How to Make Money On Flat Rate As An Automotive Tech

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[@TylerRivera635]

My shops nice enough to pay 75% of flat rate up to 40 hours to us when we don’t pull enough hours during the week. As long as you’re working that is and almost all of us make our time.

[@juanquintero2396]

Where do you work at ?

[@magnumjohnson9628]

You should do a video on Illinois flat rate law that states auto manufacturers must pay dealership technicians customer pay labor time. Just went into effect January 1 2022

[@ttstang43]

for warranty or?

[@magnumjohnson9628]

@@ttstang43 yes for warranty

[@danhorrighs1533]

Warranty pays 1.5 now

[@magnumjohnson9628]

@@danhorrighs1533 what that mean?

[@jg7041]

That just means the customer pay time will start going way down LOL

[@DirtyDanRacimg]

All it takes is a bad service manager or service advisor and their goes your hours.

[@chadthompson5419]

Facts

[@SawyerSmoak]

Good to have you back FRM. I was missing listening to new episodes on my way to work.

[@nwadeswim]

Me as well...apart of my mornings FRM!

[@adamwhite202]

The world is changing who want to be flat rate ? Where u can work from home making $20 per hours

[@brisketprofit3205]

What are the $20 home jobs?

[@philh9238]

Flat rate is a joke. Tons of other fields you are salary or hourly

[@nickl3872]

For the beginner, lazy or slow

[@upnorth5465]

@@nickl3872 No one works flat rate in the rust belt. If you are, you will end up working a lot of hours for fee.

[@juanquintero2396]

@@upnorth5465 depends on where you work brother , im in a dealership it’s a lot of newer cars and not much rust Im not making flat rate right now but some of the techs are

[@MostGenericUser]

​@@upnorth5465I wish that were true you just have to learn to deal with rust also if you're at a good shop they'll add more time because of the rust. That being said if you move to somewhere without rust or are working on only new vehicles you'll be better than those techs who don't deal with it.

[@shaneman20]

A couple things to touch on. It may go way more indepth than necessary, but a lot of guys are so unfamiliar with how the shop views them as a tech. For example, if your A tech is bring 40k of gross profit a month, but all you can muster is 10k a month, chances are you will stay where you are and constantly have to deal with poop. Another thing to factor is rust belt times. There is no labor guide for the rust belt. Only experience will get you through and there's nothing wrong with quoting over if you have a good enough standing to back it up and don't mess anything up in the process. Mistakes happen. We are human. Learn from them and move on to the next. And also, as FRM is saying, really consider your efficiency. If you're not efficient, you won't be fast. Speed and efficiency coincide. But the main thing is don't let people talk to you.about speed. Talk about efficiency. Some of the best people in the industry are able to get jobs done quickly due to efficiency and knowledge. Not speed. Last thing, it is highly recommended that every tech track their hours and dispute what needs disputed. If you are constantly finding your hours missing, it might be time to roll out.

[@kauaiboy111]

Wish we had a rust belt multiplier here in hawaii where they drive their trucks in salt water!

[@jg7041]

I constantly find hours missing or just don’t get paid for jobs. It’s like we’re running a charity. Going on two years at the dealer… I’m about to move to my previous shop.

[@ghostwrench2292]

I work at a large and very busy dealer where I would estimate 95% of the line work is warranty. I can do many of the repairs in the time the job pays, the problem is once you factor in the MPI, getting the estimate into the computer, doing a thorough road test afterwards, accounting for and turning in all the parts and writing the diagnosis/repair story - that’s where I lose time and it adds up to me often flagging less than 40 hours per week. When I do make my hours, it’s usually when I have back-to-back TSB type repairs to string together. I mostly do heavy line work (and I’m meticulous) so each repair takes 1- 3 days. I hate flat rate for demanding the type of repairs I do daily to be perfect every time at the risk of redoing the job for free all while racing the punch clock.

[@hunterjordan5683]

Whats your labor rate? I work at a nationwide chain store and we charge $130 an hour in my area. We also sell almost exclusivly parts store parts and deal with the comebacks later, even though we charge well over 150% markup on parts. This in turns means 3/4 of our tickets fail to sell. Flat rate is awsome if you work in a shop that is super busy, and can get you parts when tickets are sold, and can mange to sell tickets instead of driving work away to the DEALERSHIPS of all places. This leads to most days having 4 b level techs in a shop with nothing but lofr's, tires and a couple of brake jobs when you get bored.

