And how they are being messed over by the flat rate system and the way work is designated to them etc.
The mention of the huge shortage of technicians and the huge amount of techs leaving the industry.
The huge cost for the training, and most of all the crazy investment in the tools for the job.
Many of the techs saying they have up wards of 70K in tools and average maybe around 30K. Well if they would instead invest that tool money in say a backhoe, they could be charging up wards of about 80 per hour for operator and machine time. As it is now they don't get a red cent for that money invested in the tools. Some mention they are very lucky to be getting billed hours to make 15 to 20 per hour.
My suggestion to dealers or outfits that want technicians, they the dealers are going to have to supply the tools for the job, and why not? Any mechanic that has to spend huge bucks for his or her tools, is not allowed to use them at all on their own projects at home, simply because all the tools are at the dealer. Yeah truck and auto mechanics is probably the worse occupation there is these days.

 

I happened to be at the Three Stooges getting a free replacement battery (never again, they actually kept my wife's car overnight just to replace the battery, bad show). Anyway, the asst mgr. and some tech were shooting the ****, I picked up that the tech was a former coworker. He said he just made a ton of money working on some Ford F250 brakes, they replaced everything, the tech was happy and he said, EVERYTHING. The asst. mgr said wow, so you get a commission on the job, plus hourly, right? The tech goes, no hourly, just commission, but we replace everything whenever a vehicle comes in, so it's really good....

When I heard that dunno, just wanted to get the **** out of Dodge.

As far as the tools go, it's no wonder that so many Snap On and MAC tools are on eBay, brand new and used, and in pawn shops. All of my Snap On stuff is such. Do I wonder why a $162 ratchet comes to me for $63 shipped, brand new (esp. when the other bidders seem to have disappeared)? Of course I do, I worry if it's legit, but it's eBay, so there is some recourse, and sure enough, it is legit based on the markings.

It tells me two things. One, professionals and students get them at prices the shade tree can never touch, we're talking deeply discounted off list price. Two, some people have to sell them for the cash. If a pawn shop is selling something for say $80, imagine how little the customer got for it.

 

 

Probably meant a simple can of Stop-Leak. Depending on the type, you poured it into engines, transmissions, radiators, and it was supposed to plug up holes and stop fluid-leaks. Sometimes it worked, but also had the potential to do other damage.

In those days, usually a band-adjustment.

Shows that the auto-repair business is not entirely dishonest LOL.

Don't know the specifics of the case, but, in general, his job, as a prosecutor, would have been to charge that lobbyist with Obstruction of Justice. He would have also had the law on his side.....unless pardons were issued from the State Governor.

Also, let's not forget that a two-speed, torque-converter Powerglide transmission from the 50s and 60s is considerably less complex than today's sophisticated, multi-speed, electronically-controlled units.

 

a friend of mine has worked as a tech for toyota and now for cadillac/gmc/buick, what i've learned is it's better to be a tech for the company that makes crappier cars! he's always telling me how many more big repairs need to be done to the GM cars than the toyotas. it also greatly depends on the specific dealership / stealership you work for.

 

Let me get this straight. Dealer mechanics have to buy their own tools? What the hell! What job requires the employee to buy all the stuff needed to do work? Do policemen have to buy their own patrol cars? Do chefs pay for their own food when cooking for a restaurant? Do retail employees pay for their own cash registers? Do car wash employees pay for the water used to wash cars? Something is totally wrong here...

 

it's true, frequently they have giant tool cabinets on wheels like this one https://tinyurl.com/y78be9x6 (also not provided by dealer) that they keep locked up when they're not there. same reason a tech was always reluctant to let me borrow a tool for something since it's usually an expensive snap-on or something. one time when a tech left he had his toolbox flat-bedded off the property!

 

You cannot compare a mechanic buying tools to a policeman buying patrol cars.

Tools to a mechanic are very personal items and I can see them being partial to a particular brand over another; so it would be similar if policemen had to buy their own boots, or if chefs bought their own knives. In the IT consulting world, contractors are expected to provide their own computers.

 

I wouldn't say if the practice is universal or not (I don't know that for a fact), but many dealership service facilities and independent repair shops do, n fact, require their technicians to provide their own tools. They also, in most cases, except for the most rudimentary jobs, have to be ASE-and/or factory-certified in the line of skills they have. That's one reason why technicians make the (usually) good money they do....it takes a fair amount of it just for outgo and to get one set up on the job in the first place. It's not realistic for a technician, after that kind of training and outgo, to want to (or to have to) work for chump-change.

