I was a tech for a Mazda and Mitsubishi tech in the early 2000’s right after graduating with flying colors from my trade school. I didn’t mind it at first as I was doing mostly LOFs and some warranty work on an hourly rate. Then, the shop manager left and with him, half of the good techs I worked with. The parts manager was promoted to shop manager and he never really liked me for some reason or another. My work started drying up, I was converted to a hourly/flat rate tech and got stuck doing only warranty work. I lost my ass doing that for another year until all my work dried up and was let go. Decided hell no - I am never working for a dealership again. Ended up working on outdoor power equipment for a while, then did some other stuff before becoming a tech for a family-owned used car dealer for a couple of years in the mid 2010s where I could really apply some of the things I have learned and adopted over the years. Did that until we moved and worked for UPS as a tech for a month before I said screw it and decided never to turn wrench for a living again. I don’t know if I am necessarily happier, but I am definitely cleaner and healthier. My back stopped hurting, my feet feel a lot better and I have regained that physical flexibility again and feel much younger than I actually am. I thought when I gave up I would be miserable. Hell no - I make more money now working for an auto manufacturer as a quality inspector than I ever did as a tech. And I am treated a hell of a lot better too!
im a class a automechanic , and i stop working as a mechanic for all those reasons , now im painting houses and i earn more money without to know anithing and no responsabilities ...now i do mechanics for me and my good neighbors for free
I've been working as a car mechanic in Germany for almost two years. I trained at a Volkswagen dealership, where I gained my first experience as a journeyman at another Volkswagen dealership. I quit my third Volkswagen dealership job because I didn't want to rip off customers or constantly work under time pressure. After that, I switched to an independent workshop, but I was fired after less than a week because they thought I was too slow. They even questioned my journeyman’s certificate. In hindsight, that was incredibly disrespectful towards me. At authorized dealers, you're just the guy doing routine tasks like inspections, oil changes, or changing filters until you train to become a technician or even a master. The last two jobs made me seriously doubt my abilities as a mechanic, to the point where I wanted to leave the profession, even though I actually enjoy the work. But I don't want to, and above all, I can't work in such a toxic environment. I'm already mentally struggling, and something like that would drain energy I simply don't have.
I have noticed being a mechanic along with alot of other blue collar jobs is that there is little to no patience when it comes to new and inexperienced technicians and it normally drives people away. That along with the low pay is really going to cause a massive shortage. Im sorry you had that experience ive been there with a couple of shops no one should be rushed to do a quality job.
I've done Mechanic work & IT work. They both come down to the same thing client-wise; work for clients who have Money & are willing to spend Money. If they won't PAY then you should not PLAY.
"That's what the people want.They want to be driving a computer with all the creature comforts..." I don't think anyone really asked them what they want. This is what the car companies have pushed out there, for better or worse. I have yet to see a car later than mid 2010's that I would be willing to tolerate, and for exactly the reason you state. I don't want a computer on wheels. I'm a techie when it comes to computer stuff myself, and while I have a great appreciation for what computers can do, I also come equipped with an appreciation for simplicity. My Fox body Mustang 5.0 has pin switches in the doors that ground when the door is open, completing a circuit, causing the dome light to come on. It has an ignition switch that sends power to the ECU, fuel pump relay, and all that other stuff, preparing the car to be started once the pip signal is received. When I rotate the key to start, it trips the starter relay, which sends battery power into the starter solenoid, which engages the starter pinion with the flywheel and sends that power to the starter motor, and the car starts. When I turn the key to the off position, it unceremoniously cuts power to the ECU, ignition system, fuel pump, etc., and the engine turns off. There's no "keep the radio on until he opens the door." I turned it off, and it's off! Simple. Deterministic. Perfect. The same pattern exists throughout the car. The computer in that car is not concerned with anything besides the engine. It can control spark advance, injector pulse width, EGR position, AIRB/AIRD valve position, CANP valve position, and I think that's about it. The throttle opens when I press the pedal and a cable pulls on the arm on the throttle body. The cruise control works by diverting engine vacuum to a diaphragm that pulls on the throttle and opens it as needed. The car was built in the 80s, and it still works perfectly! So does the HVAC system, where the temperature is operated by a cable connected to the rotary temp knob, and with the other air control done by vacuum motors. The fan speed is set by a simple four position switch that varies the resistance on the fan motor circuit and modulates the fan speed accordingly. And like the cruise control, everything in the HVAC system still works! I have had to replace the compressor for the AC, and the heater core (twice), but the air control box has never been touched. My S197 Mustang GT with the Coyote is different. I open the car door, and a switch in the latch assembly tells the computer "driver door is open" over CANBUS. It puts the dome light on. I close the door, and that switch now tells the computer the door is closed. The computer leaves the dome light on, though, until I start the car, or until I've lollygagged for a few minutes and it decides I've had enough light. Even if I had left the door open or put the light on using the dimmer switch, the computer will eventually decide that's all I get and turn it off after several minutes. When I press the pedal, it sends a signal to the computer letting it know how much power I desire from the engine, and the computer sets the throttle position based on a combination of my wish and its own. I'm not telling the car what to do... I am making requests to the computer, which then decides whether it wants to do what I have told it. I love much about the car, but the whole "everything is an input device for HAL, which will decide what happens with the car" is horrible. The newer car is quieter, much quicker, safer, gets better gas mileage, handles better, has more room, and the body is far more rigid and robust (no need for subframe connectors), but it doesn't feel like a "forever" car like my older one is. It seems like this overly complex array of unnecessary computerization is going to fail one day, and trying to get to the bottom of the issue is going to break me, or else whatever high-tech part I need will have been discontinued 20 years ago and all the used ones are just as bad as mine. I can still get parts for the older car... not always OEM, but lots of aftermarket stuff, some of which is actually usable. These high tech bits will not be aftermarket items, though. That is what I find even worse about cars newer than mine, that wretched smart fob/pushbutton start garbage, which is comorbid with these cars that have built in infotainment systems that one cannot simply swap out like we always have been able to with head units, because now it's a proprietary part of the car that is needed for some things. They will fail in time. Touchscreens, LCDs, they're fragile things that are subjected to harsh conditions. High heat in the summer baking in the sun, extreme cold in the winter outside buried in snow, vibration whenever the car is in use. And when it does, then what? Same deal as above... the dealer has probably discontinued it (and before it did, they cost a small to medium fortune), and all the used ones are as bad as yours, or will be as soon as you pay through the nose to get one and install it. I am absolutely not clamoring for any of this, and I don't know of anyone else who is. People may say "oh, neat" when the salesman shows them all the bells and whistles, but that's not them demanding this stuff... it's them taking it after it is already a fait accompli. Simplicity reduces costs, breakdowns, troubleshooting time, and weight. Things are way more complicated than necessary.
I read this entire thing and honestly enjoyed it thoroughly! You should start a blog! I do agree with you though to take it to a extreme and unbiased example the way you described your newer mustang is that way i would descrive every tesla I’ve driven. Yes they are fast and fancy definitely a party trick car. But i dont feel like i am the one in control. I mean the car will stop itself and refuse to drive if something its reading is terribly wrong. Your fox on the other hand will have nothing to stop you from driving it into a wall and the ECH would have no idea what happened. Now from a enthusiast stand point i think the majority of us want simplicity. We dont want stuff thats to complex to mod, fix, find. What i ment buy saying the consumer wants all the creature comforts is people that don’t really car for cars like us that really are just looking for a car with heated seats and apple car play and maybe some type of autopilot system. They could care less if the displacement or performance of the engine and the thing is those people are the majority and who manufactures will take priority over. Personally i think as long as there are older cars and parts being made for them i wont stop buying older cars.
@@BobbyBeltzyt yes customers want creature comforts, but they also dont give 2 farts about whether the horn or the door ajar switch goes through can bus or a simple relay. Manufacturers purely do it because of cost, less to implement everything through one screen as opposed to individual switches and circuits. Also Teslas and other electric cars could be extremely simple if they wanted to be. My brother has a nissan leaf(and an old truck for truck stuff) and works well for his needs.
I am a retired cadillac technician with over 30 years experience in a cad. dealership. My favorite comment I got from my bean counting boss was after I spent two days chasing down an electrical wiring issue. Why didn't you look there first? That was his comment. I don't miss any of it!
I also worked as an cadillac technician for 30 years. The service manager would come to me with a car that was on a third strike by back. He would tell me, punch in and out for work time and tell me what you need. I had to write a novel to explain what I did to fix the issue.
Was a heavy diesel mechanic..switched to golf and turf mechanic at a private club.with all new equipment..very good salary.easier work.not as damaging to the body
I was a lube tech at a big company for about a year. Got fired randomly because apparently I hadn't finished out enough tickets that week. Went to go work for a mom and pop shop and they fired me because they hired two mechanics at the same time and decided to fire the guy who was less productive. I was less productive because the head mechanic kept giving me tickets that were just wrong and refused to listen to me. He told me to change the headlight bulbs in a newer Volvo will non-serviceable projectors. I had to explain to him that there are no headlight bulbs on that car and that the entire assembly needs to be replaced because they're LED/projector. He told me that's bullshit and I stood there for 4 hours twiddling my thumbs because he wouldn't allow me to take another ticket or return the car to the customer (who was waiting.) I eventually convinced his son, who was one of the senior mechanics, to explain to his father that they are not replaceable. Didn't even get as much as an apology except from the son. Another ticket he gave me was to do an oil change on a Hummer H1 with an aftermarket half inch thick steel skid plate along the entire underside of the engine. It was mounted in such a way that the skid plate was maybe about 3 inches from the ground, and the H1 was too big to fit on the lift. I had to contort my body in a way that allowed me to take off all of the bolts, and he wouldn't allow me to work on it outside so I had to somehow get the floor jack between the 2-post lift and the Hummer to jack it up. They were all like this. He then fired me on a Monday morning by saying "Your last day was Friday, by the way." after I had finished getting the shop ready and after driving an hour through a blizzard to get there.
Wow! That is Absolutely terrible! I had a similar story to your first. I worked for a fleet at one point and was doing a fuel pump and injectors on a direct injection, Tahoe. GM service manual said (in big bold red letters almost about a page long) DO NOT reuse high pressure fuel lines, they will leak and cause a fire. It wasn’t as confrontational as yours. But I had to explain to the supervisors, dispatch, and managers this who all just wanted me to throw it back together with old lines. sorry this happened to you.
@@haifai3916 You need to get out of the auto field. Your story sounded a bit like mine 40 years ago. Don't get down on yourself because of some rotten employers and move on. You're worth more than those experiences. Good luck, friend.
@@DayTwo-w8n I appreciate the kind words friend, but don’t worry. I got out of the industry long ago, now working in automation and manufacturing and making 3x what I was making before. 👍🏻
Love the video. I’m a former dealer mechanic as well, 2003-2012. I have the same feelings as you. I ended up going to get a bachelors and masters degree in science. I enjoyed working on cars, it was very satisfying. The pay is nowhere near what it needs to be considering the complexity of modern cars.
My Dad just recently retired, he was a master technician. Unfortunately injuries caught up with him and the last one put him out of the game. He learned the hard way that you need to take care of your body if you're going to have longevity in the physical trades.
I wish I learned a little bit sooner but luckily for me I didn’t hurt my body too much. It really started to dawn on me when my 40-year-old coworkers were having back knee problems like a 70-year-old.
The older generation have a different attitude towards safety. Something unsafe had to be violent and draw some blood . They do not protect their hearing, backs and they do not care gasoline contain lead, still do in aviation, no eye protection and asbestos are just common house hold dust and fluffy cotton wool. They do not understand why we need to dress in a space suit to work on that stuff today. There were no latex gloves in those times. Now shop owners want you to wear steel toes shoes. Military combat veterans are harder to train for safety, for nothing in civilian life matches combat.
There’s also no money to be made on auto body. My cousin went to high school and took auto body as his shop. By 21 he left the industry and found a job that pays more at a company building pallets and industrial lifts. Benefits are better too.
I’ve been tech 48 1/2 years. Flat rate is peace work. It started out so the dealers wouldn’t screw the manufacturer for warranty work. now the manufacture takes to do vehicle one guy change the water pump on a vehicle he does it three times each time he does it faster they take the total time divided by three and that’s your flat rate hour. The guy is doing the work getting screwed 😢😢
To this day I thank the old pros who told me not to make a living as an auto mechanic. (They were successful and owned their own shops.) They warned me in the 1970s and they were right. I've wrenched on the side on cars, motorcycles (my first love), and worked industrial maintenance before enlisting. I'd rather fix aircraft any day and UNlike fighting the horrible issues of fixing cars for retail customers (who I've concluded are insane) the tech data, work environment and especially the pay, MEDICAL and RETIREMENT defecates all over civilian wrenching in big runny streams. The only way out is UP by moving into used car sales, automotive machining (my bro builds race engines and transmissions at his home shop and loves it), service writing etc. If you are still a line mechanic in ten or fifteen years you're stagnating. There are MUCH better environments to wrench in and things with wings have deep-pocketed owners, especially if that owner is Uncle Sugar. Screw all that. Go Air Force or Coast Guard, vest a REAL retirement young, then go to school on the G.I. Bill (= Lottery and other financial aid) after you retire if you want to upskill. (I took welding and CNC machining for fun since I've a personal home shop.) Bonus, many schools hire from within and their schedules are cake with four day weeks typical. I worked for mine after volunteering after class. Industrial controls and similar gigs involve the "fun stuff" about wrenching with fewer idiots and no retail customers. Your life, your call but there is no romance about retail automobile wrenching. It's a grind with no future for most.
