How Much Do Mechanics Make?

vetteeatr · 11-08-2002, 01:32 PM

Ok I am abotu to make my choice of auto tech schools and probally leaning toward UTI.

Anyway from what i gather usually you have a 1 year try out period wher you may make around $15 hourly.

Then You Genrally get bumped up maybe a buck or 2 next year but then you get a flat rate

By Flat Rate Bacially i mean you get lets say $15 an hour for every est hour fo work completed.

Such as lets say the ol book says 2 hours to cahnge a water pump well if you bust it out in 30 minutes in thery you woudl have made $30 in 30 minuntes right?

Is this s apretty standard way of paying?

HOw are benifits and what not?

I really would liek ot egt into a more performance field but thought i should at least have a really good background.

Where do you actualyl get trained to do poritn gna dpolishing and all the more preformance oriented things?

UTI does have a nascar institute but how similar coudl that be to actual real street driven cars?

Also nashville auto-diesel has a hgihperformance program including some porting and flowing and a little bit of this and that.

How much are you guys making that say worked for 5 years or so?

The rep said he knows of a good bit of peopel makgin 60 k a yaer in 4-5 years which is pretty damn good money fi you ask me for 1 year of schooling.

Kinda want to eventually open my own little shop beign able to do damn near everythign to do wiht cars perfromance, detailing, auto body, just about everything.

95mustanggt · 11-08-2002, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vetteeatr
....
Where do you actualyl get trained to do poritn gna dpolishing and all the more preformance oriented things...

Step number one... Get smaller fingers are slow down when you type! LOL

Can't help you, I'am salary, all I know is that if they say it's an 8 hour job that's what I pay for.

vetteeatr · 11-08-2002, 02:19 PM

sow hat ar ya sayen?

PKRWUD · 11-08-2002, 06:54 PM

How much do we make? Not enough.

Expect to make no more than $25 p/h after 5 years, if you're good.

I usually charge $45 p/h for repair work and $65 p/h for diagnostic, but my rates will be going up next spring.

If you get work in a busy shop, try to get paid book time, rather than hourly, because you'll get quicker, and will be able to beat the book time before you know it.

Take care,
ÅChris

The Deuce · 11-08-2002, 08:06 PM

That almost makes it worth the drive up to your shop, based on rates alone. That's about $30 below the going rate down here.

Crazy Horse GT · 11-08-2002, 09:57 PM

geez i need to move, im a leadman- foreman , diesel mech, i only make 15.00 buck's an hour, but it's not flat rate. im getting f---d.

, im quitting monday- lol.

The Deuce · 11-09-2002, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Crazy Horse GT
geez i need to move, im a leadman- foreman , diesel mech, i only make 15.00 buck's an hour, but it's not flat rate. im getting f---d. , im quitting monday- lol.

Two words Marty, "Cost of Living"

All that land back there might get you a two bedroom Condo where I am, its really sad. I work for 'the man' a LOT and I've got me 680 square feet of paradise to come home to. Sweet, eh?

Shaggy · 11-09-2002, 01:36 PM

My $.02 When working in a shop down here i have never gotten less than 25 per flag hour nor would i accept anything less then that. Now that i am on my own i chagre 65 per flag hour but that get spread pretty thin once i pay for all the overhead.

vetteeatr · 11-09-2002, 02:24 PM

flag rate?

Shaggy · 11-09-2002, 03:36 PM

Flag rate AKA Book hours

Extremestang · 11-09-2002, 08:20 PM

Hey Chris, your telling me if i go from hourly rate to book time, i'll make more money? I am currently working at a pretty busy shop here in North Carolina. I make 15.80 an hour. For this location, its good pay. But, i suppose if i get my ASE certs, i could be making more. Tell me more about book rates. I know they give times for labor, but if i, lets say do 3 alternator replacements in 1 hour and book time is say .8 for one, that i just made more then 45 in the hour? What am i missing out on?

bigred90gt · 11-09-2002, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Where do you actualyl get trained to do poritn gna dpolishing and all the more preformance oriented things?

