What other job requires you to have at least $10,000 in tools? You have to know mechanical, electrical, electronics, HVAC, hydraulics and well versed with computers. I think being a doctor would require less training and way easier with better working conditions than a good mechanic. I use to joke, the difference between a doctor and a mechanic is we wash our hands after the operation and have to guarantee the cure.

I need to tell you guys one thing once and for all. I was a master tech from 1975-1999. I worked at many shops and dealerships and it was tough work. I had thousands of dollars in tools, certifications up the wazoo and fixed many cars no one else could, or didn't want but in 1999 I got so fed up with the business, I left for good and never looked back. I can tell you horror stories that would fill KZfaq. I got so tired of poor wages(flat rate is fart rate), poor benefits, and poor management. My wages being so bad my family suffered. From what I'm now hearing from you young guys its still the same way. There was a mechanics shortage back then.The automotive field HAS NOT CHANGED ONE BIT. Get it through your head- it never will! You can offer all the solutions and ideas you can muster but ITS NOT GOING TO CHANGE. Take my advise- in 2000 I changed careers and it was the best thing I ever did. Its said, "A wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others." Wake up guys and move on.

I bailed after about 8 years of experience, 50k in tools, and still have $8k in student loans. Everything he mentions is true. But what did it for me was when i turned to the old tech and asked, "Does it ever get better?" He said, "ive been doing this since the 80's and they have always said, 'it'll get better, it'll get better.' and it never does." Right then and there i made a plan to get out in one year. I was gone in 6 months. Told my service manager, "hey, my last day is Saturday." (5 days) Saturday comes, made it until lunch and said fuck it. Started packing. Was gone 1.5 hrs later. Best thing ive ever done. And the cool part, kept the skills and tools so i can keep old reliable vehicles running for cheap.

I hope to be out in five years or sooner. Ever-increasing complexity of cars, but still made from the cheapest plastic crap possible. A broken and obsolete flat rate system, low labor times, rusted hardware, poor working conditions, low pay, expected to be a miracle worker, tool expenses, customers expect quality while management expects quantity, hard on the body, stressful to the mind, not respected while salesmen and service writers are praised, ill-equipped shops with inadequate space, not provided with adequate specialty tools, glitchy computers and diagnostic software, it goes on and on. Until the median earnings are at least $100K, this line of work will never be worth it.

Its free to start an LLC. A decent 7 figure liability insurance policy is cheaper than most standard health insurance payment. Once i realized this, i went independent. I do work on semi trucks and equipment so its a little more lucrative than passenger cars. Now, knowing what i do, ill never work for another employer like that again. I also, dont treat my mechanics the way i was treated. Some companies i know cant keep techs while i have guys literally begging to work with me. A little money and appreciation goes a loooong way. Thats literally all we ever asked for

There are more cons than pros and people are starting to realize that.

Hmmmmm let’s see. Why is their a shortage? Because you gotta have 10 grand worth of tools and know everything about everything. You then need to be willing to make no money and be treated like garbage.

I went to tech school after high-school. Not much mechanic training before that. I enjoyed the exposure to different cars and all the work around them. After being at a dealer, a roadside gas staition, a mom and pop shop, i decided that the industry wasnt for me. I male more money than a high level tech cutting lawns and the tools are cheaper and thats a truck and trailer and equipment

I left ford as a master tech back in 2000 because of a change in the LTS (labor time standard) from ford. One week I was getting 7.2hrs to rebuild a transmission for a windstar, the next week I got 3.6hrs for the same job. I didn’t mind doing warranty work up to that point. After that LTS change, I took my skill and went into manufacturing making more money with much less stress. I still miss working on cars, but not the business.

Body shop techs used to be 50/50 flat rate. The estimating software came along and cut the labor times back. Insurance companies control rates on their estimates and pay for what they think is necessary. Techs in that field had enough of the gouging there too.

I tried my hand at autotech for a few months and the price of entry is just too steep. Tools cost way too much for how little pay you get in return the flat rate system fosters lazy work and rushed repairs. I'm working now as a carpenter and the reward for your work is just so much higher

21 bucks an hour - holy crap. I made 23 an hour on flat rate in the late 80’s /early 90’s…. I was ASE certified master truck technician, but it’s crazy that after 30 years, people are making the same or less than I did back then. Switched to working on computers mid to late 90’s and now earn 6 digits.

