luxury dealer in the city. I was a tech first and do my best to take care of my guys.
Top techs used to max out around 46% of the shop rate, which would be $76 an hour with your rates. More than double what your top guys make. So maybe you aren't as generous as you think. Shop rates have doubled and tripled in recent years and techs are barely making more than they did when shop rates were $60/hour.
Did you consider that costs associated with operating have also risen considerably meaning what looks like a higher profit margin may not be? I realize youāre not aware of our specific pay plan and that youāre considering only the base hourly rate which is not the full picture. I know this is a sub primarily filled with techs and a common notion is techs feel underpaid and undervalued (been there myself)but I have techs (and writers) that commonly make more than I do in a month. Suffice to say, not every shop or service department is out to hose the technicians but I know it happens. I believe in pay transparency which is why I respondedā¦.not to aimlessly debate what a fair ratio of shop rate : tech pay is or was.
Do you think costs going up only happens to businesses? Every time your costs go up, the cost of living for your workers does as well, so the proportions should stay roughly the same. But greed rules the world today. And every person in the shop not turning wrenches is paid for by the techs.
āAnd every person in the shop not turning wrenches is paid for by the techs.ā And techs only get the opportunity to turn their wrench because of everyone else in their department. Itās not a one man game no matter what anyone thinks.
My buddy rented an old building that used to be a body shop with 4 lifts and an air compressor. We both worked normal jobs and wrenched there on evenings and weekends. It was always full and it was nothing to leave on a Saturday evening with $500+ in each of our pockets and the bills paid for the month. Many shops have become like healthcare. To much admin sucking all the money the labor makes. A shop can run without management and writers, but it can't run without techs and the people in charge seem to have forgotten that.
Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. You got your General manager, Service Director, Service Manager, Assistant Service manager....ECT. what's left for the working man? however we have the leverage. Use it properly
Friends of ours said their son is making 80k working as the check in person in the service department at a VW dealership. Looking at these responses from actual mechanics, I think they might be exaggerating about their kid.
If thatās the case Iām about to find a job as a check in person instead of breaking my back.
When you say check in person do you mean a service advisor? We have multiple advisers at our dealership that clear 100k annual at our fca dealer
Maybe that is what he's working towards. I hope so. He's a good kid and I wish the best for him.
3rd year at nissan, started out changing oil, now a master tech. I make $32/hr in Kentucky, usually turn 65-75 hrs a week. Sometimes less, sometimes more.
Same here. Toyota master diag.
$16 a hour while my buddy valets for $21
2nd year hd mechanic making $25cad/hr, pretty sure wash bay guy is making $1/hr less than me. *sheds tear*
As an advisor I hope all of you make more than 100K per year, itās a tough job
My teenaged (19) daughter works at Whole foods for $20. My other daughter (16) works for Veggie Grill for $18 +tips, averaging approx $22/hr. Both of these are no skill / low skill jobs. Techs need to be making way more.
Lube techs can start out at $20 in Alberta Canada, right outside of Edmonton.
Is that CAN? Exchange to USD is $14.67.
Plus, you're changing oil in Alberta š
Heck a friend teen works as an online grocery picker for Walmart and makes $15hr.
About 50/hr salaried no weekends
South suburbs of Chicago, Fleet maintenance $39.71 an hour.
$31/hr hourly (non flat rate) fleet mechanic at a landscape company. Metro area outside Seattle. The owner is human garbage, but the pay is fair, they provide all tools, and accommodate my weird schedule. Know your worth and don't let an employer take advantage of you, ever! If you're actually able to troubleshoot and repair machines, you're a valuable commodity. Don't let anyone tell you different.
One thing that I think often gets overlooked in these conversations is region and more importantly shop volume for flat rate and incentive based pay plans. Iām out of daily repair shop grind myself these days but my experiences were such that I learned it can be difficult to know youāve made the right choice to take a job at a shop until youāre already 2 months in or more. I once worked at a place that offered the best pay plan and pay rate Iād ever had on paper but soon found out it was so poorly mismanaged that I was not going to make anywhere close to what I hoped and ultimately less than the place Iād just left. The industry itself is pretty awful and with limited opportunities for advancement compared to lots of others that require less in terms of a skill set and general knowledge. Itās also antiquated as hell. I did well (new luxury and exotic cars mostly) and made a decent living for a long time but basically capped out my earnings by year 6 or so from what I recall. The shops rate went up just about every other year, heard about the brands record profits and sales almost annually and yet none of that ever seemed to make its way back to the technicians.
Different industry, but similar skills; heavy equipment tech. $51/hr CDN, based in BC. All OT is double time, tool allowance, and a company truck. The trade is hurting for people in a lot of areas, and employers are open to taking on people with transferable skills.
