Would you leave a dealership for an independent shop?

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I have been in your exact position before. I left a dealership position for a Independent garage. It is a major adjustment in so many ways. The pace of work, customers and work itself is so different at times I felt like in a different industry. There are clear advantages and negatives to both. First going into an independent , all your knowledge of one line dont mean nothing. You can have brand A or Z in your bay with the possiblity of a thousand issues you didnt know existed. At a one car line you can listen to a customer/read a RO and know exactly what the issue is.
The customer base is going to be very different. Most likely loyal customer base with fewer first time walk in, no warranty/recall type. Most of these cars are not late model but around 5-15 years old. As a advisor you will also become the one to source parts, locate and determine which brand to use. Other major difference is the atmosphere , it is highly dependent on the shop owner's personality. If he/she is hard to work with its terrible, good or happy owner its totally different. Some are super micromanagers others will let you do your job.
The best part for me was the schedule change , if its m-f you cant beat the indy schedule. Worst part of the dealership is easily the schedule. For me it was worth a small pay cut and a shorter commute, but I would firmly nail down the financials if you make the move. If you do expect a serious learning curve, its just not the same as your used too. Hope that helps, my experiences at least.
 
Having to work Saturdays is the main reason I don't work at dealerships anymore!

Becoming an "A" Tech has extended my career by several years, Being a "B"-Heavy Line Tech will destroy your body if done for to many years.....You may be missing out by not becoming GOOD at electrical, It sounds as if you were right there but became frustrated?

I'm surprised you wouldn't work long hours & Saturdays at a tire shop? Working as a Service Adviser for an independent can easily be worse than a dealership far as clientele & their attitudes.

I'll never be a service adviser as I have zero tolerance for peoples drama.

Never take a pay-cut, The cost of living never goes down & pay raises in this industry are few & far between!
 
My guess is, as a top performer, your company will not let you go; they will try to keep you.
The thing is, you know the place; do not count on things changing.
They might change, but most likely it is what it is.

You were right about the steady level of customers at a dealership; small independents can be feast or famine.

I would ask where you are in your career and you life.
You can't pull wrenches all day forever without physical injury.
But if that's what you want, good wrenches are of great value to a community.

I would probably find a dealership with a better work life balance.
And remember, we all gotta eat a little crap sometimes; it will never be perfect.

Good luck.
You sound like a talented guy with a great work ethic.
I work in Silicon Valley. The Valley is a big churning monster that chews up people and spits out $$.

Work is just what we do during the day, you will be fine.
 
I work for an Indy, albeit a fairly decent sized one. We have 2 locations, which although they're only a couple miles apart from each other are in VASTLY different economic areas of the city. We do about $3 million a year in sales, 2-1 ratio my shop to our other location.

I'll start by saying I've never worked for a dealership. I started wrenching with the local old guy when I was 11, in his garage. I moved on to taking auto classes at the local tech school while still in high school, and continued on to attend that school for my degree. I worked at a small indy to start: it was owned by a good friends father at the time. After that shop closed when our lease was not renewed, I moved on to the shop I'm at now.

8 years later and I couldn't be happier. It's certainly had it's ups and downs: the owner is a fair and understanding guy but it's his name on the building, and he can be a ****. Having to work on many different types of vehicles can be a challenge (also for a service writer, like yourself), you really need to know how to manipulate catalogs and SEARCH for parts.

I'm very fortunate that I work for an indy that offers things like an IRA program with match, health care, dental, paid vacation and flexible schedule. I work 5 days a week, I have Tuesday's and Sunday's off, however I do work Saturday. I'm scheduled 45 hours a week and usually work about 40, although I usually book 45-50 hours a week in labor. We stay relatively busy, there's almost always enough work to keep 3 full time tech's busy plus a LD tech and a tire tech, in addition to a 2-bay quick lube. I have no problem clearing $60-$70k a year with my work load, plenty for a single guy with no kids and a tiny mortgage payment.

Sorry that this isn't the most relevant to your question, directly, BUT I will say that the service writers at my shop seem very happy, for the most part, and the technicians really work closely with them to ensure that they have the information they need to inform the customer and provide what we need to do our jobs correctly. The fact that you have technician experience is even better, I can't tell you how frustrating it is working with a service advisor that might have people skills but has NO mechanical knowledge. You just can't do that job, in my opinion, unless you have at least a little more that a YouTube's video worth of car experience.

Good luck with your adventure, wherever it takes you!
 
What I would consider. Have to like what you are doing and where you work. Second money (pay). Third heath insurance. As cb13 stated flipping cars on the side is a good way to make extra bucks. And remember make as much as you can when young you won't be there forever.
 
I was a definite "don't leave the dealership for this podunk shop" until I got to the part where the guy was retiring and you could potentially own the shop some day perhaps?

You want this tire shop to be secure in its business, and you want to be able to trust the owner. If you take it, save your money at first for those slow stretches because the more self employed you are, the more the economy will affect you.
 
Well I’ve worked at both. Both have their pros and cons. I didn’t leave the dealership by choice they told me I had to quit or be fired since the crew working that day got a customer complaint to the health department about the current event happening 😡 that we can’t mention here. And it cost me and the rest of that crew our jobs because we got reported. I enjoyed it because it was just a few brands of vehicles we worked on Toyota and Lexus mainly and occasionally would have to fix a trade in. Another pro is customers didn’t stand over you while you were working. And didn’t have to answer the phone and deal with customers as much. Cons: not paid what you are worth usually, staff isn’t as friendly, tools walked off more.
 
If I were in your shoes, I would seriously consider moving to the indie. I work Sundays at a small indy shop, primarily working on ATVs, motorcycles, PWC, and boats, occasionally other things. It is a GREAT ENVIRONMENT!
A dealership would make me miserable, and no amount of money is worth that.
 
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