I was a tech for Hyundai for about a year, just quit recently. I actually enjoyed working there. I liked the shop, I liked my co workers, we were all kind of buddy buddy with one another. Good chemistry between technicians. But when your management is completely garbage, and you're under appreciated and underpaid, then you have to know when its time to go. Flat rate just doesn't work like it used to anymore. It's totally not worth it. Once I saw my bi-weekly income slowey get smaller and smaller, I knew I had to do something. Plus I started to absolutely HATE working on Hyundai, they're just literally straight garbage. 75% of the work I would get are oil changes and ECU updates (I said Hyundai are trash). Once in a while I'd get a good ticket with some gravy on it. I did full inspections on every vehicle, tried to recommend as much on each car I could so I could make my hours (I'd never recommend something a customer didn't need). Honestly the last straw was when management started going around telling everyone they needed to book 10 hours a day "or else". Well when you have 12 guys working in a shop, and mostly everything is pre paid oil changes and other simple stuff (and customers are cheap don't wanna buy what their vehicles needs) that's not gonna happen. I want to try and get into another place because I've had a lot of different kinds of jobs and I love working on cars the most and it's what I know best. But this whole industry is just one entire joke.... Something drastic needs to change. And as everyone knows .. TOOLS are fucking EXPENSIVE. I'm not gonna waste all my money buying tools I'll never use or use very rarely. I know what I need and what I don't need.

My whole shop is salary. Very high quality repairs and we don't rush thru diagnostics. We work on everything from 2000$ cars to Bentley, Porsche , track builds ,performance upgrades ect. Not expected to know everything, but we are expected to fix everything correctly the first time. So salary helps in this situation.

1. make an independent party decide the real flat rates based on reality. 2 eliminate team leaders. 3 random dispatch. 4 shop foreman who know how to fix cars and are required to intervene on troublesome cars. 5 abolish auto nation. 6 anti trust laws preventing corps from owning dealerships. 7 criminal penalties for companies refusing federal overtime pay. 8 hold manufactures liable for defective products. 9 laws preventing price gouging on dealer only parts. mb charging 1k for a key is imop wrong

Great video man. I've been a mechanic for about 25 years now. Dealers and a lot of independent shops are the problem. Flat rate and Warranty times are killing young technicians getting into the industry. The favouritism stuff as you said is an issue also... I worked for the military for a while and that was great until we got laid off. Now I work as a fleet mechanic and actually run the shop. Getting paid by the hour (now I'm salary) solves a LOT of issues. Most heavy equipment and fleet mechanics are going to hourly and until the Auto dealers go to that they will continue to have issues

I'm in Australia where we do a 4-year apprenticeship with incremental wage increases for each year. The first 3 years of that time also has a 1 day out of 5 college day. When you get to the end of that, you may be kept by your employer or tapped on the shoulder. I did my time at a Government bus depot. Afterwards, I worked in a car dealership, truck workshop, Range Rover specialist, another bus depot (private), until finally settling at an electricity company's plant and vehicle workshop. A few months ago, after me being 21 years there, management was starting to clamp down on us, implementing performance management and allegations of safety breeches, etc. I'd had enough. I moved on to a job doing facility maintenance including lawnmowing and vegetation management. I get a take-home truck, work off my iPad, dont get bothered, and am nearly $300 a week better off. Now, after a month in this new job, i can safely say that the mechanical industry is screwed. 4 years of learning at minimul wage, followed by a life of being unappreciated and underpaid, is just not worth it. The only positive now is that I have skills that most other people don't have. There is certainly no prestige in telling people that you're a mechanic, but there should be, given the knowledge you need to be one.

There's no shortage of Auto Technicians, just a shortage of people that are willing to work under the current FLR / warranty system

As a older tech I dont even want to do it.

I'm 4 minutes in and Buddy.. YOU FREAKING NAILED THIS RIGHT ON THE HEAD. Hopefully some of these manufacturers see this.

One of the most underappreciated jobs compared to knowledge required

I was a mechanic for 20 years. Now I'm a plant maintenance man and I am happier and have a 401k. Warranty and flat rate broke me. I will NEVER go back!

