[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Mechanics (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 3/4/2012 2:09:40 PM EDT
Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. |
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The mechanic or who ever doing the work is probably only making $16 an hour if that. If I did this, I'd have my own shop. I've been wrenching on shit since I was a kid, my father taught me a lot.  Then you find out what hard work is like! Yeah, the ~$100/hour rate is not unreasonable when you see what actually is required to run a car-repair business. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. Meh, I've still got the GI bill for school. I paid out of pocket for my current degree. Every shop around here is booked, never any same day appointments. I've got most tools already, would just need a shop with a lift and air. If I hired people, it would be a bring your own tools type thing...like it was when I did HVAC. |
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Only $80,000 in tools? Your box must have some empty drawers in it then. I thought I had said minimum. But it also depends if you are working on just one brand or all the brands. All of them and competent, you need probably over 100K. Just one, maybe less then 50K. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. LOL, you've got no idea about a thankless job. I've been doing one for the last 16 years or so for the .mil. Trust me, it can't get worse than where I'm at.
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. LOL, you've got no idea about a thankless job. I've been doing one for the last 16 years or so for the .mil. Trust me, it can't get worse than where I'm at. Look at what is under my avatar so you understand when I tell you yes it can. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. LOL, you've got no idea about a thankless job. I've been doing one for the last 16 years or so for the .mil. Trust me, it can't get worse than where I'm at. Look at what is under my avatar so you understand when I tell you yes it can. I have one too, I joined in 1993. I'm close to retirement, so I'm looking at post retirement jobs. Mechanic looks good, start small get a small business loan, buy property/equipment profit? 
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. LOL, you've got no idea about a thankless job. I've been doing one for the last 16 years or so for the .mil. Trust me, it can't get worse than where I'm at. I was only in the army for a few years, but it's the only job I've ever been thanked for doing. As a mechanic, every customer thinks you're trying to screw them over. It's tiresome as hell. |
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And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. Exactly. I got a call from my boss on Sat. saying a truck I worked on 5k miles ago the brakes are in the rotors. I marked on the last visit he had 7/32 and the boss is blaming me for it. runined my weekend and now i am going to work on monday knowing I m going to get bitched out for something it's not my fault. Wife told me to quit and get a job at Target. If I can find a job that pays by the hour for 12-14 bucks I would take a cut for no hassel. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. LOL, you've got no idea about a thankless job. I've been doing one for the last 16 years or so for the .mil. Trust me, it can't get worse than where I'm at. Look at what is under my avatar so you understand when I tell you yes it can. I have one too, I joined in 1993. I'm close to retirement, so I'm looking at post retirement jobs. Mechanic looks good, start small get a small business loan, buy property/equipment profit?   
If you are actually serious IM me, but you will not be able to get a loan. |
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If you're not too concerned about actually keeping any of the money that comes in the door, then sure, start a shop.
Don't get me wrong, it is possible to make decent money at this game, it's just not nearly as much as everyone seems to think.
ETA- Where I work, it's just me and the owner now, and we both actually work on stuff, in addition to the administrative crap. I don't make a whole lot of money, and the shop owner makes less than I do. 
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. LOL, you've got no idea about a thankless job. I've been doing one for the last 16 years or so for the .mil. Trust me, it can't get worse than where I'm at. Look at what is under my avatar so you understand when I tell you yes it can. I have one too, I joined in 1993. I'm close to retirement, so I'm looking at post retirement jobs. Mechanic looks good, start small get a small business loan, buy property/equipment profit?
If you are actually serious IM me, but you will not be able to get a loan. IM sent!
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? All you need to make top dollar is about 80K in tools, 10 years minimum experience to include continuing education all all the new cars coming out with new gadgets, and a willingness to put up with the slow times where you might clock 10 hours in a week. I say have at it. And this as well as dealing with customers that are pissed off when they walk in the door. They would rather spend money on something they want but they HAVE to fix their car. Then as soon as you hand them the bill they get the "you just ripped me off" attitude. It's a thankless job. I have been doing it over 20 yrs and am seriously considering working for walmart at night stocking shelves for close to the same money and less BS. LOL, you've got no idea about a thankless job. I've been doing one for the last 16 years or so for the .mil. Trust me, it can't get worse than where I'm at. I was in the Navy and understand where you are coming from. If you stop and think about it, there are millions of people that are thankful for what you are doing  me included.
