another main cause of this is the time limits they give you for jobs. theyre not realistic for 90% of repairs and then the mechanic gets shafted on money cuz they only get paid for the hours that job is worth. and they go over that time tough. you dont get paid for it. and on top of that it cuts down on the time you have to do the other 3 or 4 cars for that day. and the time limits get lowered every year.
@@Conquest_HD Beynod that is when you do a 5-hour book rate job in 3 hours, because you are good, you get paid for 3 and the shop bills the customer at the book rated 5.
@@illbeyourmonster3591 yeah i know i was just saying..that is a major problem with the industry at least at the dealership level maybe not private shops
Dealers and Service Managers have no integrity... cars are now all Computer and wires and they don't pay mechanics by the hour, it's by the job or task which has a certain time assigned to it, and if they go over it means they are paid less per/hour.
@, yes, they just about have to be working on their own. Our independent mechanic recently retired, and it’s been hard to find one even close to as good as he was.
Im a 35 year car mechanic. The problems exist in how car mechanics are paid and treated. Over the last twenty years, mechanics have seen there pay and pay structure change considerably and not in a positive way. Seasoned technicians have watched their pay and opportunities evaporate as dealerships choose to give easy money jobs to lower paid and lower skilled workers. Seasoned technicians do not get paid well for the difficult car problems they inherit as a result of there better experience. Good car mechanics have to be one of the most under appreciated jobs out there.
The first thing you do is leave the dealers (better known as "stealers"). Good mechanics need to build cooperatives to spread out the fixed costs like venue among several mechanics so the business model will work. And stop trying to make a killing on every job! $1,000 is the new $100. What average person can afford that?
Yep....$tealer$hip don't care about their "behind the scene" workforce, mechanics & techs, they just care about the optics inside the showrooms, sales & finance managers, oh.......and also the hotties in skirts all dolled up for the after hour parties 🎉
The manufacturers all pay the dealer 100% for warrantee parts but onlt 50% of their posted rate for warrantee work. Result: dealers posted rates are double what they need to keep their doors open. Meanwhile, a guy has to have $20-50K in personal tools to do the work that pays like a job where someone shows up and the employer provides all the tools.
Ive been a mechanic now for 15 years. Started in a dealership and now work for UPS as a truck mechanic. I will say that working at a dealership as a mechanic SUCKS!! the pay sucks, dealing with ignorant customers suck, the flat rate sucks. All of it. I stuggled working at a dealership. If i can give any advice to someone wanting to be a mechanic, I would say to stay away from dealerships and get into heavy duty. Its better money and better work.
My vehicle had to be towed to a dealership due to a computer problem. They charged $200 for a diagnostic test and then $200 and hours for the repair, plus parts. We know the mechanic isn't getting paid enough.
In 7th & 8Th grade we had Drafting & Wood Shop. In high school we had Auto shop, Electric Shop, Machine Shop, Wood Shop & Architectural/Industrial Drafting (choice of two, every year). Plus we had Shop Math (pertaining to professional skills/work related math/calculations) & Home Economics. I went into the military (USAF) and learned a skill that I enjoyed, made a very good living at and its served me well. Took some college classes, but, the things I learned in those high school classes & my AF training is what I used most, expanded on & what carried me through life.
My high school had a class called "Practical Arts" for all freshmen. Each quarter focused on something different (auto mechanics, woodworking, business/personal finance, and home economics). After that, if kids had interest in, say, auto mechanics, they would take beginning auto mechanics as sophomores, and then advanced auto mechanics as upper classmen. That was more than forty years ago. I hope they are still doing this.
@@joinjen3854 Trump will cause 25% of you to be unemployed during his term. This is a FACT of history. A republican president always means an economic disaster !
I have a friend that chose plumbing over college and he is more successful than many that chose than the other route. He obtained enough experience to go out on his own, started a business that he took commercial and is making 7 figures a year. I believe in education but it’s not the end all, if I could do things over I would have skimped my BS in mech engineering and MBA to become a builder. I enjoy building more than trying help corporations find ways to reduce energy spend or meet sustainability goals.
My son worked at a motorcycle shop, started at sixteen. He’s 21 now and is a great mechanic. Problem is they wont pay him a living wage. He left to become an electrician.
Which is crazy because motorcycles are way easier to work on than cars, just far less complexity and way less parts and shop labor is much higher for bikes. Good motorcycle techs should be making very good money these days.
@@MrMcbear Part of the problem is that motorcycle are those that can afford and usually are hobbyists, meaning it is a luxury for most. And for the purest, they fix their own motorcycle.
Car manufacturers need to build vehicles that can be worked on reasonably. They are poorly engineered and difficult for even experienced mechanics to repair. No one wants to be in an industry that doesn't care about the end user or the guy or gal who has to fix it! It should get easier not harder as technology gets more advanced!
Cars should be built just like they were in the 60,s. That was the pinnacle of the American car. those cars tuned and running correctly are just as clean as these computers on wheels they have today. I guess the ones of today are cleaner because they won't run.
@ I don’t want an electric car and I know many people who simply aren’t interested. I also can’t stand all the electronics and gadgets in the car, I like a good old simple stick shift. Power steering and auto windows and locks are great. That is the end of what I would want with the exception to the aux cable hook up you can do with your phone to listen to podcasts
My son went to school to become a mechanic. The dealerships did not pay a wage worth going through the training nor enough to live on. He's now a sherrif.
This is a huge issue for folks actually wanting to get into the trades. The talking heads say you can make plenty of money, but the reality is the employers often don't pay enough, and the work is arduous and hard on your body in the long term.
My son makes more than anyone he graduated with...he is a Union electrician...2016 high school grad....he had a 5 year apprenticeship in which he got paid and free school....he made 118k last year(in Missouri)...he could make more if he did overtime...he does sometimes but not often....so proud of him
Good for him! I started a business with a friend of mine 5 years ago and the first thing my dad did was drag me through court for 2 and half years over made-up BS because he wanted to control everything.
@@realangrythrottle I did not help him...but a guy we knew from church did help some ...I would have helped him but I don't have any contacts in the field he went into..
My son took a job as a mechanic and the company expected him to do a job in 2 hours that would take 4-5 hours. He would get pd by the job not by the hour. He could choose to make an hourly wage of $15 an hour but that is not a decent wage to support a family. Companies are not willing to pay their workers a descent wage. He could not live on $15 and hour. It’s not 6 figures here in Indiana. That’s a lie. If this was true people would be flocking to be mechanics and there would not be shortage. Be journalists and go to shops and ask Mechanics what they make…..how long have they been mechanics and how many hours do they work in a week. Then you will have a true picture of what it takes to be a car mechanic.
@jennytobias6551 That's standard procedure for auto mechanics, faster you are the more you make. I don't think it's a great system, but a lot of mechanics do like it. He should have known that before he became a mechanic.
All of the experienced mechanics I know always beat the flat rate it's the only way to make the big bucks . Oh and they do a competent job because if they don't they usually get to do it again at their expense .
As a daughter and wife of mechanics we’ve seen this coming too. I think a large part is that people don’t want to work or get dirty. It’s not just the auto industry either it’s deal, heavy equipment, ag, and marine mechanics too.
@@leslieholm9542 What the heck does that mean? Or do you just run around to random posts and troll them to make yourself feel like you actually have value?
Nobody wants to be an auto mechanic because of the pay. I was a mechanic starting in the mid '70s. Flat rate pay was 50/50. I believe the flat rate hour was $25 an hour back then, so the company got 12.50 and the mechanic got 12.50. Now the dealers are charging $150 an hour, but the mechanic only gets about 35. The dealerships are making money hand over fist, and most are owned by one person or company owning dozens of dealerships.
Who cares what dealerships are making? If you want to make that kind of money, start a dealership and learn to run a business. That's the biggest problem with the world today. Too many people worrying about what everyone else makes. Just shut up, do the work and make enough money for yourself to live the life you want. End of story. I've never made one red cent worrying about what anyone else was making.
Hit the nail on the head, was a Mechanic back pre-covid. Dealer charged $225/hr to the customer for labor. I worked my way up and was making around $18/hr ($15/hr + a partial commission). Once they started giving me jobs that were more advanced and weren't raising my pay I was outta there. I really cared about getting the job done properly too, its a big responsibility to be working on a machine people operate at 70mph on the freeway with kids in the back and other drivers on the road. We just weren't paid accordingly.