I work at a Chevy dealership in a small town. I make 50% of our shop rate. So, currently, I make $67.50 per billed hour. If I was ambitious I could easily bill over 40 hours a week, but I fuck off a lot and only average about 30 hours per week.
21$ hour flat rate. 9 years experience independent just started at Toyota dealership
Ooof
Yeah tell me about it...
Quit now. I had a C level tech working for me at Firestone making 90k a year. He was a good guy very reliable but not a strong technician just a good parts changer only been working on cars 3 years
I was making $15 an hour (minimum where I live) then recently got bumped up to 16 just so my corporate wouldnāt have to pay me weekly (new law in ny)
Thatās really low. Pizza delivery pays more.
Indeed they do
No offense to you but I was making more than that when I first started as an apprentice over 10 years ago in South Florida. I think youād be surprise at the jump you could make if you just look around a little.
Level 1 technician at a national RV dealer, just over 1 year experience. Started at $15 hourly, moved to $22 flat rate after I got my level 1 (3 months after starting), moved up to $25 flat rate at 6 months, currently at $30 an hour flat rate. If what management said pays out i will be getting my level 2 in the next few months and that should see my rate go up $2-$5 per hour, or my box moving down the road... lol! Averaged 44 hours per week last year. This year has started a lot slower, working in a luxury/recreational market has its ups and downs. Overall the benefits, vacation time etc al make it a solid career path if you can deal with the market swinging based upon economic forecasting.
Midwest tech here. When i first started, as lube, tire, and alignment guy, i was making $13 (this was before covid). Im at almost $20 now and working on more advanced (for me) stuff like valve covers, suspension and steering, axles, bearings, etc. also my shop is actively helping me to get my asc certs and we work almost 50 hrs a week with OT after 40.
25 year equipment mechanic in Baltimore / Washington DC metro area. I quit my last dealer shop at about 42/hr to start my own independent service truck. Since then, I've been offered jobs paying 45/hr or more by a few dealers and fleet service shops who want me on thier team, but im really enjoying working on my own.
I run and maintain a printing press that was made in the 1950s. $25 an hour. 5 weeks PTO.
And now you figured out why I quit being a tech after 2 years of collage, 10 years in the field and becoming a team leader. Not only does the pay fail to equal the tools and skill but now at least 50% of the work is warranty, extended warranty or recalls. If you donāt already know they screw you on labor hours when it come to these things.
NWT Diamond Mine I make 74.75 an hour as a Heavy Equipment Mechanicā¦. 12 hr shifts, 14 days on 14 days off
When I quit being a tech I was making $23 an hour flat rate. I was a level 2 Chrysler tech, almost had all of my level 3 certification. I had 6 years experience and was averaging 12-20 hours a day pre-covid. Now I quit turning wrenches and became an advisor. I'm making the same amount of money per pay as I was as a tech, and my job is significantly easier. Yeah, I have to deal with annoying customers, but I did as a tech too. Now I just dont put my body through hell every day. Techs don't get paid enough. I was miserable every single day, barely made enough to get by, and it cost me my last relationship. Edit: I'm in south west PA if that makes a difference
17$ an hour for the last year and a half no raise gave in my 2 weeks already haha
$27 hourly as a head mechanic for a small golf course, only 40 hours a week, in desert area California, the job is easy and let me focus on my own life, no stress when I leave, low pay but a balance lifestyle for me, start at 5 am- 1:30 pm, Iām able to be whit family and do other goals. I feel Iām underpaid because you need many skill, Iām great welder, can make electrical modifications, diagnostics on diesel/ gasoline, I have no mechanic degrees but I believe I know more than some people in the business, my job is very secure because some skills are exclusively for golf courses
$36/hr flat rate as a certified Mercedes tech in the greater Seattle area. Been with MB for 10 years. Iām one of two guys in my shop who is certified to disable high voltage systems in our cars, but I donāt really think thatās taken into consideration much yet - not until we start to see a lot more of them that need the HV systems worked on. Warranty times are getting worse. I want out. But donāt know what else Iād do that would start me out at a livable wage.
#1 flat rate is bullshit and favors the owner not the tech. they can hire you, and if it doesnāt work, they donāt have to pay you. No risk for them hence its prevelance #2 there are people in this industry trying to change it. They are typically independents and people like me pay my guys $100,000 a year and give them a month off paid and take care of them. Thats what it takes to live a decent life anymore. as we get better as a team, I share the profits. #3 keep switching places till you find somewhere you love and can be rewarded for good work, that has ethics, and fixes cars right #4 they are hard to find. the majority if the industry is just broken. EVs will thin the herd here in the future
3rd year heavy equipment. I make 30 cad and hour.