[@ghostwrench2292]

The labor rate at my dealer is $155/hr, which when that rate was set last summer, management increased tech pay as well - and quite generous I might add. I have absolutely no complaints about my dealership - they treat us techs very well. It’s just warranty labor times that irritate me. Long ago, I accepted that the way I work (meticulous) is the largest factor in my not flagging more hours but I have worked in shops (dealerships) where there was a much larger percentage of customer pay work and my flagging hours was not a problem - I left because I got tired of the bs there. So now I am happy, except I have to work very hard to flag hours with warranty labor times.

[@Itsdazeni]

Great points, Another thing is book time is just a guide Techs gotta charge accordingly to repairs obviously don’t over charge but charge properly. GM 5.3 water pump pay 1hr which r&r test drive and everything your at 1 hr shop charges 2hrs including thermostat

[@madmechanic7976]

Flat Rate is how they get you to work for free.

[@kurtkennedy5370]

Its not even beating book time anymore, its the extended test drives, the inspections, driving the car through the car wash, make sure the repair is done CORRECTLY, harness's routed correctly, all harness clips, clipped back in, etc. etc. etc. there is no reason for a shop to pay flat rate anymore. I expect my guy to fix cars right the first time, and do a good Inspection, test drive before and after, etc. etc. etc. so I pay them hourly and accordingly to what we expect from them. I would take a little less productivity for increased customer satisfaction and fixed right the first time any day of the week.

[@peteralessandroni3442]

There are too many factors that make the system suck, especially when those things are out of your control. Seems most of that is at independent shops. Seems like the dealer tech wins. Service writers who don't bill the job out correctly and don't bill out diagnostic time. When you have limited lifts and your told to pull apart a job while your waiting on parts just for the wrong stuff to show up. When the highest paid golden boy gets to kick and scream that he doesn't want to do the job so it gets pushed onto you cause he knows he'll drown on it. I worked at several indy shops and was never fired for my quality of work. I have moved on looking for greener pastures, but it all seems that it has to deal with location and employer to be successful at flat rate. That's life I geuss.

[@jg7041]

Oh that happens at the dealer too

[@niteninja0133]

You have to be organized and know how to manage time. I diagnose get the car outside and bring the next one in. Dont sit on nothing. Get it done and gone. I average 80hrs every week. Thats with smoke breaks and starting at 8am and leaving at 4pm each day. You gotta be fast and good. It ain't for everyone

[@shawnbauman5463]

Exactly. Efficient and good. Most people don't or won't develop these skills.

[@ronvessells1356]

When I was flat rate. I had tickets lost. One or two tickets a week on average. I had jobs that I did that the service writer put other techs name on. I did tickets that said paid 10 hours, get bill out at less than a hour. I asked why did the ticket says 10hrs on it if you're only going to charge 1 hour. The answer I was given was, It is my Dad's car and you would not of fixed it if it said 1 hr on the ticket. My best days were Saturdays. I worked at a tire shop. I had a car on every rack. Brakes, Suspension Parts, axles etc. The service writer turned away a smog check one Saturday. I asked him why he did that. He said I didn't have the time to do it. I said. That is my money you are sending away. I had time to do it. He told the owner that he had to turn away work because the tech was too busy. They hired another tech to work with me on Saturday. He got all the easy brake jobs etc. While I got to do the Smog Checks with a coupon and all the diagnostic work. The hours I made on Saturday was cut in half. Never mind I worked Saturdays for Many years by myself and never had a problem. When I first got into the business and was young. I put up with a lot of shops doing me wrong. They seemed to know that they can exploit the younger techs. I say the best pay structure would be a good hourly wage with bonuses paid for hours billed over 40 a week. Like overtime. With flat rate there was days I had little or no work and cleaned the shop and parking lot for most of the day. This is labor and time that you are not getting paid for, while the shop is benefitting from your free labor. If I have to be at the shop and it is not my fault that there is no worked to do. Why should I be punished? Why should the shop get free labor from me? Believe me, Every huge check that you get on commission will be offset by a mall check that you get later. Flat rate is a win win for the shop always. It can be a win for technicians in some cases but not every case.

[@agilmore001]

Last few weeks of Flat rate. Burned out, headed to salary. Everyone wants you to work on the weekends when your off finally

[@TheGreasyShopRag]

If you only get paid for repairs you do then who takes care of all the general BS that has to happen in the shop like sweeping , restocking, taking out the garbage? Do you get guys that won't pitch in because they aren't getting paid to do that? What about a come back that you invest time in only to find out its a totally new problem?