@@amann910 How much of the overhead did you pay for that company? If you could break it down for me into insurance costs, electricity bills, building rent/payments, non-producing employee payroll, etc. that would be awesome.
@@dgoddard You're missing the point of the original comment, the dealer only used to take 50% of the flat rate charge to the customer. In my case, they were taking 92%. I mentioned that when they started giving me more advanced jobs(that required more skill, which happens to be worth more money) without increasing my pay, that i then left the company. It's the basic concept of trade that we need to keep in mind here. Bottom line, most people trade their time for money. If people are not getting as much money for there time(especially with the more complex systems in cars lately that require extra or higher skill levels), then thats a problem. Now what would really be awesome, is if everyone in the country had the desire, knowledge and capitol to just "start their own business". That's just not reality, and never has been. And in the case that everyone owned their own business, who would be left to be employed at these businesses?
Retired engineer, 3 university degrees. If I had a chance to do things differently I would have been a technician. My last ten years of working, techs were making more than some engineers! Also, I could have studied A LOT of technology for far less money and had far fewer loans to pay off. If anyone asks me, my suggestion is to start with a good 1 or 2 year tech program in a field with good current job prospects. There's plenty of time for more education, if you decide that's what you want.
@@sandracrandall4561 my engineers are mostly structural. I've done a good job maintaining these relationships so you can somewhat speed things up by having long relationships with the same firms... Plus, sugar gets you much more than salt with inspectors... With anything in life, really... 😁
@@sandracrandall4561 Sounds like someone who will never promote past his current level ... Engineers are very important. Working with them speeds things up. Working against them slows things down. Simple as that.
i went to tech school to be a mechanic. i was in the industry for years and i can see why people are less interested in it nowadays. the pay that the actual techs get is insultingly low until you basically become a master. especially when you usually have to pay for your own tools in almost every shop, and auto manufactures make things needlessly difficult and complicated, usually just to save themselves a few bucks during manufacturing but dont mind screwing the mechanics in the process. not to mention everything is made of cheap plastic now that tends to break when you take it apart and wont last long term. it can still be worth it in the end but it isn't as lucrative as it once was. shops just need to pay better and manufacturers need to be more repair conscious when designing them. but they wont because they would rather you replace a vehicle than repair it.
I have been in a mechanic my whole life, 45 years and its served me extremely well and made me a good living. Its gotten me promoted to manager and director roles etc. Unfortunately today there are not many left. Todays kids have no interest in anything except video games and social media etc. I am still able to work on my own vehicles, Range Rover and C63S AMG. And yes that saves me a ton. I am headed into retirement soon and thankful to God for my life and my abilities that have served me and my family well. Please learn this trade, its worth every dime!!!!
No interest besides video games and social media? I was only uninterested in getting underpaid and having to buy tens of thousands of dollars in tools. Why would we chose to work in a field that underpays and under appreciates it’s employees when I can go work somewhere else while making more money and not going home with a sore back and cut up hands.
You're right the kids and the Millennials nowadays are as lazy as dirt, but, with that being said I've been doing mechanic work for 50 plus years, I will not work on anything from 1998 and newer, all this new vehicle crap on the market ain't worth buying are working on.
I have been a mechanic almost all my life started at my father's shop. Worked for the dealership , opened my own repair shop. Mechanics is a dying breed the young generation wants more pay and less work also when they find out how much money they have to spend for tools they usually bailout. Mechanic spends the most money on equipment and has the lowest pay scale in the labor force
@mellopez5866 hell that's been like that for years, the people that actually keep this world moving always get the short end of the stick. But yet a lawyer goes to college and complains about the cost of the education, but yet a mechanic that is in the field for 40 years is still getting an education, and a lawyer most of the time won't even buy his own place to do his work out of, he rents so he doesn't have to pay property tax, and then when you go in he'll tell you that he'll have to get back to you after your consultation because he has to go out and get his books and learn about the situation before he does anything, and charge the hell out of you. But yet when a lawyer or doctor brings a vehicle to you he'll be the first one to complain about the price. The pay scale in this country has never been Fair.
As a retired automotive service manager I can say that the stigma of being a mechanic is the smallest deterrent of the career field. The field is pushing away mechanics with low pay in the vast majority of companies, ever rising tool costs due to manufacturers “innovation” that require unique and specific tools, unrealistic “book” times on some major jobs, not to mention warranty times and rates that are even worse.
Thats the most honest thing I have ever heard from a service manager… and you are 100% correct…. The industry made this bed and could easily fix it with pay and benefits but decides to just cry and gets guys like Mike Rowe to perpetuate the lie on why people wont take up the this profession or amazing techs jumped ship….. its definitely not because of its stigma of a dirty job.
I've been a auto technician for 49 years the number one reason nobody wants to repair vehicles is pay, most dealers and independents don't pay as much as plumbers electricians hvac they just don't. Most don't realize a technician owns his tools and tool boxes not the employer tools are not cheap to replace my tools today with everything I have purchased In the last 49 years I estimate it would cost roughly 450 thousand dollars that's on the low end probably closer to over a half a million that's no joke. So now you see why guys aren't getting into the business. And folks if you think our job is changing oil and putting on brakes and shocks that's not what we do have any of you tried to diagnosis a electrical concern on the vehicles today give it a try the vehicles are very sophisticated and technical today you half to be trained and know what your doing period so its easy to see why there is such a huge shortage of techs today.
@@lisaharvey4373 I have a 2013 ford fusion that has been in the garage for a month now. Some electrical gremlin disabling the awd and a bunch of other things. I tried diagnosing it for a week. I finally sent it to the garage and even with their computers hooked up, it's being a nightmare. Yes people don't realize how awful new vehicles can be to diagnose with all the electronics on vehicles these days... that's why I daily drive my simple and trusty 95 chevy truck...
Too low of pay for the highly technical work needed to repair todays cars, even the dealers can’t fix some of their cars. For what you have to know and do it’s not worth the pay unless you run your own shop, I was a mechanic for 40+ years and I seen the changes coming, the very expensive equipment needed to repair todays cars and the “dealer only” software required for some vehicle’s to be able to run scans. We desperately need the right to repair so we can get the dealers software.
I just retired from the automotive repair industry ,ending with owning my own shop. The new intelligence that it takes and the cost of tools that are required do not equal the pay of a modern mechanic. Unfortunately shops and dealerships still cheat customers in order to make up some of the difference. There would have to be a massive raise to equal the total honest cost and intelligence required to work on modern day carrs.....It is a very difficult mental and physical job. Customer can NOT afford honest car service!
Maybe if the car Company manufacturers stopped making cars so hard to repair or started using universal parts instead of proprietary parts. Then there might be more people going into said field.
I've been in the automotive and heavy truck business for over 25yrs and no one wants to pay the money for your skill and the tools you have to buy to stay relevant for all the new cars and truck it just sad i love fixing cars and trucks but the money is not there
We are definitely an elitist country. My best friend told his son he put away 200 k for his college But if he he absolutely loves working on cars, so my friend invested it for him for “ retirement “ and he is going to become a car mechanic and will likely end up at a high end car dealership By the time he retires he will be worth millions just because his father invested the money that would have been wasted on a wasted college degree
Unfortunately, with the way things are going a million dollars won't be anything special by then - it'll probably be the typical home price in the lower cost of living cities and towns.
I WAS AN ASE MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS. THE FLAT RATE SYSTEM OF PAY IS ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS! THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN SURVIVE UNLESS YOU'RE CHEATING SCUMBAG AND I REFUSED TO CHEAT MY CUSTOMERS. THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS OF PAY IS WHY THIS INDUSTRY IS QUICK TO DIE BECAUSE THERE IS WAY TOO MUCH DIFFICULTY FOR EVERY REPAIR AND WAY TOO LITTLE PAY. REALIZE THIS AS CUSTOMERS YOU WON'T SEE IT BUT IN THE BACK END IT IS FIXED TIMES FOR CERTAIN REPAIRS AND THE TIMES ARE HORRIFICALLY UNDERCOUNTED
@@Ikke-t4l there's a guy down the street from us in our neighborhood. He's an ASE mechanic at a new car dealership. But after work and on weekends he is always working on cars. He's fixed mine several times. Well worth it!
@ Thats my point mate , my dad told me learn to use your hands and you always have a job . I,m 59 now and good times bad times but in bad times There is more work after 9to5 😉😉
The flat rate system, the way dealership mechanics are treated by employers, and the complex difficulty of the way cars are manufactured and have to be repaired are in my opinion why there is less and less interest in automotive repair. Ive been wrenching for a living 18 years.