This guy gets it! Theres can be a scary risk of being your own boss and running your show but its the most rewarding job that you made! There are so many options out there. Love it!
We've ran a shop for 36 years, i worked for my dad for 22 years flat rate, averaged 120 hrs of flat rate every 2 week period, talk about tough!! Fast forward today, i have 2 techs below me and a service writer and i am still in the shop wrenching by choice. I paymy guys straight pay and pay them well. I tell people all the time it is the most underated profession there is.
I’m an old guy…. rule number one don’t rush. It only makes you look like a fool. if you’re any good at what you do, your work will always be appreciated. just remember easy come easy go
Watch and learn future mechanics! As a master tech from the 90s, we made good money but all went downhill. I was smart, stayed out of debt with Craftsman, even when my colleagues harassed me, I kept on. Fast forward when cars changed and so did the Dealer model to corporate , our profit evaporated, like he described in the video. I immediately bailed, no debt, was not trapped and I had other many other skills. Until the pay is fair for these electronic monsters, and there is some kind of compensation for the tools needed that go obsolete... Let them starve instead of you or your family.
Theres lots of other things to work on besides automobiles. Fuck flat rate. We are highly skilled workers. Take yout time, do it right, be honest and charge them for your work.
Every now and then i like to see the mechanics jobs in my area and there are tons available. All wanting years of experience and knowledge with thousand dollars of tools to boot. But not a single one paying a living wage for the help they are asking for.
In LA about 65% of the dealer mechanics are low wage illegal immigrants with tax id numbers given to them by the state and free school given by the city, as a Latino American i cant compete
I was a tech for Firestone years ago before they started to reduce the Mitchell's times and wages, I went from making over 1200 a week to 400 a week in the early 2000s I quit
Ahh the 'every since you' club lol. "Every since you changed my oil my daughter got pregnant WHAT DID YOU DOOOOO" 😂😂 SEEEEE what had happened was... 😅😅
Former service manager. You've barely covered the top of the iceberg. You'll be asked to work 'off the clock', from changing/showering, to shop meetings, clean up and turn around. You'll be expected to move cars and shovel snow, too. You may have a service dispatcher/shop manager, who hands out the plum jobs to friends. You'll even have to fight for warranty pay, since the job/diagnosis only pays ONCE. Im my experience, the atmosphere on the shop floor when I worked there was only less violent than your typical prison yard. Fist fights were not unusual. Neither was theft. Your fellow employees, or outsiders. I worked in a Buick dealer where they broke into the office, stole a car or two, then took everyone's box. BTW, the dealer's insurance doesn't cover YOUR stuff. Same when a dealer/customer car gets damaged, even when it's not your fault. I've been at dealers where they dock your pay for damage. Finally, and here's the big one- you will get injured, get sick and die sooner. Won't even touch body shops or welders- you're toast. Initially, it will be your back, your knees your feet, which were never meant to stand on concrete for 14 hours/day. But wait, it gets worse. Most of the folds I worked withn in the eighties are disabled or dead. The best man in my wedding never got to retire. Cancer. In my day, no rubber gloves, no respirators, asbestos, chlorinated brake clean, cleaning with naptha/benzene, gasoline, covered in used engine oil all day. No ventilation or climate control. It's a rough life. Benefits? Back then, as 'management', I got a company car. And the dealers I worked for threw some pretty awesome parties. I guess they were cheaper than bonuses.
Dam….i never had it that bad, granted i never stood that long in the dealer. But you wouldn’t be the first person to tell me a story like that! I used to work in a shop when at the end of the day one tech would used brake clean on his skin to clean off the grime and oil…it just blew my mind.
Come on,Bobby! A Dealership is a wonderful place ! to learn all about Capitalism Greed Cronyism Favoritism Outright lying skills Burns,cuts,scrapes, lumps,injuries Unqualified unethical management Screwing over The stupid Customers at every chance
I’m not a mechanic at all but this seems like a microcosm of the shift in American work life and corporatism. Also kids today seeing the trades as easy money makes me laugh in retrospect, even though I was thinking similar things a few years ago. Great content.
I pretty much agree with you. I'm a Heavy Equipment and Heavy Truck mechanic and it's a very similar story. I taught one term at the local university and it was 80% show, 20% mechanics give or take. I've worked for a huge Cat dealership, had my own business and worked for fleets. It's pretty much as you say including the politics, which is the worst part. Back stabbing, ladder climbing semi-competent's steering the show. People with rights, self serving agenda's, professional victims. Two months ago I lost it and quit/retired. Wanted to work a few more years. Get a job at a Hardware Store.
Thanks! I appreciate it i worked in the field from 2010-2023. In that short time i met a lot of veteran mechanics who warned me of whats been going on. Some of them in their early 40s body’s beat up so bad they tell me they feel like they are 70.
Sounds very different from when I was a tech in the 80's to 90's. It's unbelievable that cars have quadrupled in price, are far more sophisticated and mechanics are paid the same or less than thirty years ago. Meanwhile, CEO'S are making tens of millions.
For 7 years i worked on heavy equipment and made a whole lot of money, picked up a smoking habit and my back and knees and one shoulder are fucked. Swapped to a slightly less demanding truck shop position and i still hate my life. But if you can save your back and be smart, go work on equipment
Another thing that is wrong with the USA job market. I work as an automotive tech in Germany. I DO NOT own any tools. All the tools I need are bought, borrowed or stolen by my boss. I am paid a good wage, and nobody will say anything if a job will take longer than expected. Diagnose jobs can take a whole day, as long as we find out what needs to be changed, the boss is happy
@@BobbyBeltzyt that's contrary to the general impression radiating out of the US. I don't do cars I do other machines. I have to supply all tools and PPE to my personnel. It's expected in the rest of the world. Like this German friend says, I charge for every hour and pay for every hour with OT loading as required. I didn't go bankrupt paying this. On the contrary. The biggest problem, I believe, is that cars are consumer goods and the dealers are Cock Womble clerks. Is there no possibility of collective bargaining in the US?
The new modern cars will never compete with simplicity and reliability of the older cars. All these gadgets and electronics will never last 30 plus years after its productions. Being a technician now days with the new cars its not an enjoyable trade and too much stress.
I don't agree, modern cars are bad if you are very set in your ways and cannot adapt. I heard the same BS in the 80s when a whole generation of points and condensor man were forced to retire because they cannot learn the new tech. Same complaints with high stress. New cars are safer, better on gas and cleaner, plus sometimes they clearly tell you what is wrong with them. Even in the 70s, I watched cars into the dealer for a tune up, the apprentice change the plugs while the mechanic did the points and timing etc, I never see a car that spent more than 20 minutes in the bay. That got be be at least couple of hours flat rate. Car computers rarely give trouble , because they do not chase leading edge tech, they are 3,4 tier down, because in a car, there is almost nothing for the computer to do. They can afford to add tasks to the computer, such as voltage regulation, cabin temp etc.
I work at a Toyota dealership as a lube technician and it's kind of a difficult place to work. I sometimes don't get the respect I deserve let alone the company takes credit for the hard work I do. I've been working there for 7 months but at some point I will quit and getting more involved in racing since that's my passion.
If you want more respects, you best rise up higher in the pecking order, like top salesman or manager etc. It is harder to break into a related field if you are not a mechanic. Sometimes you need to pull rank with your license. Gov/ military/unions place high value on any piece of paper you can produce and will give you credit for it , even if the degree is a major on gender studies.
Im not in the trade anymore but freind of mine is. He does gatekeep if the apprentice is a meathead which many are. If a young guy isnt cocky and legitimately wants to learn he will take them under his wing
From my experience in most trades, there is a one in ten chance of a kid starting out and made it all the way through and walk away with a license. It is not that easy or we all be licensed. Sometimes you can do the same tasks all the time and the clock still keep on ticking, but you learn nothing. First year in a union construction site, all the new guy did was to haul coffee for the journeymen. A gas tech app. can spent all his hours just throwing in hot water tank and nothing else, it count.
A meathead to one may be an expert to another. I was one of those meat heads. I discovered the company gave me the wrong sized wire for the job, and when I said something , I was told it is fine because it is rated at higher temperature. So I went home and checked the code book, I was right. So when I asked again, I was told it is none of my business, I was an apprentice , third years and if I don't like it, pack up and leave. I did just that a few days later. 3 months later, the lights I wired are much harder to get at for ground equipment (Freezer) are blocking the access with the lifts.(it was a supermarket) The partner I worked with called me saying the inspector discovered the wrong sized wires and ordered it all replaced. I bet the foreman told him it was some meathead that screwed it all up.
@tonylam9548 By meathead I meant the ones who think they know everything when they actually know the square root of f-all, and argue about everything. Same ones half the work they do ends in rework and comebacks. You tried to do your job properly, and were right to speak up if it was against code because codes are there for a reason. You don't sound like a meathead.
I stuck with the field but I made the best move was to work on govt fleet vehicles I get paid hourly and have benefits plus workers always break stuff lol
You make 87 hours in a week but at what cost? Your mental by being rushed and afraid of breaking something or doing it for free? Your health? your body? For some pay these days it’s not worth it.
As someone in NASCAR Tech, going through the Ford program, this is extremely alarming. 4 weeks in, about a year and a half’s worth of 3 week courses to go through, and most of the teachers were a technician. I haven’t met any yet who haven’t glorified Flat Rate like it is the key to getting rich.
@@BobbyBeltzyt Only had 2 so far. First was late 20s, the other is easily 60s, maybe 70s if he’s just taken care of himself. Younger teacher talked about his Lexus experience, and how he was clocking 50-60 hours a week just doing work in heavy lines. Older teacher just talks about him getting a good amount of money. He left Subaru some time in 2020 if I remember correctly. Most of these other teachers I talk to in passing, or if they come in the class, and they all say go flat rate as soon as you can. “You’re gonna love the auto mechanic field. Once you go flat rate, you’re golden.” Listen, I’m already here. You don’t need to continue convincing me spending the next 2 years doing MSATs, basic training, AC training, and welding for a career path that actively fucks over anyone but the boss that sits on his ass while the victims of the rolling right to repair violations get bloody hands and maybe a monster for lunch if he can afford it. It wasn’t. It is going to cost me $52,000 because of the over qualification I signed up for. I enrolled in 2 of the 3 MSATS when normally people take 1, or none at all, because I want to be THE best decision when I go to get hired. But, on the bright side, atleast I get work shirts with NASCAR TECH embroidered on them and the ability to say “my mechanic training? A tiny placed called NASCAR TECH” which is going to hopefully make someone laugh in the future, even if it’s just myself.
Thats just so weird. I don’t want to discount mechanics who genuinely had a good experience as a flat rake tech because even as screwed up as the system is right now, I bet there are very few little places that are doing well but it’s not the majority for sure I’m not too sure what school you are going to, but I went to Universal technical Institute and took the Ford FACT program and I learned more in that program than I did in the whole school and that’s not a knock on the school. It’s just that program was so good and the benefit of it was even when I got out of the school and got out of working for Ford. I was able to land a job with a huge utility company that is very picky on who they hire unlike college people will look at your trade school experience and that will be a huge factor so you’re doing the right thing. Keep on keeping on.
It still sucks a fair bit. Illinois and New York have third party (alldata, motor, etc...) times instead of garbage warranty. I'm here in Texas. $43 to the flag hour at a Kia dealer. All I'm missing is that proper pay for warranty repairs. Gentlmen, ladies, all of you automotive technicians, call your representative. Write them a letter. Get their attention on this! If those two states managed to do it, other states can too!
Gotta love the boomer voice and good ol’ Barb lmao. Awesome video and thank you for shedding some light on the issue in the mechanic world, it sounds rough out there
*_Bad as it is for Mechanics and it is ... Look into what kinda Minimum Wage Sweat Shop environment Body Mechanics and Painters work in. Here in Kentucky Mechanic Garages charge 125 to 150 per hour while Body Shops earn 52. Here a High School Kid with 100 dollar lawnmower makes more per hour than a Bodyman with 20 years experience and 100,000 dollars in tools._*
Thats just terrible! I could never be a body guy because it takes too much patience and a skilled hand. Two things I don’t have enough of. But i feel like that skill should get paid alot more
@@BobbyBeltzyt *Back in the day we made almost twice what Mechanics did if nothing else for the chemistry. But Modern Insurance Companies took care of all that ...*
@@BobbyBeltzyt *_Once they got the laws in place it was as easy for them as falling down steps. Like the Shakedown (Richie Aprile gets released from the can immediately goes after Beansie clip _**_4:31_**_)_*
I replaced a grill on a Dodge diplomat, The customer paid the invoice.I get a call from his insurance adjuster complaining about the invoice. The adjuster said it was 5 dollars too high and I should refund the 5 dollars.