[@epicragegaming2016]

you should always have a general labourer/shop hand, there job is to move cars, clean the place, bring materials over, make sure everyday items are in stock and ordered, drive customers, pick up parts when needed. sometimes you need someone in the car to bleed or start it up to check for leaks. why pull someone who is flat rate when you can just have the shop hand do all those things. thats my opinion.

[@dragonrider93]

You get the new guy to do it 🤣

[@TheGreasyShopRag]

@@dragonrider93 Thats what I figured.

[@jlw1985]

Whoever is hourly here,

[@dragonrider93]

@@jlw1985 I am, but the first place I worked, back in 1973, I was salaried 150 dollars a week for 46 hours. Back then, that was good money. The owner changed over to hourly in the 80s. When the shop closed in 1993. Back then, I was making 19 dollars an hour. Never worked for a dealer, never automotive shops, always Pvt shops. Always paid by the hour. When I say Pvt shops, Truegreen landcare, one was a rigger, another was commercial construction, and now for another commercial landscaper. Flat rate will just burn you out....

[@everydayfleettech2286]

I think you’re the last of the techs that believe in the flat rate system. I left flat rate shops years ago and will never return. We are held accountable for the time we take performing jobs still and we are paid a fair wage with great benefits. From what I’ve seen repair quality is greater at hourly shops. It’s an environment where techs focus on quality over flagging hours. Not saying all flat rate techs push quality aside, just saying it happens a lot more than it should in those shops

[@carlosolvera72]

I just posted about how I need to make 14 hrs to make more money than if I was hourly which I do but I do better than ok work. The one tech at my shop that I can say always does great quality work some of the best I’ve seen is always making about 10 or 11 hrs per day. My work isn’t hack, the cars get fixed right repairs are confirmed but I don’t always clean every thing as good as it can be in order to save time.

[@everydayfleettech2286]

@@carlosolvera72 I’m hourly, making $40Hr, 40 hours a week unless I work overtime, three weeks paid vacation and great benefits. I maintain the fleet and that’s all management ask. Quality is the top focus. Never again will I go back to flat rate. I experienced techs screwing each other over to get more work, short cuts were encouraged, low vacation time, expensive healthcare and when the recession hit I struggled to make anything and savings was dropping rapidly.

[@JimmyMakingitwork]

In slow times shops that aren’t on FR are more likely to lay people off. Every shop I’ve worked at that tried changing to a different system went back after productivity was cut in half and comeback issues did not disappear. But of course that is my experience some might not have had that happen.

[@jg7041]

@@everydayfleettech2286 where do you live? Do you work on heavy duty diesel? That’s a pretty high hourly rate for MD

[@everydayfleettech2286]

@@jg7041 I’m in GA and my company is a large fleet. From tractors, trailers, vans and heavy equipment.

[@troubleontrac]

According to this I've been getting hosed for a year, thanks for the post

[@TheDoeVideos]

Warranty shark fin antennas = MONEY!

[@notkevinfinnerty4959]

I'm an long time audi/ vw dealer tech. Most of my hours are upsells not services, dont see Alot of services mostly diag, but anyways there's plenty of hours to be made. Wheel bearings, water pumps, oil leaks, motor mounts i mean i could go on and on.

[@derekdlick2516]

How to make money on flat rate. Go work for yourself and stop waiting for the service advisor to get up off his ass and sell something. Bypass the service manager who doesn't know what enable criteria is and gives your upsales to the guy making $10 an hour. Just cut out all the people who are there for a check and not the trade.

[@snowhare1]

Couldn’t agree more, I’ve made more money doing flat rate for the last couple of years then what I ever made before, you’re just gotta hustle if you want to make money

[@derekdlick2516]

The main problem I have is I get more diag and the cheap labor gets the water pumps I upsell. It's nice to see I worked my ass off for someone else to capitalize off my hard work. It's riding the coat tails of my success.

[@Daniel_BDB]

I work on boats so it might be different but for us if you started on a boat then you are finishing it. Unless you're on vacation or something then someone else will finish it but the reason they do that at our shop is because it's easier to trace back to a tech if something was damaged or not done right. Can't blame it on someone else

[@carlosolvera72]

I work at a flat rate dealer 10 hrs a day plus lunch. I worked out that if I don’t flag more than 14hrs a day, it would be better for me to get paid hourly. Can be achieved most days if we get 2 good gravy tickets like 4 wheels brakes or a 90k service if not then we’ll most likely have an 11 hour day. Of course only if you get Lanús over time as an hourly tech if you don’t make over time then definitely any thing more than physical time is extra money.

