Auto dealership ethics and a question

I just got my truck back. They gave me a sheet saying I needed $1565 worth of work, including the front end I all ready had rebuilt. The girl at the front desk did not say anything other than this is what we found, and that was it. I asked if it was safe to drive, and she looked at me funny. I told her my experience last time, she said there were a lot of changes since then. The head mechanic, 3 other mechanics and two techs no longer work there. Apparently someone solved the problem before I went back.

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Originally Posted by encorehunter

I just got my truck back. They gave me a sheet saying I needed $1565 worth of work, including the front end I all ready had rebuilt. The girl at the front desk did not say anything other than this is what we found, and that was it. I asked if it was safe to drive, and she looked at me funny. I told her my experience last time, she said there were a lot of changes since then. The head mechanic, 3 other mechanics and two techs no longer work there. Apparently someone solved the problem before I went back.

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Sounds like they still have an issue if they gave you a quote for $1565 worth of work you don't need.

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Originally Posted by zulu01

Sounds like they still have an issue if they gave you a quote for $1565 worth of work you don't need.

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Didn't read whether anyone else had actually checked the front end, or just glanced under the vehicle. So, cant rule out that he needs other work or not till a reputable source lifts the front end and shakes it down.

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Originally Posted by Zundfolge

The problem is that dealerships seem to hire one good mechanic as a supervisor and then a bunch of inexperienced kids to do the actual wrench turning. So you end up with a bunch of shade-tree mechs that know how to work on the carbureted GM 350 in their jalopy and that's about it. And the one good, trained and competent mechanic is too busy to check the work done by all his underlings.

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The actual problem is most dealers nowadays have gone to what's called "A-B-C" pay scales......basically, from my past experiences, C labor, which consists of oil changes, rotates, etc, pays say $14/hr. You get .3hrs for an oil change or rotate, which equates to $4. B labor pays say $22 an hour which consists of general line repair. Then A labor which is heavy (engine work, trans overhauls, etc.) pays $27/hr. Warranty pays a flat rate of say $25, no matter what the job is. The problem is the seasoned mechanics that had been there for 20+ years making a lot more than $27/hr were forced to take a pay cut, and to add insult to injury, the young punk fresh out of Lincoln tech that doesn't know a damn thing is making the same amount as you. They've driven out the veterans and the few guys that did stay, are having to babysit, without any extra pay, nothing. And if you have an apprentice, they want you to pay part of his wages. The dealerships have changed a lot over the past ten years, I'm glad I got out and went to an independent when I did.

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Originally Posted by JMBD2112

The actual problem is most dealers nowadays have gone to what's called "A-B-C" pay scales......basically, from my past experiences, C labor, which consists of oil changes, rotates, etc, pays say $14/hr. You get .3hrs for an oil change or rotate, which equates to $4. B labor pays say $22 an hour which consists of general line repair. Then A labor which is heavy (engine work, trans overhauls, etc.) pays $27/hr. Warranty pays a flat rate of say $25, no matter what the job is. The problem is the seasoned mechanics that had been there for 20+ years making a lot more than $27/hr were forced to take a pay cut, and to add insult to injury, the young punk fresh out of Lincoln tech that doesn't know a damn thing is making the same amount as you. They've driven out the veterans and the few guys that did stay, are having to babysit, without any extra pay, nothing. And if you have an apprentice, they want you to pay part of his wages. The dealerships have changed a lot over the past ten years, I'm glad I got out and went to an independent when I did.

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I would disagree, the actual problem in flat rate. Worst system ever.

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Originally Posted by tmleadr03

I would disagree, the actual problem in flat rate. Worst system ever.

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I kind of agree, but then again a 200 hr pay period is always nice[Tooth]

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Originally Posted by tmleadr03

I would disagree, the actual problem in flat rate. Worst system ever.

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Yeah I've had my fill of flat rate. I'm still on it now, only because there isn't a lot of good options out there. What originally started out with perhaps the best of intentions, has turned into a tool, no a crutch for poorly managed shops to overstaff to the gills, and when a car comes in it becomes a feeding frenzy. Seems to be really common in the chain stores with elevated pay rates to sucker you in. I once was in the $34/hr range, but with 4-5 guys in a shop you did good to make 20hrs a week being legit. The chumps that cranked out work of questionable quality were spoon fed jobs, while the guys who cared were stuck cleaning up the other guy's messes. I did have an ex-employer try to steal me back with more pay, no weekends and return of vacation time. I added... and 40hrs a week guaranteed, to which no response yet.

I went to school for automotive, worked in the industry for a little while and said that was enough. Flat rate sucks, you have to kiss ass of whoever assigns the jobs to get the ones that pay. If you are good at working out the tough problems you are screwed because you get a lousy half hour of pay for diagnosis no matter how long it takes you. Then you have to deal with the jackoffs in the office and the stupid customers, nothing worse then people and their cars. I went over to the construction/farming side and will never go back. The pay can be a little less than the top automotive guys are making but it is a much happier place to be. Dealers around denver are paying upward of thirty an hour and no flat rate or getting screwed on warranty work.

You can also go work for some of the smaller construction crew like I am now. You run your own show, your the only one there, nobody really bugs you, as long as you get stuff fixed. Make your own schedule. I dont know if I could go back to a dealer setting again, and I still get over 30 an hour.

The tooling for construction/farm is generally cheaper. Not as much specialty tools needed and things are much more standardized. You do need much bigger tools though. The customers are generally more understanding on the time involved in repairs. If you want you can even get into field work, which is nice for getting out of the shop and being your own man a little.

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Originally Posted by streetglideok

Didn't read whether anyone else had actually checked the front end, or just glanced under the vehicle. So, cant rule out that he needs other work or not till a reputable source lifts the front end and shakes it down.

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I called a friend, went and got my car hauler and my big truck, went and picked up my truck and went straight to my mechanic. He looked at it, told me one of the ball joints had a torn boot, he could order the parts and have it fixed in a day after getting the parts. I asked him if it was safe to drive, and he told it should be fine to drive for months. Everything else was fine except for the one torn boot. When I mentioned why I brought it on a trailer, he said he has had several people come in from the same dealership.

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Originally Posted by JMBD2112

I kind of agree, but then again a 200 hr pay period is always nice[Tooth]

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Flat rate is basically incentavising short cuts and outright larceny. That is what I have seen 99% of the time in the shop. Is it slow? Up sell crap that doesn't really need to be done. Base pay on how fast someone does a job and they will cut corners to get the job done faster and the job will be only done "Ok". When I finally hire someone they will be hourly. Decent pay, but hourly. I would rather a slower tech who does the entire job then one who is going to rush and up sell crap that isn't needed. And that last thing I want is to find parts that were supposed to be hung on a car that are tucked behind a tool box.

And I have seen that. Lead tech in a shop who turns 60-70 hours a week leaves for some reason and when he moves his box they find piles new parts behind his box. And those are the ones he stuck back there because he didn't want to try to use them in side jobs or sell online...