Dealship Vs Non dealership? Hourly rates? About to make a career leap, wish me luck

Depending on your skill level and location it can change a lot. When I started out, I made only about 20K for the first year. After 3 location changes, and some serious busting of my butt, I should pull around 50K this year not counting side work.

I am not typical though. I am Master level ASE Certified and I have done many of the focused CTI training classes as well as 6 years of service in the field.

How do you plan on making this switch?

If you are thinking about going to automotive school, stop. Re-think your plan and start again. Being an auto mechanic is not something that can really be learned in a classroom. It helps, but experience trumps it every time. Even if you graduate from a 2 year program, you can only expect to make 16-25K a year for the first 3 years or so. Its a hard life, and its hard work. Its an incredibly competitive field, but if you are good, you can make good money. Its just not for most people.

I have never worked at a dealership.

50k? That's a huge step down from working my current job, over 50% loss. I'm in Canada, if that makes a difference. I plan on hitting the books for two years and get my Automotive tech and Automotive auto body (Metal and Paint) and making a go at it.

I heard head mechanics are making 70-80k a year at dealerships? With brands like BMW and Subaru paying upwards of 100k a year? any of this true?

I think part of it depends on the brand, the size of the dealership, and who owns it. I don't think there's a one specific scale. My friend is a mechanic who owns his own independant shop, and does extremely well. But he's invested in a lot of time developing his good reputation and growing his list of faithful clients.

So getting in with a good, large high end brand and I shouldn't have money problems?

It sounds like you should be contacting those high end brands and asking them what they pay.

If you are making tons of money as is, you might be better off just keeping auto repair and restoration as a hobby.

Papadirty wrote:So getting in with a good, large high end brand and I shouldn't have money problems?

Not necessarily. Certain high end brands have different requirements for their mechanics and head mechanics. You're likely going to have to pay some dues for the next couple years (meaning gain experience doing different things at a lower pay scale) in order to command the higher dollars later on.

James is absolutely correct about staying at the job you have now. I have been working on cars for a living since 1977.It is tough work and the most i have ever made in a year was about $70,000.

I can live with 70k a year, that sounds pretty nice actually. Right now I'm a pocket operator in a mine, I work 500 feet under ground in a little room 12 hours a day. I only get every second weekend off and I work about 4 shifts of overtime every pay. I love working on cars, so I'm thinking of taking the next two years and going back to school. I'm only young, might as well make the change now.

Papadirty wrote:I can live with 70k a year, that sounds pretty nice actually.

I don't think you quite understood. He's been working on cars since '77. That's 34 years. And the MOST he EVER made in a year was $70k. That doesn't mean you'll hit that after 2 or 3 years.

It's gonna take a long while to start making good money. Expect below $30k for the first few years. Hell, Ian has 6 years under his belt with TONS of certs and said he'll pull in about $50k this year.

Papadirty wrote:I can live with 70k a year

I would kill to make that, and you can "live" with that?
Are you some kind of mental case? Seriously, you are some kind of detached from normal people if you think this is just average pay. It's insulting, actually.

im a first year apprentice in southern alberta, I stand to make about 20K a year, of course that will slowly increase. In my shop Im going to pin the "average" Journeryman wage at about $25/hour starting. You work in a mine, so obviously I don't need to explain to you that if you go north, you make more $$$.

Also in my opinion, Dont do the school route. Ian nailed it when he said take the slow route and do the full apprenticeship. Ive been in this shop since I was 16 doing b**** work and now im starting to slowly move ahead at 18. every January the local college sends an in school trained first year to our shop for a week, and boy can you tell the difference in ability between him and I. I have enough hours to be a second year(my school schedule just hasn't worked out) and I do the work of a fourth year, Whats more appealing to a new boss? A first year wage doing fourth year work? or a first year doing first year work?

It isn't a race, take the slow route to move ahead. Take your time and learn to do things properly, it doesn't matter if you have a certificate if no one wants to hire you because you suck...


also side note....If being an AST is what you want to do, does money matter? it doesn't to me. I'm an AST because I love working on cars, I love doing something new every day, and I love the responsibility I take on by repairing peoples vehicles when safety is on the line. Its hard work, it can be frustrating work, its dirty work, its average paying- do it because you love it and you wake up in the morning excited to work, not dreading it. my 2 cents canadian.

70k can disappear quickly depending on where you live.

Almost any tech that says he makes 100k a year usually has one or 2 apprentices that he has to pay out of that....
$75k is about tops.
If you're flat rate and you don't screw around with smoke breaks and bs'ing with coworkers you'll do much better. Work ethic is everything as a flat rate tech. I average 16-19hrs a day flagged most of the time, but I don't screw around at work. Most of the guys I work with do good to flag 40hrs a week.

Expect to work your a** off the first few years and not make very much at all.

The REAL money is at dealerships where you are a supervisor. My high school autos teacher who retired at 50 from his job at Chrysler was a pulling in 300K+. He was the top supervisor dude at a Dodge dealership iirc. He managed the whole shop, and I'm sure he got a commission off the work being done.

That being said, he worked his way up and even before he quit he said he was working 60+ hrs. a week. Unless you're a lube tech or something, being a real mechanic is hard work, and usually much longer working hours than a typical 9-5 job.

Papadirty wrote:50k? That's a huge step down from working my current job, over 50% loss. I'm in Canada, if that makes a difference. I plan on hitting the books for two years and get my Automotive tech and Automotive auto body (Metal and Paint) and making a go at it.

I heard head mechanics are making 70-80k a year at dealerships? With brands like BMW and Subaru paying upwards of 100k a year? any of this true?

Do Not expect to make 50k your first year in the business, hell, don't even expect to make that in the first 3, combined.

I work with someone who did a 2 year program and has a degree in auto tech. He has been with us over a year, and this year he will be lucky to pull 17k. This a competitive business. Im not saying he is a bad mechanic, but there is just no work for him. In any given shop work is doled out by seniority, and whoever is available. Those of us willing to bust our balls are almost always available. Its not that I am mean, I just need the money. If that means me working from 7am to 9pm sometimes, then so be it.

Im not saying don't get into the field, im just saying stop and think. If you love working on cars as a hobby, do you really want to ruin that by doing it every day. Wrenching on the weekends on something cool, and working on uncle bucks POS olds eighty eight during the week are 2 different animals.

I wish I could still be fresh faced like ^^, but that excitment wore off, I used to have the same mentality. Now days its just a job that leaves me with soar feet and back, cuts all over my knucles, and stains on my palms that may as well be tatooed in. Such is life though. I have learned that work isn't supposed to be fun, its what makes everything outside of work truly enjoyable.

Dieselman wrote:If you're flat rate and you don't screw around with smoke breaks and bs'ing with coworkers you'll do much better. Work ethic is everything as a flat rate tech. I average 16-19hrs a day flagged most of the time, but I don't screw around at work. Most of the guys I work with do good to flag 40hrs a week.

That's about right. My dad typically made around 90-120hrs/wk working a 40-45hr week. His best years he'd make in the lower 80's. He quit after 16-17yrs and is now a salesman with a moving company. (Ford dealership. Interior and electrics, so he stayed relatively clean)

Whatever is in the change holder :P No seriously, I respect the skills you posses and wish you best of luck. Just be prepared to work.