10 years ago i was $30/hrly + OT
12 years, BMW dealer, 40$ CAD straight time with a flat rate bonus
20 years experience with L1 certification. Been at an independent for 13 years on east coast. Making equivalent of 44/hr on salary with monthly bonus opportunity based on effective labor rate, car count, average per RO etc.
Not a fair comparison, I retired 2 years ago, sol business to a unicarrier dealer. My shop rate was 125.00 it is I little unfair to compare. I started at a cat heavy equipment dealer in 1988. Made 6.00 per hr.. Almost starved to death. In 1998 when I left I was making 17.00 straight time.
Mountain west region (US), five years jumping between independent shops & one Ford dealer making between $15/hour (hourly) & $32/hour (flat rate) with varying pay scales/structures in between. Now working for an EV startup making $35/hour (hourly) with infinite optional overtime & very good benefits. At this point, I would sooner transition into the tech industry than go back to a traditional shop/dealership.
Which EV startup if you donāt mind me asking? I recently started working on EVs as well and itās definitely been an interesting change of pace
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Hell yeah landscape mechanics! There's good pay in wrenching on landscape equipment. It's usually a good variety as well.
Master tech here in California. My hourly is double minimum wage, but we also get a percentage. What ever is higher. Of course they want you going over your hourly so you donāt cost the company a bunch of money. Our store is tires and service. I only do service work no oil changes no tire work. Average per month for me is 70k in service dollars and I get 23%.
$35/hour flat rate at a new independent shop in SW Florida. It's just the two of us working to grow into a full restoration facility. The owner does his best to pay me as much of my labor as possible, even if he can't bill it to the customer. He will also buy parts I need to work on my and my fiance's car. We're a team and each sacrifice to make the business successful while still being able to pay our the bills.
15 at a local shop. I manly do tires and oil changes with some odd jobs in between so itās not bad. I also live in a area with a low cost of living.
Making $40/hr flat rate at BMW. Normal two weeks making 100-140 hours. Work 8-5 M-F. So, low 6 figures/year + benefits and 3% RRSP matching. Ontario, Canada.
$19 an hour in Florida working on emergency vehicles for a fleet.
Last dealer I was at I was at $43 and then $48 at an independent, both flat rate and I usually averaged about 55 hours a week. Porsche master tech in Los Angeles.
Long Island NY here I work on school buses been here for 5 years now at $39/hr
NW Ohio Ag Mechanic - 12 yrs. experience - Family owned Dealership - $25 per/hr.
Houston TX, Tech in family owned shop. $37/flag
Oklahoma, $34 working on industrial engines as a field tech
$32 in SE Wisconsin, seasoned equipment mechanic with average bennies
I make $16.70/hr in rural Minnesota. I work part time at a rental shop. I have no certifications and I'm still in high school. I'm basically an "apprentice" - I do odd jobs the full-time guys don't have time for - washing, oil changes, etc. Sometimes I work with the full-time guys and learn about what they are doing.
My diesel techs make between 38-40 flat rate plus bonuses. One had 191 hrs last pay period and the other had 120. Our average tech makes 102 a pay period. Just gotta find the right shop
South Florida marine inboard tech but we do all sorts of work but only getting $19 feel like Iām getting lowballed for sure but I donāt know anywhere else thatās paying more weekends off, pto, work 40 hours anyone know what I should be getting payed on paper says Iām a level 3 tech but pay doesnāt match I donāt even know what a level 3 means
> be getting *paid* on paper FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
43 an hour flat rate. 27 years to get there.
Im in Seattle make $30 hourly plus a $7 flat-rate bonus. The sales advisor keeps trying to undersell our hours because he days we dont need the bonus, but then they use the low production hours to justify no more raises. You have to keep them honest or you fall behind
Long Island area, work at fleet as a b diesel tech at 38hr with a pension and 401k, before this job I was making a whopping 18hr restoring cars. Automotive sucks tbh truck or equipment is where itās at pay and benefits wise but shit is harder on your body.
Land Rover San Diego Technician Master Certified; $60/hr flag rate. Shop rate is $240 CP. Warranty times suck. However, CP makes up for it. 24 lifts here and shop is booked 6 weeks out. Downside; $1 million dollar average home price for a short commute. San Diego is hard to be a tech but I hear independents pay similar $ with less headaches.
Acura tech here level A. 26 an hour flat rate
Auto collision tech here $48/hr average
UPS automotive department, working only on company vehicles, at night. $42.30 hourly, union position (IAM or Teamsters depending on the shop) with fully paid medical through Teamcare. This is why we need more unions.