UTI does have a nascar institute but how similar coudl that be to actual real street driven cars?

I don't know about the branch nearest you, but the one in Houston has "Hot Rod U". It deals with erformance issues of hotrods and such. I am thinking about attending if I can come up with the money. Check into it.
Caymon

vetteeatr · 11-09-2002, 08:59 PM

well 3 0.8 hour jobs would only be 2.4 times your pay of 15.80 which isnt $45 in that hour but more like $38.50 or so.

But yeah thats the idea I thought this was pretty standard payment method but i guess im wrong.

Ive been told usually they keep you hourly for you first year then put you on flat (flag) hours.

vetteeatr · 11-09-2002, 09:05 PM

Big Red from what i understand HOT ROD U courses are more on the performance side but are included in your auto training automatically.

However i talked to a rep and he basically said they are not training people to go into stuff such as porting and air flow and what not as their trainign is more for the mass market.

Which is actually pretty reasonable.

They do have a NASCAR college though from UTI as well however.

As far as porting and other things along those lines Nashville auto-diesel college does offer this in their high performance course which is an add on to their auto-diesel training.

But I thought UTI would be a great starting point and maybe learn the rest later.

Basically they are using forced induction and tweak a little bit.

PKRWUD · 11-09-2002, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Extremestang
Hey Chris, your telling me if i go from hourly rate to book time, i'll make more money? I am currently working at a pretty busy shop here in North Carolina. I make 15.80 an hour. For this location, its good pay. But, i suppose if i get my ASE certs, i could be making more. Tell me more about book rates. I know they give times for labor, but if i, lets say do 3 alternator replacements in 1 hour and book time is say .8 for one, that i just made more then 45 in the hour? What am i missing out on?

You have the right idea. The faster you are, the more you can make. BUT, you don't make squat when it's slow.If you can do 3 .8 hour jobs in an hour, but then have nothing else for the rest of the day, then yes, you made $45 an hour, for one hour, and zero for the rest.

The faster you are, the more business your boss can push through. He will always charge the customer book time, so if he gets the car back after 4 hours, but charges for 8, he just made decent money. Check and see how your place does it, because there is often a reduction in your hourly wage if you go book time.

Take care,
~Chris

Shaggy · 11-10-2002, 09:04 AM

I see the uti nascar and all the hot rod based schools cominh up if i was going to build race cars then i would attend this school http://www.samracing.com/ if you can cut the mustard there you typicaly will go straight to professional level motorsports.

saywhenn94 · 11-10-2002, 09:57 AM

I got it kinda good where I'm at we have a split payment method.

I get a regular hourly rate $10.50hr. plus a flag rate of $9.42hr.

It works out pretty good flagging 70-80hrs a week.

Plus I'm guaranteed $10.50hr just to sit and wait if there is no work to do, there are only 2 techs including me and I have seniority so its slow the other guy gets sent home.

I'm sure it would be better if I was on straight flag time but where I'm at work load is up and down, were contracted by GM to run their company vehicle fleet (about 5500 veh. or so).

vetteeatr · 11-10-2002, 08:18 PM

Out Of Curiosity How much training do you guys that are makign low 10's and high 9's have and how long have you worked?

Not tryign to be disrespectful as im sure you know more hten me but i know how emplyers are they think a piece of paper means they should fork over some extra bucks.

Also People making more what kind of trainign and years?

Thanks

vetteeatr · 11-10-2002, 08:21 PM

As for SAM I checked it out and personally wasnt very impressed with their site. Not that that means much but are they really known and anyone actually know much about this school Im highly considering UTI auto then nascar program as they even delve into metal working and body fabrication.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Shaggy · 11-11-2002, 12:59 PM

I live in houston and know both SAM and UTI Yes SAM is really known in the racing circles UTI on the other hand is commonoly refered to as Un-Trained Idiots.UTI has never impressed me i have seen a few good guys come out of UTI vs. most of the people i have seen come out of SAM really know there ***** both in paper and in real life working conditions.

