Why The U.S. Has A Shortage Of Auto Mechanics

Car dealers and repair shops have been struggling with a shortage of service technicians for years - and the problem has intensified and spread to other jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Research from firms such as JD Power and Ducker Carlisle say low pay, a lack of a clear career path, workplace stress, and declining interest in the trades have all made recruiting talent difficult. It is also hard to retain workers - turnover is as high as 50 percent for some jobs. Dealers are taking action. For example, one Ford and Lincoln dealer in California recruits and has created his own in-house training program. Large dealer groups such as AutoNation, Lithia, and Penske may have resources smaller dealerships and independent shops do not. Ducker Carlisle researchers say independent dealers may need more help from manufacturers to compete.

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Why The U.S. Has A Shortage Of Auto Mechanics

[Kalashniky]

there’s no such thing as a labor shortage, it’s always a pay shortage.

[tnahvu]

Not a single interview from an actual mechanic. Solid journalism.

[christopherwatt]

Not a single mechanic interviewed, just a “marketing researcher”, a “consumer behaviour analyst “ and a dealership owner. The opinion of the actual mechanic is as undervalued as their skill too.

[pepsibIue]

It's the old "I'll spend $100 million in studies and interview random people to find out a problem" instead of giving that money to the employees.

[scottshepherd]

Incredible that you were able to have an entire show about auto technicians without interviewing a single auto technician. Great job SMH

[biometal]

As a former mechanic, who is ASE certified, I will tell you why I left the automotive industry:

1. Flag time, aka flat rate (i.e. paid for the job). The burden of the ebb and flow in the amount of cars in the shop should not be foisted upon the mechanics. There were many weeks where I worked for 40 hours, but I was only paid for 20. Flat rate also encourages mechanics to cut corners on repairs, just to save a little bit of time.
2. I had to pay for my own tools. Not only was I getting paid terribly, I had to purchase my own tools. I have at least $30k worth of tools.
3. The pay is not commensurate with the amount of knowledge a good mechanic needs to have. In my opinion, this is an engineer-level amount of knowledge. Electronic systems, hydraulic systems, air conditioning/heating systems, internal combustion theory, transmission systems, electric car theory, etc. The amount of knowledge is huge.
4. The benefits were TERRIBLE. Very little 401k match, vacation, bonuses, crappy insurance, etc.

I was a smart mechanic (in my opinion), and I left the business to get a bachelor's and master's degree in science. Now I am a scientist/engineer, making the amount of money I should have made as a mechanic. The industry will continue to hemorrhage good employees until they fix the issues stated above.

Edit: thanks guys for all the feedback, glad my post resonated with so many of you!

[mr.joshua]

15 years ago i was a auto tech, every year i saw the owner open a new dealership. After 6 years of working for the guy i asked for ONE raise and managers reply was 'its not in the budget' the next day i put in my resignation and when i was asked why my reply was 'its in the budget for the owner to keep opening more and more dealerships but there no room for a $1 dollar raise'. They tried there best to keep me but i left and it was the best thing i did. I'll never go back to dealerships or this trade, the owners are beyond greedy.

[radmirov]

The fact that the journalists working on this story did not interview even one auto mechanic, tells volumes. The fact of the matter is that auto mechanics are treated like garbage and severely underpaid by dealerships and auto repair shops. The culture is so broken. Imagine, journalists doing a story about auto mechanic shortage in the economy, and not even include at least one interview with an experienced auto mechanic.

[mikeromano]

Ahh yes. Interview the people who create the issue instead of technicians who have an ACTUAL perspective.

[clanbree]

When I started in this industry in the 70's, mechanics made 50% commission. If the shop charged $30/hr, I made $15/hr. Now shops charge $160 to $180/hr, and top pay is approximately $35/hr. So, after 45 years learning to deal with all of the new systems that come out nearly yearly and many tens of thousands of my own dollars buying tools (every tech buys his own tools). My pay rate has dropped from 50% to around 15%. THAT, gentlemen, is why you have a technician shortage!

[agustinjr.enriquez]

Journalism 101: let’s make a video on why there’s a mechanic shortage but let’s not interview mechanics

[purotito]

Mean while, we have the sales team making 200k - 1 mil a year, bragging about how hard they worked.

[gyffjogofl]

1) 100k in tools
2) flat rate pay
3) low benefits
4) lots of hours with no appreciation
5) easier jobs pay more

[NightRidah]

"We want to pay slave wages and can't find anybody" - Employers

[brandtbuchanan]

How about you pay technicians more? They're charging $150 to $200 an hour for labor and only paying the technicians $25 to $30 an hour.

[canooples]

I worked at a dealer, and it was the lowest paying job I've ever had. Flag hours are a scam

[allbboss]

Just like trucking - the industry always claims "shortage of workers" when the real problem is low pay and shortage of respect.

[nordvestgaming]

I can answer that question easily, its because employers are expecting highly skilled and knowledgable people to accept being paid dirt cheap wages compared to the value they provide. That statement goes for just about every other industry right now as well.

[brettbrandstatt]

As a young, potential technician who grew up seeing family reach retirement age - their retirement was cut short by the fact that a)they never made enough money nor had good benefits in the trades and b) they were crippled by the work they did. I sold all my tools and decided to pursue a different route.

[alisasharon]

Left the auto industry in 1977 to join the IUOE Local 12 apprenticeship program as a heavy equipment repairman, never looked back