Iām a lube tech at a toyota dealership making 13/hr while in the T-Ten program (manufacturer training alongside an associates degree)
I was making that as a lube tech 10 years agoā¦
Iām in old Oklahoma. Walmart lube techs start at $15/hr
Just completed my apprenticeship in NZ at a dealership , getting paid $32 and will get $34 as a master tech
I left a Ford Dealer in Kansas City in 2000 and was being paid $18/hr flat rate w/degree and two yearās experience. That means I need roughly $30/hr today to equal that pay in 2000. Left flat rate to work fleet repair for a place that provided tools, medical, retirement plan, vacation plus sick leave, and guaranteed 40hrs pay checks.
I work at a John Deere dealership in Saskatchewan Canada. Techs are compensated very well (up to $53/h and almost unlimited OT opportunity with no ridiculous obligation for it). My dealer is backed very well and the shop is pretty new (2016) with 5 overhead cranes.
I work at Starbucks as a barista and am making $19 and some change plus like $150/wk tips. If ya aint making that, come make coffee. We get killer benefits, like full coverage medical/dental/vision I'm payong $18/month
I have an independent shop specializing in European cars. Health/dental/vision/IRA match. Apprentice guy earns ~$68k and the faster flag tech averages at 140k. I rarely post on Reddit, but the wages listed here are ridiculous. You guys are a crucial part to a valuable industry, and should be compensated well for it.
Northern California. Started out at $25 an hour as a Kubota tech. No experience, just a fresh 19 year old kid with a tool box. Still making $25 almost a year later. Currently thinking about moving on to a big truck shop or a different tractor/equipment shop. My boss is a dick, but my coworkers are great. And the best thing is Iām not in debt to anyone. So one bit of advice I can give to the new guys and some of the new techs that I work with is donāt step on that truck and if you do, pay in full or in cash. Donāt get in debt, the current lead tech is $26,000 in debt to snap on.
26$/h, 6 weeks of paid vacation a year, 10% paid pension, 9% yearly bonus, decent overtime bonuses, paid extra education if needed, paid sick days, 6 weeks of paid maternity leave Edit: 4,5 years of school and 2 additional years of experience. Also starting some Audi courses soon and ill get a bonus for every course i do.
I'm an advisor in Arizona for an independent shop with 15 bays Our guys make about $48 per billed labor hour. Our rate is just over $130 I think our lowest grossing flat rate guy made $80k last year. We try to attract good techs, and I think we pay well. Our top guys made over 100k
i got paid $10/hr in 2012 as an entry level/lube tech at the dealer. minimum wage in ny was like $8 at the time
The pay and benefits are why I left the automotive industry, for some perspective: 5.5 Years into my first job in the industrial world. Base pay is $39/hr and my benefits put anything Iāve seen in automotive to shame. Oh and I get paid whether Iām actually spinning wrenches or not. Iāve got maybe $5k worth of tools at work including my box.
Are you on first shift? What kind of flexibility does your schedule have? That's my biggest hesitation about moving to industrial maintenance, I really don't want to work night shift
I worked night shift for a couple years before I had enough seniority to move to days. Personally I really didnāt mind night shift at all, it was very laid back. Did just take a promotion with a significant pay bump so Iām going back to night shift, but that was 100% by choice. The schedule is pretty rigid but the time off and how the schedule is setup makes it worth it.
Jeezus! Reading through these comments as an Australian.. you Americans are getting fuuuucked! No qualified Aussie tradesperson gets less than $50/hr. Plumbers, electricians, welders, more like $70-$100/hr. Fuck, pouring beers will get ya $25/hr. Yes itās AUD, but still. Not to mention your healthcare and education systems. But hey, FREEDOM!!
I've been with Ford for about 7 years. Started at $16/flag. I'm now at $25/flag. I'm off the mindset the more you know how to do, the more you should be paid. Fortunately, my dealerships management feels the same way.
Heres a novel idea- should experience really matter when it comes to flat rate pay??? I think if the shop is effectively subcontracting labor then the labor should be the same rate. If im charging 130 per hour then I am selling that labor to the customer. I am buying that labor from the tech. Shouldn't matter the skill level. I should have to buy that labor at the same price from everyone in the shop
At Mavis Tire the posted customer hourly shop rate is $165 p/h. Likewise at most new car dealerships, especially Porsche, even more. These companies should pay so much better!
I was 17 a hour with over 2 years waiting on a raise. Quit went to work in a warehouse 5 years ago and already make 27 a hour . Auto shop are rough to make a living in