Dealer Service Rant
Always shyed away from dealer mechanics, actually mechanics in general. Just a good way to set ones self up for frustration and disappointment. Well, 2 separate recent warranty issues have reinforce...
Forum Discussion
drsteve wrote:
Speaking of flat rate... the flat rate book is a primary reason for hastily done work. In recent years, it has become more and more unrealistic, especially for warranty jobs. I know guys who left the trade because they simply can't make any money at it anymore, and these are competent, conscientious mechanics with years of experience.
I can see where that might be the case sometimes. I've seen plenty of hourly techs do terrible work too. Some techs just don't care, and they usually bounce from dealer to dealer too. You get good and bad workers in ever industry.
My friend seems to consistently do 70hrs a week of quality flat rate work, some weeks even more. This is at a busy Nissan dealer.
I can't see a good mechanic making really good money without flat rate.
He as been doing it for almost 20 years. We aren't that old so there are definitely mechanics that have been in the business way longer.
I was only in the business for 2-3 years as an hourly tech doing basic stuff. Now I sit in front of a computer at home all day writing code.
I guess my point is, not all mechanics are crooks, and some of the good ones do work at dealers. But I too have had and heard my fair share of horror stories.