I think this is what manufacturers want. They want your car to be like a phone. They wanna sell you a battery or a new car. The only effect a lack of mechanics has on manufacturers is warranty work.
I am so fucking glad someone else gets it, people just dont see the flaw when i explain how much of an IPad on wheels cars are becoming. Once they get their way with EVs we are gonna suffer the consequences of that extreme consumerist mindset. Imagine the EVs left to rot somewhere and what will happen when mother nature eventually gets to shorting out the battery. Im sooo sure well recycle ALL of those batteries in an eco friendly and responsible way no fucking doubt about it.. case and point if you just look at what happens to old phones in africa.
My father worked as an auto mechanic since 1980 and still does it occasionally however growing up on the farm I realize he was more happy as a farmer then going to a dealership that takes Souls and sometimes lives
I was an auto tech from 1973-1999 and back then it was horrible. Obviously nothing has changed and the auto field still is horrible. Flat rate=Fart rate. Guys...get out of the field. It is NOT worth it.
It's definitely a tough business. Been doing it since I was 18 and I'm 47 now And the cars are a whole lot more complicated than what they were back in the mid '90s and early 2000s And in some ways I do not blame the younger crowd for not wanting to join in the action because if I would have taken a different route I could have been retiring by now
Thank goodness that my automotive community and brethren are more relaxed than a lot of the old heads. Dealt with a a clutched alternator being seized and had to ask questions because it could turn one way but not the other when I was used to seized alternators not turning at all.
Alternators that I know of can turn both ways, In modifying a car, sometimes the alt had to be relocated and turn the other way. I am not sure what a clutch do in an alternator.
If the pay and working conditions are lousy, then you do not have a shortage. Trucking industry been crying shortage for many decades, but with the same lousy conditions. I believe in the law of supply and demand, if there is a real shortage, pay goes up. How long do you think the auto industry can get away if they make cars more skill demanding and reduce the mechanic's pay. I monitored other fields that cried shortage in the past, all BS. There are no accountability if the person who cried are wrong. If there is a real shortage , it will take about 7 years to fix. That is what take the high school kids to notice how high the pay be and allow time for them to do their apprenticeships. But sometimes these green mechanics will lack the in depth knowledge of the older ones.
I'm going to chime in. I've watched both your videos on this and can agree and disagree. My story, 20 yrs between to dealerships, not stealerships.... I dislike that term because both were small town and it only took one unhappy customer to spread a bad word like wildfire. We helped the customer as much as we could, we wanted them back, we did not pressure them or try to upsale anything. But your right, it wears on a guy trying to beat the book every day, and in my first dealership, the owner fudged alot of warranty claims to get the work covered. This put me under warranty labor ops constantly and yes, that op is 1/2 of normal book time, even less if your working under Chrysler.. Believe me, back in the late 80's through the 90's, chrysler was junk. You are also right with complexity, u do have to be part IT guy in order to track down electrical problems, there is a module to do every simple operation on the vehicle these days. If your cranking out 70 -80 even over a 100 hrs a week, then u are specialized in one area and its the same thing over and over, but small town dealerships, you have to do everything that comes in the door... I got out of automotive world 17 years ago. 6.5 years ago i took a fleet mechanic job and i'm right back in it. A few good things about this position is that i'm by myself, hourly and straight days. It is a struggle at times but hopefully for no more then 4 more years. Being a certified master mechanic is hard and hard on a guy.
Well i will agree with you on some dealerships (usually the small ones) that are owned by a family care more about there customers and employees. Their name is attached to that dealership and they don’t want to tarnish it. I only worked for a dealership owned by a corporation and it wasn’t the stories that I heard from mom and pop dealerships. The sad thing is from what I’m hearing those family own dealerships are starting to fade away and get eaten up by big corporations.
@@BobbyBeltzyt i wasn't saying that u said (stealership), its just in general that i hear it. People deserved a little extra and thats what we did... A lot of no charge was what said.
I pretty much agree with what you said. I've been a dealership technician for 38 years so I'm kind of stuck where I'm at I do okay I'm not as bad as the other people out there but definitely the entire service department is not the same as it was 20 years ago in fact it took me 20 years to make what I was making back in 2004 thanks to very greedy dealerships who f***** over their employees and I mean that explicitly cutting our vacation from what was the percentage of what you'd make annually to only $100 a day. If I ever see the owner of the dealership again in the future which I never will I'll tell that f***** off like you've never seen for Delta bulshit he did screwed over people who worked really hard for him he was more than happy to please the customer as long as it didn't come out of his pay. and the manufacturers aren't doing much better I got reprimanded for some feedback on a car repaired which I really laughed at because the manufacturer doesn't have parts available and you think the people who work there know that they're not available but they don't because you would think that manufacturers all talk to each other and meaning their parts division service division sales and etcetera I'll talk to each other they don't. Anyways that's my little rant have a great day I could tell you hours and hours of stuff that go on every day
Hey man, I really appreciate you sharing your story. Everyone’s life in the dealership is different but the major consensus is the juices isn’t worth the squeeze. I keep trying to tell the ambitious youth find something different to do for a living. It will kill your passion.
Jeez I've lived that mess, Master Auto & Truck tech since 1976. When I started installing Atlas parts at Chevron station in 1973, we got half the labor and 5% of the parts. A conscientious tech could work 6 days a week and raise a family easily with some toys. Then in the early 80's they cut us to 40% on warranty labor, I flagged 120% every pay half so I never faced the yearly slump layoff, but it makes me sick to think about what they pay techs today. Of course they have to have double the employees to peck at keyboards today but it's still way to low. 😢 Before computerization 1 parts guy and 2 service writers could manage 15 techs with 3 different makes with a pen and clipboard. Those days are gone, we are not an efficient society today and may never be again. It's so bad these days knowing which cars to NOT work on is more important than ever if you want to survive.
I thank myself everyday from fixing cars to fixing jets, aviation just pays so much more because of the “stress” lol it’s not bad, 25 now making $47 an hour join aviation boyz you won’t regret it
You should check out my recent video at the bone yard, real cool to see the turbine engines up close and personal even though i have no idea what Im looking at lol
From a 40yrs master mechanic, if I would have chosen straight ass plumbing or electrician I would own 2 vans with crews a mini track hoe and dump trailer. With the 100,000 it took in tools to beat the book time.I walked away as a 45hr.$.tech F- that I would have driven a school bus and had every day the kids have off I would be off also with 😊PAY.
I been a ASE certified automotive master technician for 40 plus years nobody wants to pay for your hard earned work but they pay a plumber and a electrician you are not just 💩 I should have listened to my mother she told me to go into the Air Force and I would be retired now with a pension and working for Boeing which is near me they hire people from the military and be ready to retire from there instead I have nothing but dept and I have to work till I drop dead the American dream work till you drop thank you for the video it made me feel good and have a blessed day today 🙏
Hey God, bless you too, We were all lied to about being a mechanic, everyone now a days is just struggling to keep their head above the water, and hold their breath long enough before the next wave crashes. Hang in there buddy!
When I did my time at the end of the 70s early 80s here in Australia your most advanced tools were your brains, eyes, ears nose and touch even back then I found I could make more money doing other things as by the time I did my 4 year apprenticeship I was losing my enjoyment of working on cars and bikes and I didn’t want to open my own shop. I spent the next 10 years working in the Steel industry and in the security industry on the side. I made more money than I ever could working on cars and bikes driving overhead cranes and learning all kinds of new things. Until recently I continued working on cars and bikes and now I’m over 60 I totally agree with your comments and like my last occupation in the security industry I would never encourage anyone to work as mechanic especially on the likes of EVs or hybrids for that matter which are so high tech now a mechanic relies on computers for everything which always aren’t right.
@@BobbyBeltzyt the old body doesn’t work like it used to that’s the biggest part of my problem. I’ve done so much even on new cars and bikes I miss the days when I was even doing things like rebuilding and tuning carbies, full engine, transmission and differential rebuilds even modifying. Thinks it’s sad things are so technical now.
Those 3400 and 3800 are freaking bulletproof! I want to own one, one of these days, simple and reliable! I would really love to own a sleeper park ave ultra one day
I skipped the mechanic field shortly after dipping my toes in. Got yelled at for doing a full brake job not even 10 minutes slower than the guy with 40 years of experience, and slaved away for $8 on paper but in reality my hours werent even counted so I got tricked into slavery for a week, I left as soon I figured that out and told them to fuck off the second they begged me to come back because I had multiple jobs booked. Got a job at a convenience store making $13 out of the gate and regretted wasting 3 years of my life for education as a mechanic instead of construction, electrician or trucker. Might try dipping my toes as a fleet tech though.
I got out of the trade field because most of it is heavy duty/ medium duty diesel I never really had plans on becoming that kind of technician. I mostly wanted to stay toward gasoline light duty vehicles but if you don’t mind that it is the best way to go if you want to stay being a technician, most fleets will hire you with some formal education so don’t be discouraged.
I worked for a fleet for a utility company for a while. they paid good but i was getting tired working on trucks so i stayed in the same company and moved into the supply chain. Same pay less strain on the body
Dealerships definitely have that clique thing goingon with allthe gravy flowing in a certain direction. Not much you can do about warranty repair. If you're still wanting to wrench after watching this video, go find a successful independent shop with an owner who values employees and furthering education, and its still worthwhile.
I highly agree! All it takes is for you to piss off the wrong dispatcher and you don’t get “fed” and then they will give all the gravy work to the guy that sells things that dont need to be changed.
I am very biased, but I feel like a lot of things after the early-mid 2000s made cars a nightmare to work on. Its hard to pinpoint an exact year when it all ‘went wrong’. I have an 02 subaru and it is a dream to work on, the car seems to have only what is necessary and not too much computerization. ECU, fuse box, and an airbag module and thats it. Thats just my opinion though and I understand how an older mechanic might compare my car to an older car and see it as super complex.
Your right, i think when the car started incorporating networks and Gateway modules is when it all started going downhill very fast. I still cringe when i see multiple communication failure codes in the DTC. Also we have modules for everything the door, the seat, we are pretty much driving a computer at this point. I mean some cars need to “update” before you can drive them. The current youngest car i own is my 04 Tahoe and ill be keeping it for a while.
Moving to a fleet 10yr ago was the best decision I ever made. I worked on trash trucks and learned a lot then moved to semi trucks learned more and now I work on EV delivery fleets and make the most I ever thought I would. Let’s put it this way I broke 100k in the Midwest when most people only make 35k-55k. My fave part is fleet give you 2 main options, working directly for a fleet or working for a fleet contractor. Each has their perks. Now there are a few draw backs to fleet work. 1. money and work is usually at night. 2. lots of repetition due to fleets usually being the same makes and models. 3. moving up can take many years even if your a fast leaner and proven worker. 4. your probably going to work over 8 hr a day. I personally like the OT but I know the current trend is to 8 and skate for the younger crowd. 4.5 working over 8 hr every day is going to burn you out in some way. You have to learn to cope with it.
@@BobbyBeltzyt oh I totally agree. I’m not in anyway knocking fleet life. I just wanted to highlight the downsides to anyone thinking of jumping ship. I like the fact you get to see your actions as a tech make a difference when you see the fleet’s health improve and the drivers are happy to have their vehicles working properly.
@@edbuckley1670 not bad. I was at $40 with my last job working on cargo delivery, box truck and step vans it was gas and diesel. Trailer tech isn’t a bad gig. I worked on some real trash trailers (Hogan) and some owner operators too.
Let’s not forget cheap Chinese parts that after installing you have to diagnose cheap ass part, for free, and then tell an incompetent service writer how they messed up
Dang this was crazy informative. Had no idea being a mechanic was like this nowadays. Also, the gatekeeper section, sound so accurate to what I’ve heard in other professions as well lmao “Soft hands”
Thanks! There’s definitely a generational gap in the workforce that thinks they know it all, and no one will be able to work harder than them. I think it spans outside of the automotive field.
My dad was a mechanic in the 80s and I was a Bodyman for 20 years. There is no way I would let my sons or anybody in my family go into the automotive industry. They keep squeezing the little guy… so happy I made it out!!! would never go back!!!
Worked at shops for 3 years, now I'm going to be a lineman, because shops don't pay at all. I've always been extremely above average in production , shops are just greedy, my last manager even promised a pay raise after I had worked 90 days, 6 months after that he said he "couldn't do it" good luck replacing me, because very few people can quadruple production much less do it correctly. I'll make 3x as much just being a lineman's apprentice, and I can fix my own car from scratch so I'll never be driving to a shop, except to get new tires.
