Wondering about BMW mechanics or indy shops

[M3 Ryan]

you do know that 8 fru= 1hr, right? how do you get 3/10ths? it would be 3/8ths, almost half an hour for a 3min swap and printing/clearing of faults. how many techs does your shop have? whats the average flag hours per week? what do you flag? I realize your times are probably hindered by the new series of cars since you work on a lot of them...

[m42technic]

you do know that 8 fru= 1hr, right? how do you get 3/10ths? it would be 3/8ths, almost half an hour for a 3min swap and printing/clearing of faults. how many techs does your shop have? whats the average flag hours per week? what do you flag? I realize your times are probably hindered by the new series of cars since you work on a lot of them...

The shop I work in goes by 10ths of an hour for some reason unknown to me. Im guessing you havent done an M5 cam sensor recently? The M5's cam sensors are in a pretty shitty place to get to, I dont think Ive ever made time doing one of them. Then again Im just throwing one instance out there.

I think my average efficency is just a touch over 100. Thankfully though the premium for warranty work (we get paid 125% for everything but work time) bumps my pay up a bit. We have something like 22 techs right now. I couldnt tell you what the average hours flagged per week is, but I can tell you that some people in the shop flag quite a few more than others (Im not exactly pleased with the method of dispatching here).

[bimmer8604]

im starting UTI in a few weeks, and will either go into STEP or just go work at a local shop here. Just depends on how things look in a year or so.

Kyle

[DEV0 E30]

im starting UTI in a few weeks, and will either go into STEP or just go work at a local shop here. Just depends on how things look in a year or so.

Word to that.

Oh and for you guys currently at dealerships.. how often do you see classics come in, ever? (Calling a classic 15+ years old.)

[M42Technik]

I guess I will throw in my 2 cents here as well.
I went through my local City College while working in the parts department of the BMW dealer here. It got my foot in the door. After a year of tech school and one more ahead of me, I went into the shop as an apprentice. I then started to go to classes after 6 months, and now I am a BMW Certified Technician. I went on the line last week after graduating from City College with an Associate of Science in Automotive. I have earned all my ASE certifications, A1-A8 and L1, so I am an ASE Master Tech as well.
I am 22 years old, and I have been at the dealership for 20 months now. I am 6-8 months away from reaching Diagnostic Tech and another 2-3 years from Master. I am pretty aggressive in getting my training completed, so I don't think it will take me too long to reach my goals.
My dealership is busy, and in my first 8 days on the line I flagged 110 hours. That’s almost 14hrs a day, working only 8. I am sure I will get more as time goes by and I get more experience.
If I had to go back and do it all over again, I would do exactly as I did. I spent under $2k for my education and I made a living working part-time as I did it. I have purchased around $15,000 worth of tools for my job so far, and its an endless cycle throughout the career, although its never as severe as your first year on the job. Now I am making a damn good living at $1,650+ a week. I don't see many people making that kind of money at 22 years old of age around here very often with a 2-year degree.

Yep, thats it I'm taking this route, no more questions.

[M3 Ryan]

Rarely...
some E30's come in for timing belts every so often...
Oldest car I have worked on to date at the dealership was a 69 2002 which needed a new heater valve and hoses.

[bimmer8604]

thats why im contemplating working at a dealership or at an independant shop. personally id rather work on older cars, not just BMWs, but old european cars, alfas, benz, RR, bentlys, BMWs, stuff like that. And not just normal maintenence, but like "Hey, heres my car, i want it to go fast, look good, and ride nice".

at a dealership i think i would be working on newer cars, like 99 and up, doing brakes, or petty stuff. i know here we have had some major work done at the dealer, when i worked there we had a 02 X5 come in and have a new tranny put in :? i just dont think thats what i would want to be working on....

Kyle

[M3 Ryan]

With new cars, there is always new problems which keeps it interesting.
Of course there is always the mundane jobs that are repetitive and simple like brakes or belts, but they pay the bills and are easy money makers. Old cars are fun to mess around with, but I don't know that I would want to work on only old stuff.
Also, you have to remember that old cars only get rarer by the day, and soon there will not be enough to work on (independent shops close all the time because there isn't enough business). With the new cars comming out these days, no indepandant can afford to buy the tools just to start to work on them, and that isn't going to change.

[SR20Fastback]

I usually see anywhere from 20-35 hours of OT a pay period Ryan (OT + Hourly = my 45-52k ish pay). I work saturdays, and always get there an hour early, work through lunch about 1/2 the time, or only take a 15-30 min lunch. Stay late when possible, etc.


I think it looks good to stay the extra time, when we have some bum's who stroll in at like 9:10 and leave at 4:30. Actually that shit kind of pisses me off.

[Madhatter]

I wasn't aware a BMW tech made that much money...I was going that direction because I love bimmers but if it pays that good too, thats great!

we sure as hell dont down here. Be lucky to earn $16 an hour.

[Madhatter]

he'd get paid 153. that's the benefit of being a flyrate tech.


fyi. its possible to become a BMW tech with no school, and no support. one of the techs at my work, took a few general auto classes at a community college, worked at the BMW dealer for 5 years, and now works at this independent shop and is a fucking great tech making good money. i think its much harder this way, and am on the exact same path as brew right now. the things brew and ryan have said are right on. that's the way to do it right.

They require you to have a trade qualification. Either you start as an apprentice or you start as a trade qualified mechanic, they dont take on just anybody, you have to sit a test before being accepted too.

[PanamaE30]

I wasn't aware a BMW tech made that much money...I was going that direction because I love bimmers but if it pays that good too, thats great!

we sure as hell dont down here. Be lucky to earn $16 an hour.

This is why I'd never go the stealership route here...
Minimum wage is $1.50/hr. The techies at the stealership are making about $4/hr and the really old guys are hitting like $8/hr and that's awesome for them.

which is why the parking lot where the techs park is filled with E28's and E30's and the sales people have E87's, E46's and E39's (with one E30M3 [the only cool salesman]). Sales people here make WAY more than the techs. Then again, most of the techs at the dealer suck, so they probably take longer than the padded BMW estimate.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, though, that the training program here is only 6 months lol. So yeah, that would explain our shoddy techs. Personally, if I could I'd go take an apprenticeship with this one german mechanic. He runs an expensive indy shop, but the dude knows. Used to be a BMW test engineer :D

[SR20Fastback]

oh forgot to mention also, our shop 10 fru's = 1 hour

[Borat]

I don't really understand how all of this works but you saying that BMW will pay you the equivalent of one hours work for changing a 17" tyre? Jeez, over here i would earn about $7 US if I changed 4 17" tyres.

Oh, and an LSD costs around $800. Great huh

[M3 Ryan]

Wow, you guys really put it into perspective how spoiled we are here in the US. We can get an LSD for $200, and get paid around ~$100 for tires 17"+...