Question about automotive technician pay

[J-Ri]

This is a question for experienced automotive technicians. The owner of the shop I work at requested that we all fill out some questions about how happy we are there. One of the questions is "How much money do you think you should make?". I've never had trouble making ends meet, or even short on money to blow on fun stuff. But I figure I may as well make more if anyone else is

To compare "apples to apples"... I have an associates degree in automotive technology, am ASE certified in 3 areas (only went to one test group, I could pass them all), been employed at the shop for 5 years and am "tied for first" on the day shift in terms of knowledge and skill. I have never made a negligent mistake that cost money or lost a customer, am very professional, and am usually early.

So what does everyone in a similar position make total, including base pay/commission/production bonuses, etc.? The poll's anonymous.

[xeroinfinity]

What ever you answered J-Ri, I hope it was more than what you make!

I pay my guys good, between $14-20hr, plus comission. The more they fix the more you make, its just fair.

I worked at a stealership for a little over 8 years back in the day.
I was next in line to be shop manager and they gave it to some other brown noser who didnt know squat! Wasnt even curtious to customers. I worked in the shop plus ran the counter and delt with customers most of every day, so I just told them to kiss my A$$! I was making $15.60hr plus commission and that was 1996.

Key point is diagnosing and doing the job right the first time, and well... under Mitchells time.
But Im the boss now. So I make the most and I still get my hands dirty daily just like the rest of the guys. Though I can take off generaly anytime I want- and feel secure they wont burn the place down.

Most Tecs are under paid IMO.

[J-Ri]

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

What ever you answered J-Ri, I hope it was more than what you make!

Dang, I knew I shouldn't have said I'd work for less . I'd be gone so fast if they made any pay cut... I almost quit a little over a year ago because of some things that are barely tolerable. But a couple days before I was going to put in my two weeks they told us we were moving to a much bigger and nicer building. The new shop is so nice I've stuck around just because it's without a doubt the nicest in town. Plus everyone in the shop gets along great. He wants us to answer by Wednesday, which is the reason I decided to post the poll.

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

I pay my guys good, between $14-20hr, plus comission. The more they fix the more you make, its just fair.

Is that $20 plus they make commission on top of that or that's including commission? I make $8.15 an hour just to be there. Then I make $25 commission for each hour I bill, but the first $1,000 (monthly) of that goes to the shop. Seems a bit overcomplicated, I think the reason they do it like that is so that when we take vacation it reduces the commission we make by quite a bit, so it's more just time off than paid vacation. They've raised the labor rate twice since I've been there, so I think at the very least we're in for a cost of living increase... which I was thinking about asking for soon anyway.

We also do a pretty thorough check of every vehicle, takes about 20 minutes to do (set tire pressures, check/record condition of: tread depth [and record tire size if less than 5/32"], belt, tensioner, air filter, all exterior lights, windshield washer/wiper, battery age and load test, and the level and condition of all fluids and top off any as necessary. If we have to put it up in the air for any reason we have to check tie rod ends, ball joints, fuel filter [pretty much just guess at the age based on rust], record fluid leaks). We do that on EVERY car, even if it comes in just to have a light bulb replaced. And we have to record all of the vehicle info, even if it's been in the shop dozens of times already (year, make, model, license plate number, odometer, VIN, engine size, fwd/rwd/4wd/awd, A/T or M/T, disc/drum brakes and whether or not it has ABS). Even if it's in to have a light bulb changed, even if it's very recognizable (has 20 bumper stickers on, has a "memorable" owner, etc.) and we know for a fact it has been in the shop before (and therefore should have had everything put into the computer). The only time I don't have to do the checks is when I remember a vehicle was in for an oil change (or whatever), and it comes to me for a repair, nobody tells me it's been checked 2 days ago and doesn't need to be checked again, unless we're running behind, then they'll tell me if I'm still working on it when they want it out of the shop. And then it's usually my fault that it took a bit longer than book time. I've talked to the owners son (who's soon to be the boss) about that, and he keeps saying it's up to the service writer. So all the checks/getting info takes a lot of time out of our days. It wouldn't be a big deal if the service writer actually tried to sell things that were needed, but I've seen him enter the license plate and odometer into the computer and then throw the sheet in the trash without reading anything I wrote down. Unfortunately the owners son is friends with the service writer, so anything I say pretty much goes in one ear and out the other... or he says he'll talk to him and nothing ever changes, or the service writer treats us like s--- for a few days after he gets a talking to, to get "revenge" or show us he's the boss, or whatever. Wow, that went on a ways, I know this is the wrong forum for stress release . Anyway, as a shop owner, what are your thoughts on that? Should we get paid for doing the check even though, if the service writer always did his job, we would get more work as a result?