I actually work with lineman and i will say most of them average about 80 hours a week so if you like working ALOT thats the job for you! Only thing ill say is dont pick up their habits some lineman are some strange people lol
Linesmen have some hard barrier for new guys to overcome to get in, for they are usually larger companies in this field. They want high marks in school, and you took all the right subjects etc Once you get your papers, you are busy much of the time. Like in Toronto, even if another place out of country is in need , there are agreements to help each others and you can be sent to NY or Florida , sometimes with your truck. Never ending overtime, but you have to be outside in the worse conditions , best is if you are younger. You can burn your mortgage papers really fast. Small towns you can find a job much easier , especially if you know someone.
@@tonylam9548 sounds like what i already did as a mechanic but i get pai way more an i get to travel lol. ive done all the unwanted or time consuming jobs, on top of working on vehicles (like hearses) that most tech wouldnt touch, My dad and younger borther both have class a cdls because driving big rigs tuns in our blood. im not scared of heights and id rather be on a windy icy pole then on the hard icy ground underneath a box truck. anything i lack i have no problem proving i can learn it properly an quickly enough to get the job done. Edit: im already qualified and taking the aptitude test for the indoor electricians aprenticeship, i know the one for linemen might be harder so im aim is to get as close to acing it as possible to practice for the linesman one, math is a fun subject, especially algebraic math, an learning about the mechanics of electricity comes more natural to me then i might thought, because of how parallel to science it is.
@@TaraNewone Linesman are much better jobs than electrician, just like truck mechanics are better than auto mech. Because trucks and lines man require a larger company to operate, more red tape and tougher entrance requirements. An auto mech or a electrician can work in an industrial unit.(or even a home garage) Most of the math is BS and those in the field, you can work out many just in your head, college class time is almost useless , but you have to pass them. Electricians is only good ........sometimes if you get into the unions They been known to have a year+ wait for jobs. Linesman you do not have to be fast fast fast. But you do work outdoor a lot in the worse weather. You need to keep your truck license.
I was making $14 per flat rate hour at a Pontiac dealership in the Late 80's - summer was ok, winter was horrible and they did too much warrantee work, which paid way less...
@@BobbyBeltzyt Nope, not if you are a perfectionist - I never made more than 20K per year. I took too long to do the job right the first time. I should have gone into Fabrication, or Aircraft, or Machinist work at the time. Now, I'm in IT The only way I could ever see it being worth it, (because I still like to turn a wrench), would be to have your own shop and to flip cars - restore the old classics, (like new, better than new, resto-mods), and sell them to people who can afford to buy them
Tons of good points. I have been in the business for 30 years and have tons of diagnostic equipment that was not even dreamed up when I started. It is expensive to do, but still rewarding. It will wear out your body over time (two massive spine surgeries later). But there are many less physical avenues today. I'm leaning into programming, less physical, but still automotive. I enjoyed the video enough that I'm going to sub. Thanks!👍👍
Thanks I really appreciate the sub! In the future, I definitely want to get back into the automotive field, but I don’t wanna fall back into the same trap with even worse cars. I haven’t found that avenue yet but I’m still looking. Who knows maybe this thing will work out 🤷🏼♂️
The machinist trade went the same way as the mechanic trade. Everyone make money except the one that does the work. Soon they will have no tradeworks to suck the life out of.
Thanks! Yeah, I definitely put more time and effort into these videos. Reading from a script can be rough ill admit. I could probably fill a full Hours worth of blooper reals.
computers screens all things that nobody who twists wrenches wants to mess with I hate technology. Also why in the world do they make serpentine belt tensioners so hard to get to and out of aluminium so when you torque on the stupid thing you strip it out and most belt jobs only pay 1 hour when you have a quarter of an inch of space.
Shame! Tell folks! Keep educating and speaking up. I always thought they made money hand over fist. You made me laugh too. I really hope you have a bright, happy, prosperous future.
Thank you! And i hope you do too! Im just trying to maybe shine some like to the technicians that are still in school and are eating up the lies that some dealerships have been telling them
shortages are caused by wages being illegally suppressed. there are no shortages in a free market economy. 30 years under my belt as a mercedes mechanic. imo if NADA did not exist we would be making well over 60 per hour and flat rate would be accurate. NADA needs to be investigated
Well sure i can feel like that can be a avenue why. but i and other say there us a shortage and need for techs because people dont want to do the job any more. There can Absolutely be a shortage. And i need to look more into NADA i have herd bad things about them
@@BobbyBeltzyt i ran a union fight against auto nation. even the union warned me about NADA. They called it a union and commented about how tight and organized they are. people want to do the job. they cant when it does not pay market wages.
Spot on video!!! I work at an independent Euro shop, although it is much better than dealerships. It is still the same thing. The juice just isn’t worth the squeeze. I am a 27 year veteran with euro cars. I am on the lookout for a new opportunity but don’t know what I want to do yet. I just know 2025 is my last year
I’m a little biased against European cars. I just don’t have the patience like some people to work on them but the guys who do and love doing it I salute it takes a whole lot of knowledge to fix them, but it seems like every year they get even more more complex and expensive, it must be hard for you guys to keep up. The Internet will be your best friend. You should try asking Reddit. There’s gotta be someone like you that was once in your position.
There is no Old mechanic around teach them how to do head gaskets All they do is change the clutch and brake pads and have got All their knowledge out of the books
There's someone in every field complaining about the same stuff. Old doctors: "The medical field is dead. U have to learn new stuff and diagnostics take too long now" 😂 Laziness is the plague. I worked in the industry for 7 years to learn every manufacturers strategy thn opened a car lot. Now I get vehicles for dirt cheap and can fix them all for the price of parts. Every job is a stepping stone to the goal of ownership. Everyone wants what the boss has but very few are willing to put in the work to get it. Nothing new
No i agree with you on that. Don’t get me wrong in this video. There are a ton of lazy people that just want the benefits with none of the work! But good on you for being your own boss it’s really something I inspire to be one day.
@@BobbyBeltzyt you've got the experience from the grunt work. You've moved to an easier job with equal or better pay. And u have a TH-cam channel. I can alrdy tell greatness is around the corner for u. Good luck bro
So is diesel mechanic not worth it or is that field the exception. I’ll be taking classes in 3 months. Currently work at a factory and I’ll be at 30 something an hour in a few months. My factory gives yearly raises as well. I’ve gotten 3.5% raises for 3 years and I expect the same or a little more for this 4th year. I need advice. My factory job sucks my soul out of my body. I just stay for the yearly raises
Diesel mechanic work is Absolutely worth it! I never had heavy duty diesel training but i did get light duty training through the ford FACT program which got me into fleet jobs working on heavy duty diesel and working fleet is def way to go
I went from an auto mechanic to diesel fleet my last fleet job paid 22.50 an hour with a lot of overtime now I'm a trailer mechanic for semi trailers I started at 35.64 plus $3 an hour for working nights
Everything said in this video is true. Close to 30 years as flat rate A tech at GM dealerships. The last 10 I hated going to work. Found a job at a large landscape, golf course construction company. It was different but so much less stress. Then ran the shop for a privot golf club. Very easy. Now I just mow fairways twice a week. Relaxing. Dealers suck. Flat rate sucks. Service mangers lie. How work gets dispatched is another video on it's own.
Man thank you for this! Its good to know that im not the only one who feels this way because honestly after hitting upload on this video i felt like i was going to get berated by those techs that think if you’re not a shill for a company that can care less about you you’re a lazy worker
In estonia. I would say these effects do look to come here too. Obviously what is here is overcomplicated cars, trucks, buses. I had to do a simple pad change on a 2017 audi. Oh what, you need special socket just for removing the brake caliper. then pain in the ass to get the pads in place. plus wheels so big and heavy that even me sitting on a chair that has wheels. lifting the wheel onto my lap is already a task that is quite difficult. a wheel weighing like 50kg is not normal. i switched from bus company to passenger cars so that i would get physically easier work but ye. not really. the pay is not catching up to the work you have to do. my advice would be getting fixed salary and doing work relaxed. don't hustle. take things slow, try to make yourself feel as comfortable as you can. for me it is sitting in chair as much as i can while working. and the flat rate things i think are somewhat same in dealers.
Sorry, that sucks. Having a Toyota, I'm expecting to have oil changes and basic stuff done and not much else, so, shit work, and I have to do all of it at the dealership, so I can keep my ten year warranty going (what do they call it, 'Toyota Relax'? 😄). I hope the technicians are paid OK where I go. I don't want a dissatisfied dude struggling to pay his rent to work on my car. Nobody wins in that scenario. The service price is fairly high for just an oil change, They put on more items, like 'checks', and cabin filter, ect... but I don't mind that so much, as long as the work is good, and it's all fair and all.
I cant comment on every dealership, but from my experience oil changes at a dealer will only pay a technician somewhere from 0.3-0.5 hours of pay so they are told to look for things to fix like brakes, filters, flushes. Thats how they make their money on basic maintenance. From what i see alot of techs are stressed but just be cautious about what they try to sell you if you got a scummy tech they will try and sell you the world to make their time. But there are plenty good people that wont. If you do tip just remember to tip them directly and not the service writer. Lol
I was a mechanic for 20 years and now i'm a electrician better pay and less headache
I was a tech for a Mazda and Mitsubishi tech in the early 2000’s right after graduating with flying colors from my trade school. I didn’t mind it at first as I was doing mostly LOFs and some warranty work on an hourly rate. Then, the shop manager left and with him, half of the good techs I worked with. The parts manager was promoted to shop manager and he never really liked me for some reason or another. My work started drying up, I was converted to a hourly/flat rate tech and got stuck doing only warranty work. I lost my ass doing that for another year until all my work dried up and was let go. Decided hell no - I am never working for a dealership again. Ended up working on outdoor power equipment for a while, then did some other stuff before becoming a tech for a family-owned used car dealer for a couple of years in the mid 2010s where I could really apply some of the things I have learned and adopted over the years. Did that until we moved and worked for UPS as a tech for a month before I said screw it and decided never to turn wrench for a living again. I don’t know if I am necessarily happier, but I am definitely cleaner and healthier. My back stopped hurting, my feet feel a lot better and I have regained that physical flexibility again and feel much younger than I actually am. I thought when I gave up I would be miserable. Hell no - I make more money now working for an auto manufacturer as a quality inspector than I ever did as a tech. And I am treated a hell of a lot better too!
I’m so glad you figured out your worth! and I’ll always say this, there is no paycheck in the world more important than your health
im a class a automechanic , and i stop working as a mechanic for all those reasons , now im painting houses and i earn more money without to know anithing and no responsabilities ...now i do mechanics for me and my good neighbors for free
I've been working as a car mechanic in Germany for almost two years. I trained at a Volkswagen dealership, where I gained my first experience as a journeyman at another Volkswagen dealership. I quit my third Volkswagen dealership job because I didn't want to rip off customers or constantly work under time pressure. After that, I switched to an independent workshop, but I was fired after less than a week because they thought I was too slow. They even questioned my journeyman’s certificate. In hindsight, that was incredibly disrespectful towards me.
At authorized dealers, you're just the guy doing routine tasks like inspections, oil changes, or changing filters until you train to become a technician or even a master. The last two jobs made me seriously doubt my abilities as a mechanic, to the point where I wanted to leave the profession, even though I actually enjoy the work. But I don't want to, and above all, I can't work in such a toxic environment. I'm already mentally struggling, and something like that would drain energy I simply don't have.
I have noticed being a mechanic along with alot of other blue collar jobs is that there is little to no patience when it comes to new and inexperienced technicians and it normally drives people away. That along with the low pay is really going to cause a massive shortage.
Im sorry you had that experience ive been there with a couple of shops no one should be rushed to do a quality job.
I've done Mechanic work & IT work.
They both come down to the same thing client-wise; work for clients who have Money & are willing to spend Money.
If they won't PAY then you should not PLAY.
Great rule of thumb!
"That's what the people want.They want to be driving a computer with all the creature comforts..."
I don't think anyone really asked them what they want. This is what the car companies have pushed out there, for better or worse. I have yet to see a car later than mid 2010's that I would be willing to tolerate, and for exactly the reason you state. I don't want a computer on wheels. I'm a techie when it comes to computer stuff myself, and while I have a great appreciation for what computers can do, I also come equipped with an appreciation for simplicity.
My Fox body Mustang 5.0 has pin switches in the doors that ground when the door is open, completing a circuit, causing the dome light to come on. It has an ignition switch that sends power to the ECU, fuel pump relay, and all that other stuff, preparing the car to be started once the pip signal is received. When I rotate the key to start, it trips the starter relay, which sends battery power into the starter solenoid, which engages the starter pinion with the flywheel and sends that power to the starter motor, and the car starts. When I turn the key to the off position, it unceremoniously cuts power to the ECU, ignition system, fuel pump, etc., and the engine turns off. There's no "keep the radio on until he opens the door." I turned it off, and it's off! Simple. Deterministic. Perfect.