A 4 year college degree is not for most people, actually! Automotive Technicians is an honorable career path, as is Aircraft Technicians. THANK YOU Mike Rowe!
They are very complicated; that is why they developed the little OBDS II system that plugs into the system and in seconds it will tell you exactly what is wrong ! The system may be complicated but the job isn't!
@@TheMakersMarkTSFyou don’t know ANYTHING about electronics. Yes the trouble codes could lead you to the problem or send you down a rabbit hole. It takes experience to diagnose a vehicle.
@TheMakersMarkTSF That isn't completely true. Have you looked under some of these hoods? It's not as easy as you make it sound 🤷🏻♂️ And computers make mistakes, as well.
I was a mechanic for many years. Back in the 70's I worked in a dealership the pay was 50% of labor charge flat rate was 24.00 hour a mechanic would make 12.00. It was worth the effort then. Now Dealerships charge very high labor rates and their techs get paid peanuts for their work.
That is why so many mechanics have become self-employed now. Why make $25 an hour, when you are being billed out at $150+ when you can work for yourself at $125 an hour and keep all of it?
Mike Rowe is a man of integrity- thank you for having him on your show. I love his message and commitment to helping train people for trades that we need in the USA.
There's no loyalty in a dealership or shop in America, and the pay can really suckass. High Schools took Auto Mechanics out of schools, and most auto mechanics training schools have closed because people have lost interest
The increase in the educational bureaucracy and deterioration of the quality of teachers, due to the influence of the teacher's unions, has played a major roll in the downfall of the education system.
I know a guy that worked at a car dealer before he graduated high school in the 80s, and the last time I talked to him he was going to get a different job because the cars have become too technical, and he said he's tired of going to school all the time to learn new tech to repair the new cars
If you take the judging people do towards mechanics, add in stinky work conditions, top it all off with the cost of those tools its just not worth it. I was married to a mechanic for over 25 years. He continued his training to keep up with the changes in cars. The tool investment was unreal. A toolbox over six feet high crammed full of expensive tools. The investing didnt end. The pay just didnt keep up with it. He finally switched over to construction equipment and did a bit better.
Not to mention 80k in tool purchases, constant training and, testing , continuously changing technology along with employers that insist on keeping all the profit . For most, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. I retired from an excellent paying mechanic job, literally top 1% pay and benefits, but I wasn't qualified until I had 25 years experience . There is no incentive for young guys to become good techs .
I had no clue that there was a shortage until I took my car to a local Ford dealer for maintenance. It took several weeks to get the work done. I was getting frustrated and asked why it was taking so long. The dealer is one of the larger ones in my area. The service rep said they only had 4 or 5 mechanics. They had one transmission specialist. The wait list to even be seen at the dealer was weeks.
Trans guys are a unique breed, if they are really good, the manufacturer will offer them a job at the tech center, seen it happen more than once. By the way, Ford tranny's have all always will suck.
If they want to lure young men into the automotive industry, average wages need to go up because yes some technicians make six figures but a lot make like 60 which in many parts of the country isn’t going to support a family, buy a house etc.
I’m in the waste industry and for the truck mechanics it’s a really tough job. Components are heavy which takes a toll on the wrists, back and shoulders. Lots to learn with complex hydraulics, engine emissions, complex electrical and overall most things being a pain to work on (rear engine timing gears, etc) Most shops for trucks are charging $175 plus rates meanwhile mechanics are making $40 hour (while installing 45% margin parts for the dealer) which needs adjusted. As a college educated person I’d love to see this trade make more than I do as they 100% deserve it.
My youngest cousin, just turned 21, is going to school to be a mechanic and has work experience at AutoZone, because he loves to work on cars, trucks and motorbikes. And he lives 2 miles from a mechanic's garage, where my dad and I took our cars to. Good luck, Andy.
I'm one of them...... Graduated high school in the late 90s and went right to Lincoln tech for auto mechanics. Worked in the field for about 5 years and then ran far and fast because even back then the industry was garbage. It's gotten monumentally worse.
Thanks for sharing your story. My father spent the better part of 50 years working as a mechanic at various dealers and was never really given the respect or compensation he deserved for what skills and knowledge were needed for the job. I honestly think the title should be upgrade from service technician to service engineer.
I was a mechanic for 42 years the worst part to me after all that time is people want to drive their cars while you work on them and if they do leave them, they think it’ll take 10 minutes to fix it. The aggravation is not worth it.
Ridiculous is right. What cracks me up is the car has a computer but you need another $10,000 computer to see what the computer in the car already knows. Why not just make the car computer tell you what it already knows? It's intentionally difficult so you have to pay someone who likely doesn't know how to do it.
In my opinion the best trades to go in is electrician or plumbing. I worked for about 35 years in the tool and die trade. You don't make enough for what you have to know and buy all of the tools you have to have. Plus you will work for someone else and have to put up with shop BS and not really be appreciated.
You have no idea how happy it makes me hearing people not afraid to say, Merry Christmas. Also, love Mike Rowe. He made people see that this country runs on people who aren't afraid to get out there and work.
I'm a mechanic of 31 years and the biggest problem with vehicles is the engineers that developed this junk. They need to go back to the basics and get rid of the high-tech stuff and then maybe the prices of this junk could come down. Mechanics can spend hours diagnosing the problem but most just slap a new part on and hope for the best.
@ I don’t recommend being a mechanic because of too many hours and terrible pay. It wasn’t always like that. It was actually a great career until the mid to late nineties. I’m curious about your son’s reasoning for discouraging his children from becoming a surgeon. I would think the pay is good and healing people would be satisfying. However, I know the inside story can be very different. Dealing with insurance companies, the government and frivolous lawsuits?
@@JohnStray569 The road to becoming a surgeon is an intensely steep climb up a narrow, winding road. .Our son loved every minute of his education, learning the necessary skills, and benefiting his patients. It was all the other stuff that made him feel he couldn’t honesty encourage his children to follow him on that career path.
I worked in a dealership. And nearly all of the techs there did make a living. But dear god all of them looked worn out mentally and physically. Like they had worked in a sweat shop their entire lives. I worked as a tech for 2 yrs. And decided I didn't want to live like that. And watching the dealerships charging the customers 170+ an hour for the techs time. But the techs were getting 30-50 an hour depending on their tech levels. The dealerships are already making money charging the customers for the repairs and parts. But piggy backing off the techs to boost profits is just pure greed.
My uncle is a mechanic since 1978. He says you won't find a knowledgeable auto tech due to dealer greed, liability, and he claims the car owners are complete jerks! He loved the work, but car owners are the problem thinking techs just wave a magic wand over their car and VOILA
I'm an independent mechanic for 42 years. Yes. There are ignorant, difficult customers. Be kind to them, if you can, and hope you never see them again. On the flip side of the coin, most people need and respect a good mechanic with integrity.
Same for contractors and automotive techs/ mechanics. Highschool pushed away this notion that these types of industries were not worth investing in. Looking down on them. We need our trades.
As a former mechanic it was a horrible job no pay nasty dirty had to change clothes before I could even get in my car at the end of the day, hot in summer cold in winter, emotionally and mentally draining I got out and got my cdl I drive a dump truck now make over twice what I made turning wrenches and I don’t have to do near the work I did
Right on, Mike! We sure as heck do not need more psychologists. Most of those folks, in my experience, have more problems than those they are supposed to help.
The main business making the money in these “areas” Mike is referring to are the schools that teach craft. Once the students graduate? The current job market is not good at all. Yes companies say they are “hiring”. But the wages offered aren’t enough to live on.
I can attest that the shops and mechanics of today are scam artist. Honestly and morals have gone away. Also the dealerships have such an overhead that prices are through the roof.
IT IS THE FLAT RATE SYSTEM! IF YOU WANT TO BE AN HONEST MECHANIC FORGET IT! I DID IT FOR 30 YEARS AND I WAS ON MULTIPLE ANTIDEPRESSANTS. THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS OF PAY IS WHY MECHANICS WON'T STAY IT'S NOT WORTH IT! STOP BEATING AROUND THE BUSH! FLAT RATE HAS TO END!
I was a Mechanic for 40 years and got out. I never stopped going to school to keep up with the changes. That was on top of working 50 hours a week and having to upgrade my tool box content. It is also hard to find a good employer with any kind of benefit package. Sure Walmart has benefits but you are not paid well enough. Most independents and Dealers pay Flat rate hour. 24.00 less or more. You get 30 hours and then they put you on warranty work that pays very little. I got tired of it. I went to Water Well pumps and irrigation and did much much better. I retired from that. I do work on all my own vehicles. At least I got that from it. Saved thousands of dollars.