I was going to be one until one of my friends who was a master tech while I was trying to figure out my life said do not do it. He's 8 years in the business and makes less than me 2 years into plumbing. Which is pathetic.

12 yrs ase certified multiple dealer certs, making way more than that answering phones from home. The industry ground up me and my family for years, excellent skills but it don't pay the bills. Glad I left

Back in the late 70's when there were service stations, the shop rate at an Exxon was $16 an hour and the mechanic made 8. It should still be 50/50 for an A level mechanic.

I left the auto dealership life. Got into road service on semi trucks, got into towing and working on heavy equipment. The shop i got into does alot of different work. The skills i learned lead me to land a civil service job. There's no money working on cars. I started making money on big rigs especially after get my CDL.

Service Writers are making money for their 2-3 layers of management. Lube Rack guys made a fortune selling filters and brake replacement, tires, batteries. In the summer months we’d average $400,000-$450,000 in labor sales. Everybody made money. I would agree people are leaving. But I think it’s benefits and retirement wages. A 401 does not get close to what a retirement package is worth. A lot of guys have left the dealerships to go to work for the city and Post Office always needs a competent technician. It’s really great money followed by 2 months of squeaking by.

When I started in 1984 the shop rate was $60 per hour and the technician got 40% of that. I went to dealerships after 6 years of working at an independent shop, the dealerships treat you like shit but I did get years of factory training in Toyota,Chrysler,Nissan and BMW. My at no cost to me has allowed me to now for the last 10 years have been a fleet mechanic at a commercial bakery with 25 delivery trucks,I’m paid $40 per hour plus overtime I’m very grateful and consider myself lucky to have been rescued from the dealership machine that eventually will spit you out when they’re done with you or hopefully you find a different way to use your skills. Good luck and wrench on.

Like the video. I was planning on doing the same thing here soon. I’m debating on getting into a new trade after being a tech for 13 years. ( since I was 18 ) more techs need to come out and complain about what’s getting them to leave the industry. A remodel of the industry is way over due for a over haul.

I was a auto tech for over twenty years ase master tech my main was drivability, a/c ,engines, and electrical , I made a decent living I worked for Chrysler and ford and then went independently the tools are what make you money faster but I’ve got over 120,000 dollars worth in my shop at home im a millwright now and make 37.90 an hour every hour working on cars it was feast or famin that’s why I left for consultant pay I do miss it !!

No respect, sh|t pay, warranty always cutting times…no clue why all of us are leaving the industry.

The problem from my end is no one will hire me. I have the tools, the certifications, the desire to work, the desire to want to learn, but because a bad choice over a decade ago I am passed over for for every job I interview for. 70+ interviews over the past year and a half and still can't get a job. So for me I don't want to hear about how employees can't get help.

In the late 60's my dad was getting 50/50 at VW in 92 when I left I was getting 33/66 why are techs not paid like other trades?

My dad was THE epitome of what all of these companies hate so much: He was a DIY guy who had a general background in pretty much everything under the sun except computers. He sadly passed away last year at the age of 73, but before then, in his prime, he could fix cars, tractors, he built two sheds and two decent sized barns, designed and helped build the basement the house sits upon, helped an uncle build his house, the two-story garage, and several pieces of furniture. He could pull the engine or the tranny out of a vehicle, take it apart, and put it back in, and he maintained his own cars, only going to a mechanic for extreme stuff like boring an engine that required special tools he didn't have. That said, when I bought my '93 Bonneville years back, he said that cars are starting to get too hard to work on and when I got my '10 Impala, he said that doing much of anything with the engine was nigh-impossible. Now, some of that might have been the cancer talking (he got real tired and lethargic in his final few years), but I remember helping and watching him work on these cars and I look in the engine bay of my '10 Impala, or worse... the '03 Chrysler he had before I scrapped it, and I just shake my head. Pretty sure they designed these cars that way on purpose to prevent DIY work.

