I’ve been on flat rate for a little bit now so far I been able to make around 45-50 hours a week. I’m 23 I’m also breaking my back to do it 😭😭😭 I’m sure if I stay in the industry I can become a little bit more efficient than I am now. But at the same time it’s all to much and the stores about worrying about if gone be able to make a check is stressful enough.
I’ve been on flat rate for a little bit now so far I been able to make around 45-50 hours a week. I’m 23 I’m also breaking my back to do it 😭😭😭 I’m sure if I stay in the industry I can become a little bit more efficient than I am now. But at the same time it’s all to much and the stores about worrying about if gone be able to make a check is stressful enough
Nah I just use a set of needle nose pliers. Have my gauge plugged in to the air hose that way I don’t waste time unplugging and plugging attachments. FR got me fucked up 😭
What I don’t get is why can’t some of these mechanics simply start an LLC. Doing little stuff with a jack and blocks; nothing major but if you’re licensed and certified you can start taking clients; small pool of people, do exceptional work and acquire excellent reviews. I mean, what am I missing? 🤷🏽♂️
This is more like "what annoys the shit out of you' lmao. Every single thing ta said was personal experiences that pisaed you off lmao.. you should tag all those cheap ass tool newbies and tell them how ya really feel lmao. I think the Hyper Tools are the best ever. Outperform Snap-on in every category and they right at Wal-Mart hahahabaa....
Hey, where ya at in NJ? Just picked up a 99m3 and working on getting it mechanically sound. I deffneed diff bushings, what else should I replace while doing diff repair? Im looking for a good bmw mechanic that knows the car, ya know anyone? I'm solo on this e36 journey lol.
Im a flat rate technician and i make over a 100k a year. What happens is that it hard for a young technician that doesnt have much experience also some shops steal from technicians.
Find out your state requirements and do whatever they require to get the license. who knows, you may live in a non-licensed state there are some of them out there. After you get your license get with me and I will tell you how to get business
Flat rate only applies to brand new vehicles within warranty specs. So I charge as many hours as I feel fit on a 200,000 mile rust belt car. Fuck flat rate
When I worked at Ford dealers in the 80s 90s and 2000s we had an inspection sheet that was made for the service writers in the drive to check the windshield wipers and the light bulbs, etc. I believe it was 105 point inspection. but they handed it off the technicians to do. So as time went by I know exactly what you're talking about with oil changes that's pretty much all we did I was even 50 years old busting tires! When I went in to the Ford training center everybody was talking to the trainer and he was stunned that they would put someone through so much training and have them change oil! Then he told us that the inspection sheets were never made for the technicians they were made for the service writers to fill out in the drive!
You sound like a whiny C tech or B tech that sucks at his job. I make way more on flat rate than I would on hourly or salary. It has its up sides and downsides. Some brands pay better than others. The easy brands don’t pay shit but no one wants to go work at the harder brands. 99% of my repair orders at diag work and I’m always able to sell something
I’ve been at a small Chevy dealership for the past 2 yrs. It’s the go to shop in the county and we work on all makes. The pay is hourly and we get overtime after 8 hrs every day. They provide snacks and caffeine, I really can’t complain. The pay isn’t super great but I also have less than 3 yrs experience. Must not be a typical dealership because I haven’t heard anything good about dealerships. Before that I was at a fleet job, also hourly. I guess I’ve been fortunate. If I started out flat rate idk if I’d still be in the industry. Hard to learn with that kind of pressure. Especially with a wife and kids, which is the whole reason I dropped out of school and went into the industry in the first place.
Look at the shop rate, looks at your rate of pay. Shop overhead is not as expensive as your lead to believe. Also the labor times are dropping as well as the fact that the labor guides are horribly wrong!!! By this I mean that there are far too many not included operations that are required per the service manual. Service writers are notoriously un educated and do not know this. Pizza Friday will never fix the issue. Being paid for everything you do as well as a real pay plan. An example of this is as fallows. 1. Master techs making 50% of labor rate 2. Incentives given to techs for finding and adding the un included operations 3. Service writers pay based on finding non included and being educated 4. Warranty work generally pays less in hours but a higher rate. Back figure this and pay the techs what they deserve. The technician shortage IS self induced by the shops and no amount of pizza Fridays, dumb bonuses and incentives can fix it. What can is to pay me for everything I do and to pay a base plus percentage. Plain and simple. You (the shop) wants to be the best, so you have to hire the best, to hire the best you have to pay the best. 28years experience
Flat rate is just legalised theft. Shop i worked at , the guys that were good at the paper work had to do all the warranty and the ones that werent, got spooned timing belts Flat rate just makes you want to lock the door during a meeting with your service manager and treat them the way youd treat trudeau . Quitting and working for myself, was the best decision ive made. No more bandaiding the cars that shouldnt be on the road , no more free lightbulbs in the drive through. No more service advisors. Whole system is a scam
I have a small shop and I am of two minds about this. If I am guaranteeing you 40 hours but you only produce 20 hours I got a problem because I am loosing money after overhead. If you produce 50 hours are you still happy with your hourly pay. I don't know I think it is impossible to keep mechanics happy unless you are paying them 40 hours to sit on there butts. I here pay me what I am worth and I ask what are you worth and people say 150k a year plus. That is like 75 an hour. I would have to make my labor rate 225 an hour and you actually produce 40 hours a week. These are basic line techs. Master plus that can actually diag sure in a major city and a busy shop. I just don't know many people making 150k per year in any industry. I do not like flat rate. I think following is fair; 15 for for apprentice, 20 for c tech, 30 for b tech, 40 for a tech, 50 for master diag tech for 40 hours per week. I am in the Panama City FL area. Expensive area to like in but not like Miami. I would like my techs to work 3 days 12 hours a day and 1 day at 4 hours on training. Shop would be open 6 days per week. Kind of thoughts from the other side.