 

One thing, though, that wasn't mentioned in the article...and seems interesting. You mention that this was a new Chevy....so I'd assume that it was still under warranty (though the short Chevy and Ford warranties in those days were only 1/12, where Chrysler gave you 5/50). Many independent repair shops would probably be suspicious as to why someone was bringing in a new car for a "problem" that the dealership service-facility would normally be taking care of. If I were the shop's owner (or manager) that's probably the first question I'd ask. Of course, as you note, not everyone is honest, and the lure of easy money can be hard to turn down.

 

Can you link the source for this?

 

with the amount of electronics in cars nowadays, I am not surprised. A quality multimeter and OBDII reader can be over $1000 for only those 2 tools. Adding special shop tools will also ring up the price. you might as well be a full blown electrical engineer or having an engineering background to work on these newer cars nowadays. labor intensive, you have to mechanically inclined, and have a descent knowledge in electronics to know how use a multimeter or oscilloscope, not to mention good work ethics, willingness, listening and communication skills. having all those is hard to come by.

since it's tax returns, the cost of tools should be tax-dedutible as a non-reimbursed cost for work related expense. at least techs can recoup some of their money there

 

Yes sir they do. Some dealers like the local Toyota shop has built in tool boxes that the employee puts his / her own tools in. And I'm with you, its darn right unfair that a tech is expected to dump so much money into tools he basically can not use himself. And is open to theft etc. and like mentioned said tools that are not from Harbor freight, and are stupid priced, for no real reason you can go to you tube and see how cheap it is to manufacture said tools, and the same processes apply to the china made stuff as well, of course there is better quality control but still doesn't warrant the ultra gouging prices. Snapon is way over rated I've broke snap on sockets and finished the job with the old US Craftsman ones. I think in some shops they won't let you work there with nothing but snap on, yeah stupid. I think snap on tool boxes are made in china now and you still could buy a new car almost for the price of one.
I think the tool requirement keeps some people out of mechanic jobs. And since some of those jobs are so dog eat dog, I really don't see how anyone makes a good living at it. Something like a cnc machinist job at the right place is way easier and way more pay and sometimes you can sit and read or play with your phone, mechanic jobs are monkey jobs and no rest constant climbing, bending in, crawling under, smashing fingers, cutting fingers, stuff in your eyes, dirty filthy etc. constant physical work and movement, that catches up with you when your in your 60's. It can be dangerous like jacks breaking or lifts failing, fingers caught in moving parts, burns I could go on and on. Anyway with all the cash for tools and tool boxes just like if you spent that $ on a piece of heavy equipment you should be getting a return on that money, not just a measly wage or flat rate payout. $60K worth of tools like a $60k bulldozer are worth $500 or so per hour. And if a dealer or shop doesn't want to pay that they should supply the tools. Keep your personal fit tools like the fellow above mentioned for home use. I think all techs should demand the shops supply the tools.
A typical DIY person thinks its fun to do some mechanic work. Try doing it every working day for a few years I bet the fun wears off, especially when you have someone griping about how fast it needs to be done or what ever. Or someone else wants to make you look bad and sets you up for failure.

 

I've heard a lot of the good techs, who are dedicated to the craft either open their own shop or go work for an independent garage. Pay is better than the dealership or so I've heard.

Also the way the techs make money on a job is by doing it a dozen times and getting it done in under shop time. Lets say the book time for a timing belt service on a Lexus with a 1uz-fe V8 is 6 hours. A good tech can get it done in 2 hours, thus he gets paid for 6 hours but only put in 2 hours worth of work. At the same time though, if you are at a shop that works on all makes/models, you are an expert on Toyotas, then get told you need to replace a turbocharger on something that's impossible to work on, like a diesel powerstroke Ford truck, yeah good luck getting that done under book time. Hopefully your boss isn't that stupid though and wouldn't throw you under the bus and give that job to somebody who knows diesel Ford trucks.

 

That is why today's mechanics w/o sound knowledge of electronics is lame duck. I used to teach basic automotive electronics(12 volt electronics) to future mechanics as a volunteer. Some students were almost impossible to make understand somethings. Such things as conventionally we know the fact current flows from positive to negative terminal vs. actually electrons flow from negative to positive terminal which is
vital to learn basics of solid state devices. Most circuit analysis involves math. Some has very low math skills. In today's work field one has to keep up with time studying and learning or becomes dinosaur pretty
quick. Assembly line workers evolve to robotics technicians keeping up with time and moving technology for one example.