From Leo: Car dealers are a big part of the problem. Cars are highly technical, needing lots of technical training and equipment. The annual software upgrade on an analyzer can be over $2000. The mechanics personal tool set is easily beyond $15,000. The dealers proudly charge the customers over $100 per hour and want to pay the mechanics $22 per hour. Being a dealership mechanic was a great job in the 60's and 70's. Crooked dealers have driven a lot of really good techs completely out of the field.
I work on the hydraulics in a Cat dealer. More pay, better training, and a basic toolbox goes a long way to help get a new tech in the door. 6 years in and I clear $81,000 a year with a 401K and health insurance. Spent less than 5 grand in tech school.
Yes! Wyotech in Laramie, Wyoming (a mechanic and auto body tech school) used to have several outlets across the U.S. Now there is only the one in Laramie. They have a very high standard of mechanical education, but they also teach integrity, and loyalty, and work ethic to all the students. We need honest and quality tradespeople in all areas. Let’s encourage more youth to look at these valuable, sustainable careers for enriching personal worth and contributing to healthy communities.
Over these past twenty five I've watched the hourly shop rates go up and up as the pay the mechanic, the guy who does the work, wages go down. Too much of the labor rates going to the parasites of the shops. To the worker it's not worth it.
I really hope the Keystone Pipeline can be completed in the next four years. The sooner fuel prices drop, the sooner grocerey and all other prices will start dropping. Transportation is the big expense.
Doesn't shock me, I learned that decades ago. Even the new age cars with all of the electronics on them are not that difficult. The big difference is that when I say something needs to be replaced, I know that I can believe ME! The biggest money savings comes from not being lied to by a commission based mechanic who is trying to pad his paycheck.
I was a NAISE certified Master Mechanic for 26 years. The pros are; no matter how bad the economy gets there is no such thing as unemployment. If you don't like the place you are working it is so simple to move to another employer. The pay is "reasonable" but not good enough to attract better talent. The cons are; the level of knowledge/experience is prohibitive. It is difficult work and gets worse with age. Society looks down on the trade. Worst of all are the entitled customers (got worse as the years went by) that have an attitude of 'I should be paying them for the privilege of working on their car'.
I never even made it thru H.S but picked up skills early like mechanics ,carpentry,plumbing, etc.most of my extended family were blue collar.making 6 figures easily repairing and maintaining commercial cooking equipment and refrigeration.hard to find the young guys to stick with us even with the good pay.most seem to give up too easily.
agreed, unless you work ALL the time (evenings and weekends in addition to the "9to5"). In my case, my auto-mechanic dad had to do this to make a living - I love cars and would've loved to follow in his footsteps, but did not want to miss out on spending time with my family, so I studied to be an engineer instead which has been a good career (25 years and counting) with a good work/life balance.
Respect to auto mechanics from a retired industrial electro-mechanical technician. In retirement I have begun doing my own auto repair and maintenance. The knowledge and dedication required to comprehensively work on modern automotive systems is incredible. Hats off to you.
I worked as an SAE certified mechanic for several dealerships. The dealers made their ENTIRE business running on the back room, I.e., the mechanics bays and parts, leaving sales as pure profit! I watched my percentage of flat rate (the dealers going shop rate charge) go from 45% to 27%. Topped with the Government’s insistence on decreasing the flat rate charges for repairs, I saw my wage earning scale going down the toilet. Now that you have computers integrated into vehicles, you’re no longer a mechanic in the truest sense of the word. I walked away from it and I have no regrets.
Cutting trade classes from high schools has caused this problem. TY department of education
No. Thank you Republicans who voted to remove those classes.
another main cause of this is the time limits they give you for jobs. theyre not realistic for 90% of repairs and then the mechanic gets shafted on money cuz they only get paid for the hours that job is worth. and they go over that time tough. you dont get paid for it. and on top of that it cuts down on the time you have to do the other 3 or 4 cars for that day. and the time limits get lowered every year.
@@Conquest_HD Beynod that is when you do a 5-hour book rate job in 3 hours, because you are good, you get paid for 3 and the shop bills the customer at the book rated 5.
Yes republicans have defunded education for decades driving education to pay to play model.
@@illbeyourmonster3591 yeah i know i was just saying..that is a major problem with the industry at least at the dealership level maybe not private shops
Car mechanics with integrity are worth their weight in gold. They will never lack for business!
Yeah, but try to find an honest place to work! Then try to find customers that can or are willing to pay for honest work....
Dealers and Service Managers have no integrity... cars are now all Computer and wires and they don't pay mechanics by the hour, it's by the job or task which has a certain time assigned to it, and if they go over it means they are paid less per/hour.
He is lying
electric cars coming out now and next ten years wont need humans to repair and he knows it
@, yes, they just about have to be working on their own. Our independent mechanic recently retired, and it’s been hard to find one even close to as good as he was.
Unfortunately if you work for someone the hourly rate is a TINY portion of the shops hourly rate. Then you need 50k in tools !
Im a 35 year car mechanic. The problems exist in how car mechanics are paid and treated. Over the last twenty years, mechanics have seen there pay and pay structure change considerably and not in a positive way. Seasoned technicians have watched their pay and opportunities evaporate as dealerships choose to give easy money jobs to lower paid and lower skilled workers. Seasoned technicians do not get paid well for the difficult car problems they inherit as a result of there better experience. Good car mechanics have to be one of the most under appreciated jobs out there.
You must be wrong; the Bunny said 6 figure salaries and Mike agreed and said all day long..........
@@StudioDaVeed haha, oh yeah they must be right then.
@@jeffreystiner97
Their fanboys believe!
The first thing you do is leave the dealers (better known as "stealers"). Good mechanics need to build cooperatives to spread out the fixed costs like venue among several mechanics so the business model will work. And stop trying to make a killing on every job! $1,000 is the new $100. What average person can afford that?
@@rbuswell
Nope Nope; Bunny and Mike agreed you need to put in no money.
Clue: They actually don't have one.
What the biggest problem is a dealership charging $150 or more an hour and only paying the people that actually do the work $20 to $30 an hour
Chevy dealer near me [NY] LOL is $240 an HR
Yep....$tealer$hip don't care about their "behind the scene" workforce, mechanics & techs, they just care about the optics inside the showrooms, sales & finance managers, oh.......and also the hotties in skirts all dolled up for the after hour parties 🎉
What percentage of mechanics work for dealerships?
The manufacturers all pay the dealer 100% for warrantee parts but onlt 50% of their posted rate for warrantee work.
Result: dealers posted rates are double what they need to keep their doors open.
Meanwhile, a guy has to have $20-50K in personal tools to do the work that pays like a job where someone shows up and the employer provides all the tools.
That's called corporate greed. News flash....It's only going to get worse. But don't believe me, just wait and see.
Auto mechanics working 40+ hrs a week are not making 6 figures unless they own the shop. Don’t believe everything you hear.
I have never made that kind of money. The company makes a huge amount of money off the mechanic, the mechanic nevers see that profit.
Ive been a mechanic now for 15 years. Started in a dealership and now work for UPS as a truck mechanic. I will say that working at a dealership as a mechanic SUCKS!! the pay sucks, dealing with ignorant customers suck, the flat rate sucks. All of it. I stuggled working at a dealership. If i can give any advice to someone wanting to be a mechanic, I would say to stay away from dealerships and get into heavy duty. Its better money and better work.
My vehicle had to be towed to a dealership due to a computer problem. They charged $200 for a diagnostic test and then $200 and hours for the repair, plus parts. We know the mechanic isn't getting paid enough.
Ups is a dictatorship from what I’ve heard
In 7th & 8Th grade we had Drafting & Wood Shop. In high school we had Auto shop, Electric Shop, Machine Shop, Wood Shop & Architectural/Industrial Drafting (choice of two, every year). Plus we had Shop Math (pertaining to professional skills/work related math/calculations) & Home Economics. I went into the military (USAF) and learned a skill that I enjoyed, made a very good living at and its served me well. Took some college classes, but, the things I learned in those high school classes & my AF training is what I used most, expanded on & what carried me through life.
