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Permalink Reply by Dugan Anderson on October 29, 2012 at 9:55am

I consult with dealers all over the country and here are some examples of what their techs get paid.  An entry level tech could expect $12-$15 per hour.  At the top of the heap would be a fully certified and factory trained tech would be $22-$25 and a certified diesel tech commands a few dollars more (all per hour).  Most of these techs are also paid on a flat rate basis which I suspect your guy is paid on clock hour.

I would suggest looking at Independent shops.  Here you would find people who are used to searching for parts, are comfortable with a clock hour pay program and are familiar with electronic diagnostic techniques (most are).  I think you could expect to pay somewhere in the $20 range but this shouldn't be a problem for the right person.

If you have other questions, let me know.

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Permalink Reply by Gene Daughtry on October 29, 2012 at 10:00am

Dugan knows his stuff. Any mechanic should be paid on Flag hours (flat rate) and not clock hours, in my opinion, but you have to work within your market. I would give him a small bonus on parts profit to encourage saving on parts.

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Permalink Reply by Neill Juilfs on October 30, 2012 at 2:44am

We have around 50 cars and sell around 15 cars per month, but do quite a bit of fix up on site.

It is extremely difficult to find a skilled mechanic that is also good with people (and paperwork).  If they can do both they are typically running their own shop somewhere.  I have one of my salespeople (that has a fair amount of mechanical knowledge) work directly with the customers. 

I am in Oregon, which has around 12% unemployment, so may be cheaper than Dallas.

I am very aware I underpay my mechanics, but give them a large amount of flexibility and the ability to bring in their own side work.  It sometimes results in a higher turnover rate, so I have begun giving 30-90 day raises once they prove themseIves.  I typically run 1-2 mechanics on site between $10-$12.  My guy at $10 is comparable to your last guy.  One at $12 is more experienced but not a certified tech.  He likes that I work around his school and sidework schedule.  Both of these are per clock hour, but they can bid a job at around $15 per flag hour for bigger projects.  Agreed that someone willing to save on parts is worth more per hour.

I also have a tech off site.  He was laid off from a shop when they slowed down, but is still allowed to use the facility which is better than ours.  He works for $22 a book hour, and has access to a lift and SnapOn Modis scanner, which we don't on site.

I hope that is of some help to see what another little guy is doing.  I am very open to advice and input from more seasoned dealers and service managers.

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Permalink Reply by Matt Bary on October 30, 2012 at 5:51pm

Thank you guys for all your answers. sure gave me a lot to think about. I've started interviewing applicants and just from talking to a few it looks like a basic mechanic is a shop like Midas makes about $10/hr. 

I'll update once I've learned more.

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Permalink Reply by Neill Juilfs on December 11, 2012 at 11:55pm

I would love to hear you share anything you have learned in your research.

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