Also, are you in a larger city or a more rural area? From what I've seen that makes a pretty big difference in pay. What do you pay them as a percentage of your labor rate? What benefits do you give them?

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

Key point is diagnosing and doing the job right the first time, and well... under Mitchells time.

My diagnosis is almost always right (I'd guess 99% or better), repair is always right the first time (not to say that noises don't appear that "weren't there before you worked on it", or something may occasionally leak after a few days of operation), and if it weren't for all those checks/info I'd almost always be under book time... I billed 40-some hours last week and we work 35 hour weeks. That's with all the unnecessary work they make us do.

[TheDevilIKnow]

Very interesting post here. I didn't expect to have to do any Math on the forum. If my calculations are in the ballpark you would gross in the neighborhood of $55,000.00 annually for your hard work. That's not considering vacation arangements or benefit plans that may be in place.

This pay range really depends on a lot of factors like operating overhead, size of operation etc. etc. Maybe there are 10 other fabulous mechanics knocking on the owners door for your job. If your shop is large and the go-to place around your area you should probably be making more. Tough to provide support for family, transportation and have cash left for all the toys. (You mention you're not too hard done by)

It would be great to hear other shop owners post what they do to keep the best mechanics in their employ. It's not just money most of the time.

Don't like to see a lot of friction between service writer and mechanics in a shop.

[J-Ri]

You would be right, but with the forced wasted time every day, and the fact that lots of what should get sold doesn't... it's less. Last week was what I'm capable of (probably could have done a bit better), but it's not a typical work load. When the service writer is on vacation and the owners son fills in in the office, that's fairly typical. Everything gets sold and we work the whole time we're there... no waiting around for parts that should have been ordered and delivered days ago, no waiting for for him to stop checking his personal e-mail... here I go again, wrong forum Benefits are nothing special and 1 week of "paid" (explained in above post) vacation after one year, 2 weeks at 10 years. I keep getting more and more tired of dealing with this shit every day, I probably won't get to 2 weeks.

Overhead is very low, the building's paid off and the owner probably made at least $500k (yes, profit) on a deal moving from our old place (national chain bought his lot on the corner of two busy streets). There are 10 technicians between 2 shifts, with one open bay... That said, I'd guess people aren't lining up. At least two of the guys I went to college with worked there and quit because they couldn't stand either service writer (although the night time guy isn't that bad, just a little goofy sometimes), so it probably isn't the top pick for most people. I guess I can tolerate a lot more than most people... But anyway, we are one of the most recommended shops in town. I live 15 miles from where I work, and while talking to one of my neighbors one day, I discovered that they used to take their cars to the shop I work at. Coincidentally, they stopped going there when the current service writer was hired. Almost everyone has good things to say about the work we do, but a lot of people have complaints about the customer service... which for some reason they tell me, not the owner. Sorry, meant to keep this out of the "stress release" forum... I really did. My financial well-being is due mostly to good financial advice from a family member, not from getting paid a lot... I guess I could have said that better.

I, too, would like to see what shop owners do to keep good employees.

I agree, I don't like to see friction there either... but once you completely stop caring, it gets a lot easier... probably not a good thing.

[kris]

When I turned wrenches I made $32hr flat rate. No formal schooling, a few ASE's and I owned the majority of the tools I used. There was the occasional specialty tool I needed to borrow from the shop owners set. This was a performance shop and I worked there for three years or so.

The general auto repair shop I worked at I started at $15hr flat rate and made it up to $22hr.

[xeroinfinity]

Sorry for the late reply, Ive just been busy as hell!