As far as the first question i have been doing this for over ten years and have several certificates I don't know of any respectable shops down here that will even work you as a feull fledged tech without at least some ASE certs.The only guys I know make 7-15 an hour are GS's (oil changes,tires and inspections type stuff). That is down here though. I do have my ASE's but i don't give them much weight because i have also seen other guys that have theirs and i wouldn't trust to work on my lawnmower but i have found that if you want to work in this field they are a necissary evil.

11-08-2002, 01:32 PM	#1
vetteeatr Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Olney, Illinois, USA Posts: 212	How Much Do Mechanics Make? Ok I am abotu to make my choice of auto tech schools and probally leaning toward UTI. Anyway from what i gather usually you have a 1 year try out period wher you may make around $15 hourly. Then You Genrally get bumped up maybe a buck or 2 next year but then you get a flat rate By Flat Rate Bacially i mean you get lets say $15 an hour for every est hour fo work completed. Such as lets say the ol book says 2 hours to cahnge a water pump well if you bust it out in 30 minutes in thery you woudl have made $30 in 30 minuntes right? Is this s apretty standard way of paying? HOw are benifits and what not? I really would liek ot egt into a more performance field but thought i should at least have a really good background. Where do you actualyl get trained to do poritn gna dpolishing and all the more preformance oriented things? UTI does have a nascar institute but how similar coudl that be to actual real street driven cars? Also nashville auto-diesel has a hgihperformance program including some porting and flowing and a little bit of this and that. How much are you guys making that say worked for 5 years or so? The rep said he knows of a good bit of peopel makgin 60 k a yaer in 4-5 years which is pretty damn good money fi you ask me for 1 year of schooling. Kinda want to eventually open my own little shop beign able to do damn near everythign to do wiht cars perfromance, detailing, auto body, just about everything. __________________ !988 GT World Windsor Sr.'s, Harland sharpe rockers, 3.73 gears, pulleys, no ac, hurst shifter, 10:1 pistons, BBK full length headers and H-pipe with flows. Under extensive work for porting and fly cutting to accept my new cam and to match my soon to have systemax intake DROOL Best E.T. 13.20 with edelbrock RPM intake and 70mm TB

11-08-2002, 02:19 PM	#3
vetteeatr Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Olney, Illinois, USA Posts: 212	sow hat ar ya sayen? __________________ !988 GT World Windsor Sr.'s, Harland sharpe rockers, 3.73 gears, pulleys, no ac, hurst shifter, 10:1 pistons, BBK full length headers and H-pipe with flows. Under extensive work for porting and fly cutting to accept my new cam and to match my soon to have systemax intake DROOL Best E.T. 13.20 with edelbrock RPM intake and 70mm TB

11-08-2002, 06:54 PM	#4
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	How much do we make? Not enough. Expect to make no more than $25 p/h after 5 years, if you're good. I usually charge $45 p/h for repair work and $65 p/h for diagnostic, but my rates will be going up next spring. If you get work in a busy shop, try to get paid book time, rather than hourly, because you'll get quicker, and will be able to beat the book time before you know it. Take care, ÅChris __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!

11-08-2002, 08:06 PM	#5
The Deuce Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,325	That almost makes it worth the drive up to your shop, based on rates alone. That's about $30 below the going rate down here. __________________ 1997 Mustang GT "The Freak" - 13.80 @ 101.70, 2.07 60' 1995 Honda VFR750 - not much @ really fast (actual data pending.) 1964.5 Mustang 289 Rice Haters Club Member #13

11-08-2002, 09:57 PM	#6
Crazy Horse GT Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Sale Creek, TN. C. S. A. Posts: 4,652	geez i need to move, im a leadman- foreman , diesel mech, i only make 15.00 buck's an hour, but it's not flat rate. im getting f---d. , im quitting monday- lol. __________________ 95 gt vert, lot's of stuff, it aint slow. 04 sonic blue v - six my beater 89 rs camaro iroc turbo hood, other stuff, my wifes ride 84 lx stang cammed up 289 hi po, etc 65 falcon, maybe by the year 2020. black 00gt, gone but never forgotten. R H C- member # 1 o.b.c. da prez- member # 1 if your under 40 dont ask. goodbye for now odie,r.i.p. 11-27-03