The same pattern exists throughout the car. The computer in that car is not concerned with anything besides the engine. It can control spark advance, injector pulse width, EGR position, AIRB/AIRD valve position, CANP valve position, and I think that's about it. The throttle opens when I press the pedal and a cable pulls on the arm on the throttle body. The cruise control works by diverting engine vacuum to a diaphragm that pulls on the throttle and opens it as needed. The car was built in the 80s, and it still works perfectly! So does the HVAC system, where the temperature is operated by a cable connected to the rotary temp knob, and with the other air control done by vacuum motors. The fan speed is set by a simple four position switch that varies the resistance on the fan motor circuit and modulates the fan speed accordingly. And like the cruise control, everything in the HVAC system still works! I have had to replace the compressor for the AC, and the heater core (twice), but the air control box has never been touched.
My S197 Mustang GT with the Coyote is different. I open the car door, and a switch in the latch assembly tells the computer "driver door is open" over CANBUS. It puts the dome light on. I close the door, and that switch now tells the computer the door is closed. The computer leaves the dome light on, though, until I start the car, or until I've lollygagged for a few minutes and it decides I've had enough light. Even if I had left the door open or put the light on using the dimmer switch, the computer will eventually decide that's all I get and turn it off after several minutes. When I press the pedal, it sends a signal to the computer letting it know how much power I desire from the engine, and the computer sets the throttle position based on a combination of my wish and its own.
I'm not telling the car what to do... I am making requests to the computer, which then decides whether it wants to do what I have told it. I love much about the car, but the whole "everything is an input device for HAL, which will decide what happens with the car" is horrible. The newer car is quieter, much quicker, safer, gets better gas mileage, handles better, has more room, and the body is far more rigid and robust (no need for subframe connectors), but it doesn't feel like a "forever" car like my older one is. It seems like this overly complex array of unnecessary computerization is going to fail one day, and trying to get to the bottom of the issue is going to break me, or else whatever high-tech part I need will have been discontinued 20 years ago and all the used ones are just as bad as mine. I can still get parts for the older car... not always OEM, but lots of aftermarket stuff, some of which is actually usable. These high tech bits will not be aftermarket items, though.
That is what I find even worse about cars newer than mine, that wretched smart fob/pushbutton start garbage, which is comorbid with these cars that have built in infotainment systems that one cannot simply swap out like we always have been able to with head units, because now it's a proprietary part of the car that is needed for some things. They will fail in time. Touchscreens, LCDs, they're fragile things that are subjected to harsh conditions. High heat in the summer baking in the sun, extreme cold in the winter outside buried in snow, vibration whenever the car is in use. And when it does, then what? Same deal as above... the dealer has probably discontinued it (and before it did, they cost a small to medium fortune), and all the used ones are as bad as yours, or will be as soon as you pay through the nose to get one and install it.
I am absolutely not clamoring for any of this, and I don't know of anyone else who is. People may say "oh, neat" when the salesman shows them all the bells and whistles, but that's not them demanding this stuff... it's them taking it after it is already a fait accompli.
Simplicity reduces costs, breakdowns, troubleshooting time, and weight. Things are way more complicated than necessary.
I read this entire thing and honestly enjoyed it thoroughly! You should start a blog! I do agree with you though to take it to a extreme and unbiased example the way you described your newer mustang is that way i would descrive every tesla I’ve driven. Yes they are fast and fancy definitely a party trick car. But i dont feel like i am the one in control. I mean the car will stop itself and refuse to drive if something its reading is terribly wrong. Your fox on the other hand will have nothing to stop you from driving it into a wall and the ECH would have no idea what happened. Now from a enthusiast stand point i think the majority of us want simplicity. We dont want stuff thats to complex to mod, fix, find. What i ment buy saying the consumer wants all the creature comforts is people that don’t really car for cars like us that really are just looking for a car with heated seats and apple car play and maybe some type of autopilot system. They could care less if the displacement or performance of the engine and the thing is those people are the majority and who manufactures will take priority over. Personally i think as long as there are older cars and parts being made for them i wont stop buying older cars.
@@BobbyBeltzyt yes customers want creature comforts, but they also dont give 2 farts about whether the horn or the door ajar switch goes through can bus or a simple relay. Manufacturers purely do it because of cost, less to implement everything through one screen as opposed to individual switches and circuits. Also Teslas and other electric cars could be extremely simple if they wanted to be. My brother has a nissan leaf(and an old truck for truck stuff) and works well for his needs.
I am a retired cadillac technician with over 30 years experience in a cad. dealership. My favorite comment I got from my bean counting boss was after I spent two days chasing down an electrical wiring issue. Why didn't you look there first? That was his comment. I don't miss any of it!
I also worked as an cadillac technician for 30 years. The service manager would come to me with a car that was on a third strike by back. He would tell me, punch in and out for work time and tell me what you need. I had to write a novel to explain what I did to fix the issue.
Was a heavy diesel mechanic..switched to golf and turf mechanic at a private club.with all new equipment..very good salary.easier work.not as damaging to the body
I herd if you dont mind the hot sun (at least in florida) its a pretty good job
In canada here..mostly in an air-conditioned shop..season runs 6 months..busy..relax in the office for 6 months and tinker a bit
I was a lube tech at a big company for about a year. Got fired randomly because apparently I hadn't finished out enough tickets that week. Went to go work for a mom and pop shop and they fired me because they hired two mechanics at the same time and decided to fire the guy who was less productive. I was less productive because the head mechanic kept giving me tickets that were just wrong and refused to listen to me. He told me to change the headlight bulbs in a newer Volvo will non-serviceable projectors. I had to explain to him that there are no headlight bulbs on that car and that the entire assembly needs to be replaced because they're LED/projector. He told me that's bullshit and I stood there for 4 hours twiddling my thumbs because he wouldn't allow me to take another ticket or return the car to the customer (who was waiting.) I eventually convinced his son, who was one of the senior mechanics, to explain to his father that they are not replaceable. Didn't even get as much as an apology except from the son.
Another ticket he gave me was to do an oil change on a Hummer H1 with an aftermarket half inch thick steel skid plate along the entire underside of the engine. It was mounted in such a way that the skid plate was maybe about 3 inches from the ground, and the H1 was too big to fit on the lift. I had to contort my body in a way that allowed me to take off all of the bolts, and he wouldn't allow me to work on it outside so I had to somehow get the floor jack between the 2-post lift and the Hummer to jack it up.
They were all like this. He then fired me on a Monday morning by saying "Your last day was Friday, by the way." after I had finished getting the shop ready and after driving an hour through a blizzard to get there.
Wow! That is Absolutely terrible! I had a similar story to your first. I worked for a fleet at one point and was doing a fuel pump and injectors on a direct injection, Tahoe. GM service manual said (in big bold red letters almost about a page long) DO NOT reuse high pressure fuel lines, they will leak and cause a fire. It wasn’t as confrontational as yours. But I had to explain to the supervisors, dispatch, and managers this who all just wanted me to throw it back together with old lines. sorry this happened to you.
I got fired by be slow because I don’t have good tools or a tool cart yet and pay cheques are just like a drip to afford only one thing a week. 😂
@@haifai3916 You need to get out of the auto field. Your story sounded a bit like mine 40 years ago. Don't get down on yourself because of some rotten employers and move on. You're worth more than those experiences. Good luck, friend.
@@DayTwo-w8n I appreciate the kind words friend, but don’t worry. I got out of the industry long ago, now working in automation and manufacturing and making 3x what I was making before. 👍🏻
Love the video. I’m a former dealer mechanic as well, 2003-2012. I have the same feelings as you. I ended up going to get a bachelors and masters degree in science.
I enjoyed working on cars, it was very satisfying. The pay is nowhere near what it needs to be considering the complexity of modern cars.
Good for you man! And yea thats why my youngest car i own now is a 2004 lol
My Dad just recently retired, he was a master technician. Unfortunately injuries caught up with him and the last one put him out of the game.
He learned the hard way that you need to take care of your body if you're going to have longevity in the physical trades.
I wish I learned a little bit sooner but luckily for me I didn’t hurt my body too much. It really started to dawn on me when my 40-year-old coworkers were having back knee problems like a 70-year-old.
The older generation have a different attitude towards safety. Something unsafe had to be violent and draw some blood . They do not protect their hearing, backs and they do not care gasoline contain lead, still do in aviation, no eye protection and asbestos are just common house hold dust and fluffy cotton wool. They do not understand why we need to dress in a space suit to work on that stuff today. There were no latex gloves in those times. Now shop owners want you to wear steel toes shoes. Military combat veterans are harder to train for safety, for nothing in civilian life matches combat.
There’s also no money to be made on auto body. My cousin went to high school and took auto body as his shop. By 21 he left the industry and found a job that pays more at a company building pallets and industrial lifts. Benefits are better too.
I’ve been tech 48 1/2 years. Flat rate is peace work. It started out so the dealers wouldn’t screw the manufacturer for warranty work. now the manufacture takes to do vehicle one guy change the water pump on a vehicle he does it three times each time he does it faster they take the total time divided by three and that’s your flat rate hour. The guy is doing the work getting screwed 😢😢
You are correct!
To this day I thank the old pros who told me not to make a living as an auto mechanic. (They were successful and owned their own shops.) They warned me in the 1970s and they were right.
I've wrenched on the side on cars, motorcycles (my first love), and worked industrial maintenance before enlisting. I'd rather fix aircraft any day and UNlike fighting the horrible issues of fixing cars for retail customers (who I've concluded are insane) the tech data, work environment and especially the pay, MEDICAL and RETIREMENT defecates all over civilian wrenching in big runny streams.
The only way out is UP by moving into used car sales, automotive machining (my bro builds race engines and transmissions at his home shop and loves it), service writing etc.
If you are still a line mechanic in ten or fifteen years you're stagnating. There are MUCH better environments to wrench in and things with wings have deep-pocketed owners, especially if that owner is Uncle Sugar. Screw all that. Go Air Force or Coast Guard, vest a REAL retirement young, then go to school on the G.I. Bill (= Lottery and other financial aid) after you retire if you want to upskill. (I took welding and CNC machining for fun since I've a personal home shop.) Bonus, many schools hire from within and their schedules are cake with four day weeks typical. I worked for mine after volunteering after class. Industrial controls and similar gigs involve the "fun stuff" about wrenching with fewer idiots and no retail customers. Your life, your call but there is no romance about retail automobile wrenching. It's a grind with no future for most.
This guy gets it! Theres can be a scary risk of being your own boss and running your show but its the most rewarding job that you made! There are so many options out there. Love it!
We've ran a shop for 36 years, i worked for my dad for 22 years flat rate, averaged 120 hrs of flat rate every 2 week period, talk about tough!! Fast forward today, i have 2 techs below me and a service writer and i am still in the shop wrenching by choice. I paymy guys straight pay and pay them well. I tell people all the time it is the most underated profession there is.
It is! It is one of the most unthankful professions.
I’m an old guy…. rule number one don’t rush. It only makes you look like a fool. if you’re any good at what you do, your work will always be appreciated. just remember easy come easy go
Flat rate is for fools
Watch and learn future mechanics! As a master tech from the 90s, we made good money but all went downhill. I was smart, stayed out of debt with Craftsman, even when my colleagues harassed me, I kept on. Fast forward when cars changed and so did the Dealer model to corporate , our profit evaporated, like he described in the video. I immediately bailed, no debt, was not trapped and I had other many other skills. Until the pay is fair for these electronic monsters, and there is some kind of compensation for the tools needed that go obsolete... Let them starve instead of you or your family.
Well said, I am a retired Ford tech ,retired in 2021, dealership went down hill when sold to a corporation,
I used to work for Ford that was my first job out of trade school, but I never had the opportunity to work for a family owned dealership
Theres lots of other things to work on besides automobiles.
Fuck flat rate.
We are highly skilled workers.
Take yout time, do it right, be honest and charge them for your work.
Greedy shop owners charging $150 per hour paying the mechanics nothing, should be a $50 an hour job for a good tech.
Every now and then i like to see the mechanics jobs in my area and there are tons available. All wanting years of experience and knowledge with thousand dollars of tools to boot. But not a single one paying a living wage for the help they are asking for.
@@BobbyBeltzyt yep and the shop owners will put themselves out of Business kinda of ironic and moronic on their part.
My top tech is paid more than that
Why should the dealer pay more when the tech are already making 6 digit figures on flat rate. You want to make more than the president?
Technicians do more for their money than a president
In LA about 65% of the dealer mechanics are low wage illegal immigrants with tax id numbers given to them by the state and free school given by the city, as a Latino American i cant compete
Dam! Thats terrible man!
I was a tech for Firestone years ago before they started to reduce the Mitchell's times and wages, I went from making over 1200 a week to 400 a week in the early 2000s I quit
I love the customer that blames us for the exhaust rattle or stereo not working when all we did was an oil change!!
AHHH YES!! The “every since you fixed my X my Y doesn’t work” guy
Ahh the 'every since you' club lol. "Every since you changed my oil my daughter got pregnant WHAT DID YOU DOOOOO" 😂😂 SEEEEE what had happened was... 😅😅
Former service manager. You've barely covered the top of the iceberg. You'll be asked to work 'off the clock', from changing/showering, to shop meetings, clean up and turn around. You'll be expected to move cars and shovel snow, too. You may have a service dispatcher/shop manager, who hands out the plum jobs to friends. You'll even have to fight for warranty pay, since the job/diagnosis only pays ONCE. Im my experience, the atmosphere on the shop floor when I worked there was only less violent than your typical prison yard. Fist fights were not unusual. Neither was theft. Your fellow employees, or outsiders. I worked in a Buick dealer where they broke into the office, stole a car or two, then took everyone's box. BTW, the dealer's insurance doesn't cover YOUR stuff. Same when a dealer/customer car gets damaged, even when it's not your fault. I've been at dealers where they dock your pay for damage.