Originally Posted by J-Ri

Is that $20 plus they make commission on top of that or that's including commission? I make $8.15 an hour just to be there. Then I make $25 commission for each hour I bill, but the first $1,000 (monthly) of that goes to the shop. Seems a bit overcomplicated, I think the reason they do it like that is so that when we take vacation it reduces the commission we make by quite a bit, so it's more just time off than paid vacation. They've raised the labor rate twice since I've been there, so I think at the very least we're in for a cost of living increase... which I was thinking about asking for soon anyway.

It all depends on the job and who's doing it. 4 of my guys are 8-12 years older then me, Im 40. Two others are about the same age as me. All good honest guys, and self motivated which is a plus. Usualy dont need to tell anyone what to be doing or get busy. lol
If its a restore job, they're making $20hr plus up to 12% commision. If its just simple mantenance or some other easy job they'll make less, $14ish plus smaller commision. Major electriacl nightmares, $15-20hr plus up to 10% comm.
Everyone here is ASE Cert., the older guys do make more, but they know a lot more.
I would look at some body damage and be way outtta the ballpark on price quotes, but they usualy hit the nail on the head. But Im not realy a body man , though I do love to paint !

Originally Posted by J-Ri

We also do a pretty thorough check of every vehicle, takes about 20 minutes to do (set tire pressures, check/record condition of: tread depth [and record tire size if less than 5/32"], belt, tensioner, air filter, all exterior lights, windshield washer/wiper, battery age and load test, and the level and condition of all fluids and top off any as necessary. If we have to put it up in the air for any reason we have to check tie rod ends, ball joints, fuel filter [pretty much just guess at the age based on rust], record fluid leaks). We do that on EVERY car, even if it comes in just to have a light bulb replaced. And we have to record all of the vehicle info, even if it's been in the shop dozens of times already (year, make, model, license plate number, odometer, VIN, engine size, fwd/rwd/4wd/awd, A/T or M/T, disc/drum brakes and whether or not it has ABS). Even if it's in to have a light bulb changed, even if it's very recognizable (has 20 bumper stickers on, has a "memorable" owner, etc.) and we know for a fact it has been in the shop before (and therefore should have had everything put into the computer). The only time I don't have to do the checks is when I remember a vehicle was in for an oil change (or whatever), and it comes to me for a repair, nobody tells me it's been checked 2 days ago and doesn't need to be checked again, unless we're running behind, then they'll tell me if I'm still working on it when they want it out of the shop. And then it's usually my fault that it took a bit longer than book time. I've talked to the owners son (who's soon to be the boss) about that, and he keeps saying it's up to the service writer. So all the checks/getting info takes a lot of time out of our days. It wouldn't be a big deal if the service writer actually tried to sell things that were needed, but I've seen him enter the license plate and odometer into the computer and then throw the sheet in the trash without reading anything I wrote down. Unfortunately the owners son is friends with the service writer, so anything I say pretty much goes in one ear and out the other... or he says he'll talk to him and nothing ever changes, or the service writer treats us like s--- for a few days after he gets a talking to, to get "revenge" or show us he's the boss, or whatever. Wow, that went on a ways, I know this is the wrong forum for stress release . Anyway, as a shop owner, what are your thoughts on that? Should we get paid for doing the check even though, if the service writer always did his job, we would get more work as a result?

That check list is pretty common anymore. The more info on a vehicle you have the better off you are down the road. But yes you should get paid for that, it is work.
You could be doing lets say a water pump, but notice something else is wrong(mention to customer to come back ) or you fix one thing and then 2-3 days later they come back and say something else is wrong, or been tampered with, you gotta cover your ass these days!
And then Ive heard the "weakest link" scenario from shops when I was younger, what a crock!

Originally Posted by J-Ri

Also, are you in a larger city or a more rural area? From what I've seen that makes a pretty big difference in pay. What do you pay them as a percentage of your labor rate? What benefits do you give them?

