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To: SeekAndFind

No one wants to be a flat rate tech (mechanic). Book times are ridiculous with no base rate pay. The investment in tools is steep, 1 good scanner is 5 grand plus subscription. New cars are electrical nightmares with all the modules. The best jobs are fleet mechanics for hourly plus benefits but are harder to get.


2 posted on 06/07/2026 8:28:05 PM PDT by VTenigma (Conspiracy theory is the new "spoiler alert")
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To: VTenigma

“No one wants to be a flat rate tech (mechanic). Book times are ridiculous with no base rate pay. The investment in tools is steep, 1 good scanner is 5 grand plus subscription. New cars are electrical nightmares with all the modules.”

indeed ... and most indie shops don’t pay mechanics anything when there is no work coming in ...


7 posted on 06/07/2026 8:36:28 PM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: VTenigma

“No one wants to be a flat rate tech (mechanic). Book times are ridiculous with no base rate pay.”

I know several who went into auto mechanics and ended up working at the dealers. They couldn’t make enough money to live after giving free hours to the dealers. The book times were all wrong.


22 posted on 06/08/2026 6:09:02 AM PDT by caver ( )
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To: VTenigma

A quick search brought up a quote from zip recruiter. Mechanics make from $40,000-$70,000 a year. If that is true, that’s not enough money to raise a family on, save for retirement, own a home, etc. Heck, the cars that the mechanics would be repairing will be out of reach for the mechanics to buy for themselves.


26 posted on 06/08/2026 7:59:40 AM PDT by married21 (As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.)
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