Sounds like you worked at either Pep Boys or Firestone I'm guessing just based off what you said having worked at a Pep Boys myself when I started. I used their apprenticeship program and had them pay for me to get a couple ASE's and my state inspector license and then used that to get hired at the best shop In my state. They still have a flex pay which I am not happy now granted I can make $1500 a week but its so stressful and miserable. Thinking I'll just go weld and make way more money with way better benefits. Or I'm just going to start flipping cars and work for myself.
You’re right , but did you know this . At one time dealers paid warranty at book time .yea , that’s right. But they colluded togather illegally and price fixed warranty pay to half of what was book time.GM,Chrysler,Ford price fixed your warranty pay .what they have done is illegal and they should be liable for back pay .just waiting for someone to file a class action suit so I can get all my back pay. Flat rate pay is absolutely destroying automotive repair shops . How can working as fast as you can taking short cuts denying comebacks .how can this be good .how can the suck up the newbie and buddy buddy .be making the most money with the least morals .its a evil system thats time has come .dealers had. Better drop it before its to late .
good insights. can you speak to how long it takes to become worth anything? I'm looking for a new career but I'm really old (62). I was a pilot - now I'm working at FedEx Ground, which sucks for a 62yo. Does everyone start as a lube tech? How much do beginners make and do you have good health insurance? Package Handlers make 15-20. Lear pilots make 85-120. Delta takes you in as an intern and 3 years later, ur a licensed airplane mechanic.
Clever mod's on that chinese bike. Surprised you couldn't figure out fenders. Best use of one I've seen so far, though I would want to take one to the beach. My airplane is powered by a VW beetle engine.
I love the bike Love the choices that you made to change to make it your own I love that you bought it for utility for on-road use and off-road use and it looks like you're having an of the most amazing time congratulations That's a good scrambler that you've made
When I was Flat Rate, I set my budget up for 30 hours a week. Sometimes I did better. Sometimes I didn't. I learned that if a shop left me sitting around more than 4 hours in a day to find a new job. New techs get fed. The biggest issue with flat rate is who sets the time. The OEM has a decided interest in keeping times low because that keeps costs down. Thus how low warranty time is, and as techs get better, times get reduced. The OEM considers times that can be beat to be a mistake that must be corrected. To further complicate matters, since Illinois and Minnesota passed their laws requiring OEMs to pay CP times, aftermarket times have been brought into line with warranty times, often within a 0.1 or 0.2. I didn't join this industry to break even on the 10th time doing a job. I should be able to break even on the 2nd or 3rd time and be able to come out ahead pretty consistently as I improve. Instead when I start coming out ahead I'm finding times adjusted to a level I haven't yet achieved and as a bumper to bumper tech, I don't get to do the work often enough to get that good. Now I fix the cars hourly at the OEM, and the peace of mind of not having to freak out when I'm working through a long electrical diag is freedom to focus on my job, rather than panicking about how I'm going to pay the bills for all this free labor. I will never go back to the dealership, and I will never work another flat rate job unless I own the shop.
it can be a "Scam" being flat rate or even straight hourly. here's why, and this may not apply to everyone or everywhere. so I've heard for flat rate if say a job pays 6hrs and they constantly see you doing this job in 3hrs, eventually they will do a "case study" where basically they ask you how are you doing this. then they take your information, make that the new procedure available for everyone to see for free, and then cut the amount of paid hours down. pretty crappy right? ok so for hourly how could that be a "scam" ? well at first they claim your hourly (and you are) BUT eventually they will want you to work more and more, to the point your basically killing yourself, and for no more pay (or not enough to make it worth it) . let's not get into things like lack of vacation. some places act like "a day" off is all you should need (unpaid). a day.. a day. what a joke. want more? ok we'll give you a week off but act like its the biggest favor in the world we could possibly do and guess what, it's UNPAID. there is more like health care but think I've said enough. hope I haven't scared too many potential techs away but just being honest. and again this doesn't apply to everyone/everywhere, but it is far from rare these days.
It's all relitive...California labor law basically states if you can't flag 8 in a day, then you are on the clock hourly...I looked at the hours at a shop last week I interviewed at...5 used car techs on staff...lowest guy Flagges 124 hrs last pay, the best producer 160+...they are doing fine...personally a good shop should give you options on compensation.
If management is paid on commission and the mechanics are flat rate your getting s--ed ! The more they pay a tech for a job the less they get in their pocket so what management does is the skim hours off of each tech so their commission check comes out larger ! The only way you make money is if your buddies with management no if ands or buts . Flat rate management are just a bunch of crooks stay away from flat rate shod period! Find a hourly job that pays less and allows overtime believe me you’ll be happier! Stay away from the flat rate crooks!
honest ppl who takes care of ppl always gets the shaft. Its a test from GOD to see who are sincere. That's why GOD created Heaven and Hell. Bc this place have tons of scum bags scamming ppl. The rich gets richer and cares about no one, until they wake up in hell.
I have been a flat rate tech. The flat rate system makes for sloppy workmanship, unnecessary parts changed due to lack of diagnostic time , loss of applied time from time flaggers not reading the if equipped footnotes, putting a car back together so the customer can use it while you wait on parts,and just breeds a toxic stressful work environment where your never appreciated. The OEMs keep slashing warranty times. The system should be legislated out of existence.