One thing I like and sometimes don’t like about the independent shop is that I can usually talk to the customer

Early in my career I trained as an auto mechanic, because I enjoy working on machinery, and operating machinery and vehicles. That career did not last long because the working conditions sucked. We were expected to work on a hot engine in the summer, a frozen car in the winter and my wife wasn't pleased with my 'dirty hands'. I also enjoyed the 'cleaner' environment and working conditions when renovating homes. I excel in mechanics, and most trades, so I could take on nearly any project, and while self-employed, I could take time off whenever I wanted, between jobs. I have taken my vehicle into shops and experienced many incompetent mechanics and shop rip-offs. I think it is pretty bad when I have to 'teach' the mechanic. Granted, unless you specialize, the field of knowledge is huge, lots to learn and diagnostics is not everyone's cup of tea. (try solving a math word problem, many can not.) I was top student in classes, so it also worries me that many pass with the basic 60%. Well trained mechanics are always in demand, as are home renovators, but it isn't easy to get respect in fields that employ so many shady tactics, and incompetence, and rip-offs.

30+ years in the field, I started at a Dodge dealership and lost my shirt. Then I went to diesel school and got fleet jobs. Now I have my own shop with a municipality. Guess I was smart in my 20's because I'm set now.

starting wage should be aleast 100 bucks a hour. its all about the moniez

Good video TunerZen. You have a lot of guys venting. Good job.

You're right on the money!!!!!!!! I'm a tech and went to school for it. You ain't lying.

As an IT guy for 10 years that got ran out from the population of college graduates, that recently went to a dealership as a lubie the last 5 months (I’ve worked on my own vehicles ever since I was a child) it kills me to see some of the other lube techs that will obviously miss things, or intentionally skip over things because the shop foreman is rushing everyone to hurry up, or they did this or that wrong. Then on top of that we had a service advisor that came to me about listing the rear brakes were drums, and asked what drums were! They are just hiring bodies to fill in the spot, how can a service advisor advise on anything that they don’t know about? How can our lube techs that make $17 an hour keep going harder and harder, when apprentices don’t make anything extra but now they are stuck with having to ‘make up hours’ but the two main techs are covering over 100k a year. But they even have comebacks because they have to get things done quickly. Right now I’m between a rock and a hard place. Because IT work has drained me mentally, but liked the pay. Where as automotive I love the job and the guys I work with, but hate the pay and the management.

I was I involved in the 50/50, but I was in the interior work. AC, speed control, dash instruments, and sometimes brake work. Also I was selected to work on the DeTomaso Pantara, no one was to work on it except me. Most of the work was correcting the overheating ( they all did that ). I did replace a clutch in one.

Flat rate doesn't make dishonest techs. But it does incentivize that behavior.

Worked at the dealership for 33 years- 20 as a tech- 13 as a shop Foreman. Started my own business 10 years ago. I charge a fair rate. Only regret - I should have done it sooner. Don't have to deal with any warranty.

Flat rate truly is killing it. No one wants to be the new guy getting all the 15 minute warranty jobs, making MAYBE $12 an hour. Probably less.

I am a fleet mechanic. I have 8 cars and vans and 22 trucks, everything is a Ford. FORD WARRANTY SUCKS. The dealerships treat me like a third class citizen. We have has over 12 transmissions go down in the last 3 years. Half of them were under warranty. So funny you mentioned Ford. I have heard rumor that Nation wide we are ditching ford. Hello Freightliner.

Welcome to the results of greed is good. Nice video. I subbed.

Thx 4 your iinsight - it was helpful 2 me.

Being a mechanic, your best bet is to get into a county, city, state, or a private fleet company with much better options, hourly pay, vacations- clock in then clock out!

👍I agree !!! Thank goodness I got out after 27 years !!! ✌️

I enjoyed my job and customers but the warranty dependent, recall plaqued trash and the flat rate system was costing me to much money in the end.

i quit my full time day job at wheelworks, and doing my own side job at home and selling cars + youtube. auto repair industry has become stressful to most technicians out there, with very little flat rate especially living in california. store manager becoming greedy hitting their targets and service manager. good point brother

Solid observation.

I do body repair and i can tell you mechanics deserve better I wouldn’t dare to be a mechanic it’s a lot of bs

Hopefully the lube techs take the criticism as a learning experience. I did a 20 hour rear main seal the other day, but the lube tech didn't even recommend the ball joints that were loose, or the lower control arm bushings that were completely torn out.