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| do mechanics not work on commision ? i paint cars for a living. $20 per hour, as many hours as you can turn. i work a 40 hr week but i average about 85 hrs of labor per week. thats average 170 for my 2 week pay period. it can be pretty lucrative if you dont mind busting ass. i make between 80K and 90K with NO college at all. not bad , I dont think. |
| Good luck if you are an independent shop that just does general repairs and not "tuning". If you work for a dealer you can make decent money and if you take on side jobs at home for cash for some of the customers that come to the dealer you can do a little better. Where I live the vast majority of people lease cars, and replace every three years. If not leased, then most are pretty new. As this is the case, independent shops struggle since these people take cars to the dealer for "no cost maintenance" or warranty repairs. Business has gotten worse for small time shops, at least around here. |
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do mechanics not work on commision ? i paint cars for a living. $20 per hour, as many hours as you can turn. i work a 40 hr week but i average about 85 hrs of labor per week. thats average 170 for my 2 week pay period. it can be pretty lucrative if you dont mind busting ass. i make between 80K and 90K with NO college at all. not bad , I dont think. Most of us in the mechanical side are not doing that well. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_134/726714_Friends__Romans__fellow_wrench_turners__this_is_your_thread_.html |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Well c'mon! Jump right in, it's easy. Run down to Sears, get a set of tools, a floor jack and a couple of jack stands and you're in business. Maybe get on Amazon and get a couple of Haynes manuals for the hard stuff. It's like having a license to print money. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Well c'mon! Jump right in, it's easy. Run down to Sears, get a set of tools, a floor jack and a couple of jack stands and you're in business. Maybe get on Amazon and get a couple of Haynes manuals for the hard stuff. It's like having a license to print money. Not saying it's easy work, I know it's not. Hell, I'm sore today from the work done. But with the net, and a few tools, there is not much on a car/truck that can't be fixed fairly easily, with a little elbow grease. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Well c'mon! Jump right in, it's easy. Run down to Sears, get a set of tools, a floor jack and a couple of jack stands and you're in business. Maybe get on Amazon and get a couple of Haynes manuals for the hard stuff. It's like having a license to print money. Not saying it's easy work, I know it's not. Hell, I'm sore today from the work done. But with the net, and a few tools, there is not much on a car/truck that can't be fixed fairly easily, with a little elbow grease. Absolutely. Don't let the naysayers get you down - it's not hard at all to fix anything on modern cars. It's just a racket to keep the prices high. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Well c'mon! Jump right in, it's easy. Run down to Sears, get a set of tools, a floor jack and a couple of jack stands and you're in business. Maybe get on Amazon and get a couple of Haynes manuals for the hard stuff. It's like having a license to print money. Not saying it's easy work, I know it's not. Hell, I'm sore today from the work done. But with the net, and a few tools, there is not much on a car/truck that can't be fixed fairly easily, with a little elbow grease. Absolutely. Don't let the naysayers get you down - it's not hard at all to fix anything on modern cars. It's just a racket to keep the prices high. Ooooohhh look what we have here, another guy who thinks he knows everything about running his own shop.