Finally, and here's the big one- you will get injured, get sick and die sooner. Won't even touch body shops or welders- you're toast. Initially, it will be your back, your knees your feet, which were never meant to stand on concrete for 14 hours/day. But wait, it gets worse. Most of the folds I worked withn in the eighties are disabled or dead. The best man in my wedding never got to retire. Cancer. In my day, no rubber gloves, no respirators, asbestos, chlorinated brake clean, cleaning with naptha/benzene, gasoline, covered in used engine oil all day. No ventilation or climate control. It's a rough life. Benefits? Back then, as 'management', I got a company car. And the dealers I worked for threw some pretty awesome parties. I guess they were cheaper than bonuses.
Dam….i never had it that bad, granted i never stood that long in the dealer. But you wouldn’t be the first person to tell me a story like that! I used to work in a shop when at the end of the day one tech would used brake clean on his skin to clean off the grime and oil…it just blew my mind.
how about NADA? Do not tell me they do not collude to hold down wages
Come on,Bobby! A Dealership is a wonderful place !
to learn all about
Capitalism
Greed
Cronyism
Favoritism
Outright lying skills
Burns,cuts,scrapes, lumps,injuries
Unqualified unethical management
Screwing over The stupid Customers at every chance
Not going to lie…you had me in the first half! Lol
Nailed it , plus the continued purchasing tools with diagnostic software or scanners any equipment just to get the job done it’s a big factor
THIS IS WHY TECHS ARE LEAVING,THE PRODUCT IS GARBAGE,TODAYS CARS HAVE MORE MODULES THAN THE SPACE SHUTTLE(WELL SAID SON)
Thanks! glad I’m not alone in my opinion.
I’m not a mechanic at all but this seems like a microcosm of the shift in American work life and corporatism.
Also kids today seeing the trades as easy money makes me laugh in retrospect, even though I was thinking similar things a few years ago. Great content.
The auto makers sucked up all the easy money with giant autoloans and left the car owners themselves too broke to pay for maintenance. 😂
I pretty much agree with you. I'm a Heavy Equipment and Heavy Truck mechanic and it's a very similar story.
I taught one term at the local university and it was 80% show, 20% mechanics give or take.
I've worked for a huge Cat dealership, had my own business and worked for fleets.
It's pretty much as you say including the politics, which is the worst part.
Back stabbing, ladder climbing semi-competent's steering the show.
People with rights, self serving agenda's, professional victims.
Two months ago I lost it and quit/retired.
Wanted to work a few more years.
Get a job at a Hardware Store.
Turned wrench’s from 1973 to 2008. Good money but body shot. This guy speaks the truth.
Thanks! I appreciate it i worked in the field from 2010-2023. In that short time i met a lot of veteran mechanics who warned me of whats been going on. Some of them in their early 40s body’s beat up so bad they tell me they feel like they are 70.
I did my tour from 1972 to 2008. It was an interesting ride.
I bet you have some great stories to tell.
Yep! Last mechanic job I had, I was paid $12 an hour...
Wow…some fast food employees make more…
😢😢😢
Quite accurate. Pay will go up or there will be NO ONE LEFT, starting to happen , most shops are 2 or more MONTHS behind.
The base pay for some of these shops are terrible!
Sounds very different from when I was a tech in the 80's to 90's. It's unbelievable that cars have quadrupled in price, are far more sophisticated and mechanics are paid the same or less than thirty years ago. Meanwhile, CEO'S are making tens of millions.
For 7 years i worked on heavy equipment and made a whole lot of money, picked up a smoking habit and my back and knees and one shoulder are fucked. Swapped to a slightly less demanding truck shop position and i still hate my life. But if you can save your back and be smart, go work on equipment
Sorry to hear that man! I hate how this is the consensus with most mechanics now
Independent tech here.
I make a great living.
I save $25k a year.
You bought your own shop or renting?
I really don't understand why people keep complaining about shop rates, is it so hard to open your own shop?
Another thing that is wrong with the USA job market. I work as an automotive tech in Germany. I DO NOT own any tools. All the tools I need are bought, borrowed or stolen by my boss. I am paid a good wage, and nobody will say anything if a job will take longer than expected. Diagnose jobs can take a whole day, as long as we find out what needs to be changed, the boss is happy
I will say this isnt all jobs in the USA my second to last job all tools and PPE were provided
@@BobbyBeltzyt that's contrary to the general impression radiating out of the US.
I don't do cars I do other machines. I have to supply all tools and PPE to my personnel. It's expected in the rest of the world. Like this German friend says, I charge for every hour and pay for every hour with OT loading as required. I didn't go bankrupt paying this. On the contrary.
The biggest problem, I believe, is that cars are consumer goods and the dealers are Cock Womble clerks.
Is there no possibility of collective bargaining in the US?
The new modern cars will never compete with simplicity and reliability of the older cars. All these gadgets and electronics will never last 30 plus years after its productions. Being a technician now days with the new cars its not an enjoyable trade and too much stress.
I highly agree that’s why most of my cars are as old as me lol!
just work on old cars only!
I quit my job @ bmw & as a flex i daily an e65 . I keep that old & fast turd running no issue
Stuff made right now will be in the junk yard in 20 years not 30. All the tech garbage will be not economically viable to repair
I don't agree, modern cars are bad if you are very set in your ways and cannot adapt. I heard the same BS in the 80s when a whole generation of points and condensor man were forced to retire because they cannot learn the new tech. Same complaints with high stress. New cars are safer, better on gas and cleaner, plus sometimes they clearly tell you what is wrong with them. Even in the 70s, I watched cars into the dealer for a tune up, the apprentice change the plugs while the mechanic did the points and timing etc, I never see a car that spent more than 20 minutes in the bay. That got be be at least couple of hours flat rate. Car computers rarely give trouble , because they do not chase leading edge tech, they are 3,4 tier down, because in a car, there is almost nothing for the computer to do. They can afford to add tasks to the computer, such as voltage regulation, cabin temp etc.
I work at a Toyota dealership as a lube technician and it's kind of a difficult place to work. I sometimes don't get the respect I deserve let alone the company takes credit for the hard work I do. I've been working there for 7 months but at some point I will quit and getting more involved in racing since that's my passion.
Hey, that’s awesome man follow that passion! what kind of racing do you wanna do?
@@BobbyBeltzyt Road course racing
That’s awesome dude I always wanted to try that out ever Get your feet wet yet?
If you want more respects, you best rise up higher in the pecking order, like top salesman or manager etc. It is harder to break into a related field if you are not a mechanic. Sometimes you need to pull rank with your license. Gov/ military/unions place high value on any piece of paper you can produce and will give you credit for it , even if the degree is a major on gender studies.
0:37 what!? is a car mechanic employee in america responsable for buying their own tools? you have to pay to work?
Not all but most
Im not in the trade anymore but freind of mine is. He does gatekeep if the apprentice is a meathead which many are. If a young guy isnt cocky and legitimately wants to learn he will take them under his wing
Well thats acceptable, who wants to teach some jackass who doesnt care to learn lol
From my experience in most trades, there is a one in ten chance of a kid starting out and made it all the way through and walk away with a license. It is not that easy or we all be licensed. Sometimes you can do the same tasks all the time and the clock still keep on ticking, but you learn nothing. First year in a union construction site, all the new guy did was to haul coffee for the journeymen. A gas tech app. can spent all his hours just throwing in hot water tank and nothing else, it count.
A meathead to one may be an expert to another. I was one of those meat heads. I discovered the company gave me the wrong sized wire for the job, and when I said something , I was told it is fine because it is rated at higher temperature. So I went home and checked the code book, I was right. So when I asked again, I was told it is none of my business, I was an apprentice , third years and if I don't like it, pack up and leave. I did just that a few days later. 3 months later, the lights I wired are much harder to get at for ground equipment (Freezer) are blocking the access with the lifts.(it was a supermarket) The partner I worked with called me saying the inspector discovered the wrong sized wires and ordered it all replaced. I bet the foreman told him it was some meathead that screwed it all up.
@tonylam9548 By meathead I meant the ones who think they know everything when they actually know the square root of f-all, and argue about everything. Same ones half the work they do ends in rework and comebacks. You tried to do your job properly, and were right to speak up if it was against code because codes are there for a reason. You don't sound like a meathead.
I stuck with the field but I made the best move was to work on govt fleet vehicles I get paid hourly and have benefits plus workers always break stuff lol
Working for the government is great job security because they always tend to screw things up lol
You make 87 hours in a week but at what cost? Your mental by being rushed and afraid of breaking something or doing it for free? Your health? your body? For some pay these days it’s not worth it.
The “flat rate hustle” logic is greed driven people are worth more then that.
We've been so overbooked lately. I'm so exhausted. Yeah I'm making good money but I'm just getting so burnt out
no one makes 87 hours a week unless they are a team leader who can cherry pick his repair orders
As someone in NASCAR Tech, going through the Ford program, this is extremely alarming. 4 weeks in, about a year and a half’s worth of 3 week courses to go through, and most of the teachers were a technician. I haven’t met any yet who haven’t glorified Flat Rate like it is the key to getting rich.
Just be cautious! How old are your teachers?
As someone who has been doing it for years, flat rate is an absolute scam.
@@BobbyBeltzyt Only had 2 so far. First was late 20s, the other is easily 60s, maybe 70s if he’s just taken care of himself. Younger teacher talked about his Lexus experience, and how he was clocking 50-60 hours a week just doing work in heavy lines. Older teacher just talks about him getting a good amount of money. He left Subaru some time in 2020 if I remember correctly. Most of these other teachers I talk to in passing, or if they come in the class, and they all say go flat rate as soon as you can. “You’re gonna love the auto mechanic field. Once you go flat rate, you’re golden.”
Listen, I’m already here. You don’t need to continue convincing me spending the next 2 years doing MSATs, basic training, AC training, and welding for a career path that actively fucks over anyone but the boss that sits on his ass while the victims of the rolling right to repair violations get bloody hands and maybe a monster for lunch if he can afford it. It wasn’t. It is going to cost me $52,000 because of the over qualification I signed up for. I enrolled in 2 of the 3 MSATS when normally people take 1, or none at all, because I want to be THE best decision when I go to get hired. But, on the bright side, atleast I get work shirts with NASCAR TECH embroidered on them and the ability to say “my mechanic training? A tiny placed called NASCAR TECH” which is going to hopefully make someone laugh in the future, even if it’s just myself.
Agreed!
Thats just so weird. I don’t want to discount mechanics who genuinely had a good experience as a flat rake tech because even as screwed up as the system is right now, I bet there are very few little places that are doing well but it’s not the majority for sure I’m not too sure what school you are going to, but I went to Universal technical Institute and took the Ford FACT program and I learned more in that program than I did in the whole school and that’s not a knock on the school. It’s just that program was so good and the benefit of it was even when I got out of the school and got out of working for Ford. I was able to land a job with a huge utility company that is very picky on who they hire unlike college people will look at your trade school experience and that will be a huge factor so you’re doing the right thing. Keep on keeping on.
I've been doing it for 32 years. I do well, but I absolutely HATE it.
I hear you! What specifically do you hate about it?
It still sucks a fair bit. Illinois and New York have third party (alldata, motor, etc...) times instead of garbage warranty. I'm here in Texas. $43 to the flag hour at a Kia dealer. All I'm missing is that proper pay for warranty repairs. Gentlmen, ladies, all of you automotive technicians, call your representative. Write them a letter. Get their attention on this! If those two states managed to do it, other states can too!
Gotta love the boomer voice and good ol’ Barb lmao. Awesome video and thank you for shedding some light on the issue in the mechanic world, it sounds rough out there
Haha! Thank you! The working class has it rough all across the board just sharing my perspective.
1996 jeep cherokee, 4.0 5speed daily driver. Turned 244,000 miles today. 1 Uniblab computer. Never going forward to go backwards.
You cant kill those 4.0! Just keep the rust away from it and that should be a life time vehicle
*_Bad as it is for Mechanics and it is ... Look into what kinda Minimum Wage Sweat Shop environment Body Mechanics and Painters work in. Here in Kentucky Mechanic Garages charge 125 to 150 per hour while Body Shops earn 52. Here a High School Kid with 100 dollar lawnmower makes more per hour than a Bodyman with 20 years experience and 100,000 dollars in tools._*
Thats just terrible! I could never be a body guy because it takes too much patience and a skilled hand. Two things I don’t have enough of. But i feel like that skill should get paid alot more
@@BobbyBeltzyt *Back in the day we made almost twice what Mechanics did if nothing else for the chemistry. But Modern Insurance Companies took care of all that ...*
Thats what ive been hearing from some old body guys
@@BobbyBeltzyt *_Once they got the laws in place it was as easy for them as falling down steps. Like the Shakedown (Richie Aprile gets released from the can immediately goes after Beansie clip _**_4:31_**_)_*
I replaced a grill on a Dodge diplomat, The customer paid the invoice.I get a call from his insurance adjuster complaining about the invoice. The adjuster said it was 5 dollars too high and I should refund the 5 dollars.
