<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by onepoint6i &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Plus i dont have to buy half the tool truck just to make a living....All the tools I need I already have....1 type of car, certain amount of tools needed..thats it

i use to work at an "all car" shop and i didnt like it, maybe in the future I'll consider it....or not..</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't HAVE to buy tools constantly.....I am in my early 20's and I only pay 450 bux a month rent all utilities included. I have a load of money to spend now before I am married and have children so why not buy everey tool that I will ever need now and not have to worry about it later on in life.....do you see what I am saying?

 

hell yeah, i hear you...

Thats exactly what I did... Im tryin to get young lube techs at work to start buying tools right now that they dont have bills, cause when the bills start coming they dont stop

Now I have a mortgage to pay..so I cant buy tools...

its gonna be hard to not be able to buy tools for awhile....

 

I have a decent load of tools that I bought in the past few years...... to put it lightly, I claimed $17,465 and some odd cents this year on my taxes for work expenses and I have the reciepts to prove it. It actually makes me sick to think about it but I know that in the MANY years that I will own those tools, they will make me my money back a thousand times over if not more. I spent roughly 25-30% of my income last year on tools which does not seem like a whole lot, but it can get pretty hectic when the tool trucks come around for their money weekly.

Especially when you are like me and you buy tools from almost every truck......Snap-On, Matco, MAC, Cornwell, NAPA and we even have a tool guy that sells German tools and odd brand tools that are high quality. I recently bought a 1/4" drive stubby ratchet made by a company named Koker and that little thing is badass.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DirtySol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">getting paid 10 hours to replace a dash skin in a 2005 Acura TL sucks *****......

Easily a 15 hour job for someone that has done it before.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Right, and that's the kind of stuff I get a lot, being hourly. Carpets in TLs and RLs, headliners out the ***, squeaks/rattles, all the stuff that pays shitty, but is really just you sitting on your *** poking around with a screwdriver. Oh, and doing an amplifier in a damn legend with food and baby **** and crap under the seat. I hate people sometimes...


Modified by drdisco69 at 9:56 AM 2/9/2006


Modified by drdisco69 at 9:57 AM 2/9/2006

 

this is a VERY interesting thread,
i'm kinda in the market for a new career,
and thinking about cars.. considering i've dont prettymuch everything u can do to my hatch..

but can you guys clear up some terms for ppl like me that arent in the biz?

flat rate hours ?

up sales??

how long is a pay period?

i duno, all this talk about how your pay gets worked out sounds REALLY wierd compared to a traditional career.. where you just get a flat salary and a check every 2 weeks..

any recommendations/advice for a guy like me who's unsure of his lifepath would be great help!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">this is a VERY interesting thread,
i'm kinda in the market for a new career,
and thinking about cars.. considering i've dont prettymuch everything u can do to my hatch..

but can you guys clear up some terms for ppl like me that arent in the biz?

flat rate hours ?

up sales??

how long is a pay period?

i duno, all this talk about how your pay gets worked out sounds REALLY wierd compared to a traditional career.. where you just get a flat salary and a check every 2 weeks..

any recommendations/advice for a guy like me who's unsure of his lifepath would be great help! </TD></TR></TABLE>

flat rate hours= amount of time you get paid to do the job for example:

-Front brakes pays 2 hours 1 hour for rotors 1 hour for pads...I'll do it in 20-30 minutes.... get paid for 2 hours of labor, but it all depends if you work in a team system too, you have to split the hours into 3-5 people depending on how many are in the team
Some dealers work with individual techs, so whatever you flag you get the whole thing...
- So i could work all day(8)hours and get paid 20 hours..BUT on another day i could be there 8 hours and get paid 2 hours
-most of the time you'll break 80 hours a pay period. For me a pay period is 2 weeks I get a check twice a month..

Like My last check was 127 hours of pay, I did it in 80 hours of my time...

Sometimes there's no work so you just chill...

Theres ups and downs like everything, you have warranty work that sucks, then theres pay periods where you dont make ****, like a time I got 60 hours of pay ...

You have to learn to manage your money for when its slow, cause theres no telling how much work theres gonna be...

Some shops make more than others depending on location...Also the experience of the tech and tools he/she has...More tools/experience = more money usually

 

If you are looking into this business, you have to love your job. When i first started my job, i have guys telling me to get out before it's too late. I think everyone in this business agrees they like working on cars. Most days goes by quickly, challenging at times. Its fun to bullshit and wrench with your friends, at the same time you have to remind yourself that this is your career and you have a family to feed plus an extra dependent (your tools).
There are a lot of things to bitch about at work, but there are more upsides to it. Being in a good environment helps. I'm not too sure about independent shops, more power to you if you can take care of business, some independents are closing up shop in our area. Man we still can't figure out how they justify spliting incentives to everyone but the techs. "everybody's job is just as important" bullshit. We do a lot of trannies 4.5hr, 1.8 brakes, warranties up the ***, the DSM hangs out in our dealership all the time.

 

hmm trippy,
whats with all this talk about tools??
I'd think after a few years wouldn't you amass such a tool collection that you wouldn't need to buy them anymore?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hmm trippy,
whats with all this talk about tools??
I'd think after a few years wouldn't you amass such a tool collection that you wouldn't need to buy them anymore?</TD></TR></TABLE>

the talk about tools is VERY VERY important

when a set of QUALITY screwdrivers cost over 100 bux and a SINGLE wrench sells for about 25-30 bux if not more......they can become very costly.

