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Toyota's labor rate for a Prius tech?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by joe350gt, Mar 10, 2008.

  1. joe350gt

    joe350gt It's too windy here...

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    I didn't find any previous posts on this so forgive me in advance if there are some and I missed them!! I seem to remember when I bought my Prius someone at the dealership told me the labor rate in their shop was $90/hr. and the Prius tech's rate was $250/hr.!!!??? Is that anywhere near correct or did I just dream it? I've bought a pcv valve for $10 at the dealer and after looking at the process to replace it and thinking of that labor rate I'm afraid it'll be a small fortune for them to do it. Anyone know if this is fact or fiction? My car has performed flawlessly for the 93K miles since I rolled it off the showroom floor. No reason to suspect the pcv valve has a problem but I like to do preventative stuff and I saw Galaxee's post about replacing it around the 60K mark. Just trying to be a little proactive here!!

    Thanks all,

    Joe
     
  2. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    FYI, the current dealer labor rate here in Manhattan is also $90/hour.

    Don't know if there's a separate much higher rate for a Prius Tech. If so, I think that's rediculous and unfair. Moreover, it's something that Toyota itself should have to reveal in its ads, etc., or else IMO it's misrepresentation by omission.
     
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    should be no difference- if there is, find another dealer. hybrid techs spend plenty of time working on non-hybrids too, and they don't get paid extra for working on the hybrids. that increased hybrid rate just doesn't make sense and i hope it's not the case.

    most places are in the $90/hour range now.
     
  4. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Curious, how much of that $90/hour does a mechanic/tech see in terms of pay?
     
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    $25 is about where it tops out, if he's a master tech and has 10 or more years experience at the dealer.
    average is $18-20. but that's flat rate, so it's not a straight time relationship.

    also depends on the dealership and the automaker. gm's techs make more at flat rate, more of their work is warranty which pays fewer hours per job. so they have to pay more per hour for their guys to make the same amount in a check.
     
  6. jammin012

    jammin012 The man behind The Man

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    about $30-$35/hr in central ca

    Jaguar was charging $98/hr and mechs were getting $25/hr 4 years ago
     
  7. bbald123

    bbald123 Thermodynamics Law Enforcement

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    Toyota doesn't set dealer pricing. The dealers set dealer pricing. If a dealer is ripping you off, change dealers.
     
  8. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    When I was mechanicing my pay rate was just over 1/4 of the labour rate. ie we charged $60 per hour and I was paid $17 per hour. You don't get rich fixing cars. There is a good reason most mechanics drive old cars.
     
  9. joe350gt

    joe350gt It's too windy here...

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    I think the guy at the dealship who told me that was the guy that does all the add on selling after you buy the car. He was using it to push for the extended warranty, etc. I'll quiz them on it before I take my car in there for sure.

    Joe
     
  10. ny biker

    ny biker Member

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    My brother used to be an A-level mechanic at a BMW dealership. Because he finished working on most cars in less time then was allocated, he usually worked a 40 hour week while being paid for 60+ hours. His income was greater than mine. When he was promoted to a management job at the dealership, he took a pay cut.
     
  11. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    flat rate is flat rate. i make piece rate which i assume is the same thing, just different terminology... with no other financial compensation for my time other than accrued PTO (paid time off which is computed by time spent at work)

    and my pay can vary from ZERO to very good. it all depends on how well i can do it (if not done right, i dont get paid or i am required to re-do it and they can come back to me as much as 6 weeks after the fact to take back what they gave me) and how fast i can do it and great quality will always out perform great efficiency, so obviously people who can master both are the ones that make the good money

    my sister works for a major ford :dizzy: dealership as the person who deals with customers on quality issues. (she is VERY busy) she is also the one who bills either the company (for warantee work) or the customer and schedules the mechanic who will do the work. and its all piece work verses a base rate which ever is greater

    there are some mechanics that make over $40-$50 an hour simply because they are good enough and if they do a job that was not done right, they re-do it but only get paid once for it.

    she also has mechanics that are simply not accomplished enough to make money (they are paid against a base rate of something like $12 an hour which is something that NO ONE can live on) so some struggle to make over the base rate. base rate is what they get paid if commission is not greater, so they do have something to fall back on if business is slow. generally they have a period of time to get good at their job or they get the time consuming low pay jobs until they get the hint and move on. they are rarely fired simply because there is an overwhelming amount of low pay work that the good mechanics hate and constantly argue about comparing how many they have been assigned verses how many the others in the shop have been assigned so having a flunky in the shop is a good thing.

