Dealer Tech Pay
- Thread starter willbur
- Start date
GON
$175 Site Donor 2026
What manufacturer (s) is the dealer servicing?
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2020
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A guess from a ex stealership tech. $20-$50 flat rate dependent on A/B/C Tech
Remember that shop wage is only one component that goes into a billable labor rate. There's a ton of overhead that goes into that plus profit.
$245 sounds really high to me, but we need a lot more information.
$245 sounds really high to me, but we need a lot more information.
I would think about a third for the top techs. Like many businesses, 1/3 labor, 1/3, overhead, 1/3 profit.
GON
$175 Site Donor 2026
$81 hour
50 paid weeks per year
Flat rate so not every job will allow the full flat rate to be applied
Less a dozen holidays per year
238 paid days per year at eight hours per day = 1904 hours annual per year
1904 annual hours x $81 per hour = $154,224 per year
Thats not an excessive amount of money for the work a professional technician does. Many high-tech workers make like money for a much less physically demanding job. Actually, I think a professional automotive service tech in an urban/ suburban area should be grossing over $200k a year.
50 paid weeks per year
Flat rate so not every job will allow the full flat rate to be applied
Less a dozen holidays per year
238 paid days per year at eight hours per day = 1904 hours annual per year
1904 annual hours x $81 per hour = $154,224 per year
Thats not an excessive amount of money for the work a professional technician does. Many high-tech workers make like money for a much less physically demanding job. Actually, I think a professional automotive service tech in an urban/ suburban area should be grossing over $200k a year.
SW Ohio ? Is this a "premium" brand, i.e. Lexus, M-B, etc vs Honda or Chevy ?
If you're a Mercedes or BMW tech with decades of training, would you work for less than 6 figures?
Absolutely no way. When I see techs showing burn-out, people frequently advise them to find a place where they can be a fleet mechanic, meaning a straight hourly pay rate, overtime, benefits, and a relatively set schedule. Places like Fedex or UPS pay their mechanics between $30-35/hour starting pay. Cities and counties pay less than that but I don't know what places like a trucking business pay though I'd suspect it's similar to Fedex/UPS.
After this forum first started, we had threads discussing the phony claims of auto techs making $100,000 per year then. The claims were obviously intended to get suckers into the field at a time when many were doing well to make a third of that.
Now, except for a few techs working long hours with lots of overtime or working on very expensive new cars, I think the $100K auto tech is still a myth. Just my $0.02 worth.
Now, except for a few techs working long hours with lots of overtime or working on very expensive new cars, I think the $100K auto tech is still a myth. Just my $0.02 worth.
Porsche. Service advisor quoted $867 to install 6 spark plugs. I bought OE plugs on clearance at Rock for $27. Took an hour to install as backwheels were off anyway for a scheduled brake flush and gave easy access. And Ferrari wanted $20k for timing belt service at low milage intervals years ago, IIRC...
Princeton, NJ
The small shops where the owner is a tech, and has a couple guys, I'm sure they do pretty well. I think the key is not to have too much overhead, and own the shop, and not be too big.
Volume is also the key. Many shops can make a whole lot more money doing multiple brake jobs, tire rotations, belt changes etc.....vs doing a single big job like a head gasket or intake port abrasive bead blast clean.
When I was a young kid, it was just the opposite. The first guy I worked for made a lot of money doing big jobs no one else wanted;
- Valve jobs
- rear engine clutch jobs (engine has to come out) on VWs, Corvairs, Fiat X19 and variants.
- Fighting with the "Prince Of Darkness" on many British Leyland cars of the time with all sorts of electrical issues.
- SU carb synchs (again on British Leyland cars)
- Fleet truck engine swaps.
- Timing chain replacements, especially on AMC and Pontiace V8s with the nylon coated cam gears.
- GM Quadrajet mods and rebuilds. My boss was a master of this carb. He would put in special metering rods and jets, and epoxy seal the well plugs on many hi-po engines that used these. He could make any QJ outperform any Holley or Carter AFB, of the day.
We also made a killing on British cars after they were out of warranty. We could always count on Lucas electric's striking bad luck to their owners during spring (lots of rain) and winter (damp and cold) to bring in revenue.
It was a great learning experience as a young kid working there. I learned a ton in very short time. We had one of those phones with no dial on it that was a direct line to the parts place up the street. Cornwell, Snap On, Mac, tool trucks came by weekly.
Wow this post caused me to think about a lot of memories and recollections that I haven't thought about in 40 years. Thanks BITOG.
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Sounds like the "good old days" for mechanics at least! And you got to work on all sorts of interesting cars. In my town we've got a owner/mechanic who will work on almost anything, and almost any job, and knows his stuff, a real asset to the people who live here, where as the dealerships aren't too bad here, but they are more an asset to the owners!
Imagine being the loser paying that rate for 4 spark plugs on your Macon suv with the VW 2.0T.
I am so thankful to have access to competent Euro DIY friend with heated garage/lift who charges $50/hr. He knows MB, Volvo , Porsche ,VW beyond normal stuff.
True. My shop is small but the building is paid for and on my property so my overhead is virtually nothing. We charge $100 and hour rate and I split the labor 50/50 with my techs. So they make 50/hr and I get 50/hr. The parts markup covers my utilities and such. Each of my techs made between 85-115k last year and this year our business is so strong we have had a 3 week wait to get in since January so they will each be making over 100k a year. We are only open M-F and 8hrs per day so they are doing well. Pay a tech good and you get top quality work.
Do you offer/pay for benefits like health insurance, retirement, etc or at that pay, they have to take care of it themselves ?
