New dealership where do mechanics come from

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They just opened a new dealership(audi) near my house which got me wondering. Where do they get their technicians from.The owner doesnt own another Audi dealership so they cant move some to the new location. I usually do what I am capable of but some things I send car to dealer and was considering the new dealer
 
For a brand specific dealership they have a connection to the corporate brand which has its brand certifications.
So they'd put out a feeler to that network of audi techs. They might even have a job board I dunno.

Once you have the senior staff, the lower level can be the apprentices who are in progress or in school but haven't received certifications.

Part of auto certifications is like you have to perform x number of procedure y under supervision, before you get your cert.
But everyone starts somewhere, and it shouldn't matter as long as they are supervised correctly. It's a bit like doctors and med students.

Once you get that pipeline, then the apprentices you can build from there, if they want to stay.
 
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A local Toyota "service representative" once told me he had previously been a Honda mechanic and didn't know much about the cars he was shilling various "flushes" for. Today, many "technicians " come right out of 2 year technical schools and are filled with the theory of reading OBD II scanners. The sharp ones learn from experience, the others throw parts.
 
Techs get [censored] off at the nonsense at any given dealership all of the time.
You think that customers are the only ones getting angry with dealership service department management?
Try talking to a few guys who have worked in dealer service departments.
All any new dealership need do is open the doors and accept applications.
They'll get as many good techs as they want to hire.
 
UTI? universal technical institute?
They claim on the ads they train the brands dealers need.
 
Techs working for any shop get an hourly rate paid on flat rate for a job based upon one of many labor time guides.
They get paid for jobs, IOW, not a salary or an hourly rate for the time they spend at work.
A good tech will easily beat book labor time on jobs he does on a regular basis and get hosed on those nobody's ever seen before.
A good tech can work on anything with no more than an online factory manual or one of the many third-party online guides that cover all cars and every model.
A good tech needs no make-specific training.
Get to know some good techs.
They usually do side work and can turn out good work for much less money than any shop will charge you.
 
Flat rate is whatever the shop bills labor at.
For a given task, there are manuals that specify how many hours to bill.
The tech gets paid an hourly rate based upon the flat rate hours for the tickets he turns.
His hourly rate will depend upon how valuable he is to the shop, as with any other employee in the real world.
A guy getting thirty bucks per flat rate hour who is good will make a lot more than $240.00 for each day of work.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Techs working for any shop get an hourly rate paid on flat rate for a job based upon one of many labor time guides.
They get paid for jobs, IOW, not a salary or an hourly rate for the time they spend at work.
A good tech will easily beat book labor time on jobs he does on a regular basis and get hosed on those nobody's ever seen before.
A good tech can work on anything with no more than an online factory manual or one of the many third-party online guides that cover all cars and every model.
A good tech needs no make-specific training.
Get to know some good techs.
They usually do side work and can turn out good work for much less money than any shop will charge you.


The less you know, the simpler things appear to be.

I'd like to see a tech with no training figure out a Mercedes Star diagnostic system and use the developer mode to make some modifications.

I had a boss like that once, a non techie in a techie field. Told her about bottlenecks in the system, she told me why don't I just eliminate them? Not that easy. One of those stunner moments while I sat there and digested the fact that she had no clue.
 
There are smart wrenches and there are those who aren't as clever.
The less clever ones won't get tickets that involve potentially complicated diagnostics and they won't be paid as much per flat rate hour as the sharp techs are.
A new shop looking for techs can pretty much zero in on the good ones just based upon their pay stubs. The good guys get paid more, since they can do more and are more valuable to the shop. Callbacks are the nemesis of the repair business and a sharp tech helps a shop to avoid them.
Assuming that DB offers adequate online documentation and support for their proprietary diagnostic system, a sharp wrench could make the system work for him. He'd be operating in autodidact mode and would lose time and therefore money on his first couple of jobs involving the system. After that, it would be all gravy.
Most makers have some sort of proprietary diagnostic system.
 
Echo the above.

A new dealership can sometimes have a hard time drawing good techs. Many of the ones that apply already have one foot out the door at their current employer, or they might have other problems (drugs, police records, or blacklisted by corporate). A new dealership has to often pay big bucks to get in a proper shop crew, especially for techs who are paid straight commission on their labor. You often find signing bonuses and/or guaranteed minimums for a set period of time until the clientele stabilizes.

No decent tech is going to walk away from a 100+ hour a week flag sheet to an unknown quantity where he might make less than half his current paycheck. Toolboxes have wheels, and they roll to the green pastures.

...and everything fdcg27 said.

EDIT: And then you have to throw everybody in school to get their certs/competency so the shop can get paid for warranty work. Often a shop will pay big bucks to lure in a couple of techs with all of their manufacturer specific certs to ease the transition (as long as you have one or two techs employed with the proper certs, that's all the shop needs). They will then throw most of the other techs, the ones who aren't total washouts, in factory schools to get as many certs as quickly as possible.
 
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When I worked at VW/AUDI I was displaced by Wyotech kids that didn't know what a drum brake was.
 
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http://www.audivets.com/

When I got out I applied to this program and went through a few phone interviews. The Audi dealer in Atlanta wanted to hire me. They were going to buy me a set of Snap On tools and send me to all the Audi schools. But the pay was real low and would take awhile to go up. At the time I had 7 years as a military aviation mechanic. I almost went through with it but decided to stay in aviation with all the activity on the gulf coast now. Glad I did too, everything has fallen into place and worked out for the better.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
I was wonder what's the salary for a dealership automotive technician (starting and top pay) ?


Salary ranges are all over the place depends on location. Starting money in the $12hr(flat rate) range. Highest I've seen is in the $38hr(flat rate) range. But again it depends on location!!!!!!

I have more 30yrs in the field. I wanted to move the family closer to my wife family. At the time I had 27yrs ASE Master Automotive, ASE Master Medium/Heavy Truck and whole bunch more. I had 5 different offers a local dealers ranging from $15-$18hr Flat Rate. They all claimed a lower cost of living!!! 200 miles away I was making $25hr per hour, no flat rate 40hr work week and no weekends. I just couldn't take the pay cut.

I worked in Afghanistan as a mechanic for a year making $130k. Moved the family where we wanted. Fell into a Fleet Mechanic job currently making $42+hr, they supply tools and no weekends. Flat rate Sucks!!!!
 
stranger706,

How low was Audi starting pay?
I always wonder about car mechanics starting salary.

We start at $20/hour for internship and $24-25 after 6 months with associates degree or military training. All test equipment and training paid. Top out at $42 not including OT when necessary.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
UTI? universal technical institute?
They claim on the ads they train the brands dealers need.

These are the people the work at tire shops and oil change places for some reason.


Originally Posted By: asand1
When I worked at VW/AUDI I was displaced by Wyotech kids that didn't know what a drum brake was.


I know a few of those / UTI type people. They are the worse "Dude I'm such a car guy" types. And they never get jobs working on cars? Really strange.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
UTI? universal technical institute?
They claim on the ads they train the brands dealers need.

These are the people the work at tire shops and oil change places for some reason.


Originally Posted By: asand1
When I worked at VW/AUDI I was displaced by Wyotech kids that didn't know what a drum brake was.


I know a few of those / UTI type people. They are the worse "Dude I'm such a car guy" types. And they never get jobs working on cars? Really strange.


I've known a few good guys that came from UTI, but most are mediocre at best. The only advantage of UTI is the connections they have with some dealers and race teams. My Santa Barbara City College auto department education was more hands on and in depth than any of my friends ever got at UTI. Plus I didn't leave $60k in debt and with a piece of paper that did not transfer to another school for continuing education.
 
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