My high school had a class called "Practical Arts" for all freshmen. Each quarter focused on something different (auto mechanics, woodworking, business/personal finance, and home economics). After that, if kids had interest in, say, auto mechanics, they would take beginning auto mechanics as sophomores, and then advanced auto mechanics as upper classmen. That was more than forty years ago. I hope they are still doing this.
Right, Mike. I am a retired educator who agrees that university is not for everyone. Working is honorable. God's blessings. ❤
Higher education does NOT always mean university. Colleges teach trades also.
What did you educate people in?
@@joinjen3854 Trump will cause 25% of you to be unemployed during his term. This is a FACT of history. A republican president always means an economic disaster !
Yet you folks mock people working at fast food places and other low wage jobs.😂
I have a friend that chose plumbing over college and he is more successful than many that chose than the other route. He obtained enough experience to go out on his own, started a business that he took commercial and is making 7 figures a year. I believe in education but it’s not the end all, if I could do things over I would have skimped my BS in mech engineering and MBA to become a builder. I enjoy building more than trying help corporations find ways to reduce energy spend or meet sustainability goals.
My son worked at a motorcycle shop, started at sixteen. He’s 21 now and is a great mechanic. Problem is they wont pay him a living wage. He left to become an electrician.
Which is crazy because motorcycles are way easier to work on than cars, just far less complexity and way less parts and shop labor is much higher for bikes. Good motorcycle techs should be making very good money these days.
@@MrMcbear
Part of the problem is that motorcycle are those that can afford and usually are hobbyists, meaning it is a luxury for most. And for the purest, they fix their own motorcycle.
Car manufacturers need to build vehicles that can be worked on reasonably. They are poorly engineered and difficult for even experienced mechanics to repair. No one wants to be in an industry that doesn't care about the end user or the guy or gal who has to fix it! It should get easier not harder as technology gets more advanced!
Cars should be built just like they were in the 60,s. That was the pinnacle of the American car. those cars tuned and running correctly are just as clean as these computers on wheels they have today. I guess the ones of today are cleaner because they won't run.
You nailed it!
Well said!
Electric cars have way less parts and require way less maintenance....
@ I don’t want an electric car and I know many people who simply aren’t interested. I also can’t stand all the electronics and gadgets in the car, I like a good old simple stick shift. Power steering and auto windows and locks are great. That is the end of what I would want with the exception to the aux cable hook up you can do with your phone to listen to podcasts
My son went to school to become a mechanic. The dealerships did not pay a wage worth going through the training nor enough to live on. He's now a sherrif.
Ill bet the sherriff dept didnt make him buy his own gun and vest either.
This is a huge issue for folks actually wanting to get into the trades. The talking heads say you can make plenty of money, but the reality is the employers often don't pay enough, and the work is arduous and hard on your body in the long term.
Work for yourself. You'll be turning work away everyday.
Trumpism’s deference to Billionaire’s will only make things worse for the Middle Class as the 1% Refuse to Pay Living Wages & Taxes.
That’s because he got a job at a dealership lmao. They don’t care about their employees.
My son makes more than anyone he graduated with...he is a Union electrician...2016 high school grad....he had a 5 year apprenticeship in which he got paid and free school....he made 118k last year(in Missouri)...he could make more if he did overtime...he does sometimes but not often....so proud of him
You should be!👍
Good for him! I started a business with a friend of mine 5 years ago and the first thing my dad did was drag me through court for 2 and half years over made-up BS because he wanted to control everything.
Sorry to hear that
Did he get the job on his own or did you help him get the job.
@@realangrythrottle I did not help him...but a guy we knew from church did help some ...I would have helped him but I don't have any contacts in the field he went into..
My son took a job as a mechanic and the company expected him to do a job in 2 hours that would take 4-5 hours. He would get pd by the job not by the hour. He could choose to make an hourly wage of $15 an hour but that is not a decent wage to support a family. Companies are not willing to pay their workers a descent wage. He could not live on $15 and hour. It’s not 6 figures here in Indiana. That’s a lie. If this was true people would be flocking to be mechanics and there would not be shortage.
Be journalists and go to shops and ask Mechanics what they make…..how long have they been mechanics and how many hours do they work in a week. Then you will have a true picture of what it takes to be a car mechanic.
@jennytobias6551 That's standard procedure for auto mechanics, faster you are the more you make. I don't think it's a great system, but a lot of mechanics do like it. He should have known that before he became a mechanic.
And rushing through jobs to beat flat rate is where mistakes are made. It is a self eating snake!
You have to work self employed, buy your own tools, set up a shop.
All of the experienced mechanics I know always beat the flat rate it's the only way to make the big bucks . Oh and they do a competent job because if they don't they usually get to do it again at their expense .
Mike Rowe always delivers an insightful analysis, smart guy.
He is a grifter not unlike the Pawn Stars guy.. You will believe anyone.
@promethiac2641, except you
@@promethiac2641
You sound smaarrt .
@@promethiac2641someone said you're trying to clean your higher education as being watching reruns of Honey boo boo!
@@promethiac2641just because you think you got your higher education by watching reruns of Honey boo boo!
As a daughter and wife of mechanics we’ve seen this coming too. I think a large part is that people don’t want to work or get dirty. It’s not just the auto industry either it’s deal, heavy equipment, ag, and marine mechanics too.
We were in trouble the day they stopped teaching shop classes in our school system
yup. and they did that 40 years ago.
They never taught photography classes in my school or college, and I had a productive and profitable 30-year career as a pro photographer. ...Got it?
Digital photography has changed photography.
Wow. You are the definition of an out of Touch, non-woke Republican.
@@leslieholm9542 What the heck does that mean? Or do you just run around to random posts and troll them to make yourself feel like you actually have value?
I quit wrenching simply because cost of tools vs lack of pay.
I was an auto mechanic for 45 years. I left the industry and started working on forklifts cold turkey total immersion. Best career I’ve I ever made.
Nobody wants to be an auto mechanic because of the pay. I was a mechanic starting in the mid '70s. Flat rate pay was 50/50. I believe the flat rate hour was $25 an hour back then, so the company got 12.50 and the mechanic got 12.50. Now the dealers are charging $150 an hour, but the mechanic only gets about 35. The dealerships are making money hand over fist, and most are owned by one person or company owning dozens of dealerships.
Who cares what dealerships are making? If you want to make that kind of money, start a dealership and learn to run a business.
That's the biggest problem with the world today. Too many people worrying about what everyone else makes. Just shut up, do the work and make enough money for yourself to live the life you want. End of story.
I've never made one red cent worrying about what anyone else was making.
I’m scared to work on these cars. Clips break so easy. And replacement parts are always on back order!!
Hit the nail on the head, was a Mechanic back pre-covid. Dealer charged $225/hr to the customer for labor. I worked my way up and was making around $18/hr ($15/hr + a partial commission). Once they started giving me jobs that were more advanced and weren't raising my pay I was outta there. I really cared about getting the job done properly too, its a big responsibility to be working on a machine people operate at 70mph on the freeway with kids in the back and other drivers on the road. We just weren't paid accordingly.
@@amann910 How much of the overhead did you pay for that company? If you could break it down for me into insurance costs, electricity bills, building rent/payments, non-producing employee payroll, etc. that would be awesome.
@@dgoddard You're missing the point of the original comment, the dealer only used to take 50% of the flat rate charge to the customer. In my case, they were taking 92%. I mentioned that when they started giving me more advanced jobs(that required more skill, which happens to be worth more money) without increasing my pay, that i then left the company. It's the basic concept of trade that we need to keep in mind here. Bottom line, most people trade their time for money. If people are not getting as much money for there time(especially with the more complex systems in cars lately that require extra or higher skill levels), then thats a problem.
Now what would really be awesome, is if everyone in the country had the desire, knowledge and capitol to just "start their own business". That's just not reality, and never has been. And in the case that everyone owned their own business, who would be left to be employed at these businesses?
Retired engineer, 3 university degrees. If I had a chance to do things differently I would have been a technician. My last ten years of working, techs were making more than some engineers! Also, I could have studied A LOT of technology for far less money and had far fewer loans to pay off. If anyone asks me, my suggestion is to start with a good 1 or 2 year tech program in a field with good current job prospects. There's plenty of time for more education, if you decide that's what you want.
Amen brother...
@@TDSDoctoryou have three University degrees and you're still dumb enough to support Trump? You didn't learn nothing
Like my husband always says....get the engineer out of the way & get the work done.