[@harold6863]

Flat rate is honest work. I sometimes I lose most times I win.

[@lukecartwright1803]

I work at a vw dealer. The labor times are great. Easy to best the clock. I never worry about a paycheck

[@Bradsmobilecarcare]

I made good money in an independent shop and was making 50+ hours a week. Decided to test the waters at a dealership and could hardly make 40 because it was all warranty work. After 6 months went back to the independent and first week back pulled 65 hours. Never will I go back to dealership.

[@Sensiview]

Audi dealer tech here I make 75-80 hours on a 4/10 work schedule mix of warranty, and customer pay, but no complaints on my end. Hustle goes a long way in the dealer world

[@edgartehandon1663]

I worked on commission at a truck stop my first year out of tech school. I got to say I liked the money especially being a first year diesel tech. I am a go getter though so it suited me. I’m at a fleet shop now make a little less but it’s steady pay. Fleet shop I’m at is slow I have to find my own work, needles to say I’m bored. I am working on starting my own road service.

[@KrisCalderonLA]

Mercedes of Calabasas Line Tech 1 year experience wrenching for them (2 years diesel apprentice) and ~$45k in tools. TL gives me a mix of everything and we have great CP clients. I have to work 100 hrs physically to flag 70 - 80 hrs every 80hr pay period (85 - 100%). Believe me I love working there and given some more experience I can definitely see myself making 120 hrs a pay period (100 hrs physically worked). But yes the whole industry does need to raise the times especially as cars are getting harder and harder. The times on new cars are “computer generated” and basically you’re only getting paid to remove and install bolts. There is no such calculations for struggling on how tight the space is for the bolt or rerouting wires etc etc.

[@jg7041]

What do you do when your shop gives 90% of the gravy/cash tickets away to a select few guys and then the competent techs get their comebacks/warranty because they want it fixed right LOL I rarely make 40 at my dealer. They are nice enough to usually pay between 30-40 no matter what, but that’s losing on flat rate all the time. The environment is laid back but not good at all for sanity or making money. I will be moving soon.

[@MostGenericUser]

I know this is 2 years old but the obvious answer is change employers or careers

[@jg7041]

@@MostGenericUser yeah I left about two years ago to do heavy duty diesel. Changed jobs twice since then and am now in a mobile truck being paid hourly.

[@MostGenericUser]

@@jg7041 guess that's the cool thing about responding to a 2 year old comment, I get to find out what's happened since then. Good for you. I am always on the look out for a good hourly job myself.

[@danielgerhardt4692]

Factoring in tools, tool boxes , diagnostic tools etc etc a mechanic in nyc wasn’t cutting it for me moved on to construction making the most money I’ve ever made

[@foxsniper360]

Hey FRM! Long time viewer. I got a question for you of how do you really tell if you are on flat rate or hourly? My last job told me when I worked 6 days I'd get a bonus on my pay checks I would still be paid 40 hours and my book time would be over 40. Does this make sense to you or was I getting fucked? I am from Illinois.

[@politicalpotato8383]

If you dont like to work. Then stay home.

[@JAYZILLA]

Mr. flatrate master. What is best way to get diagnostic training?

[@jakemillson7190]

My shop says we get paid flat Rate but we kinda don’t. We get paid hourly plus’s a production bonus as our flat rate.

[@NoRegrets001]

My average is 50hrs a week. My best week was 88hrs my worse for 2021 was 40hrs. We just got a new tech and this guy has been turning 100hrs a week. I have never seen anything like it, but that definitely has motivated me to get faster.

[@das11270110]

Are you at a dealership?

[@spencershaw2407]

Yeah what dealership is that I'm at Ford 60 with me and my mentor

[@NoRegrets001]

Yes. A Chevy Dealership

[@trublue2319]

I average around 33 to 42 hours a week at pepboys so many make and models

[@zoticus1]

Must be working on gm only with with no rust and less than 10 years old. I could too, if I only worked on gm like that. I saw a tech pull a powertrain from a traverse 3.5 in 40 minutes. Gm is easy

[@fumanpoo4725]

Does "book time" come with lube?

[@codyhaines4528]

How do you ask your boss for a raise. After two years not getting one but he asks your to do more?

[@frederickwinter1823]

You don't.. you quit and find a better paying job

[@zoticus1]

I learned long ago, tool boxes have wheels for a reason.

[@alenmihelcic8267]

This is ilegal. Not same if you are 22 or 57 years old. What if comes wrong parts, or tornado??