I agree with this, although Im not a full fledged technician yet(Intern), The techs that I’m shadowing are paid hourly and do their work fast because they’re given time and help if needed,

Something of note about brake pads. Alot of manufacturers are now manufacturing their brake pads where when the friction material is no longer as thick as the backing pad they recommend replacement at that point. Alot of people do not know that but it's true.

Started my apprenticeship 42 years ago. The industry has gone through several changes. As of about 3 years ago it seems the focus is to make purely luxury mobile entertainment packages rather than just good solid reliable long-lasting vehicles. I plan on retiring in about 5 or 6 years... but I can see the next round of tech being shoveled into every model and brand. I pity the next generation of both techs and owners that has to deal with out of warranty repairs. Like, when did it become OK to charge $3500 for a base model stereo player.

I like the video, you make a lot of good points. Thank you for pointing out the problems with flat rate and the fact that it is the direct cause of a mass exodus from the vehicle repair industry. Personally, I will never work under flat rate rules again. Of the various industries that are out there, and of the ones that I have worked in, garage tech is the only one where I ever had to put up with the flat rate/flag time scam. First, I was not paid flat rate. I was hourly in a flat rate/flag time shop. It did not matter at all if I sped up or slowed down, my paycheck was the same regardless. This was supposedly made up for through efficiency bonuses, which in reality were rarely paid. The only techs who could get them either sped through and skipped over a lot of things (the ONLY way you beat time under flat rate) or, they were the ones who figured out how to play with the numbers and gimmick the system to look better on the system. Meanwhile my efficiency numbers would be cut in half anytime I logged out of the computer system - Lunch; End of day; anything that required a log out. I was not the only one with this complaint. In short, I could not have qualified for this supposed bonus regardless - Whether it was realistically available or not. I could go on but I'm going to cut the rant there. I have formal training in more than one skilled trade, and a resume that covers several fields. With the above mentioned previous experience in mind, I have had to change my strategies for future employment. One of which is to completely avoid any and all types of flag time schemes. The garage industry is the only one where you are likely to encounter anything resembling this kind of scheme. An hour's pay for an hour's work is a no-brainer for virtually every other business. If this scheme proves unavoidable, then I do not mind joining the majority of techs in this industry by permanently laying down my wrenches and looking elsewhere.

I’ve been in mechanics since High School. 45 years now. No flat rate. The complexities do wear on me but I like to be challenged. I still enjoy the career. Management always wants a quote. That’s why they are in management. What we work with today makes our job impossible to quote. For me to survive in this job, I comply with all their training and compliance, then turn a deaf ear toward that and do my job. If I didn’t, it would be all over. There is a path in this business. Getting to know Customers, put a smile on their face (yes that is possible), bring a good attitude everyday, learn to Serve (we are in Service), break down a job for the Customer (we all know money is super tight since Biden took over), don’t be afraid to ask for Compensation in line with Inflation. A very good shop tech makes $30.00 to $50.00 an hour.

Base hourly rate, plus hours turned bonus will be the answer. Plus we need to be making 100k a year minimum for level A techs .

September I will be a tech for 41 years and I think you have good grasp from a technician’s standpoint. Our job thankfully can’t filled by AI like many other jobs will be. But management sucks in many of the places I’ve worked. Thankfully I no longer work flat rate but I did for well over half my career. Flat rate all depends on the who is assigning the jobs and I refuse to be a brown noser! And you’re right, warranty work can suck especially if the manufacturer cuts the time for a repair. I don’t understand the term lube tech. I mean I know it’s an hourly guy who changes oil but there really isn’t any real technical knowledge needed to change oil. My brother changes his oil and he sells real estate. In my long career all techs got oil changes and did a thorough inspection to up sell. These lube techs are wasting money if they don’t know what to up sell. Im old enough to remember selling regular copper core spark plugs before platinum plugs were introduced and transmission fluid wasn’t lifetime filled. I saved copper plugs in a box for a year to count them and replaced over just over 400 plugs that year! Fortunately I’m blessed to have a job that’s just over a mile from my house where I work hourly wages. I’ve worked solely on MB for about 20 years and now I work at a small independent shop with a boss that doesn’t like to get his hands dirty and we also have a secretary. So I’m blessed to done with flat rate issues! Im also blessed the Benz cars need more work than many people realize. Sure I do services ( oil changes) and don’t like to, but I try to up sell. I even have to wash a car or two every six months but then I’m the highest paid car washer in town! Hats of to my fellow technicians! It’s not easy being a tech.