I have been buying tools for quite a few years now and I have about $50,000 in tools not including my $3,000 scantool and other specialty tools that I have at home that I use only on the Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and Porsche's that I work on.

By the end of my career I will likely have almost $150-200,000 in tools.....perhaps more if I do not slow my spending habbits or if I open my own shop.

 

Theres always something to buy, my Snap-On tool box was $8,500 alone.....btw its that cool flat textured gray finish, anyone seen these? I probably own $40,000 or more worth of tools and climbing...gotta keep up with the times

 

yup seen the textured powdercoat, kinda like it

I am not a fan of Snap-On tool boxes becasue of their lack of drawer space and construction. I like how Matco uses deeper drawers....along with MAC.

have you seen the new pinstriping available on MAC boxes in the new flyer.....they even have badass machined handles and chrome chains for side handles.

 

Yeh, I like the mag wheels too.

 

damn... triple digits in tools..
wow

 

Thats not even incl. shop equip. welders, jacks,presses,spring compressors,cherry picker................................

 

soooo every guy that works at a shop has his own massive collection of tools?
I would have thought the shop itself would habe its own tools.

or do you have ur own shop or something?

 

Not every guy has massive sets of tools, only the guys that do massive amounts of work

 

ah, makes sense,

 

In our service storage, we keep a Honda balljoint/tie rod end popper, Honda engine support tools, tranny jacks, crankshaft pulley holder tool, pneumatic press, strut compressor, tire changer, wheel balancer, brake lathe, Honda seal/gear/bearing drivers, mainshaft base, battery tester, and Honda PGM tester/scan tool.

Does every dealership handle warranty work the same? The techs really get screwed sometimes, especially on multiple return visits. It's even worse if you work for a Hyundai dealership.

Our pay periods are weekly. We start Thursday and end on Wednesday. The flagsheets are tallied and verified on Thursday and we get our paychecks on Friday. I regularly flag anywhere from 25 to 35 hours every week with an hourly rate of $10/hour. If you're a mechanic/tech, you get an extra doller on your regular pay rate on Saturdays. We have 2 techs (each mechanic gets rotated into a Saturday), 1 oil change/express service guy (I rotate with another guy), and a detailer on Saturdays.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sc4dr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not every guy has massive sets of tools, only the guys that do massive amounts of work</TD></TR></TABLE>i have a modest set of tools and do massive amounts of work. working on Hondas there are only so many things you need,

 

Well, in your case that works for you. I'm a heavy mechanical/collision tech supplied by 5 vehicle lines...50% are Honda/Acura. I'm flat rate, and clock 150 hrs. a week @ $13.76 an hr. We do all are mechanical work/alignments/diagnostics in house, which in turn requires alot more tools.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sc4dr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, in your case that works for you. I'm a heavy mechanical/collision tech supplied by 5 vehicle lines...50% are Honda/Acura. I'm flat rate, and clock 150 hrs. a week @ $13.76 an hr. We do all are mechanical work/alignments/diagnostics in house, which in turn requires alot more tools.</TD></TR></TABLE>
mmm. 150 hours is insane. is that a 6 day week? and how many actual hours a day? i average 60 hours or so but @ 22.00 an hour. and thats with rebuilding manual trans. diag of any kind including the creaks ,rattles,electrical you name it. T-belts,30Ks ,engine jobs, you name it i do it.

 

9 hrs a day, and I worked today for about 6 hrs. Weekends are up to the tech. I also work on Jags and Rovers, which require special equip. due to some of the aluminum chassis

 

ahhh made 22 hrs today

 

i was thinking the same 150hr in 1 or 2 weeks is A LOT, to do it regularly IS insane for a full time tech. But if your involve in collision, it's easy to believe. Our bodyshop guys gets crazy hours. Our best tech clocks 60 regular and 70 at times a week (4/10 no overtime) and he's FAST. We do all kinds of warranty, u name it we take it up the butt. Whats even worst we do other dealerships warranties too, small or big. like i said the dam dsm hangs out around our shop. Most of the biggger or more expensive tools and specialty are provided by the shop. Most of us are using laptops now instead of hds or pgm tester, tired of hunting around. 20 hr on saturdays used to be a given, not as common now, and it's a good day to make up for mondays where u jack around on your computer.

 

Way it happens at our shop ( I am the advisor ). 3 Flat rate guys and one hourly guy. Tech upsales something, I make a amount and he gets the hours associated with the
sale. Not to offend, but I thinl its more than fair. Not all techs are like you guys.

Some feel owed something. Like you show up and I would hand you 4-5 PDI's and
then you ask to leave early. Or bitch when there is work scheduled for 3 techs and 4 techs show up.......(because SOMEBODY is always out). Some techs look at it all
wrong. Techs dont do customer service. They dont apoligize and take care of
the customer when parts are wrong or not in. Or something is missed, overlooked,
or improperly diagnosed. They hand you the RO with some punch time, tell you
thats how it goes and then go smoke. Some **** yeah, but I dont wanna be
chewed out by a customer when a tech forgets to reset a MRL or misses ****.

The whole service dept. is a team thing.

Then again I see the techs point too. I have to float sometimes. As I stated above.
Somebody is always out. So I am on the floor doing services and **** too. I see
how its easy for (me the advisor) to write up something and forget about it...let
the tech handle it (me in this case), and then be stopped on one job for another
for a different time. Frustrating as all hell.

Hell I see some of you guys post your rates. The lowest tech is at 17 I belive and
clocks 45 or so a week (weekly pay), with one tech at 20 and gets the same.

Damn.