The Labor Shift

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/

I'm sure this one will spark a lively discussion and I welcome your comments. Let me know what you've experienced with your car line or place of work.

Stay dirty

ETCG1

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• labor
• labor time
• labor shift
• warranty work
• warranty time
• warranty repair
• warranty car
• work order
• getting paid
• employment
• employed
• working
• job
• flat rate
• flat rate time
• automotive education
• automotive how to
• how to auto repair
• eric the car guy
• ericthecarguy
• etcg
• etcg1

[monster755]

I love your videos Eric. Its very interesting to me to hear your thoughts on these subjects.

[wolfc70]

I am not a pro mechanic, so my perspective is a little different. I think dealers are in a tough way. Extended service intervals do mean less work, and less chance at profitability. Dealers used to be fairly competitive with the old mileage based service schedules, now, at least on my 2011 Accord, they are very expensive. They still try and compete with oil change prices, but since most cars require syn oil now, that has changed too. So most service depts are just high pressure sales areas.

[MrImacarfan]

i agree with you on honda. quality is not the same, but i still owned a 2003 that crapped out at 170,000 miles. and in the 170,000 miles i never had any problems with it. even though they dont have the attention to detail as they used to, they still build a overall reliable car. samw with toyota, toyotas interior is crap but they still make a reliable engine. i think all car brands have this problem nowadays.

[RANCIDROBO]

@Dayberry Dude, that is exactly why im driving an 86 Mr2...Long live the Yoda!

[Doomster9]

@ETCG1 You are 100% correct in this video! I am a Master Toyota Tech that started in the automotive business around 2003 only to find the services quickly evaporate and turn into warranty/extended warranty work. The drastic loss in income over the past couple years put me in a position to go to Iraq as a civilian mechanic to get a decent paycheck. It was a life experience for sure and it makes you appreciate things when you come back home.

[Dayberry]

All I can say is ill never buy a new car. I research cars from the past to find whats reliable and whats not. Get a good used car and fix it up. My logic is I can buy a 1980 Toyota pick up and rebuild it to close to new, and still come out cheaper then if I bought a new Tacoma. Yes I do wind up having a not as attractive car but all I want is to go down the road, and not owe the banks shit.

[webslice123]

As demand for a better car to be made increases, in terms of emission requirements, power & safety. Todays cars are being built with with far more parts. More things to break. More warranty work required.Also dealerships are paid by the manufacturers of these cars for warranty work.Do manufacturers give dealerships a hard time with warranty work ?

Why honda's not built with serviceable fuel filter? Note changes in materials used to make engines. Was fully steel to aluminium now mostly plastic.

[ZRider3591]

@kenman1717 That's way i am heavily considering leaving this job and finding something else. Just 2 years in the business and i'm sick of it. I'm supposed to do this for another 20-25 years until my body is completely worn out? Not too sure about that. I'm thinking about it, just dont have a plan of what to do.

[kenman1717]

@ZRider3591 now you see why i hate flat rate. granted with good work you can make money, but when all you get is crap work or none at all and you don't make any money. i believe more shops sould give a guarantee of so many hours that way they can keep more good techs, instead of loosing them. have seen alot of good techs quit and go to hourly pay jobs because of not getting and hours and no money coming in.

[CincyPlasmaTech]

Shifting the liability to the manufacturer and billing it as warranty work sounds expensive for the manufacturer and the buyer. I'm sure the service tech gets the short end on that one.