@@sandracrandall4561 my engineers are mostly structural. I've done a good job maintaining these relationships so you can somewhat speed things up by having long relationships with the same firms... Plus, sugar gets you much more than salt with inspectors... With anything in life, really... 😁
@@sandracrandall4561 Sounds like someone who will never promote past his current level ... Engineers are very important. Working with them speeds things up. Working against them slows things down. Simple as that.
i went to tech school to be a mechanic. i was in the industry for years and i can see why people are less interested in it nowadays. the pay that the actual techs get is insultingly low until you basically become a master. especially when you usually have to pay for your own tools in almost every shop, and auto manufactures make things needlessly difficult and complicated, usually just to save themselves a few bucks during manufacturing but dont mind screwing the mechanics in the process. not to mention everything is made of cheap plastic now that tends to break when you take it apart and wont last long term. it can still be worth it in the end but it isn't as lucrative as it once was. shops just need to pay better and manufacturers need to be more repair conscious when designing them. but they wont because they would rather you replace a vehicle than repair it.
I have been in a mechanic my whole life, 45 years and its served me extremely well and made me a good living. Its gotten me promoted to manager and director roles etc. Unfortunately today there are not many left. Todays kids have no interest in anything except video games and social media etc. I am still able to work on my own vehicles, Range Rover and C63S AMG. And yes that saves me a ton. I am headed into retirement soon and thankful to God for my life and my abilities that have served me and my family well. Please learn this trade, its worth every dime!!!!
No interest besides video games and social media? I was only uninterested in getting underpaid and having to buy tens of thousands of dollars in tools. Why would we chose to work in a field that underpays and under appreciates it’s employees when I can go work somewhere else while making more money and not going home with a sore back and cut up hands.
@@zacharyenockson4404enjoy the student loan payments for the next 30 Years
You're right the kids and the Millennials nowadays are as lazy as dirt, but, with that being said I've been doing mechanic work for 50 plus years, I will not work on anything from 1998 and newer, all this new vehicle crap on the market ain't worth buying are working on.
I have been a mechanic almost all my life started at my father's shop. Worked for the dealership , opened my own repair shop. Mechanics is a dying breed the young generation wants more pay and less work also when they find out how much money they have to spend for tools they usually bailout. Mechanic spends the most money on equipment and has the lowest pay scale in the labor force
@mellopez5866 hell that's been like that for years, the people that actually keep this world moving always get the short end of the stick.
But yet a lawyer goes to college and complains about the cost of the education, but yet a mechanic that is in the field for 40 years is still getting an education, and a lawyer most of the time won't even buy his own place to do his work out of, he rents so he doesn't have to pay property tax, and then when you go in he'll tell you that he'll have to get back to you after your consultation because he has to go out and get his books and learn about the situation before he does anything, and charge the hell out of you.
But yet when a lawyer or doctor brings a vehicle to you he'll be the first one to complain about the price.
The pay scale in this country has never been Fair.
As a retired automotive service manager I can say that the stigma of being a mechanic is the smallest deterrent of the career field. The field is pushing away mechanics with low pay in the vast majority of companies, ever rising tool costs due to manufacturers “innovation” that require unique and specific tools, unrealistic “book” times on some major jobs, not to mention warranty times and rates that are even worse.
Thats the most honest thing I have ever heard from a service manager… and you are 100% correct…. The industry made this bed and could easily fix it with pay and benefits but decides to just cry and gets guys like Mike Rowe to perpetuate the lie on why people wont take up the this profession or amazing techs jumped ship….. its definitely not because of its stigma of a dirty job.
I've been a auto technician for 49 years the number one reason nobody wants to repair vehicles is pay, most dealers and independents don't pay as much as plumbers electricians hvac they just don't. Most don't realize a technician owns his tools and tool boxes not the employer tools are not cheap to replace my tools today with everything I have purchased In the last 49 years I estimate it would cost roughly 450 thousand dollars that's on the low end probably closer to over a half a million that's no joke. So now you see why guys aren't getting into the business. And folks if you think our job is changing oil and putting on brakes and shocks that's not what we do have any of you tried to diagnosis a electrical concern on the vehicles today give it a try the vehicles are very sophisticated and technical today you half to be trained and know what your doing period so its easy to see why there is such a huge shortage of techs today.
@@lisaharvey4373 I have a 2013 ford fusion that has been in the garage for a month now. Some electrical gremlin disabling the awd and a bunch of other things. I tried diagnosing it for a week. I finally sent it to the garage and even with their computers hooked up, it's being a nightmare. Yes people don't realize how awful new vehicles can be to diagnose with all the electronics on vehicles these days... that's why I daily drive my simple and trusty 95 chevy truck...
Too low of pay for the highly technical work needed to repair todays cars, even the dealers can’t fix some of their cars. For what you have to know and do it’s not worth the pay unless you run your own shop, I was a mechanic for 40+ years and I seen the changes coming, the very expensive equipment needed to repair todays cars and the “dealer only” software required for some vehicle’s to be able to run scans. We desperately need the right to repair so we can get the dealers software.
I just retired from the automotive repair industry ,ending with owning my own shop. The new intelligence that it takes and the cost of tools that are required do not equal the pay of a modern mechanic. Unfortunately shops and dealerships still cheat customers in order to make up some of the difference. There would have to be a massive raise to equal the total honest cost and intelligence required to work on modern day carrs.....It is a very difficult mental and physical job. Customer can NOT afford honest car service!
Maybe if the car Company manufacturers stopped making cars so hard to repair or started using universal parts instead of proprietary parts. Then there might be more people going into said field.
I've been in the automotive and heavy truck business for over 25yrs and no one wants to pay the money for your skill and the tools you have to buy to stay relevant for all the new cars and truck it just sad i love fixing cars and trucks but the money is not there
Love Mike Rowe! His message has been consistent for years.
This is because the dealership charges $150 to $250 an hour and the tech, who actually performs the work, gets $27.45 an hour.
I was gonna write the exact same thing, but you beat me to it. Good on you.
Does the tech use his own lift, tools, and fluids? Does the tech pay for heating the shop, electricity, mortage, etc?
So buy a dealership do you know what their margins are?
If you are really good at it, you will have your own business. If you are average or less, you will work at a dealership.
They do use their own tools. They are very expensive as well. Fluids are paid for by the customer.@@ddoggall
We are definitely an elitist country. My best friend told his son he put away 200 k for his college
But if he he absolutely loves working on cars, so my friend invested it for him for “ retirement “ and he is going to become a car mechanic and will likely end up at a high end car dealership
By the time he retires he will be worth millions just because his father invested the money that would have been wasted on a wasted college degree
@@Wilma__DikfitWelders and skilled trades can easily make 6 figures, more money than you need does not equal hippiness and worthless degrees abound.
If you vote elites into government, you'll end up with an elitist country.
Unfortunately, with the way things are going a million dollars won't be anything special by then - it'll probably be the typical home price in the lower cost of living cities and towns.
I WAS AN ASE MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS. THE FLAT RATE SYSTEM OF PAY IS ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS! THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN SURVIVE UNLESS YOU'RE CHEATING SCUMBAG AND I REFUSED TO CHEAT MY CUSTOMERS. THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS OF PAY IS WHY THIS INDUSTRY IS QUICK TO DIE BECAUSE THERE IS WAY TOO MUCH DIFFICULTY FOR EVERY REPAIR AND WAY TOO LITTLE PAY. REALIZE THIS AS CUSTOMERS YOU WON'T SEE IT BUT IN THE BACK END IT IS FIXED TIMES FOR CERTAIN REPAIRS AND THE TIMES ARE HORRIFICALLY UNDERCOUNTED
True but you have the skills to make Some money after work .
Thats the benefit of having skills . 💪💪
@@Ikke-t4l there's a guy down the street from us in our neighborhood. He's an ASE mechanic at a new car dealership. But after work and on weekends he is always working on cars. He's fixed mine several times. Well worth it!
@ Thats my point mate , my dad told me learn to use your hands and you always have a job .
I,m 59 now and good times bad times but in bad times There is more work after 9to5 😉😉
Its fantastic Americans, the energy is fantastic, 🇺🇲♥️💯🙏😎
It takes far more education and experience to become a mechanic than it used to. And many are correct the dealership's don't want to treat them right.
I was lucky to hear Mike Rowe speak at the SkillsUSA conference in Kansas City years ago. This man is a Sage for our time!
The flat rate system, the way dealership mechanics are treated by employers, and the complex difficulty of the way cars are manufactured and have to be repaired are in my opinion why there is less and less interest in automotive repair. Ive been wrenching for a living 18 years.