    my sister also makes a very very small base wage that she gets to keep plug commission (for both warantee and non warantee work) and she makes a ton and deservedly so since she gets it from all 4 sides, (dealership, corporate, customers and mechanics)

    so as you can see, the dealership does take a chunk of that money, but it is not as much as it seems
     
  12. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    flat rate is flat rate. i make piece rate which i assume is the same thing, just different terminology... with no other financial compensation for my time other than accrued PTO (paid time off which is computed by time spent at work)

    and my pay can vary from ZERO to very good. it all depends on how well i can do it (if not done right, i dont get paid or i am required to re-do it and they can come back to me as much as 6 weeks after the fact to take back what they gave me) and how fast i can do it and great quality will always out perform great efficiency, so obviously people who can master both are the ones that make the good money

    my sister works for a major ford :dizzy: dealership as the person who deals with customers on quality issues. (she is VERY busy) she is also the one who bills either the company (for warantee work) or the customer and schedules the mechanic who will do the work. and its all piece work verses a base rate which ever is greater

    there are some mechanics that make over $40-$50 an hour simply because they are good enough and if they do a job that was not done right, they re-do it but only get paid once for it.

    she also has mechanics that are simply not accomplished enough to make money (they are paid against a base rate of something like $12 an hour which is something that NO ONE can live on) so some struggle to make over the base rate. base rate is what they get paid if commission is not greater, so they do have something to fall back on if business is slow. generally they have a period of time to get good at their job or they get the time consuming low pay jobs until they get the hint and move on. they are rarely fired simply because there is an overwhelming amount of low pay work that the good mechanics hate and constantly argue about comparing how many they have been assigned verses how many the others in the shop have been assigned so having a flunky in the shop is a good thing.

    my sister also makes a very very small base wage that she gets to keep plug commission (for both warantee and non warantee work) and she makes a ton and deservedly so since she gets it from all 4 sides, (dealership, corporate, customers and mechanics)

    so as you can see, the dealership does take a chunk of that money, but it is not as much as it seems
     
  13. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    That explains it. The "Closer". Talk about low forms of life.
     
  14. rick57

    rick57 Member

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    $250 an hour! Where is this dealer and where do I sign, :D. Guess I am working in poverty at my rate. Maybe I should apply for food stamps, :confused:
     
  15. rick57

    rick57 Member

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    Thats right, you will not find many techs that are rich, surely not me. The pay schedule is why so many older techs are leaving ( along with long hours some places ) and I why I see a lot of younger ones not staying around. There are not many younger ones coming in that are interested in furthering there training and have the patience to stay around long enough to reach Master status. Seems like no one cares much anymore but will b#$@% when it comes to low pay. Maybe their pay should be tied to productivity and customer satisfaction. The more happy customers and cars fixed right, then the higher pay you should get. This is my opinion.
     
  16. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    isn't that the straight truth! the 15 hour days got pretty tiring at the end there. and the current pay scale isn't conducive to quality work, it promotes shortcut jobs that last half as long and lots of upselling.

    the rich techs are typically the ones who upsell and shortcut their way through life...
     
  17. rick57

    rick57 Member

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    And the poor techs are the ones how take there time to do the job right and have a happy customer. If only the higher ups/managers would see the light.
     
  18. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    When I got out of the trade I got a $10,000 per year pay rise, training, annual wage adjustments, 3 years of experience pay increases, and much better conditions. I no longer have cracked skin on my hands and a constant supply of cuts and burns. I now earn about $15,000 a year more than the guys I left behind in the workshop and we are currently negotiating a $4,000 PA increase followed by 2 more annual increases above inflation due to increased complexity in the job which is looking promising.

    I don't mean this to be offensive but anyone working as a mechanic after 10 years in the trade is a fool. The same skills can earn you a lot more money and more job satisfaction outside the trade. Yes I was stupid and waited too long to jump ship.
     
  19. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    DH loved his job as a tech- wouldn't have left unless he was forced to. still loves cars, works on them as a hobby/extra income business when he can.

    after all, we've got a whole lot of tools that have to earn their keep ;)

    at any rate, he's very glad in hindsight that he was forced out of the trade. the long days were a big strain on our relationship and the 3-month surplus leading up to the 3-month dry spell was hard to manage. this year busy season was a bust, and i don't know how the guys in the shop are feeding their families until business picks up again in a few weeks. we barely made it through last year's slow season because he was too injured to bring in much money.

    he is looking forward to a salary job where one wrong move won't get him killed or seriously injured... and REAL benefits.
     
  20. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    See how he feels when he is settles into a new career. I know I am happy I got out of it.