Nope, I’ve been at my dealer for 2 years, own 4 cars, about to close on a house, and I am 21. Great benefits, annual bonus, it’s all about finding the right dealership and having the right work ethic.

100%.

At the “best” shop I was working at I was only getting $18/hr despite having experience working on expensive ass vehicles. And 4 years of schooling

Air-cooled turbo Porsches, Mercedes, Bentleys, Maserati, range rovers, BMW/Alpina, even had my hands working on vipers and R8s.

I’ve fought and fought for higher pay, even jumped a few shops, I wasn’t the quickest around the shop but my working was 100x better. Customers appreciated it and even followed me from shop to shop when I moved because of my work.

I even had the skills / know how to do shit that most shop dont do anymore. (Turn rotors, carb adjustments, rebuilding distributors/alternators/starters) hell I’ve even picked up how to do string alignments from my days working at the local race track.

If you want to make money in the automotive industry, car sales is literally the only position that pays well.

I quit the industry right before covid became a “real threat” in early 2020.

Since then I went into the solar industry working as a service coordinator making $31/hr to sit at home, and send emails to customers.

Now my snap-on tool box just sits in my dining room collecting dust, I don’t have a garage at my current place so I literally had to put our dinning room set in storage just to make room for my tool box to be IN the house 😅 girlfriend ain’t to happy about it.

I’d rather be a dishwasher at Texas roadhouse just to get free rolls, than to go back to the industry. The ONLY way I would consider going back is if I was working M-F, holidays off, $35+hr (NO FLAT RATE) at a high end dealerships such as McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, etc.

I regret relying on the vehicle i am working on and not having a second to run for parts or tools. I regret not treating myself to good tools, especially an impact gun. I regret that i abused my back and now i have to be aware of how i sit. I regret anytime i try and get away with buying cheap parts, or not replacong stuff while i’m in repair mode. I regret anytime i ever put force on a socket with something not soft on the other side of my hand. 😁

no, i have a great passion for it and i have never lost interest. i love my job. although some shops have been easier to work for than others

I went to school for electrical engineering didn’t like that so I went back and became a tech. I’f I could go back in time I’d smack myself haha. I will say the electrical background definitely helps with today’s crap vehicles.

I thank the good Lord above that my brother is a mechanic and he lives in a Grease Monkey Underworld Conglomerate. He has a guy for everything. I’ve probably never paid a top mechanic shop price for repairs to my car. It’s the main reason I’ve had the same car since 05 ☠️☠️.

Knowing a good mechanic is a blessing. And they never run out of work.

I think salt has destroyed this industry in the north.

I don’t, but only because it paid dividends getting through my mechanical engineering degree and made me far more hirable. I can also fix my own cars which saves me thousands of dollars.

If I was still a tech, I would feel differently. What everyone is saying here is largely correct.

Nope! I am retired with a pension, SS, savings, and health benefits. My old coworkers are doing fine as well.

I don’t get why people complain about their jobs and still stay there. Move your feet! Try fleet maintenance or HD work if the dealerships and independent shops are not making you happy. Government fleets are always hiring.

Our toolboxes have wheels for a reason. If you are truly being underpaid then you shouldn’t need anyone to tell you what to do. Go get that money!

I regret not going into business for myself when I had the chance. My body regrets every minute spent with a tool in hand.

Nope … work as a big city fleet diesel mechanic…garbage trucks salt spreaders front end loaders cars medium duty trucks tractors ect…over 100k base salary + overtime 5 weeks vacation full Heath care for life 25/55 retirement…before this I worked at a Ford dealer for 10 years .firestone recall 3.8 head gasket recalls and the 6.0 powerstroke had me thinking it was a mistake I

I regret how the whole industry is regulated. Overworked, underpaid, and it’s the most labor intensive job in the shop. I’m paid well, but I still feel like techs should make more for the work provided. Though techs are not created equal. Some are overpaid and underworked. Stick it out long enough with a shop and things usually turn around, provided you can keep the job long enough.

I kinda do. Overworked and underpaided while not being appreciated. But it does have its highs but they seem very far apart

Only between 8 and 5

Only the older I get, I really feel it in my knees and back now that I’m approaching 40, although I’m in more specialized career, I work on construction equipment and the money is generally better but the job involves more labor, heavily parts, bigger bolts to fight etc.

The other regret is everyone expects me to work on their shit, it always starts with asking my opinion then they try to slide into me fixing it. I generally tell them I don’t know because I only know construction equipment, sometimes it stops them, sometimes it doesn’t