11-09-2002, 01:36 PM	#8
Shaggy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Houston,TX Posts: 466	My $.02 When working in a shop down here i have never gotten less than 25 per flag hour nor would i accept anything less then that. Now that i am on my own i chagre 65 per flag hour but that get spread pretty thin once i pay for all the overhead. __________________ A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. George S. Patton, General (1885-1945)

11-09-2002, 02:24 PM	#9
vetteeatr Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Olney, Illinois, USA Posts: 212	flag rate? __________________ !988 GT World Windsor Sr.'s, Harland sharpe rockers, 3.73 gears, pulleys, no ac, hurst shifter, 10:1 pistons, BBK full length headers and H-pipe with flows. Under extensive work for porting and fly cutting to accept my new cam and to match my soon to have systemax intake DROOL Best E.T. 13.20 with edelbrock RPM intake and 70mm TB

11-09-2002, 03:36 PM	#10
Shaggy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Houston,TX Posts: 466	Flag rate AKA Book hours __________________ A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. George S. Patton, General (1885-1945)

11-09-2002, 08:20 PM	#11
Extremestang Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: North Carolina Posts: 176	Hey Chris, your telling me if i go from hourly rate to book time, i'll make more money? I am currently working at a pretty busy shop here in North Carolina. I make 15.80 an hour. For this location, its good pay. But, i suppose if i get my ASE certs, i could be making more. Tell me more about book rates. I know they give times for labor, but if i, lets say do 3 alternator replacements in 1 hour and book time is say .8 for one, that i just made more then 45 in the hour? What am i missing out on? __________________ Brian -1998 Ford Contour SVT #1199 of 6535 Bat y-pipe, Magnaflow Exhaust, MSDS headers, Bat intake tube, DMD, P/S & Alt Underdrives, Pro-M 75 mm MAF, K&N filter, Diablosport "tuned" Chip, Centerforce clutch, B&M short throw shifter and some suspension mods http://www.3.8mustang.com/forum/atta...chmentid=24993 -Former Car: 1995 Ford Mustang To many mods to list here..lost the car to Hurricane Isabel 9/18/03 http://www.3.8mustang.com/forum/atta...chmentid=23621

11-09-2002, 08:59 PM	#13
vetteeatr Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Olney, Illinois, USA Posts: 212	well 3 0.8 hour jobs would only be 2.4 times your pay of 15.80 which isnt $45 in that hour but more like $38.50 or so. But yeah thats the idea I thought this was pretty standard payment method but i guess im wrong. Ive been told usually they keep you hourly for you first year then put you on flat (flag) hours. __________________ !988 GT World Windsor Sr.'s, Harland sharpe rockers, 3.73 gears, pulleys, no ac, hurst shifter, 10:1 pistons, BBK full length headers and H-pipe with flows. Under extensive work for porting and fly cutting to accept my new cam and to match my soon to have systemax intake DROOL Best E.T. 13.20 with edelbrock RPM intake and 70mm TB

11-09-2002, 09:05 PM	#14
vetteeatr Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Olney, Illinois, USA Posts: 212	Big Red from what i understand HOT ROD U courses are more on the performance side but are included in your auto training automatically. However i talked to a rep and he basically said they are not training people to go into stuff such as porting and air flow and what not as their trainign is more for the mass market. Which is actually pretty reasonable. They do have a NASCAR college though from UTI as well however. As far as porting and other things along those lines Nashville auto-diesel college does offer this in their high performance course which is an add on to their auto-diesel training. But I thought UTI would be a great starting point and maybe learn the rest later. Basically they are using forced induction and tweak a little bit. __________________ !988 GT World Windsor Sr.'s, Harland sharpe rockers, 3.73 gears, pulleys, no ac, hurst shifter, 10:1 pistons, BBK full length headers and H-pipe with flows. Under extensive work for porting and fly cutting to accept my new cam and to match my soon to have systemax intake DROOL Best E.T. 13.20 with edelbrock RPM intake and 70mm TB