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do mechanics not work on commision ? i paint cars for a living. $20 per hour, as many hours as you can turn. i work a 40 hr week but i average about 85 hrs of labor per week. thats average 170 for my 2 week pay period. it can be pretty lucrative if you dont mind busting ass. i make between 80K and 90K with NO college at all. not bad , I dont think. Some places do hourly rate, some don't. I've heard too many stories to take a job that wasn't a set hourly wage (though bonuses are nice when you can get them). From stories from people who have done it, the suck comes from times when you are required to be there in case there is work, but not having any work to do (you're not making any money). If you're working an hourly wage, and things get slow enough, you get sent home early, which means no money, but you can work on something at home. |
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do mechanics not work on commision ? i paint cars for a living. $20 per hour, as many hours as you can turn. i work a 40 hr week but i average about 85 hrs of labor per week. thats average 170 for my 2 week pay period. it can be pretty lucrative if you dont mind busting ass. i make between 80K and 90K with NO college at all. not bad , I dont think. Most of us in the mechanical side are not doing that well. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_134/726714_Friends__Romans__fellow_wrench_turners__this_is_your_thread_.html Yep,I am lucky being employed by a large trucking firm,being under contract to a large poultry company.The pay isn't bad and work has been steady to busy for a while.Their drivers tear the hell out of the trucks,so there is always something in the shop to fix.Our shop motto is "You can make something idiot proof....but then some moron will just come along and fuck it up."
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Absolutely. Don't let the naysayers get you down - it's not hard at all to fix anything on modern cars. It's just a racket to keep the prices high. Ooooohhh look what we have here, another guy who thinks he knows everything about running his own shop. Knowing he does own and run a successful shop....... My sarcasm meter is not calibrated and I am not sure how to take that. |
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Well c'mon! Jump right in, it's easy. Run down to Sears, get a set of tools, a floor jack and a couple of jack stands and you're in business. Maybe get on Amazon and get a couple of Haynes manuals for the hard stuff. It's like having a license to print money.
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It's actually pretty easy to make a successful auto shop. These guys have no idea what they're talking about. Please PM me how you did it. Why PM? It's not like it's a secret. I just had some basic hand tools, and leased a place and fixed stuff. Here is fine, I've done a lot for free for friends an co-workers. Just to teach them to do it themselves, My training for them is "see one, do one , teach one" i.
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Helped a friend install a lift on his Jeep yesterday, he said the shop was charging $95 an hour! Is that correct, if so...I'm gonna leave my current field of work and be a mechanic! I've got a degree, but I'm not above manual labor...Well c'mon! Jump right in, it's easy. Run down to Sears, get a set of tools, a floor jack and a couple of jack stands and you're in business. Maybe get on Amazon and get a couple of Haynes manuals for the hard stuff. It's like having a license to print money. Not saying it's easy work, I know it's not. Hell, I'm sore today from the work done. But with the net, and a few tools, there is not much on a car/truck that can't be fixed fairly easily, with a little elbow grease. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y299/mackmechanic/9140078.jpg |
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It's actually pretty easy to make a successful auto shop. These guys have no idea what they're talking about. Please PM me how you did it. Why PM? It's not like it's a secret. I just had some basic hand tools, and leased a place and fixed stuff. Here is fine, I've done a lot for free for friends an co-workers. Just to teach them to do it themselves, My "see one, do one , teach one" is my practice. You'll fit right in with the majority in the business. |
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do mechanics not work on commision ? i paint cars for a living. $20 per hour, as many hours as you can turn. i work a 40 hr week but i average about 85 hrs of labor per week. thats average 170 for my 2 week pay period. it can be pretty lucrative if you dont mind busting ass. i make between 80K and 90K with NO college at all. not bad , I dont think. Some places do hourly rate, some don't. I've heard too many stories to take a job that wasn't a set hourly wage (though bonuses are nice when you can get them). From stories from people who have done it, the suck comes from times when you are required to be there in case there is work, but not having any work to do (you're not making any money). If you're working an hourly wage, and things get slow enough, you get sent home early, which means no money, but you can work on something at home. yeah, thats how commision works. work can get slow. so far ive been lucky. my yearly earnings can vary by 10K year to year, so far thats all its been. ive been working commision for 12 years now.when I started at my present job the shop had been in business for 20 years so they were well established and always had plenty of work. that is the key. i wouldnt go to work at a new upstarting shop. the thing that slows us down over the last couple years is the price of gas. when gas gets so high, people just dont go out driving as much. if they arent out driving around then they wont have accidents. |