A 4 year college degree is not for most people, actually! Automotive Technicians is an honorable career path, as is Aircraft Technicians. THANK YOU Mike Rowe!
Why not? Pay crappy! Not a livable salary! Benefits crappy! Unless you’re the shop owner. Not even close to a 6 figure salary!
So what is your alternative? Live with your momma?
People don’t understand how complicated the systems on cars and trucks are .
We deplorable garbage
That’s what they call us
They are very complicated; that is why they developed the little OBDS II system that plugs into the system and in seconds it will tell you exactly what is wrong !
The system may be complicated but the job isn't!
@@TheMakersMarkTSFyou don’t know ANYTHING about electronics. Yes the trouble codes could lead you to the problem or send you down a rabbit hole. It takes experience to diagnose a vehicle.
@TheMakersMarkTSF That isn't completely true. Have you looked under some of these hoods? It's not as easy as you make it sound 🤷🏻♂️
And computers make mistakes, as well.
the obd does not tell the problem@@TheMakersMarkTSF
I was a mechanic for many years. Back in the 70's I worked in a dealership the pay was 50% of labor charge flat rate was 24.00 hour a mechanic would make 12.00. It was worth the effort then. Now Dealerships charge very high labor rates and their techs get paid peanuts for their work.
I had the same experience, they started raising the labor rates without increasing our wage
That is why so many mechanics have become self-employed now. Why make $25 an hour, when you are being billed out at $150+ when you can work for yourself at $125 an hour and keep all of it?
Mike Rowe is a man of integrity- thank you for having him on your show. I love his message and commitment to helping train people for trades that we need in the USA.
There's no loyalty in a dealership or shop in America, and the pay can really suckass. High Schools took Auto Mechanics out of schools, and most auto mechanics training schools have closed because people have lost interest
The increase in the educational bureaucracy and deterioration of the quality of teachers, due to the influence of the teacher's unions, has played a major roll in the downfall of the education system.
I’m a veteran educator and I agree with you 100%.
I know a guy that worked at a car dealer before he graduated high school in the 80s, and the last time I talked to him he was going to get a different job because the cars have become too technical, and he said he's tired of going to school all the time to learn new tech to repair the new cars
Mechanics pay is all messed up.
If you take the judging people do towards mechanics, add in stinky work conditions, top it all off with the cost of those tools its just not worth it. I was married to a mechanic for over 25 years. He continued his training to keep up with the changes in cars. The tool investment was unreal. A toolbox over six feet high crammed full of expensive tools. The investing didnt end. The pay just didnt keep up with it. He finally switched over to construction equipment and did a bit better.
Not to mention 80k in tool purchases, constant training and, testing , continuously changing technology along with employers that insist on keeping all the profit .
For most, the juice isn't worth the squeeze.
I retired from an excellent paying mechanic job, literally top 1% pay and benefits, but I wasn't qualified until I had 25 years experience .
There is no incentive for young guys to become good techs .
Man, the mechanics don't have a chance. Expensive school, fake job placement assistance and low wages. I don't blame young folks for passing on it
I had no clue that there was a shortage until I took my car to a local Ford dealer for maintenance. It took several weeks to get the work done. I was getting frustrated and asked why it was taking so long. The dealer is one of the larger ones in my area. The service rep said they only had 4 or 5 mechanics. They had one transmission specialist. The wait list to even be seen at the dealer was weeks.
Trans guys are a unique breed, if they are really good, the manufacturer will offer them a job at the tech center, seen it happen more than once. By the way, Ford tranny's have all always will suck.
If they want to lure young men into the automotive industry, average wages need to go up because yes some technicians make six figures but a lot make like 60 which in many parts of the country isn’t going to support a family, buy a house etc.
I’m in the waste industry and for the truck mechanics it’s a really tough job. Components are heavy which takes a toll on the wrists, back and shoulders. Lots to learn with complex hydraulics, engine emissions, complex electrical and overall most things being a pain to work on (rear engine timing gears, etc) Most shops for trucks are charging $175 plus rates meanwhile mechanics are making $40 hour (while installing 45% margin parts for the dealer) which needs adjusted. As a college educated person I’d love to see this trade make more than I do as they 100% deserve it.
Made a living from a Community college. Machinist for 30 years.
My youngest cousin, just turned 21, is going to school to be a mechanic and has work experience at AutoZone, because he loves to work on cars, trucks and motorbikes. And he lives 2 miles from a mechanic's garage, where my dad and I took our cars to. Good luck, Andy.
So, what?
@@petesaria-hf1xh You need to grow up and learn compassion.
I'm one of them...... Graduated high school in the late 90s and went right to Lincoln tech for auto mechanics. Worked in the field for about 5 years and then ran far and fast because even back then the industry was garbage. It's gotten monumentally worse.
Thanks for sharing your story. My father spent the better part of 50 years working as a mechanic at various dealers and was never really given the respect or compensation he deserved for what skills and knowledge were needed for the job. I honestly think the title should be upgrade from service technician to service engineer.
Former mechanic here. Watch RUclips vids on this subject, that’ll explain everything! 90% of it is flat rate pay. Something needs to change!
Yet my local Dodge dealership is charging $185/Hour for labor.
Go to college and owe six figures. Learn a trade and make 6 figures.
If it fits in a sentence, it must be true.
And be a dunderhead that can't think beyond his/her nose. You don't see the trap you're falling into, do you.
@@petesaria-hf1xh Boy I bet your fun at parties. Mr Positive much?
@petesaria-hf1xh you must owe Harvard thousands 😂😂😂 whatever
I was a mechanic for 42 years the worst part to me after all that time is people want to drive their cars while you work on them and if they do leave them, they think it’ll take 10 minutes to fix it. The aggravation is not worth it.
One has to almost be an electrical engineer just to work on an engine now. The computer garbage under the hood is ridiculous!
Ridiculous is right. What cracks me up is the car has a computer but you need another $10,000 computer to see what the computer in the car already knows. Why not just make the car computer tell you what it already knows? It's intentionally difficult so you have to pay someone who likely doesn't know how to do it.
In my opinion the best trades to go in is electrician or plumbing. I worked for about 35 years in the tool and die trade. You don't make enough for what you have to know and buy all of the tools you have to have. Plus you will work for someone else and have to put up with shop BS and not really be appreciated.
Tool and die maker here. I totally agree. People always used to ask me if I would teach my boys the trade. My reply hell no!
One major problem is that cars nowadays are built so convoluted and complicated that they are tough or nearly impossible to work on.
Mike Rowe can help reform US education
Bring back shop classes in high-school.
You have no idea how happy it makes me hearing people not afraid to say, Merry Christmas. Also, love Mike Rowe. He made people see that this country runs on people who aren't afraid to get out there and work.
They just can't help themselves but lie; she said 6 figure salaries and Mike agreed and said all day long, Oh my gosh they are so out of touch.
Yep, I was told in tech school machinist would be worth their weight in gold. We'll here I am 43yrs in and still waiting. All lies.
I'm a mechanic of 31 years and the biggest problem with vehicles is the engineers that developed this junk. They need to go back to the basics and get rid of the high-tech stuff and then maybe the prices of this junk could come down. Mechanics can spend hours diagnosing the problem but most just slap a new part on and hope for the best.
It's for sure that the "pace of technology" in cars ( and other things) exceeds the "pace of learning" for the population.
That is not sustainable.
I have been a mechanic for thirty four years and I would never want my children to become one.
Our oldest son is a retired surgeon. He discouraged his four children from ever becoming a doctor.
@ I don’t recommend being a mechanic because of too many hours and terrible pay. It wasn’t always like that. It was actually a great career until the mid to late nineties. I’m curious about your son’s reasoning for discouraging his children from becoming a surgeon. I would think the pay is good and healing people would be satisfying. However, I know the inside story can be very different. Dealing with insurance companies, the government and frivolous lawsuits?
@@JohnStray569 The road to becoming a surgeon is an intensely steep climb up a narrow, winding road. .Our son loved every minute of his education, learning the necessary skills, and benefiting his patients. It was all the other stuff that made him feel he couldn’t honesty encourage his children to follow him on that career path.
They call us deplorable garbage
Do you expect us to respond favorably to that?
😂😂😂
Think again
I worked in a dealership. And nearly all of the techs there did make a living. But dear god all of them looked worn out mentally and physically. Like they had worked in a sweat shop their entire lives. I worked as a tech for 2 yrs. And decided I didn't want to live like that. And watching the dealerships charging the customers 170+ an hour for the techs time. But the techs were getting 30-50 an hour depending on their tech levels. The dealerships are already making money charging the customers for the repairs and parts. But piggy backing off the techs to boost profits is just pure greed.