Using the tech with the least amount of experience to do the inspection of a car is a failure. Most shops do this, so most will keep failing. We don't use privates to recon the enemy objective. Your best talent must be used to find the issue and explain that issue to the customer. Here's another way to look at it. The medical assistant does not examine the patient. That's done my the doctor for diagnosis of the patient. But in the auto world we trust the examination of the patient to a brand new lube tech and then wonder why we're not getting any work or leads to the service writers to sale. Your right though...flat rate is a disaster and has killed quality of the mechanic world.

Yes if you’re thinking about becoming a tech in the auto body or mechanic industry don’t do it the only way to make it, is with your own shop.

My dad as a mechanic did at first when we moved to the states and moved to machinery for hourly pay cause he hated the way they paid. This has been a few decades ago

I got into the automotive business back in the 1970’s because I loved fixing and restoring cars as a teenager. I don’t see the young car mechanics having the same passion / interest in car culture that we grew up with. I am amazed how manny leave the industry within 5 years of starting. The pay compared to other trades is very low.

I considered joining the field a while ago but came to the conclusion it was not worth it, and the car thing remains a hobby which i am totally fine with, besides, i don't want to work on modern cars, i am oldschool, i want my cars analog.

I was a certified tech from 2016 to 2019. Was good for a while but I just got tired of dealing with the industry and the evolution of vehicle technology. I went into the transportation industry and never looked back.

I was an auto mechanic back in the late 80s when I was in my 18/20 years old I knew this wasn’t the field to stay in. I got out flat rate pay, warranty work screw that it’s not worth it for the knowledge and training and tools required. You can make more with better benefits at almost any city or county or state employment. Or another union trade

I am just not getting why you are complaining about tech shortage as this is the BEST thing that could possibly happen. We don't need more technicians - we need less, much less of them. Only then does our work gets appreciated for what it worth.

Dealers are scams. Everyone that owns one is mega rich. They don't even provide all the needed equipment to work on the cars. Biggest joke around.

Sure glad I made the decision to get out when I was apprenticing back in the 80's. It's always good to see confirmation that I made the correct decision.

I’ve been a self employed motorcycle technician for 18 years. Done ok for myself so far. I’m in the U.K. 🇬🇧

I'm not even flat rate and I'm done with it. I want to try something new but I feel stuck.

I worked at a dealership for 4 days. They hired me on as a lube tech in spite of 5 years in motorsports building cars from ground up and doing all the work a line tech does, just on a car with a number on the door. The service manager said because I wasn’t factory certified, all I could do was oil changes and tires until I get my certs. 3rd day on the job I get a drivability diagnostic and repair. 4th day I talk to the manager about it and he said they try to do as much work on the quick lane side of the shop as we can to boost our numbers. When I asked him about me being paid lube tech money to do B tech level work he cringed and spouted some verbal diarrhea about training and experience and blah blah blah. I loaded my tools and haven’t looked at a dealership since. I’ve since found my niche in fleet maintenance. Better pay, better quality of life and very little stress.

Flat rate versus hourly rate is a tough decision without limitations on the hourly rate. If a customer comes in to get a new alternator installed and a seasoned. Technician takes 1.5 hours and that customer is only paying one point five hours of labor. And then another customer comes in and gets a newer or slower working technician and it takes him 3 hours. Why should one customer have to pay more than the other at the same dealership for the same job. Hourly is the way to go but basic jobs definitely need time limits.

As a shop manager, I like flat rate. Hour rate techs spend too much time playing with their phones, talking story with others, doing long hours of research that goes no where.

My biggest upset is dealing with poor design. It is clear that most manufacturers do not care at all about the mechanic. It's not like it cannot be done better, as I have worked on that rare vehicle where servicing was easy due to good design. In some cases it looks like they have intentionally designed a vehicle to discourage servicing. I wonder why they would do that?

That's messed up. Basically, dealers have techs subsidize the Warranty work. The techs shouldn't be forced to work on cars for half the pay cause it's under warranty.

I went from being a mechanic to becoming a truck driver OTR pay is a joke out 7 days for $300 bucks it's not worth it they don't even show you how much each load is and full of empty promises. I'm going back to some sort of mechanics I have fibromyalgia so I'm very limited to what I can do in a shop.