[@TheMechanicj]

My best friend works 7-6 mon through sat so 66 hours he is alway bitching that he makes 50-55 hours on the regular and he only makes 24$ per hour

[@zoticus1]

He should be mad at himself for putting up with that bullshit

[@TheMechanicj]

@@zoticus1 it’s actually pretty common in my town unfortunatly the dealers here are open to 8pm for service so he is actually lucky he ain’t working the 9-8 shift

[@zoticus1]

@@TheMechanicj fuck that shit.

[@TheMechanicj]

@@zoticus1 yeah that’s why I quit and started doing it at home much easier I built the 2 bay shop lofts and equipment before I quit the dealer so only overhead I have is utilities insurance and alldata

[@zoticus1]

@@TheMechanicj hell yeah bro!

[@JimmyMakingitwork]

I did 59 hours last week in 35 hours on the clock, plus one vacation day. 9 hours of it carried over from a Lincoln HVAC job that wasn’t picked up the week before. The whole world should be on flat rate. Think of how much better service would be everywhere you go. Paid based on everyone effort. The lazy people everyone Carries each day would be pissed though. lol

[@cliffshenkel7350]

Politicians should all be flat rate....

[@trublue2319]

Where do you work

[@mtberguy]

You had 9 hrs of pay held over bc the customer didn’t pick up there car? Sounds pretty fair to me! Lol

[@alexandergunaka666]

Yeah, but you’re not mentioning my issue. The easy brake and suspension jobs aren’t so easy when the cars been through 7 Chicago winters.

[@aaleexsaalaazaar]

Does flat rate pay overtime after 40 hours?

[@trublue2319]

Pepboys does after 40 hours of clock time it's like less than half pay

[@jackweeks9546]

Hi flat rate I’m a technician in England and I’m thinking of swapping to Milwaukee from snap on I have a lot of snap on impacts 14.4 ratchets polisher drill how would u recommend the Milwaukee in comparison

[@trublue2319]

I like Milwaukee got stubby 3/8 impact gun great tool,3/8 battery ratchet employees have 1/2 battery impact gun , it might be stronger than my snap on 1/2 impact air gun

[@ronvessells1356]

I had a lot of snap on electric tools. I switched over to Milwaukee and I don't regret it.

[@politicalpotato8383]

Folks this is business 101 Flat Rate.

[@shawnbauman5463]

Before the bitch fest starts....if you don't like your situation..... tool boxes have wheels. Improve yourself, etc.... don't just complain in the KZbin comments section.

[@adamwhite202]

I quit being a techh, I do computer programming make $70k year only working 4 days week without destroying my back

[@firstlast---]

@@adamwhite202 How'd you do it? Went to school working full time as a tech?

[@adamwhite202]

@@firstlast--- two years of community college,

[@I_Died_2_Weeks_Ago]

@@adamwhite202 Sitting at a desk destroys your back too

[@firstlast---]

@@adamwhite202 Night classes I'm assuming? It seems very difficult to work full time in a shop and then go right to school

[@jeremiewampler]

Still believe in flat rate, turned 23.6 on 2 cars today…mostly gravy fluid services

[@1971anaconda]

I’ll ask this from Australia I had a argument with my boss as we are per hour I said to him the flat rate guys in the US can make more money than us he said you guys get paid crap I said you can earn $90000.00 a year if you work hard am I wrong also he said you guys have to work over 38 hrs to do that

[@magnumjohnson9628]

FIRST!

[@isorozco511]

He talks about this like its super easy but its not. Flat rate in an aftermarket shop is not something any tech can do.

[@TheMechanicj]

90% of shops don’t pay diagnostic time if they job is approved so if radiator pays 1.8 hours you make 1 hour to diagnose and 1.8 if the job is approved so ur better to not get the job approved lol

[@upnorth5465]

Flat rate is not even an option up in the rust belt. No one would work for you because you would basically be asking people to work for free.

[@kimdurham2101]

at 63 years i can still turn 45 hours a week

[@pauljacobsiv8477]

Flat rate techs are the worst hacks! Don’t even put bolts back. Trust me!

[@jeffmaggard3694]

Work on 30 cars a day. That's how to make money on flat rate

[@wolleysegap9740]

Never understood the complaint. Sometimes you lose on a job but sometimes you're ahead of time. As long as there's work to be had I don't see the problem. The only thing that sucks is when there's no work or not enough of it.

[@tonyb2481]

Did you fart?

[@Wdbjr12345]

People who diss flat rate are just lazy.