My uncle is a mechanic since 1978. He says you won't find a knowledgeable auto tech due to dealer greed, liability, and he claims the car owners are complete jerks! He loved the work, but car owners are the problem thinking techs just wave a magic wand over their car and VOILA
I'm an independent mechanic for 42 years. Yes. There are ignorant, difficult customers. Be kind to them, if you can, and hope you never see them again. On the flip side of the coin, most people need and respect a good mechanic with integrity.
Who cares what people think. If you can provide for your family, that’s what it’s all about.
If you live in a vacuum and have a very narrow scope.. yes.
Promethiac 👈🥱🤡 ok John. You dwell in a basement. How wide is your scope
@@chevy3022 Wide enough not to say things like that expecting it to be a mic drop...
Promethiac 👈😆🤡are your feewings hurt Johnny. Good 🤣😂
@@chevy3022 No.. what are you?
It has more to with “Flat Rate” Pay.
Same for contractors and automotive techs/ mechanics. Highschool pushed away this notion that these types of industries were not worth investing in. Looking down on them. We need our trades.
mike rowe is such a great guy
*Mike
As a former mechanic it was a horrible job no pay nasty dirty had to change clothes before I could even get in my car at the end of the day, hot in summer cold in winter, emotionally and mentally draining I got out and got my cdl I drive a dump truck now make over twice what I made turning wrenches and I don’t have to do near the work I did
Right on, Mike! We sure as heck do not need more psychologists. Most of those folks, in my experience, have more problems than those they are supposed to help.
The main business making the money in these “areas” Mike is referring to are the schools that teach craft. Once the students graduate? The current job market is not good at all. Yes companies say they are “hiring”. But the wages offered aren’t enough to live on.
I can attest that the shops and mechanics of today are scam artist. Honestly and morals have gone away. Also the dealerships have such an overhead that prices are through the roof.
IT IS THE FLAT RATE SYSTEM! IF YOU WANT TO BE AN HONEST MECHANIC FORGET IT! I DID IT FOR 30 YEARS AND I WAS ON MULTIPLE ANTIDEPRESSANTS. THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS OF PAY IS WHY MECHANICS WON'T STAY IT'S NOT WORTH IT! STOP BEATING AROUND THE BUSH! FLAT RATE HAS TO END!
Go Back to the 50's and 60's and 70"s Vehicles ..
Entry level must have 4 years experience and allllll tools for 12 an hr
Most mechanics get paid in flat rate these days, they have a choice between doing a good job or making a good wage.
I was a Mechanic for 40 years and got out. I never stopped going to school to keep up with the changes. That was on top of working 50 hours a week and having to upgrade my tool box content. It is also hard to find a good employer with any kind of benefit package. Sure Walmart has benefits but you are not paid well enough. Most independents and Dealers pay Flat rate hour. 24.00 less or more. You get 30 hours and then they put you on warranty work that pays very little. I got tired of it. I went to Water Well pumps and irrigation and did much much better. I retired from that. I do work on all my own vehicles. At least I got that from it. Saved thousands of dollars.
All Trades are down. There used to be great trade schools in Florida, now they are almost non existent
Florida. Capitalism. There are your answers.
M< That makes zero cents. Your nickel has been refunded. Reverse Cha ching.
That's really odd. The CEOs and corporations and Wall Street are doing gangbusters!! Suppose there's a connection?
Your leftist pain brings us joy, please keep throwing your little tantrums. YOU LOST. You lost BIG!
@@alfredo2712 Nobody won except Israel. Israel would have won if Kamala became president too.
From Leo: Car dealers are a big part of the problem. Cars are highly technical, needing lots of technical training and equipment. The annual software upgrade on an analyzer can be over $2000. The mechanics personal tool set is easily beyond $15,000. The dealers proudly charge the customers over $100 per hour and want to pay the mechanics $22 per hour. Being a dealership mechanic was a great job in the 60's and 70's. Crooked dealers have driven a lot of really good techs completely out of the field.
NAILED IT!
I work on the hydraulics in a Cat dealer. More pay, better training, and a basic toolbox goes a long way to help get a new tech in the door. 6 years in and I clear $81,000 a year with a 401K and health insurance. Spent less than 5 grand in tech school.
Yes! Wyotech in Laramie, Wyoming (a mechanic and auto body tech school) used to have several outlets across the U.S. Now there is only the one in Laramie. They have a very high standard of mechanical education, but they also teach integrity, and loyalty, and work ethic to all the students. We need honest and quality tradespeople in all areas. Let’s encourage more youth to look at these valuable, sustainable careers for enriching personal worth and contributing to healthy communities.
True but wyotec charges em as much as the university to get a degree in something that could offer on the job training
Over these past twenty five I've watched the hourly shop rates go up and up as the pay the mechanic, the guy who does the work, wages go down. Too much of the labor rates going to the parasites of the shops. To the worker it's not worth it.
I really hope the Keystone Pipeline can be completed in the next four years. The sooner fuel prices drop, the sooner grocerey and all other prices will start dropping. Transportation is the big expense.
NO ONE WANTS TO WORK!!! WERE IS A PENSION?
Thank you
You speak the Truth
Plus you get more satisfaction than sitting at a desk.
Just the money you could save by working on your own vehicle would probably shock you.
Doesn't shock me, I learned that decades ago. Even the new age cars with all of the electronics on them are not that difficult.
The big difference is that when I say something needs to be replaced, I know that I can believe ME! The biggest money savings comes from not being lied to by a commission based mechanic who is trying to pad his paycheck.
Except, the new cars are lots more complicated! They're not like my 60s and 70s vehicles.
I was a NAISE certified Master Mechanic for 26 years. The pros are; no matter how bad the economy gets there is no such thing as unemployment. If you don't like the place you are working it is so simple to move to another employer. The pay is "reasonable" but not good enough to attract better talent. The cons are; the level of knowledge/experience is prohibitive. It is difficult work and gets worse with age. Society looks down on the trade. Worst of all are the entitled customers (got worse as the years went by) that have an attitude of 'I should be paying them for the privilege of working on their car'.
You mean most times we pay a small fortune for repairs and the problem is not fixed.
@@xcalibertrekker6693 Read above >The pay is "reasonable" but not good enough to attract better talent
Yes!
The customers are jerks!
Tune up a car, they blame you for the brakes failing
Need pay to support a family.
Be courageous. Start your own business.
Mikey!!!!!! Always good to see you man.I'm still watching them Dirty Job videos.Learned alot! Can't get enough of it.🇺🇸😁👍
Lost all respect for this guy when he started spreading republican propaganda for fox. He's a disgrace
@@RagaSHOT but you liked him when he wasn't a particular party? He isn't a politician, so why does it matter?? You sound prejudice
I never even made it thru H.S but picked up skills early like mechanics ,carpentry,plumbing, etc.most of my extended family were blue collar.making 6 figures easily repairing and maintaining commercial cooking equipment and refrigeration.hard to find the young guys to stick with us even with the good pay.most seem to give up too easily.
The reality is there is no money in it. They see their parents struggle and struggle to make ends meat and think why would I do that.
agreed, unless you work ALL the time (evenings and weekends in addition to the "9to5"). In my case, my auto-mechanic dad had to do this to make a living - I love cars and would've loved to follow in his footsteps, but did not want to miss out on spending time with my family, so I studied to be an engineer instead which has been a good career (25 years and counting) with a good work/life balance.
When we get ourselves in trouble it's always painful to get yourself out of that trouble.
Respect to auto mechanics from a retired industrial electro-mechanical technician. In retirement I have begun doing my own auto repair and maintenance. The knowledge and dedication required to comprehensively work on modern automotive systems is incredible. Hats off to you.
I worked as an SAE certified mechanic for several dealerships. The dealers made their ENTIRE business running on the back room, I.e., the mechanics bays and parts, leaving sales as pure profit! I watched my percentage of flat rate (the dealers going shop rate charge) go from 45% to 27%. Topped with the Government’s insistence on decreasing the flat rate charges for repairs, I saw my wage earning scale going down the toilet. Now that you have computers integrated into vehicles, you’re no longer a mechanic in the truest sense of the word. I walked away from it and I have no regrets.
I agree with another comment a good honest tech is worth their weight in gold but most still won't pay what your worth