I work in Rensselaer, IN , population around 12,000. We have excellent insurance with eye/dental/hospitalization and prescription coverage. Its like 80/20 once the $400 deductibles met its usualy 100% coverage.
We make a lot of business from many areas, not just cars and light trucks.
We work on everything and anything that'll fit through the door.
The bad jobs are when you have to go out into some field and drag a combine 300-400 ft to the road to haul it in. Plus I have several machining/welding jobs that we run continously for companies/vendors. All sorts of stuff going on here, not a dull day in sight!

And we only work monday-friday 8-5, though some weekends are voluntary. Unless its something that was promised to be done by Friday, but didnt quiet get done, then that tech is manditory for at least 4 hrs to finish it up on Saturday. But if they want to work 7 days a week, thier's always work to be done. They average 40-45hr wk, though summers are busy could get 60+hrs in a wk if they want.

And it is a tough market out there these days!
So we/you gotta be on the ball and keep our shops Rep. good.
Not just a cake walk like most would lead you to beleve in real world situations.

Im in the middle of a divorce right now, so I cant realy say exactly what I make, but its more then $70k a year.
And the majority of that, goes right back into the shop.

Hope that helped explain, you probably should be making more!

Enjoy your weekend guys!

[J-Ri]

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

That check list is pretty common anymore. The more info on a vehicle you have the better off you are down the road. But yes you should get paid for that, it is work.
You could be doing lets say a water pump, but notice something else is wrong(mention to customer to come back ) or you fix one thing and then 2-3 days later they come back and say something else is wrong, or been tampered with, you gotta cover your ass these days!
And then Ive heard the "weakest link" scenario from shops when I was younger, what a crock!

I hadn't thought of it as "covering your ass", I can understand that a lot better than "we told you to". Plus the service writer doesn't try to sell anything (or much) based on the inspecction, and from stuff that's "come back" on me that I'm 100% sure that I noted, I know he doesn't always even get it on the ticket. I don't really mind doing the inspection, but it's ridiculous that they pay technicians $8.15/hr for this, especially since they take the $1000 out of commission every month to pay our base pay. And we have a guy for oil changes that stands around and does nothing for hours a day and makes $8.00/hr for standing there (or worse, coming over to me and talking about stupid shit) while I'm checking the oil level... and he doesn't come close to the $1,000 mark for commission, it's free money for him. I don't care if we wash and detail the entire car, as long as we get paid real money to do it. You'll have to explain the "'weakest link' scenario" to me .

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

I work in Rensselaer, IN , population around 12,000. We have excellent insurance with eye/dental/hospitalization and prescription coverage. Its like 80/20 once the $400 deductibles met its usualy 100% coverage.

Do you guys have 401(k)? Any employer match? How much, if any, paid vacation?

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

Im in the middle of a divorce right now, so I cant realy say exactly what I make, but its more then $70k a year.
And the majority of that, goes right back into the shop.

Hope that helped explain, you probably should be making more!

Enjoy your weekend guys!

Sorry to hear about the divorce, good luck with all that.

That helped a lot, especially the difference in pay... typically someone in a town of 12,000 doesn't make more (or have better benefits) than someone in a city of over 120,000.

You have a good weekend too!

Originally Posted by kris

When I turned wrenches I made $32hr flat rate. No formal schooling, a few ASE's and I owned the majority of the tools I used. There was the occasional specialty tool I needed to borrow from the shop owners set. This was a performance shop and I worked there for three years or so.

Did you have any benefits along with the $32/hr? Any other compensation of any kind?

Thanks to everyone for the input, looks like I'm in for a raise or a new job... I'd be happy with either

[kris]

Originally Posted by J-Ri

Did you have any benefits along with the $32/hr? Any other compensation of any kind?

Thanks to everyone for the input, looks like I'm in for a raise or a new job... I'd be happy with either

Basic health, that was it. Not 401k, etc.

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by J-Ri

Do you guys have 401(k)? Any employer match? How much, if any, paid vacation?

No 401/403k but we have discussed it. We're just small time, if I had 40-50 employees, maybe then we'd have 401k.

I've realy wanted to just do nothing but performance and custom work, no maintenance BS. Your basic tuner shop, but in this area, we wouldnt make what we do now, so my dreams are on hold.

Yeah in this small community, the stealerships still charges $120+ hr for labor.