F***** Scam artists...

[Mustangman25]

OK...I dropped off my car last night at a local Ford dealer for an inspection, and to get my tranny fluid changed...I figured that since they would have it up on a lift anyways, I could ask them to rotate my tires for me thinking that it would be a free, or very cheap service. I approved all charges for the above services when I dropped it off, as I knew how much it would cost to change the fluid, and get the car inspected, and I also expected tire rotation to be something I wouldn't have to worry about. I called the dealer a few hours ago to get the total charge so that I could bring the correct amount, only to find out that they charged me $20 to rotate the tires! $20 for something I could do in 10 minutes if I had the time...I'm very pissed at the dealer right now...I know it's partly my fault for approving the charges in advance, but $20 to rotate four tires is ridiculous IMO.

[bluechevelle]

Well, since you diddn't have the time to rotate the tires yourself, $20 isan't to bad. Who doesn't have 10 minutes anyway?

[Mustangman25]

It's not that I don't have 10 minutes, but I don't have any jackstands, and don't feel like buying some when I figured the dealer could do it as a complementary service...I may just go out and buy some thie weekend...

[bluechevelle]

I'd buy some, they will save you money in the future.

[GMMerlin]

Originally Posted by Mustangman25

OK...I dropped off my car last night at a local Ford dealer for an inspection, and to get my tranny fluid changed...I figured that since they would have it up on a lift anyways, I could ask them to rotate my tires for me thinking that it would be a free, or very cheap service. I approved all charges for the above services when I dropped it off, as I knew how much it would cost to change the fluid, and get the car inspected, and I also expected tire rotation to be something I wouldn't have to worry about. I called the dealer a few hours ago to get the total charge so that I could bring the correct amount, only to find out that they charged me $20 to rotate the tires! $20 for something I could do in 10 minutes if I had the time...I'm very pissed at the dealer right now...I know it's partly my fault for approving the charges in advance, but $20 to rotate four tires is ridiculous IMO.

Well, well, well another person who thinks people should do something for them for nothing.
You asked them to rotate the tires and you approved the charges...its not partially your fault....its ALL YOUR FAULT!
Dont blame the dealer, they did what you asked them to do.

You obviously dont understand that people (service technicians) get paid for what they do..its called flat rate..each job pays a certain amount of money (in hours).
If a tech doesnt turn hours he doesnt get paid....and unlike a lot of jobs, techs are required to supply their own tools and a techs investment in tools can run in the thousands of dollars,,,my investment is over 75K...and that was paid for solely by me..none of the dealers I worked for compensated me a dime for any tool I purchased...
Professional grade tools are expensive! Go to sears and price a wrench..it will run you 5-10 dollars..go to the Snap On truck and price one..about 4 times that!

I bet the first thing that comes out of you mouth at work when someone asks you to do something is "I better get paid for this" or "I dont work for free" and its a good bet that you don't have a signifigant investment in the tools of your trade...car detailer...sponge, bucket and maybe a buffer..150 bucks and probally get paid by the hour..so if your sitting on your ass you still get paid..cry me a fucking river
Bet you get pissed off if you don't get tipped after washing someones car........

[Mustangman25]

I would argue, but I have to admit that you raise good points. I never realized that service techs get paid in that fashion...just one question: how does a tech get paid when a dealer offers free oil changes for life, or other routine maintenence for a long time? I guess the same could be said for warrenty claims...

[GMMerlin]

Originally Posted by Mustangman25

I would argue, but I have to admit that you raise good points. I never realized that service techs get paid in that fashion...just one question: how does a tech get paid when a dealer offers free oil changes for life, or other routine maintenence for a long time? I guess the same could be said for warrenty claims...

There is a cost to doing business..some costs are absorbed by the consumer, some by the dealer and some by the manufacturer,,ultimately the consumer absorbs all costs..
The service tech is paid on a flat rate scale..this means that each job pays a certain amount in hours or partial hours..if the tech is able to perform the repair in less time then alloted, he makes money..if he takes longer then the alloted time he losses money..in most cases techs lose money..if you take the time they are actually at work and the amount of hours they turn you will find that they make less hours than what they actually work.
Lets say that a job pays .8 of an hour..this means it should take 48 minutes to complete the repair..if the tech does the repair in 30 minutes he gets paid for the full 48 minutes...if he does the repair in 60 minutes, he only gets paid for the 48 minutes the job pays.
You would think this is a pretty sweet deal..and sometimes it is, but you have to add a lot of factors into the time equation...roadtesting the vehicle twice..once to verify the concern and once to verify the repair, time spent dealing with the service advisor and parts department, time spent waiting for parts or for the customers OK, time spent looking up service information..etc..so you can see that there is a lot more involved in the process other than diagnosis and repair.
Now with that being said, time to answer your question.
You actually are paying for the "free maintenance" , the service discount when you argue a repair or for warranty repairs..the price you pay for warranty is rolled into the price of the vehicle when you purchased it..the auto maker uses warranty costs as one determining factor in setting the price for the car.
Sometimes the "free maintenace" if offered by the auto maker is also rolled into the sticker price.
You pay for people who play the "OK the repair up front then argue the price at the time of pickup so I'll get a discount and post my victory on the internet" game in the way of higher labor costs across the board..the tech only receives between 18 to 23% of the total labor charges on your bill and out of that money has to purchase his own tools and usually has to pay part of the weekly charges for his uniform.
Usually on deals such as "free maintenance for life" the tech must do this service at a lower flat rate scale than he would for some technical diagnostic work...so say a tech made $15 a flat rate hour, he would make $10 a flat rate hour for doing your "free maintenance"
Warranty repairs usually pay less flat rate hours than customer pay work and the auto makers nic pick every charge a dealer makes to them (the automaker is worse than a paying customer at disputing charges) if the repair is not properly documented and the old part sent back for testing, the entire bill can be charged back to the dealer..in some cases the dealers will back charge the tech for his part of the labor.
Can a tech survive and make a living..yes, but it takes a lot of long hard hours and a lot of out of pocket expenses to make a living as a tech..why do a lot of techs do "side work" at their homes..it aint because they love working on cars, but they need to pay the bills...personally I was spending 10-12 hours a day (50-60 hours weekly) working at the dealer and another 2-3 hours nightly along with 6-8 hours on weekends working in my shop at home to make a living...you can see now why techs burn out at a young age.

[Mustangman25]

Really eye opening...thanks a lot

[rice(er)]

$5 bucks a tire :22yikes:

[bcopeland]

GMMerlin is right! In accounting language, its called overhead, G&A etc. In auto repair talk, its called "shop rags". Its all the same. If a repair shop is not smart enough to recoup these charges and to pay for all (ALL) of the employees, they WILL go out of business. Its whatever service pays the biggest dividends.