How much do dealership technicians make?

How much do dealership technicians make?

I'm thinking about changing my major into something I'm really interested in -- I might switch to automotive engineering..my current major is criminal justice, but that may be due to my incredibly protective nature and my (hopefully former) family situation/upbringing..that might be another story in a month or two..

Anyway -- I'll probably finish my AA in criminal justice, but I'm no longer sure what I'll get my 4yr degree in..

So..you lucky people with shops at your disposal p)..if you don't mind my asking, what's a full-time person typically make, and how good are the advancement options? I might also consider sales for a short while..I couldn't sell Fords, but I could sell Toyotas..

well, it really depends where you're gonna work. first just try to get in a auto class and get certified in all or some of the ASE tests. the more tests you pass, the more money you'll make.

I'm looking at a 4yr degree plus whatever, so tests aren't really a problem.

Just looking for a ballpark figure - $8/hr? $15/hr? $30/hr? I have no idea..

Maybe I should get into R&D at Toyota or something..

ASE Master Techs can bring down 6 digits if they really know their shit, not just book smart

I learn fast

I was thinking about local law enforcement and possibly federal work later.

Now I'm thinking about working for Toyota corporation instead of a dealership..I'd love to get paid to drive. Maybe I can get into testing for TRD or something...I have a lot of research to do..

if you want to test for TRD, get ready to move to either Cali or Japan.

our techs don't make oodles, though we do tons of warranty work at my dealership. keep something in mind...you often get paid by the job, not specifically by the hour...and you will start making beans as an apprentice. you have to prove yourself before you can advance. one of my techs is stuck in apprenticedom right now, and can't pay his bills to save his life...and he works consistently. his ONLY saving grace is the fact that he lives at home.

Well at my Honda dealership, a tech started at 29k. Which is more than a teacher with a Master's starts with. But they usally peaked about 50k.

Ugh..I don't think I could live in Cali..maybe I'll have to find something else.

yeah...while the idea of being a tech is appealing, i know our techs get abused for what they do...it's not necessarily worth it.

I'm going to UTI next year to be a technician. I've been hearing $15-18 an hour straight out of there. I don't know why you would need 4 years of training though, the automotive and diesel classes that I am going to take is only a year and three months.

I'm planning on a 4yr degree regardless..

A BRAND NEW Saab tech w/o field experience makes about $9 an hour. The ones that are good or have been around for a while make $25-30 (this is local). Most techs are on a commission based pay called flat rate. Basically you get a certain amount of time/money for each repair that you do. Some dealers also use a team pay system where all the techs hours are combined and you get paid the average (it has its ups and downs).

The down side is there can be some "feeding." This is when a certain tech gets a good amount of the ideal work when others don't. It doesnt happen everywhere, but is more likely with larger dealerships.

In what I hear locally... The dealers don't really care so much if you have ASE certification. What they are looking for is somebody who can learn or is experienced with brand specific repairs. ASE cerification might land you a decent job at an independant service shop though.

Thats some good info toyrolla. Whats a average day for you? I mean do you usually get to do more advanced stuff or are you still stuck changing oil? I'm just wondering what a normal day would be like.

An average day at work depends on when it is. Tax time, Christmas, back to school season all have an affect on how many customers show up. On a slow day I usually get no less than 5 hours myself. On a busy day I can get about 14 (and even more if I get ideal work). Since we're on a team system here we usually get what the type of work we're individually strong in. I usually get electronics and chassis work. Everyone gets oil-changes and services.

A typical day here... We open at 8. Most people who come in early in the morning wait for oil-change services or smaller repairs. Most of our drop offs are usually in around 9-930. Work is pretty consistant until 4 when orders need to be put in or we need to decide if a car needs to stay over-night. We close at 5.

ALSO
--- You get paid different amounts for warranty work versus non-warranty work. Say it costs 2 hours of labor to install a seatbelt, it would probably cost half or less than that warranty time. 99% of the time, warranty work pays less than COD (cash on delivery/non-warranty) time. We don't make our money from warranty repairs (thats for sure).

im also planing of going ot UTI. but not as of next year though. i'll probly take automotive which is like 13-16 months.

