Question for all you veteran techs...
The fellas are right on the mark. The dealers are nuthin more than a warranty service department now. Also, as labor rates increase through the years, the techs salaries do not. It is not a fair tradeoff. Usually when you inquire about it management's response is somethin like, "you want more money, then do more work." Warranty work is a ripoff to begin with because somethin under warranty will only pay about one third of that same job if it were a customer pay ticket. It's the same job, yet because the auto maker gets charged back for warranty repairs, they think they should get a break at the technician's expense. The techs just get the shaft comin and goin and people wonder why mechanics can become dishonest. Slappy has it right. Independants are a far better source of a living than dealerships. I would look around for one that's been in business a long time and with a good reputation.there are plenty of independants with bad reps. We have a fine example right here in Macon. It's a family run tire store chain and they claim to be all big Christians and such and yet they are some of the biggest crooks you'll ever see. They have been in business like 40 years. I was their alignment man for a long time at one loacation. the manager came back to me one day and put his arm around my shoulder and we walked out back. He looked at me and said "I need more of a tire wear problem". I knew then and there at that exact moment that I had to get out of there.......but fate stepped in and I got hurt on the job about a week after that and I have been disabled ever since. It is incredible what the love for money can do to people.