I was a Nissan tech for 20 years from 1993-2015. I worked for several dealers in two states over that time. One thing was constant. Every shop had a favorite, dispatching was never fair. Pay did start at nearly half the labor rate. I started at $15/hr in 1993. LR was $35/hr. In 2015 it was $120 I received $27. Warranty always paid half the time it took unless you were doing the same thing over and over so you could find "shortcuts". The biggest issue for me was maintenance. Back in 1993 you did lots of CP service, timing belts, tune ups, brakes wore out in 15k miles. In 1993 it was a nice balance of warranty work and CP. In 2015 I was doing nearly 100% warranty work struggling to make 8hrs/day. In 1993-2005 I could burn 16hrs in a day working hard. The labor rate was to low to be killing myself for 8hrs per day if I was lucky. Shop made $100/hr on me. Left in 2015, started a gun store and I'm thriving. Demand $40-$50/hr with full paid bennies like the labor unions are getting for installing wiper blades on the assembly line. Until you do you will always be fart rate.

Flat rate has been around for ages as you stated in the video. Thus, it will not going away anytime soon. Lot of techs think cashing-out is the best answer, and probably truth be told, it is. But I doubt the dealerships or shops will suffer indefinitely because there will always be no shortage of entry workers willing to work for peanuts (especially if illegals can somehow gain employable status). BTW I was a automotive technician in my early 20's, but it didn't take long at all to see starting out that you were mostly supporting someone else's dream. One thing that left a huge impression on me was when I was dirty in pit cursing at this Dodge where the owner *goober* bent the transmission kickdown rod to hell. Right at that moment, the shop owner pulls up just outside of the bay in his new Mercedes sedan car he just bought. He steps out of the car, out comes his trophy wife from the office, she walks over wearing a coat and boots, gets in the car and does her makeup routine. The owner came to over to me and said "I know you have been working hard on this Dodge, but I really need you to get this Calais (POS GM fwd from 80's) done today". At that point I'd been in the hole hours on flat rate on this Dodge. I look at his new car, and I was like thinking in my mind "WTF am I doing, I should be the one driving that car, having that hot wife instead of being sacked with fixing garbage vehicles no one wanted to touch (I was the newer guy at that shop so I constantly got handed the shittiest jobs). That humbling experience was enough to make me choose a different career path taking skills and applying them to niche areas of employment that allowed better income and further education on the job. Never looked back. I honestly would never recommend anyone be an automotive tech working flat rate.

Training should be a priority, prior to employment. A higher wage per hour, without flat rate to draw techs that have been properly trained. Having worked in the industry and teaching automotive in a Community College for 57 years now I would agree that warranty work should be at least 1.5 times tmes labor time guides

Same for us drivers too .. pay is getting less and less ....fuel steadily going up .. profit margins are worst I've seen In 24 years of driving ..

I agree with some of the other comments, you can come up with books of suggestions on how to improve the industry for the mechanic/tech but as long as those who control the industry are making record profits, it is never going to change. They’d love to have access to slave labor and are working hard to push things closer to that direction. As dealerships move more toward corporate ownership, they will only push pay down even more because they will soon completely control the market. I wouldn’t suggest anyone get into any careers in the new car industry these days (sales or service). There is definitely something going on there given the excessive prices and limited production. All signs point to the end being near and the last big chance to money grab before it is too late! As others have said, work for yourself but understand that the complexities of the modern automobile are just going to continue to get worse and, like most jobs today, don’t expect it to be a lifelong career. Between cars being engineered and built to be a disposable consumer product, the physical demands of the job, abusive customers, tool/equipment/educational requirements, liability, and ever rising facilities costs, even building your own independent auto repair business may not be a viable investment for that many people.

