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Several years ago, the
owner of a local chain of auto parts stores made reference to independent
auto mechanics and repair shops as "dinosaurs". The word got back to one of
my fellow shop owners. He has not purchased a single part from those stores
since that time, and he is still "going strong".
The independents play a very important part in the auto repair industry.
Granted, most people will return to the dealer for repairs that are covered
under the manufacturer’s warranty. However, there are many repairs that are
not covered under these warranties, such as brake pad replacement, clutch
replacement, timing belt replacement, engine tune-ups, to name just a few.
I think that I would be safe to say that the greater percentage of the cars
and trucks on the road today have more than 100,000 miles on them. Who is
taking care of the maintenance and repairs on those vehicles? I assure you
it is not the new car dealers. The new car dealers have tremendous operating
costs with their high priced real estate, advertising, and staffing. If you
compare the hourly flat rate charged by the new car dealers to the
independent shops, you will find that overall, there is a significant
difference, sometimes as much as 50%.
If a new car dealer has a $100 per hour flat rate in their shop, the
mechanics are not paid 50% of the labor as they were in the "good old days".
My guess would be that most dealership mechanics are paid on an average of
$20 per hour based on the number of flat rate hours that they "flag" in a
weeks pay period. The flat rate is determined by the car manufacturer. If
the flat rate for replacing a fuel pump on a particular model is 1.6 hours,
the mechanic would be paid 1.6 times his hourly rate for that job. If the
mechanic could perform the job in 1.2 hours, he would still be paid for 1.6,
and if the job took him 2.0 hours he would only be paid for 1.6. In most
cases, the factory time is not realistic. However, if a mechanic is
extremely proficient, it is possible to beat the factory time and there are
mechanics who earn in excess of $100,000 a year, but I would be surprised if
the national average income for dealership mechanics is more than $50,000.
Most independent shops also charge a flat rate. The difference is that the
independents use flat rate times determined by sources other than the
vehicle manufacturers: for example: the Chilton labor time for a fuel pump
replacement could be 1.9 hours versus a factory time of 1.5 hours. In most
cases, the Chilton time will exceed the factory time. The hourly rate paid
to mechanics in independent shops is very close to or the same as most
dealerships. Therefore, it is unfair to say that dealerships can attract
better qualified mechanics.
The sophistication of today's vehicles will eliminate a lot of unskilled and
"shade tree" mechanics. The independent shops and dealerships that are not
willing to invest in equipment and training will "fall by the wayside".
Independent repair shops have access to the same equipment and data as the
new car dealerships. There are lots of skilled, highly trained independent
mechanics who will continue to "keep em running" long after the new car
warranty has expired. |