11-10-2002, 09:04 AM	#16
Shaggy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Houston,TX Posts: 466	I see the uti nascar and all the hot rod based schools cominh up if i was going to build race cars then i would attend this school http://www.samracing.com/ if you can cut the mustard there you typicaly will go straight to professional level motorsports. __________________ A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. George S. Patton, General (1885-1945)

11-10-2002, 09:57 AM	#17
saywhenn94 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Warren, Mi. Posts: 50	I got it kinda good where I'm at we have a split payment method. I get a regular hourly rate $10.50hr. plus a flag rate of $9.42hr. It works out pretty good flagging 70-80hrs a week. Plus I'm guaranteed $10.50hr just to sit and wait if there is no work to do, there are only 2 techs including me and I have seniority so its slow the other guy gets sent home. I'm sure it would be better if I was on straight flag time but where I'm at work load is up and down, were contracted by GM to run their company vehicle fleet (about 5500 veh. or so). __________________ 91 GT Convertable, 306, TFS TW heads, B41 cam, Holley Systemax, S-Trim, Bassani LT's, and Flo's

11-10-2002, 08:18 PM	#18
vetteeatr Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Olney, Illinois, USA Posts: 212	Out Of Curiosity How much training do you guys that are makign low 10's and high 9's have and how long have you worked? Not tryign to be disrespectful as im sure you know more hten me but i know how emplyers are they think a piece of paper means they should fork over some extra bucks. Also People making more what kind of trainign and years? Thanks __________________ !988 GT World Windsor Sr.'s, Harland sharpe rockers, 3.73 gears, pulleys, no ac, hurst shifter, 10:1 pistons, BBK full length headers and H-pipe with flows. Under extensive work for porting and fly cutting to accept my new cam and to match my soon to have systemax intake DROOL Best E.T. 13.20 with edelbrock RPM intake and 70mm TB

11-10-2002, 08:21 PM	#19
vetteeatr Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Olney, Illinois, USA Posts: 212	As for SAM I checked it out and personally wasnt very impressed with their site. Not that that means much but are they really known and anyone actually know much about this school Im highly considering UTI auto then nascar program as they even delve into metal working and body fabrication. Anyone have any other suggestions? __________________ !988 GT World Windsor Sr.'s, Harland sharpe rockers, 3.73 gears, pulleys, no ac, hurst shifter, 10:1 pistons, BBK full length headers and H-pipe with flows. Under extensive work for porting and fly cutting to accept my new cam and to match my soon to have systemax intake DROOL Best E.T. 13.20 with edelbrock RPM intake and 70mm TB

11-11-2002, 12:59 PM	#20
Shaggy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Houston,TX Posts: 466	I live in houston and know both SAM and UTI Yes SAM is really known in the racing circles UTI on the other hand is commonoly refered to as Un-Trained Idiots.UTI has never impressed me i have seen a few good guys come out of UTI vs. most of the people i have seen come out of SAM really know there ***** both in paper and in real life working conditions. As far as the first question i have been doing this for over ten years and have several certificates I don't know of any respectable shops down here that will even work you as a feull fledged tech without at least some ASE certs.The only guys I know make 7-15 an hour are GS's (oil changes,tires and inspections type stuff). That is down here though. I do have my ASE's but i don't give them much weight because i have also seen other guys that have theirs and i wouldn't trust to work on my lawnmower but i have found that if you want to work in this field they are a necissary evil. __________________ A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. George S. Patton, General (1885-1945)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
PennDot needs to send a memo out to mechanics & notaries	82 GT	Blue Oval Lounge	7	05-07-2004 02:29 PM
Craftsman Mechanics Toolkit : Which to buy?	Gautam	Blue Oval Lounge	31	10-01-2001 10:58 PM
After hour mechanics in MN????	Shotgun28	Windsor Power	2	02-19-2001 04:43 PM
To make a cobra	Eminent18	Modular Madness	2	05-26-2000 09:21 AM
does anybody make 90/10's for 96 up cars	jameshensler	Modular Madness	3	11-20-1999 07:46 PM