Are New Car Dealers Chasing Away Technicians?

[Joe Marconi]

We interviewed a technician last Friday. Most of his work experience was with new car dealers. He said to me that he left the dealer, never to return because of a number of reasons. First, the flat rate pay system which resulted in some weeks making hardly any pay.

 

He also told me of the empty promises made to him and lack of feeling secure at the dealer. He made it a point to tell me that he will never go back to.work for a new car dealer and is now looking for employment in an independent shop. He is an A rated Tech with nearly 20 years in the business.

 

This got me thinking; is this a common theme and are new car dealers chasing away technicians because of the way they conduct business?

 

I don’t want to lump all dealers in the same category, but this not the first time I have heard this. In fact, my employment at a Ford Dealer in the late 1970’s was one of the reasons I left the dealer and started my own shop.

 

Your thoughts?

[FROGFINDER]

I have heard of some dealers getting rid of the 20 year guys and hiring younger folks and training them to change parts until the car is fixed..

[ncautoshop]

I have heard of some dealers getting rid of the 20 year guys and hiring younger folks and training them to change parts until the car is fixed..

That's happening locally right now!

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

[ATSAutomotive]

Joe everything you posted is the exact reason I quit the dealership and started my own shop at the age of 21. I was sent to all of the training for the dealer I worked for and got their Master status. (Which I found out later was just so they could process warranty repairs. Manufacturer requires a manufacturer trained tech perform the repairs in order to get reimbursed) Well I would perform all of the warranty work and get paid almost nothing for doing it while my counterparts did PAID work. Never broke 40 paid hours in two weeks. LESS than 50% of my time was paid. Couldn't make a living and was promised it will get better for the longest time. Their loss, as my shop has become known for correctly diagnosing vehicles when other shops couldn't. (Sounds conceited but this is what I have been told by many customers, vendors and other shop techs)

 

I wanted a career that I could be proud of and make an honest living. I couldn't find it and most of the people I have known who are WONDERFUL techs, service advisors, service managers etc have all left the field. Some things need to change or consumers could find themselves in quite the pickle. My fiancee and I have worked to make our shop an exception and be a place that people want to work for and can make an honest living. We work at it everyday and when I have 30 years in, we'll see if I have any regrets. I may, but leaving the dealership world WILL NOT be one of them.

 

Andrew

[OEScanTools.com]

Andrew that is a great story and with a personal desire to be great, like it sounds like you have, will take you farther than you can imagine.

 

I too left the Dealership world for the same reasons and I really loved to fix cars and was/are still really good at it. I see the problem is that a lot of Dealers are so money hungry and they want Techs that Hang High Dollar parts and also charge high Labor. Unfortunately I see a lot of Greed out there from that side of the business and also not much loyalty to the people that make it happen.

[alfredauto]

I worked at a dealer for 2 weeks. Buddy system pay meant my buddy got paid for my extra work and I lost because my buddy was slow. That was enough for me, most stressful 2 weeks of my life. Plus the dealer work was bs for the new guy, warranty crank shaft jobs for like 6.2 on an Acura Integra yea right good luck beating the warranty time...at least the senior guys didn't have to do that nonsense.

 

The only good thing was a guy cleaned the floor every night.

Edited February 15, 2015 by alfredauto

[FROGFINDER]

I saw an ad for a GM dealer promising training and all needed tools for those that apply.

[John Pearson]

I worked at a dealer for 2 weeks. Buddy system pay meant my buddy got paid for my extra work and I lost because my buddy was slow. That was enough for me, most stressful 2 weeks of my life. Plus the dealer work was bs for the new guy, warranty crank shaft jobs for like 6.2 on an Acura Integra yea right good luck beating the warranty time...at least the senior guys didn't have to do that nonsense.

 

The only good thing was a guy cleaned the floor every night.

 

I was let go from the dealer because they thought I was cutting corners, after 1 year of doing the BS new guy work I was flagging as much as the old timers I was also working 3 hours more a day but nobody noticed that. Keep doing the same job over and over and your get fast and good at it.

[KMS]

AI have been on both sides of the counter at a dealership. I was a technician and a service advisor manager. I have seen technicians get pushed out because of their wages. It's ridiculous! This has been going on the past decade to reduce the cost, and raise profit. Dealers / Manufacturers want you to do more work these days and want to pay you less for it. The whole dealership framework is flawed. It's nice to see other people out there with a similar experience. Dealerships suck!