Thanks for the description toyrolla that was pretty helpful.

What campus are you planning on attending ae102? I'm starting August 29 at glendale heights, I'm looking to sign up for an apartment and stuff within the next couple weeks.

eh, i'd probly wont be there that soon, i still have to save up enough money, which sucks balls. the only thing thats wrong with that school is money. well, i'll be there in like the next 1-2 years or so. im still in HS right now.
and im planin on going to NC, thats closes to home (VA)

Don't forget, there's also side jobs that will come up. My friend brings in like 600 to $1000 a month doin little jobs here and there. Some dealerships will allow for sidejobs with special conditions of course, but most of the time they never find out anyway.

You know, I thought about going to UTI, even filled out an application and talked to the representative. She was real nice, but the more I researched and the more I really thought about the market, it doesn't seem worth it.

I've heard very mixxed reviews for what graduates thought of UTI, seemed like they were either REALLY good, or REALLY bad. It did bother me that the representative tried to make it seem like you'd get paid $100k if you hooked up with a manufacturer specific program where they pay for your schooling and put you under contract for so many years. I honestly think the average is around $50k for those guys.

Now, in reality, I don't think most graduates will be making a whole lot of money compared to non-graduates. Plus, considering the amount of car people, jobs for the most part must be filled up and not in THAT high of demand. Tuition is around $24k if I remember correctly. That seems awefully high to pay for a shaky job market

Anyhoo, I just decided to keep majoring in accounting since that'd be a much more steady market and i'd still be making a healthy living...at least enough to support my future autocross/road course hobby with the future subaru sti

I don't know where you get the idea that the job market is shakey. Everything I've seen looks like its constantly rising. I agree that they do try to push the rare occasions of mechanics making a lot of money though. I don't know how many times I've heard the story of a guy who works on cruise ships making 120k a year, I wonder the chances of that happening lol.

While I have no statistics to prove it, there seems to be plenty of people interested in cars. Many of them are already qualified to work as a technician at a dealership. Considering how many people are graduating from these tech schools, there will be a lot of competition IMO. Think about it, in about a year, you can walk out with your ASE certification, be over $20,000 in debt, and you're not much better off than a high school student, which btw, some of those high school graduates are already ASE certified.

Plus, I don't think there's much room for making more money. Granted you will make more money overtime, but relative to everything else, there doesn't seem to be much room to improve. They spout off the $100k/year starting pay for *some* graduates, but I'd think those were the top 1-2% in the graduating class. Gotta wonder what happens to everyone else.

I can spend around $20,000 for 4 years in college, have a degree in account, get my CPA, and goand have a better starting salary and have a much higher peak pay than a technician.

Just looked at statistics made by the burea of labor and statistics (gov't agency)

Annual hourly wage for someone in the "general automotive repair" is $14.97/hr for 2004. For "automotive repair and maintenance" it's $13.68/hr in 2004.

Under "Offices of certified public accountants" the average hourly wage for 2004 is $18.67/hr.

You make some good points. I'm going because this is what I'm really interested in and it's what I want to do with myself. Most of the seniors in my class this year say oh yeah I'm going to college, I ask them what for, and few of them know. Anyway I'm hoping to graduate pretty high up in a mechanic program. I know its a lot of hands on work and different from high school but I doubt most people who are going there scored 28 on the act.

I might switch my major to business/banking -- I'm taking a career/life development class, and we were assigned to run through a job interest/skill/value program..I pulled up bank branch manager - average starting is over 40k/yr, average is 70k+, and average with experience is $118,500.

Going down the list of 'helpful attributes' for that job, I think I have every one..

lol i think i did one of those job skill/interest things and it told me to be a park ranger.

my guess is he realized how much he'd make, and wants more than that.

It isn't too impressive. I would also like to mention that the guys I worked with at Honda didn't go to UTI. They went to tech schools around Atlanta. They told me UTI was a waste.