Manufacturers screwing technicians on labor rates is the reason I left being an automotive technician after 14 years.

left the dealership life in 2022. started as a Hyundai lube tech and worked my way to being able to do basic main shop work (light line and more complex warrenties) The process to even be able to learn how to do those jobs was utterly painful. not painful because of the jobs or complexity. painful because every single new job that I attempted to learn or do was greatly and indirectly discouraged by management and 2 technicians in the most passive aggressive way. I would recommend a job such as brakes or alternator and as soon as the job was accepted by the customer I would see one of the 2 B*tch technicians run up to the office. and 5 seconds later the shop manager would come right out with a fresh oil change to substitute my alternator or break job and hand it off to these other 2 techs. thats when I found out why that shop couldn't seem to hold on to any techs they did get. first thing I thought was........ mabey this is just a bad shop so I started shopping around for another shop. took the time to do some intel and ask around other shops what it was like to work there. most techs from other dealers and shops complained about the same sh*t. favoritism seemed to be rather common in this industry. so I got a u haul and told the service manager to "go ride a big one" went off on my own started doing mobile mechanic work and built a rather decent clientele. I looked at what it would cost me to be a mechanic working at a dealership after I accounted for my tool box and tool expenses I realized that I would be in the hole for another 3 years. shure I would be able to pay rent and pay off the box and tools but I really wouldn't make any money for 3 years. instead I paid everything off the first year of being a mobile tech. honestly the job is amazing. learning mechanical, electrical and computer diagnostic skills is amazing. and being able to look at a system and figure out what's wrong with it and fix the issue is a rather satisfying skill. if only we could fire the sh*t managers and implement a computerized system that would hand out jobs based on production (aka the more money u make for the shop the more u earn/the better jobs u get) also f**k warranty.

I quit in 1979 and we were getting 50% 0n labor and nothing on parts

I agree that a bog issue with this industry is that they expect you to just magically know all this shit about cars. I worked at Big o tires as a tech and then service writer, and they made zero attempt to train pr teach me. They showed me how to change a tire and that's about it. Anything else was just knowledge i had to bring beforehand, and I wasn't being paid enough to do independent research (17 hours flat, no comission or room for advancement in the field, literally dead end)

The reason is simple , tech pay has gone down based on the shop rate.back in the day techs got 30/40% of the shop rate. These days they getting 12/16% of the shop rate. If your shop rate is 180 and your getting 28 your getting 16% now let’s say you were to be lucky enough to get 25% you be getting $45 the hour and you tip tech @ 35% $63 an hour. Let that sink in for a bit

Yes im tired of this field and wish i never did it. I just wanted to learn how to work on my own truck and that was it then made stupid mistake of going into it. I’m looking for a night job that would be better for me. Our dumb shop has guarantee of 30 if you don’t make 40. So stupid, its so great working 50 hours to be paid 30 or so.

Warranty work is what nudged me out of the door back in 2000. Only gotten worse since then. The next biggest problem is politics, favorite techs get the best jobs….inevitably

21$ flat rate or around 40k a year i know a girl taking photos at ripleys aquarium at 18 years old making 60k a year lol

Wages and the cost of living. I'm not turning wrenches to be in poverty. Flat rate is killing it too

Because being a auto mechanic for a living sucks, definitely not worth it it’s pain and torment. Worst of all the pay sucks.

30 mins to do oil change, rotate tires and multi-point. 80% of the time I barely am able to top off all the fluids let alone grabbing pry bars to check play or measure each pads twice. I’m somewhat new but haul ass through each car as it is.

I was the tech they Fed. No comebacks and in out in record times.i made the dealership a boatload of money. Then i opened my own

If you are an automotive tech and not working for yourself in your own business - then you are your worst enemy. I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever go back to employment in this business. The difference between being an employee and working for yourself in this business is more than just "dramatic", it is literally life-changing. If you can't do your own business - then get the hell out of this field, save yourself from this misery.

I’m a Automotive tech of 21 years. Funny he mentioned Ford and their quality issues. I was working on a 2023 Raptor today. 2,300 miles on it. Customer got a set of wheels and tires. And front leveling springs. Nothing crazy. Having to pop the hood to pull the front fox struts. The wire harnesses were absolutely garbage. Random tape hanging off every where and harness hold down ties connected to nothing. Firewall heat shield flopping around. Speed sensor wires rubbing on the upper control arm. I’ve honestly never seen such crap on a brand new vehicle. However the truck did drive nice. Better then the 2022 Toyota Tundra TRD PRO. 🤷‍♂️

One of the biggest things I hated was being required to be on the floor every day of the week during Christmas, yet only getting ten or fifteen hours of work.