Are "on the side" jobs legal with mechanics?

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Rumor has it there is a Dodge Dealer mechanic that lives nearby that does "work" outside of dealership. He does it on his free time and you can really save some coin. For example we had a AC leak that required a full dash removal in a Intrepid, saved hundreds if not thousands on Dealer shop rate.

Does this happen often generally, and how is it even legal to do this?
 
It depends on the dealership. Technically doing side jobs on the make the dealers services (for us it would be Ford and Mazda) isn't allowed per our employee handbook. The employee discount on parts is cost +10% but if it is a vehicle that isn't owned by our tech/their immediate family, we are supposed to charge them cost +40%.
 
Rumor has it there is a Dodge Dealer mechanic that lives nearby that does "work" outside of dealership. He does it on his free time and you can really save some coin. For example we had a AC leak that required a full dash removal in a Intrepid, saved hundreds if not thousands on Dealer shop rate.

Does this happen often generally, and how is it even legal to do this?

Pretty sure you cant tell someone what they can and cant do on their own time.
 
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Pretty sure you cant tell someone what they can and cant to on their own time.

You’re in direct competition with your employer, most will not be happy if you are taking work from them.

State laws will vary but most likely it would be considered a business with income and taxes would need to be paid. Hence why it’s usually all cash and as someone said before, no warranty, no recourse, no insurance etc.
 
I never let it stop me from Moonlighting, I don't believe there are any laws saying you can't...But most employers frown upon it or might even prohibit it., I've been "Talked to" about it a couple times in the past by my employers....I told them to A. Pay me more, B. Leave me be, C. Terminate me...Pick one.

Employers like to think they own their Employees, This is especially hard for mechanics to swallow as we have to buy our own tools & most training takes place on our own time (When you work at a independent garage)
 
Rumor has it there is a Dodge Dealer mechanic that lives nearby that does "work" outside of dealership. He does it on his free time and you can really save some coin. For example we had a AC leak that required a full dash removal in a Intrepid, saved hundreds if not thousands on Dealer shop rate.

Does this happen often generally, and how is it even legal to do this?
Why would it even be illegal?

You can find them all the time on Craigslist. I usually look for ones that are ASE mechanics otherwise you never know if they know what they're doing, could just be some shade tree mechanic.

When I was in IT, I used to do small jobs on the side, charged about $50/hour and had a couple of clients. They used to call all the time though so I never really got into it as a full time side gig. They were happy to have me as they paid 100+ to other companies that didn't know what they were doing.
 
If they are taking work away from the business they work for, they may find themselves in trouble here. But most are doing it for mates, relatives and word of mouth. My father was a mechanic, and told us never to do ''homers'' - what we call it here, working from home. I very seldom do a paid job at home...my time is my time, not someone elses. I do work for a friend, at his place, for cash.
 
You’re in direct competition with your employer, most will not be happy if you are taking work from them.

State laws will vary but most likely it would be considered a business with income and taxes would need to be paid. Hence why it’s usually all cash and as someone said before, no warranty, no recourse, no insurance etc.
Intrepid is an eighteen year old car in 2021.
Dodge dealer doesn't want to work on it, nobody sane will pay dealer rates to repair it.
And that's why you do not see Intrepid, or LH, on the roads anywhere anymore. : )
 
It really varies based on employers. My employer if they catch you like telling a customer hey I’ll do this Saturday at my house for this much then you are fired on the spot no questions asked. Now if it’s not a customer like say you are doing it for family or friends and you weren’t on property of the company when asked or when you volunteered then you are ok of course. My friend works at Advance Auto and they have the same policy basically. If they go out and do something in the parking lot like a big repair or tell them I’ll come to your house later and fix it then that is termination too. They had a guy working there who was helping a customer do an alternator in the parking lot when he walked back in they fired him. There procedure is to recommend a repair shop that is partnered with them.
 
As long as a worker makes a clear break between work hours and work duties and outside work I don't see a problem. That might include being able to accommodate overtime (occasionally, as normal) when required.

I offered flexible work hours with a required on site core work period (0900 to 1500).

I terminated one worker when they were found to be doing a considerable amount of contract work on company time (several hours per day).

And stopped another one who was taking time off work (extending their lunch breaks by one to two hours several days a week) to do private contract work.

On a third occasion I stopped a worker from doing private contract work at another location that was creating a conflict with their employed duties (by offering contrary opinions on cases where his/her opinion was actually being highlighted as especially relevant because they worked for me). I told him/her he/she had a choice - work for me or work for the outside payer. The outside payer objected but I told them to get stuffed.
 
There's a lot going on in this thread. As far as it being "illegal" regarding law enforcement...there are a lot of areas that require licensing and proper facility requirements for repair, but that varies by location. Obviously income needs to be reported.

As far as employer issues, I don't think they can restrict what you do on your own time. But soliciting business from their customers is obviously a big no-no. I would think most shops are so busy it's non-issue as long as you aren't soliciting their customer base.
 
It really varies based on employers. My employer if they catch you like telling a customer hey I’ll do this Saturday at my house for this much then you are fired on the spot no questions asked. Now if it’s not a customer like say you are doing it for family or friends and you weren’t on property of the company when asked or when you volunteered then you are ok of course. My friend works at Advance Auto and they have the same policy basically. If they go out and do something in the parking lot like a big repair or tell them I’ll come to your house later and fix it then that is termination too. They had a guy working there who was helping a customer do an alternator in the parking lot when he walked back in they fired him. There procedure is to recommend a repair shop that is partnered with them.

Nobodies firing a good master mechanic over this in a busy shop, They like to say & print things in a attempt to make employees feel expendable or even a veiled attempt to not show favoritism.

When it comes down to Money.....There's no such thing as Zero Tolerance Policies. When one tech is billing over 100 hours a week & the other is billing 30.....Which one is getting terminated for violating the same company policy?
 
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