I think this is what manufacturers want. They want your car to be like a phone. They wanna sell you a battery or a new car. The only effect a lack of mechanics has on manufacturers is warranty work.
Thats true!
I am so fucking glad someone else gets it, people just dont see the flaw when i explain how much of an IPad on wheels cars are becoming. Once they get their way with EVs we are gonna suffer the consequences of that extreme consumerist mindset. Imagine the EVs left to rot somewhere and what will happen when mother nature eventually gets to shorting out the battery. Im sooo sure well recycle ALL of those batteries in an eco friendly and responsible way no fucking doubt about it.. case and point if you just look at what happens to old phones in africa.
Yup! Just so eco friendly as they are assembling them…
My father worked as an auto mechanic since 1980 and still does it occasionally however growing up on the farm I realize he was more happy as a farmer then going to a dealership that takes Souls and sometimes lives
This is a very true statement ive seen people put there lives at risk trying to get the job done
I worked at dealerships for 8 years, most of it flat rate. Learn what you can, then get out.
I totally agree!
I was an auto tech from 1973-1999 and back then it was horrible. Obviously nothing has changed and the auto field still is horrible. Flat rate=Fart rate. Guys...get out of the field. It is NOT worth it.
Thats interesting ive only ever herd story’s about “the good old days” those story’s must have been in independent shops. Lol
It's definitely a tough business. Been doing it since I was 18 and I'm 47 now And the cars are a whole lot more complicated than what they were back in the mid '90s and early 2000s And in some ways I do not blame the younger crowd for not wanting to join in the action because if I would have taken a different route I could have been retiring by now
Our shops here are really suffering, they cant get any mechanics. you have to book way ahead to get your car in.
Something has to change
Flat rate sounds just like salary pay. They pretend it will work out in your favor but in reality they wouldn't do it if it didn't benift them.
Yup! So they can milk more work out of you with less pay on your end.
Thank goodness that my automotive community and brethren are more relaxed than a lot of the old heads. Dealt with a a clutched alternator being seized and had to ask questions because it could turn one way but not the other when I was used to seized alternators not turning at all.
Well said!
Alternators that I know of can turn both ways, In modifying a car, sometimes the alt had to be relocated and turn the other way. I am not sure what a clutch do in an alternator.
If the pay and working conditions are lousy, then you do not have a shortage. Trucking industry been crying shortage for many decades, but with the same lousy conditions. I believe in the law of supply and demand, if there is a real shortage, pay goes up. How long do you think the auto industry can get away if they make cars more skill demanding and reduce the mechanic's pay. I monitored other fields that cried shortage in the past, all BS. There are no accountability if the person who cried are wrong. If there is a real shortage , it will take about 7 years to fix. That is what take the high school kids to notice how high the pay be and allow time for them to do their apprenticeships. But sometimes these green mechanics will lack the in depth knowledge of the older ones.
they formed a cartel called NADA
😮 Truth The amazing thing is all the people who go along to get along. The honest ones are treated the worst.
Very true buddy
I'm going to chime in. I've watched both your videos on this and can agree and disagree. My story, 20 yrs between to dealerships, not stealerships.... I dislike that term because both were small town and it only took one unhappy customer to spread a bad word like wildfire. We helped the customer as much as we could, we wanted them back, we did not pressure them or try to upsale anything. But your right, it wears on a guy trying to beat the book every day, and in my first dealership, the owner fudged alot of warranty claims to get the work covered. This put me under warranty labor ops constantly and yes, that op is 1/2 of normal book time, even less if your working under Chrysler.. Believe me, back in the late 80's through the 90's, chrysler was junk. You are also right with complexity, u do have to be part IT guy in order to track down electrical problems, there is a module to do every simple operation on the vehicle these days. If your cranking out 70 -80 even over a 100 hrs a week, then u are specialized in one area and its the same thing over and over, but small town dealerships, you have to do everything that comes in the door... I got out of automotive world 17 years ago. 6.5 years ago i took a fleet mechanic job and i'm right back in it. A few good things about this position is that i'm by myself, hourly and straight days. It is a struggle at times but hopefully for no more then 4 more years. Being a certified master mechanic is hard and hard on a guy.
Well i will agree with you on some dealerships (usually the small ones) that are owned by a family care more about there customers and employees. Their name is attached to that dealership and they don’t want to tarnish it. I only worked for a dealership owned by a corporation and it wasn’t the stories that I heard from mom and pop dealerships. The sad thing is from what I’m hearing those family own dealerships are starting to fade away and get eaten up by big corporations.
@@BobbyBeltzyt i wasn't saying that u said (stealership), its just in general that i hear it. People deserved a little extra and thats what we did... A lot of no charge was what said.
Oh, I’m not saying you did. I’m just saying there are exceptions to almost every rule.
I never work flat rate. I am paid hourly or salary, No dealerships at all for me.
Very smart!
Man..... This was well put together. As an enthusiastic amateur mechanic I had NO idea how the Stealer-ship treats techs.....
I appreciate it, man. Just keep your head on a swivel when it comes to this industry.
17 years at Dealership, If your not a Favorite you won't do well, even the Favorites with 1/2 your talent will make more money.
Not to mention most of the bosses can't even hold a screwdriver to undo a screw
I pretty much agree with what you said. I've been a dealership technician for 38 years so I'm kind of stuck where I'm at I do okay I'm not as bad as the other people out there but definitely the entire service department is not the same as it was 20 years ago in fact it took me 20 years to make what I was making back in 2004 thanks to very greedy dealerships who f***** over their employees and I mean that explicitly cutting our vacation from what was the percentage of what you'd make annually to only $100 a day. If I ever see the owner of the dealership again in the future which I never will I'll tell that f***** off like you've never seen for Delta bulshit he did screwed over people who worked really hard for him he was more than happy to please the customer as long as it didn't come out of his pay. and the manufacturers aren't doing much better I got reprimanded for some feedback on a car repaired which I really laughed at because the manufacturer doesn't have parts available and you think the people who work there know that they're not available but they don't because you would think that manufacturers all talk to each other and meaning their parts division service division sales and etcetera I'll talk to each other they don't. Anyways that's my little rant have a great day I could tell you hours and hours of stuff that go on every day
Hey man, I really appreciate you sharing your story. Everyone’s life in the dealership is different but the major consensus is the juices isn’t worth the squeeze. I keep trying to tell the ambitious youth find something different to do for a living. It will kill your passion.
Jeez I've lived that mess, Master Auto & Truck tech since 1976.
When I started installing Atlas parts at Chevron station in 1973, we got half the labor and 5% of the parts. A conscientious tech could work 6 days a week and raise a family easily with some toys. Then in the early 80's they cut us to 40% on warranty labor, I flagged 120% every pay half so I never faced the yearly slump layoff, but it makes me sick to think about what they pay techs today. Of course they have to have double the employees to peck at keyboards today but it's still way to low. 😢 Before computerization 1 parts guy and 2 service writers could manage 15 techs with 3 different makes with a pen and clipboard. Those days are gone, we are not an efficient society today and may never be again. It's so bad these days knowing which cars to NOT work on is more important than ever if you want to survive.
It seems like there are more basket case cars then ever before
Whoever made this did an amazing job. People just don't get it.
Thank you so much! that really means alot to me.
I thank myself everyday from fixing cars to fixing jets, aviation just pays so much more because of the “stress” lol it’s not bad, 25 now making $47 an hour join aviation boyz you won’t regret it
You should check out my recent video at the bone yard, real cool to see the turbine engines up close and personal even though i have no idea what Im looking at lol
From a 40yrs master mechanic, if I would have chosen straight ass plumbing or electrician I would own 2 vans with crews a mini track hoe and dump trailer. With the 100,000 it took in tools to beat the book time.I walked away as a 45hr.$.tech F- that I would have driven a school bus and had every day the kids have off I would be off also with 😊PAY.
I been a ASE certified automotive master technician for 40 plus years nobody wants to pay for your hard earned work but they pay a plumber and a electrician you are not just 💩 I should have listened to my mother she told me to go into the Air Force and I would be retired now with a pension and working for Boeing which is near me they hire people from the military and be ready to retire from there instead I have nothing but dept and I have to work till I drop dead the American dream work till you drop thank you for the video it made me feel good and have a blessed day today 🙏
Hey God, bless you too, We were all lied to about being a mechanic, everyone now a days is just struggling to keep their head above the water, and hold their breath long enough before the next wave crashes. Hang in there buddy!
@@BobbyBeltzyt thank you I no what you mean the calm water never seems to come just one surge after another one 😞
I have gotten rich as a mechanic !
Hey man, thats awesome!
When I did my time at the end of the 70s early 80s here in Australia your most advanced tools were your brains, eyes, ears nose and touch even back then I found I could make more money doing other things as by the time I did my 4 year apprenticeship I was losing my enjoyment of working on cars and bikes and I didn’t want to open my own shop. I spent the next 10 years working in the Steel industry and in the security industry on the side. I made more money than I ever could working on cars and bikes driving overhead cranes and learning all kinds of new things. Until recently I continued working on cars and bikes and now I’m over 60 I totally agree with your comments and like my last occupation in the security industry I would never encourage anyone to work as mechanic especially on the likes of EVs or hybrids for that matter which are so high tech now a mechanic relies on computers for everything which always aren’t right.
Thanks for the comment. I agree i enjoy working on my own vehicles but i will loose that passion if i ever get back into the industry for a job.
@@BobbyBeltzyt the old body doesn’t work like it used to that’s the biggest part of my problem. I’ve done so much even on new cars and bikes I miss the days when I was even doing things like rebuilding and tuning carbies, full engine, transmission and differential rebuilds even modifying. Thinks it’s sad things are so technical now.
computers are fine in my 2004 monte carlo. only a couple of them. 250k miles. still running strong.
Those 3400 and 3800 are freaking bulletproof! I want to own one, one of these days, simple and reliable! I would really love to own a sleeper park ave ultra one day
I skipped the mechanic field shortly after dipping my toes in. Got yelled at for doing a full brake job not even 10 minutes slower than the guy with 40 years of experience, and slaved away for $8 on paper but in reality my hours werent even counted so I got tricked into slavery for a week, I left as soon I figured that out and told them to fuck off the second they begged me to come back because I had multiple jobs booked. Got a job at a convenience store making $13 out of the gate and regretted wasting 3 years of my life for education as a mechanic instead of construction, electrician or trucker. Might try dipping my toes as a fleet tech though.
I got out of the trade field because most of it is heavy duty/ medium duty diesel I never really had plans on becoming that kind of technician. I mostly wanted to stay toward gasoline light duty vehicles but if you don’t mind that it is the best way to go if you want to stay being a technician, most fleets will hire you with some formal education so don’t be discouraged.
I am a hvac tech I have the same shit. HVAC is over complex for no reason
I herd HVAC pays well but i assume now but how bad has it gotten?
Dealerships paying $15 an hour is criminal. What job / career did you go to?
I worked for a fleet for a utility company for a while. they paid good but i was getting tired working on trucks so i stayed in the same company and moved into the supply chain. Same pay less strain on the body
Dealerships definitely have that clique thing goingon with allthe gravy flowing in a certain direction. Not much you can do about warranty repair.
If you're still wanting to wrench after watching this video, go find a successful independent shop with an owner who values employees and furthering education, and its still worthwhile.
I highly agree! All it takes is for you to piss off the wrong dispatcher and you don’t get “fed” and then they will give all the gravy work to the guy that sells things that dont need to be changed.
I am very biased, but I feel like a lot of things after the early-mid 2000s made cars a nightmare to work on. Its hard to pinpoint an exact year when it all ‘went wrong’. I have an 02 subaru and it is a dream to work on, the car seems to have only what is necessary and not too much computerization. ECU, fuse box, and an airbag module and thats it. Thats just my opinion though and I understand how an older mechanic might compare my car to an older car and see it as super complex.
Your right, i think when the car started incorporating networks and Gateway modules is when it all started going downhill very fast. I still cringe when i see multiple communication failure codes in the DTC. Also we have modules for everything the door, the seat, we are pretty much driving a computer at this point. I mean some cars need to “update” before you can drive them. The current youngest car i own is my 04 Tahoe and ill be keeping it for a while.
Moving to a fleet 10yr ago was the best decision I ever made. I worked on trash trucks and learned a lot then moved to semi trucks learned more and now I work on EV delivery fleets and make the most I ever thought I would. Let’s put it this way I broke 100k in the Midwest when most people only make 35k-55k. My fave part is fleet give you 2 main options, working directly for a fleet or working for a fleet contractor. Each has their perks. Now there are a few draw backs to fleet work.
1. money and work is usually at night.
2. lots of repetition due to fleets usually being the same makes and models.
3. moving up can take many years even if your a fast leaner and proven worker.
4. your probably going to work over 8 hr a day. I personally like the OT but I know the current trend is to 8 and skate for the younger crowd.
4.5 working over 8 hr every day is going to burn you out in some way. You have to learn to cope with it.
But you get to keep your morals! Instead of being threatened to upsell a job not needed on a poor old ladies car
@@BobbyBeltzyt oh I totally agree. I’m not in anyway knocking fleet life. I just wanted to highlight the downsides to anyone thinking of jumping ship. I like the fact you get to see your actions as a tech make a difference when you see the fleet’s health improve and the drivers are happy to have their vehicles working properly.
I make 38.54 an hour as a fleet mechanic I'm technically a trailer mechanic I only work on semi trailers.
@@edbuckley1670 not bad. I was at $40 with my last job working on cargo delivery, box truck and step vans it was gas and diesel. Trailer tech isn’t a bad gig. I worked on some real trash trailers (Hogan) and some owner operators too.
Let’s not forget cheap Chinese parts that after installing you have to diagnose cheap ass part, for free, and then tell an incompetent service writer how they messed up
The motorcycle industry is the same. I was in it for 43 years. Glad I'm retired !
My Lexus dealership was bought by a conglomerate. Nothing good came of it.
That’s usually the answer I hear from everyone
Dang this was crazy informative. Had no idea being a mechanic was like this nowadays. Also, the gatekeeper section, sound so accurate to what I’ve heard in other professions as well lmao “Soft hands”
Thanks! There’s definitely a generational gap in the workforce that thinks they know it all, and no one will be able to work harder than them. I think it spans outside of the automotive field.
My dad was a mechanic in the 80s and I was a Bodyman for 20 years. There is no way I would let my sons or anybody in my family go into the automotive industry. They keep squeezing the little guy… so happy I made it out!!! would never go back!!!
Worked at shops for 3 years, now I'm going to be a lineman, because shops don't pay at all. I've always been extremely above average in production , shops are just greedy, my last manager even promised a pay raise after I had worked 90 days, 6 months after that he said he "couldn't do it" good luck replacing me, because very few people can quadruple production much less do it correctly. I'll make 3x as much just being a lineman's apprentice, and I can fix my own car from scratch so I'll never be driving to a shop, except to get new tires.
I actually work with lineman and i will say most of them average about 80 hours a week so if you like working ALOT thats the job for you! Only thing ill say is dont pick up their habits some lineman are some strange people lol
Linesmen have some hard barrier for new guys to overcome to get in, for they are usually larger companies in this field. They want high marks in school, and you took all the right subjects etc Once you get your papers, you are busy much of the time. Like in Toronto, even if another place out of country is in need , there are agreements to help each others and you can be sent to NY or Florida , sometimes with your truck. Never ending overtime, but you have to be outside in the worse conditions , best is if you are younger. You can burn your mortgage papers really fast. Small towns you can find a job much easier , especially if you know someone.
@@tonylam9548 sounds like what i already did as a mechanic but i get pai way more an i get to travel lol. ive done all the unwanted or time consuming jobs, on top of working on vehicles (like hearses) that most tech wouldnt touch, My dad and younger borther both have class a cdls because driving big rigs tuns in our blood. im not scared of heights and id rather be on a windy icy pole then on the hard icy ground underneath a box truck. anything i lack i have no problem proving i can learn it properly an quickly enough to get the job done.
Edit: im already qualified and taking the aptitude test for the indoor electricians aprenticeship, i know the one for linemen might be harder so im aim is to get as close to acing it as possible to practice for the linesman one, math is a fun subject, especially algebraic math, an learning about the mechanics of electricity comes more natural to me then i might thought, because of how parallel to science it is.
@@TaraNewone Linesman are much better jobs than electrician, just like truck mechanics are better than auto mech. Because trucks and lines man require a larger company to operate, more red tape and tougher entrance requirements. An auto mech or a electrician can work in an industrial unit.(or even a home garage) Most of the math is BS and those in the field, you can work out many just in your head, college class time is almost useless , but you have to pass them. Electricians is only good ........sometimes if you get into the unions They been known to have a year+ wait for jobs. Linesman you do not have to be fast fast fast. But you do work outdoor a lot in the worse weather. You need to keep your truck license.
I was making $14 per flat rate hour at a Pontiac dealership in the Late 80's - summer was ok, winter was horrible and they did too much warrantee work, which paid way less...
Was it worth it back then?
@@BobbyBeltzyt Nope, not if you are a perfectionist - I never made more than 20K per year. I took too long to do the job right the first time. I should have gone into Fabrication, or Aircraft, or Machinist work at the time. Now, I'm in IT
The only way I could ever see it being worth it, (because I still like to turn a wrench), would be to have your own shop and to flip cars - restore the old classics, (like new, better than new, resto-mods), and sell them to people who can afford to buy them
Gotcha well IT still makes alot right?
I'm making $13/hr flat rate at a Ford dealership in 2024 :/
Thats just criminal
Tons of good points. I have been in the business for 30 years and have tons of diagnostic equipment that was not even dreamed up when I started. It is expensive to do, but still rewarding. It will wear out your body over time (two massive spine surgeries later). But there are many less physical avenues today. I'm leaning into programming, less physical, but still automotive. I enjoyed the video enough that I'm going to sub. Thanks!👍👍
Thanks I really appreciate the sub! In the future, I definitely want to get back into the automotive field, but I don’t wanna fall back into the same trap with even worse cars. I haven’t found that avenue yet but I’m still looking. Who knows maybe this thing will work out 🤷🏼♂️
Programming? Firmware, tuning or something else?
The machinist trade went the same way as the mechanic trade. Everyone make money except the one that does the work. Soon they will have no tradeworks to suck the life out of.
insightful this is the kind of content i would love more of
Thanks! Yeah, I definitely put more time and effort into these videos. Reading from a script can be rough ill admit. I could probably fill a full
Hours worth of blooper reals.
computers screens all things that nobody who twists wrenches wants to mess with I hate technology. Also why in the world do they make serpentine belt tensioners so hard to get to and out of aluminium so when you torque on the stupid thing you strip it out and most belt jobs only pay 1 hour when you have a quarter of an inch of space.
I have no idea…but let me know when you find the answer lol
Shame! Tell folks! Keep educating and speaking up. I always thought they made money hand over fist. You made me laugh too. I really hope you have a bright, happy, prosperous future.
Thank you! And i hope you do too! Im just trying to maybe shine some like to the technicians that are still in school and are eating up the lies that some dealerships have been telling them
shortages are caused by wages being illegally suppressed. there are no shortages in a free market economy. 30 years under my belt as a mercedes mechanic. imo if NADA did not exist we would be making well over 60 per hour and flat rate would be accurate. NADA needs to be investigated
Well sure i can feel like that can be a avenue why. but i and other say there us a shortage and need for techs because people dont want to do the job any more. There can Absolutely be a shortage. And i need to look more into NADA i have herd bad things about them
@@BobbyBeltzyt i ran a union fight against auto nation. even the union warned me about NADA. They called it a union and commented about how tight and organized they are. people want to do the job. they cant when it does not pay market wages.
I agree!
Spot on video!!!
I work at an independent Euro shop, although it is much better than dealerships. It is still the same thing. The juice just isn’t worth the squeeze.
I am a 27 year veteran with euro cars. I am on the lookout for a new opportunity but don’t know what I want to do yet.
I just know 2025 is my last year
I’m a little biased against European cars. I just don’t have the patience like some people to work on them but the guys who do and love doing it I salute it takes a whole lot of knowledge to fix them, but it seems like every year they get even more more complex and expensive, it must be hard for you guys to keep up. The Internet will be your best friend. You should try asking Reddit. There’s gotta be someone like you that was once in your position.
Literally billed 87hr last week
Thats awesome dude! You own your own shop or its mom and pop?
There is no Old mechanic around teach them how to do head gaskets All they do is change the clutch and brake pads and have got All their knowledge out of the books
Don't let your passion become your job. BTW does anyone find that fuel line questionable @ the 4:40 mark.
Nice catch! Yea i just grabbed a stock photo of a carb on the internet but yea… that might be a little restrictive lol
It was downhill for vehicles after the 60's. Especially after 1996.
The fuel crisis killed a lot of simplicity for us mechanics
Don't let your career burn out your passion, amen!
Unfortunately, no one told me that when I was young and dumb lol
I completely agree after Covid I left flat rate
There's someone in every field complaining about the same stuff.
Old doctors: "The medical field is dead. U have to learn new stuff and diagnostics take too long now"
😂 Laziness is the plague. I worked in the industry for 7 years to learn every manufacturers strategy thn opened a car lot. Now I get vehicles for dirt cheap and can fix them all for the price of parts. Every job is a stepping stone to the goal of ownership. Everyone wants what the boss has but very few are willing to put in the work to get it. Nothing new
No i agree with you on that. Don’t get me wrong in this video. There are a ton of lazy people that just want the benefits with none of the work! But good on you for being your own boss it’s really something I inspire to be one day.
@@BobbyBeltzyt you've got the experience from the grunt work. You've moved to an easier job with equal or better pay. And u have a TH-cam channel. I can alrdy tell greatness is around the corner for u. Good luck bro
Thanks man! Its support like this that really get you through the hard times Thanks again
So is diesel mechanic not worth it or is that field the exception. I’ll be taking classes in 3 months. Currently work at a factory and I’ll be at 30 something an hour in a few months. My factory gives yearly raises as well. I’ve gotten 3.5% raises for 3 years and I expect the same or a little more for this 4th year. I need advice. My factory job sucks my soul out of my body. I just stay for the yearly raises
Diesel mechanic work is Absolutely worth it! I never had heavy duty diesel training but i did get light duty training through the ford FACT program which got me into fleet jobs working on heavy duty diesel and working fleet is def way to go
I went from an auto mechanic to diesel fleet my last fleet job paid 22.50 an hour with a lot of overtime now I'm a trailer mechanic for semi trailers I started at 35.64 plus $3 an hour for working nights
Everything said in this video is true. Close to 30 years as flat rate A tech at GM dealerships. The last 10 I hated going to work. Found a job at a large landscape, golf course construction company. It was different but so much less stress. Then ran the shop for a privot golf club. Very easy. Now I just mow fairways twice a week. Relaxing. Dealers suck. Flat rate sucks. Service mangers lie. How work gets dispatched is another video on it's own.
Man thank you for this! Its good to know that im not the only one who feels this way because honestly after hitting upload on this video i felt like i was going to get berated by those techs that think if you’re not a shill for a company that can care less about you you’re a lazy worker
So these dudes make $1M owning a dealer, don't pay for warranty work?
Its not so much the dealer but the manufacture that wants to kick back warranty work
The car mechanic today Can tell what is wrong with the car and can't fit the part
And they could only tell you what’s wrong with the car because the car pretty much tells you itself lol
i'm from the netherlands , i am in mechanic school and i am very new to this field. ; does this also apply the same for EU?
Truthfully im not sure how they operate in the EU. But do your research don’t let it discourage you.
In estonia. I would say these effects do look to come here too. Obviously what is here is overcomplicated cars, trucks, buses. I had to do a simple pad change on a 2017 audi. Oh what, you need special socket just for removing the brake caliper. then pain in the ass to get the pads in place. plus wheels so big and heavy that even me sitting on a chair that has wheels. lifting the wheel onto my lap is already a task that is quite difficult. a wheel weighing like 50kg is not normal. i switched from bus company to passenger cars so that i would get physically easier work but ye. not really.
the pay is not catching up to the work you have to do. my advice would be getting fixed salary and doing work relaxed. don't hustle. take things slow, try to make yourself feel as comfortable as you can. for me it is sitting in chair as much as i can while working.
and the flat rate things i think are somewhat same in dealers.
Sorry, that sucks. Having a Toyota, I'm expecting to have oil changes and basic stuff done and not much else, so, shit work, and I have to do all of it at the dealership, so I can keep my ten year warranty going (what do they call it, 'Toyota Relax'? 😄).
I hope the technicians are paid OK where I go. I don't want a dissatisfied dude struggling to pay his rent to work on my car. Nobody wins in that scenario. The service price is fairly high for just an oil change, They put on more items, like 'checks', and cabin filter, ect... but I don't mind that so much, as long as the work is good, and it's all fair and all.
I cant comment on every dealership, but from my experience oil changes at a dealer will only pay a technician somewhere from 0.3-0.5 hours of pay so they are told to look for things to fix like brakes, filters, flushes. Thats how they make their money on basic maintenance. From what i see alot of techs are stressed but just be cautious about what they try to sell you if you got a scummy tech they will try and sell you the world to make their time. But there are plenty good people that wont. If you do tip just remember to tip them directly and not the service writer. Lol
The tale is not so different for IT, the areas i trianed in i was promised 90$ an hour billables in the early 2000's, never happened.
Incorrect me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t that one IT guys were very sought after?